Meta: The Unlikable Rodney McKay or Why Do I Love a Fictional Character I'd Despise in RL

[lunabee34]

fingalsanteater asked me: so I just met McKay in Sg-1 and I recognized he was a main character in SGA (which I'm waiting to watch until after SG-1, though I might start it after season 7) and one half of the main pairing for the fandom. But, OMG, he was such a dick. I'm assuming he gets better (he does open up a bit the next time he's around, but he's still pretty awful and I'm so glad Sam told him she hated him because she was echoing my sentiments exactly). So, does he get... better? What is it about the McShep pairing that draws you? [link]

My answer got a bit long. :)



I watched SG-1 all the way through before I saw even an episode of SGA, and I'm pretty sure we watched the last season of SG-1 as it aired. I don't think we started watching SGA until the beginning of the third season after watching seasons 1-2 on DVD right before season 3 started.

While we were watching SG-1, though, SGA was already on the air and lots of my flist was migrating to that fandom. In fact, I'd say 3/4 of everyone on my LJ flist was reading and/or writing fic or posting squee about episodes. So long before I met Rodney in canon, I saw the word McShep bandied about, and I read "Written by the Victors" "Freedom's Just Another Word" without any knowledge of SGA canon whatsoever or even knowing what John or Rodney looked like. (got my titles mixed up there, y'all, whoops)

Imagine my surprise when I got to the relevant SG-1 episodes, and there was Rodney McKay in all his faily glory. It blew my mind. This guy? This is the guy who's causing the swoonage? This asshole? LOL

So how did I move from complete bewilderment at Rodney as the fandom darling to considering him one of my favorite characters?

1. Fannish osmosis and fanon played a huge part in this, and I think this is true for any unlikable character who ends up with a huge following (I'm thinking Snape here, for example). My flist is full of amazing writers and sharp reccers, and so I already had a wonderful pool of resources to draw from and tons of fics to read that portray Rodney in a positive light. I also still maintain that of all the fandoms I've been in in the last ten years, the writing for SGA was consistently the best. Damn but there are some fine stories written for (and continuing to be written for!) that fandom.

2. As a separate but related fic reading issue, a lot of McShep fics (or fics that otherwise feature Rodney) elide his negative character traits or justify them, and reading story after story that softens his abrasiveness or gives him plausible in-story reasons for behaving that way permanently colored my perception of him. Some fanon is just too good not to be true! LOL Now this is not a slag on those kinds of stories or a subtle implication that they are OOC; most of the stories I'm talking about are well-written and compelling and true to Rodney's character--or at least true to the aspects of his character that have been foregrounded in the fic (like his canonically demonstrated loyalty to his team) while putting others in the background or ignoring them entirely.

3. Rodney does change over the course of the show; we see him change from the man who blithely tells Sam that Teal'c is dead anyway to the man who steps in front of a gun pointed at Elizabeth. We see him make true friendships; we see him develop loyalty. We see him save the galaxy over and over again and commit great acts of heroism despite his obvious, and sometimes nearly crippling, fear. He's not anyone I'd want to spend any time with; he'd insult the profession I chose, and his ego would piss me off. I don't appreciate being told that I'm stupid or being the target of someone's insecurity when I demonstrate that I'm not. We could never be real life friends. But I can appreciate him within the context of the show and really enjoy the family he's managed to create with his team.

I think I am as guilty of number 2 as anyone else. Most of my SGA fic does not focus on Rodney being an asshole. However, ariadne83 and I co-wrote a story in which we tried to depict Rodney as closely to the way he's depicted in SG-1 without making him unsympathetic. It's a backstory for Rodney that takes place almost entirely before SGA even begins, so we're dealing with a Rodney who hasn't learned any of the lessons he'll come to learn later about sacrifice or teamwork and etc. It was hard to do at times; I cringe at the way he talks to Sam in those SG-1 episodes and how utterly un-self-aware he is. And I cringe at some of the choices we have him make in our fic because they're so self-destructive and reflect really poorly on him. Ultimately, though, it was really satisfying to give Rodney a place to start from, a beginning of the journey.

I think that might be what I like about so many of the characters I love who are unlikable in certain ways--Snape, Draco, Jayne, Spike. For some of these characters, canon shows us a character who changes, who becomes more likable as the story develops. For others, canon gives us somewhere to start from, a place to imagine in fic the shape that change might take. And then, of course, there's just the delight in reading an asshole be an asshole, particularly a witty one.

One other thing I think I find compelling about Rodney and other unlikable characters is what I'm calling the whole Asshole But Not To Me Thing. I don't so much go for that in real life, but in fiction, it can be utterly squeeful when a character who is a dick a lot of the time clearly has a soft spot for or a genuine friendship with another character. I'm thinking Jayne and Kaylee here or Rodney and Elizabeth. Particularly if you're feeling shippy, that kind of marked difference in behavior and feeling can be catnip.


What do y'all think? What unlikable characters have you come to love? Is there anyone you can't bring yourself to like even when everyone else has jumped on board? Tell me why I'm wrong and Rodney sucks, whatever. LOL

Comments

[fingalsanteater]

I totally get fannish osmosis and fandom smoothing out a character for you. It's why I say I like fanon Snape better than canon Snape.

"Asshole But Not to Me" is a good phrase for it. Morgan Martin from Earth 2 is a completely unlikable jerk. And, he's my favorite character in the show. He's a weasely, greedy loser who is made better by his wife's love for him and his love for his wife. His relationship with Bess is pretty much his only redeeming quality (but it's been a while since I've seen the show, so he may have more).

Tbh, McKay is a character that I can see myself coming to like a lot. He's my type, when I think about. It'll be fun to find out.

I guess Written by the Victors is THE McShep fic? I tried to read it a year ago, but didn't understand enough about the canon to get into it. Having knowledge of Stargate helps a lot as I found out when I went back to fic I didn't understand previously and found it very enjoyable since I now knew the canon.

I'll probably come back and add more later but my brain is tired right now, heh.

[princessofgeeks]

There are so many THE McSHEP fics.

I defer to the true McShep fans, but "Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose" is definitely on the list. I loved it despite being a reluctant Rodney fan.

Lunabee is so right about how great the writing is in this fandom.

[wendelah1]

I'm not a Rodney fan, but I love "Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose." It's in my top ten fanfics of all time, all fandoms. It probably ruined me for the canon Rodney. Honestly, I didn't make it past the first few chapters of "Written by the Victors," and I tried it several times. But overall, I thought the fanfic for SGA was much better than than the series.

[lunabee34]

See my ETA to the post. I meant to say "Freedom" rather than "Victors."

I actually love both fics. "Victors" reminds me a lot of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I am a sucker for some footnotes. And I love the conceit of the whole thing, that it's a history rather than an outright narrative.

There's just so much good fic for SGA. I think so many of the best writers from a handful of fandoms decided to migrate there all at the same time and made a glorious, glorious body of fic.

[princessofgeeks]

Yeah, SGA was a beautiful moment. I'm still reading fic. So much great stuff.

[lunabee34]

Well, crap.

I mean to write "Freedom" in the post and got the titles confused.

I love both fics, but I read "Victors" later after I was already in the fandom.

Off to amend!

[princessofgeeks]

"Victors" is a brilliant, brilliant example of a Thing I Do Not Like. I know it was catnip to most of fandom, but that kind of faux history is not something I enjoy reading. I like immersive narratives, myself.

The parts of it that were pure narrative were wonderful. And I always love it when the SGA writers give us Jack. The Jack in that story was wonderful.

[lunabee34]

It's been such a long time since I read either Freedom or Victors. This discussion is making me think a re-read is in order. :)

[princessofgeeks]

Please do and report back when you do. I love fic reviews. I have reread Freedom several times, and I really enjoy it. It's pretty much a kinder gentler Rodney --you're right.

[lunabee34]

I just made a post about both stories!

[lunabee34]

See my ETA to the post. I meant "Freedom's Just Another Word" rather than "Written By..."

I love both fics, though. Like a lot.

I don't think there is a quintessential McShep fic. There are so many high quality amazing fics for the whole fandom, I'd be hard pressed to pick ten must reads without wanting to add a dozen more. When you get ready to read fic, go through my rec tag for SGA, and I promise you will find some fantastic stuff.

[princessofgeeks]

I totally enjoy Rodney as a gen character, and I agree with you totally that Rodney got a fantastic arc and changed from the narcissistic asshole we see in "48 Hours" to a self-consciously generous soul.

I would read all the Rodney-centric gen or friendship fic I could find, and I also feel strongly that Hewlett was by far the best actor in the entire Gateverse.

I love your comparison to Snape. Except I think the actor made the character in a way that only the transference from book to screen could have facilitated.

Basically I adore Rodney as a character, but I don't, for whatever personal reasons I have, find him sexy. So basically I read a lot of McShep, but skim over the parts where the writer is grooving on how sexy Rodney is. Because for me? Not so much. But I see how fandom loved him, etc. etc.

I do find Shep extremely sexy, so I enjoy McShep for the Shep.

But I love Rodney as a CHARACTER. He is totally an asshole, and I generally do not enjoy the Lovable Asshole type -- I loathe BBC Sherlock, for example, and barely tolerate Downey's Iron Man.

But I so get that fandom loves this type.

So in short… Yes to the Rodney Love. But for me? I couldn't care less about the Rodney porn, while understanding how that floats so many readers' and writers' boats.

[lunabee34]

Ahahahahahahaahhahaaaa.

I remember when I realized who Rodney was. Lots of my flist had been writing fic and reccing stuff, and after a while of that, finally somebody had a McShep icon, and I had a OMG that guy? reaction to finally seeing what Rodney looked like. I didn't initially find him sexy either, but over time I have grown to. I think I am easy. LOL

I have issues with Iron Man as well. I despised the first movie. I thought Tony was pretty horribly unlikable and the movie just bored me. I am able to enjoy it retroactively after falling in love with the Avengers and liking the other two Iron Man movies better. But on the first view, I was very much Do.Not.Want.

[princessofgeeks]

Don't get me wrong; I loved all the Iron Man movies and have watched them many times. I just don't find that type of character lovable or someone I find romantic personally.

But I thought Downey knocked the role out of the park and made the character come to life in an amazing way. But I don't seek out much fanfic about Tony. Now Pepper intrigues me! I'll read about Tony to read about her.

And I've enjoyed how events CHANGE Tony. I find that really entertaining because of Downey. He has the chops and life experience to make the character real and appealing.

Also about Rodney…. let me clarify that I have no problem with McShep and see how the fans "saw" it in the show; I find it plausible and I don't have any trouble believing in it. I just don't find Rodney very sexy, so I'm more interested in stories that focus on plot and relationships and less on the porn, when it's about Rodney. Of course in fanfic you always get lots of yummy porn too, which is great, but when I read McShep I'm reading it for the Shep if it's porn.

The authors that can nail Rodney's humor are the ones I enjoy the most.

[lunabee34]

And I've enjoyed how events CHANGE Tony. I find that really entertaining because of Downey. He has the chops and life experience to make the character real and appealing.

YES! That's actually why I can go back and enjoy that first movie now because I know where Tony will end up and I can appreciate that even more because of where he started.

I have pretty much lost any interest at all in porn. Most of what I read contains sex scenes because I'm totally interested in the emotional stuff that surrounds all the porny bits, but I usually just skip sex scenes now.

[princessofgeeks]

*nods*

for me, it totally depends on the author. I skip most PWP, but if someone like, say Paian or JDJunkie writes an NC 17 fic, there's always tons of character development, subtle conflict and a relationship arc in the background. Which makes the PWP so much more.

But I'm inconsistent and sometimes I just adore the PWP. SO THERE IS THAT.

[lunabee34]

Heeeeeee.

I hear ya.

Sometimes I do still read it; I can still find the mood occasionally. :)

[sallymn]

I admit, I didn't hate SG1 Rodney, because I was too busy loathing Carter (I freely admit, it's a Doctor Fell thing). And also, I tend to make up my mind about characters very quickly and seldom change them...

But - although he was the fannish darling all round rather than the person people loved to hate - I can comprehend, because Avon (Blakes 7) is self-centered, selfish, cat-cruel and I have not the slightest doubt that if were he and I to spend time together - he would very quickly kill me. Dead. (It is seldom part of the fannish fantasy that your hero will find YOU utterly intolerable :)

[lunabee34]

Ahahahahahahahaaahaaa. Yes. I doubt I would fare well in a match of wits with Avon. I'll just be in the back with Vila, thank you very much. :)

[sallymn]

Me too :) Vila is just as selfish as Avon, but not nearly as ruthless - and probably would like me a little better :)