Fandom Snowflake Challenge 2014 - Day 7
Jan. 7th, 2014 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dahlia_moon(Going back to school next week for my last semester as an undergraduate. I'm kinda sad we only got a three-week break this time around. Usually, it's a month. What happened to that, school? Huh??? I'd like to be able to go to graduate school, but that's more of a "someday" for now--my parents are on pins & needles enough as it is for me to graduate and get a job already. I know what most of you are thinking: my parents do not have to live my life for me so if I want to go to graduate school, I should be able to, but yeah, no. It's a bit more complicated then that at the moment. My parents are the practical, wise folks while I'm off with my head in the clouds dreaming of reading poetry all day long, or getting a BA in English, it amounts to the same thing for them in the end.)
Fandom Snowflake Challenge - Day 7
So I started writing this piece of meta a long time ago, and then it just languished in my drafts folder, uncompleted for the longest time. I don't even remember now what prompted me to write it in the first place? LOL, A+ self. But I wanted to finish it up finally, and publish it somewhere, even if I still have no idea how to write meta. Or if this really is meta. And then this challenge came along, and it's forcing me to finally complete it and spruce it up for public consumption. Anyways, have some Louis Litt feels and thoughts. (I really didn't foresee loving him as much as I do all the other main characters, but I do. Also, though I'm up to s3, this only takes into account seasons 1-2.)
So Louis Litt from Suits is not everyone’s favorite character on the show. In fact, he’s often hated on by the fans, and is kind of thought as the antagonist of the show (I use the term very loosely though, because “antagonist” to me means a character who’s very evil and morally bankrupt and uses whatever means to get what he wants. If we define antagonist in those terms, however, we find Louis Litt very lacking because he does have a moral code he stands by.)
(Though I should say right from the get-go that Louis is one of my favorite characters from the show so this meta might be biased toward him. But I kind of love everyone on this show, even all the supporting characters, so the bias is equal.)
He gets a lot of flack in fandom for being a weasel/not-very-likeable guy and not just in fandom, but I’ve seen random people watching Suits and commenting that Louis is a douchbag and, while I’d concur that he can be a douchbag at times, there’s more to Louis’s character than just being a jerk, I believe.
I think Louis’s big schtick as a character is that he is always looking for acceptance. He is also Harvey’s foil, so the times when Harvey’s a smooth-talking, ladies-man, the best closer in NY, Louis is…not. That is not to say that Louis is portrayed as an incompetent character because he is very competent and smart, just maybe not on Harvey’s level, per se? But then again, as Harvey Specter would say, there is only one Harvey Specter.
It’s noteworthy to point out that the times when he is being a weasel - like telling Jenny to be careful of Rachel and Mike working together late into the night in s1 - I think of as more Louis kinda thinking, “well fuck it, they think I’m the bad guy already, so I might as well be the bad guy.”
The infamous tape recorder incident is also Louis fighting back against the mistrust Harvey and Mike continually show him. He asks that they trust him - that they can trust him, but they don’t ever let him in to the inner circle. Louis sees himself as being on the fringe of the unbreakable Harvey/Jessica/Mike/Donna/Rachel bond.
There is a line of dialogue from Louis in the second season, episode four, “Discovery” that, I believe, is the crux of Louis’s character on the show:
You know, you can tow the party line, Kevin…but I know exactly what it’s like to bust your ass every day at a company and be overlooked for a promotion time and time again. It just…hurts. Just physically hurts…Give 110% everyday, and for what? So they can just…chip away at your dignity?
Louis knows the value of his position at Pearson-Hardman and that he is very good at his job, but being passed over for the promotion of senior partner cuts him deeply, especially when the position goes to Harvey, when Louis knows he’s just as good as Harvey. Louis and Harvey started out together as associates at PH, so they’re equals in terms of starting right at the bottom and working their way up in the law office hierarchy. So while Harvey gets the promotion of senior partner, Louis is still the junior partner and the fact that Harvey has a kind of “in” with Jessica rankles Louis because he’s convinced that’s why Harvey was promoted over him.
We know that Harvey got the promotion because he’s the best closer, and that’s why he and Louis go toe-to-toe against each other most of the time, but there’s also no denying that the rivalry between them is because Harvey and Jessica Pearson go way back and that gives way to a little bit of favoritism, at least some of the time. Jessica wouldn’t be professional if she didn’t listen to Louis, but from Louis’s perspective Harvey doesn’t trust him and, at least to some extent, Harvey “poisons the well” in regards to Jessica and Louis’s relationship as well.
I just sometimes don’t get the Louis hate when I see it. He can be kind of an obnoxious character, I can grant that, but not any more obnoxious than any of the other hotshot lawyers with big egos running around on the show, particularly Harvey, who believes he is never wrong and how he treats Louis - disrespectfully and never ever trusts him - just proves to Louis that if Harvey is never gonna trust him, then he might as well not be wasting time on earning Harvey’s trust because it will be a futile endeavor.
(Of course these are just my opinions and if other people want to hate on Louis, they have that right.)
Fandom Snowflake Challenge - Day 7
In your own space, create a fanwork. A drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. A picspam. Something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
So I started writing this piece of meta a long time ago, and then it just languished in my drafts folder, uncompleted for the longest time. I don't even remember now what prompted me to write it in the first place? LOL, A+ self. But I wanted to finish it up finally, and publish it somewhere, even if I still have no idea how to write meta. Or if this really is meta. And then this challenge came along, and it's forcing me to finally complete it and spruce it up for public consumption. Anyways, have some Louis Litt feels and thoughts. (I really didn't foresee loving him as much as I do all the other main characters, but I do. Also, though I'm up to s3, this only takes into account seasons 1-2.)
So Louis Litt from Suits is not everyone’s favorite character on the show. In fact, he’s often hated on by the fans, and is kind of thought as the antagonist of the show (I use the term very loosely though, because “antagonist” to me means a character who’s very evil and morally bankrupt and uses whatever means to get what he wants. If we define antagonist in those terms, however, we find Louis Litt very lacking because he does have a moral code he stands by.)
(Though I should say right from the get-go that Louis is one of my favorite characters from the show so this meta might be biased toward him. But I kind of love everyone on this show, even all the supporting characters, so the bias is equal.)
He gets a lot of flack in fandom for being a weasel/not-very-likeable guy and not just in fandom, but I’ve seen random people watching Suits and commenting that Louis is a douchbag and, while I’d concur that he can be a douchbag at times, there’s more to Louis’s character than just being a jerk, I believe.
I think Louis’s big schtick as a character is that he is always looking for acceptance. He is also Harvey’s foil, so the times when Harvey’s a smooth-talking, ladies-man, the best closer in NY, Louis is…not. That is not to say that Louis is portrayed as an incompetent character because he is very competent and smart, just maybe not on Harvey’s level, per se? But then again, as Harvey Specter would say, there is only one Harvey Specter.
It’s noteworthy to point out that the times when he is being a weasel - like telling Jenny to be careful of Rachel and Mike working together late into the night in s1 - I think of as more Louis kinda thinking, “well fuck it, they think I’m the bad guy already, so I might as well be the bad guy.”
The infamous tape recorder incident is also Louis fighting back against the mistrust Harvey and Mike continually show him. He asks that they trust him - that they can trust him, but they don’t ever let him in to the inner circle. Louis sees himself as being on the fringe of the unbreakable Harvey/Jessica/Mike/Donna/Rachel bond.
There is a line of dialogue from Louis in the second season, episode four, “Discovery” that, I believe, is the crux of Louis’s character on the show:
You know, you can tow the party line, Kevin…but I know exactly what it’s like to bust your ass every day at a company and be overlooked for a promotion time and time again. It just…hurts. Just physically hurts…Give 110% everyday, and for what? So they can just…chip away at your dignity?
Louis knows the value of his position at Pearson-Hardman and that he is very good at his job, but being passed over for the promotion of senior partner cuts him deeply, especially when the position goes to Harvey, when Louis knows he’s just as good as Harvey. Louis and Harvey started out together as associates at PH, so they’re equals in terms of starting right at the bottom and working their way up in the law office hierarchy. So while Harvey gets the promotion of senior partner, Louis is still the junior partner and the fact that Harvey has a kind of “in” with Jessica rankles Louis because he’s convinced that’s why Harvey was promoted over him.
We know that Harvey got the promotion because he’s the best closer, and that’s why he and Louis go toe-to-toe against each other most of the time, but there’s also no denying that the rivalry between them is because Harvey and Jessica Pearson go way back and that gives way to a little bit of favoritism, at least some of the time. Jessica wouldn’t be professional if she didn’t listen to Louis, but from Louis’s perspective Harvey doesn’t trust him and, at least to some extent, Harvey “poisons the well” in regards to Jessica and Louis’s relationship as well.
I just sometimes don’t get the Louis hate when I see it. He can be kind of an obnoxious character, I can grant that, but not any more obnoxious than any of the other hotshot lawyers with big egos running around on the show, particularly Harvey, who believes he is never wrong and how he treats Louis - disrespectfully and never ever trusts him - just proves to Louis that if Harvey is never gonna trust him, then he might as well not be wasting time on earning Harvey’s trust because it will be a futile endeavor.
(Of course these are just my opinions and if other people want to hate on Louis, they have that right.)
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Date: 2014-01-08 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 08:22 pm (UTC)