So... I've neglected this thread far too long. I'm sorry! I feel like such a tool, asking a question like I did, and after so many people gave such lovely answers, I don't even come back to reply! Ugh. Someone slap me on the wrist. *extends wrist*
First of all...
Also I would like to thank Ginnna for her questions that are leading to some great discussions.
You're welcome! I was actually worried that I might've accidentally done something against the rules by bringing up questions inspired by a thread which OPPOSES the E/C ship. I'm glad that I've incurred your thanks rather than your wrath.
Now, getting back OT. I'd asked:
Has the Eric/Calleigh relationship seemed contrived or overhyped?
I
loved what y'all had to say. Like this:
Contrived?....No way! It's been more like a slow burn that has turned into a steady flame starting to burn out of control.
And this:
Eric's shooting changed him...it was a traumatic experience that woke him up to how precious life is. ...... Now, Natalia mentions, in "Just Murdered" that Cal had take an interest in Eric since he returned to work....not a romantic interest at that point, as Nat hints at but one that, if watching, tells the viewer that Cal too was affected by the shooting and is watching over Eric more than anyone else in the lab.
“When you nearly lose someone, it's like you get the chance to press the reset button. If you’re lucky you get to realize it’s all still there, you just needed to recognize it.”
That is exactly what Eric's shooting did to BOTH of them.
And this:
Despite other peoples opinions, who have said that it does seemed forced and that the writers had to add in all these lame storylines that seem completely unreal just to build up their relationship and that this has both changed them, I disagree.
While I agree that there has been way too many dramatic storylines (Man Down, All In, Smoke Gets In Your CSI's, Stand Your Ground, And How Does That Make You Kill?, Wrecking Crew, & The Deluca Motel) involving each Calleigh and Eric seperately in the past few seasons since the relationship has been building up, I don't think they were particularly written just to play a part in the forming relationship.
So... Eric and Calleigh...
They've been working together for 7 years so they've obviously developed a rapport, that much can't be denied. I think that there has always been an attraction, too. It may have been just a small twinge of something at first, such as noticing that the other is sexy or funny or sweet, etc, without making much of it. Evidence of this can be seen in their suggestive quips, glances and occasional flirtations throughout the series. I think it's always brewed beneath the surface but was never addressed, and they went about their lives because neither thought it was significant enough to address at the possible expense of their friendship and their professional relationship.
But Eric's shooting changed that. As
JoannaRose mentioned, each character has been through a LOT, more than the average person, and it's obviously affected them. But a near death experience would shake anyone to their core. It makes absolute sense that, for the person who got shot, priorities would shift and growing emotions that had been repressed and ignored would leap out and demand attention. Being shot doesn't make you SUDDENLY, out of the blue, fall in love with someone, as some have suggested, but it CAN help to shine a light on feelings that you thought could be pushed aside or left alone to be dealt with later.
Now... as much as I'm sure that Eric came to accept his growing love for Calleigh after his shooting, I'm also sure that he was scared. What kind of
serious relationship have we known him to have had in the past? None that I can recall. He's always been the womanizer (I'm sure we all remember the toothing) and he had a more-than-a-fling, less-than-a-relationship with Natalia, but that seemed to be more of a fun, shallow, sexual kind of connection rather than something depthful and long-term. So I can definitely understand why he continued to hold his emotions inside until recently. He probably didn't know what to do with himself. Once he stopped playing the field and acknowledged his real and mature affection for his best friend, he was out of his element. I don't think it makes him a "wimp", as it's been suggested. It makes him unschooled in the area of true love. I think he's "getting it" at this point, though.
Now, turning to Calleigh... like
delkolover quoted, almost losing someone has quite an effect as well. To me, it's entirely believable and appropriate for Calleigh to have taken a renewed and more intensive interest in Eric after his shooting. They're friends, he was having a tough time, she cares, so she's done a lot to help him. She may not have always stayed completely within the lines, such as when she didn't tattle on him for the "cheat sheet" and when she perused the therapists files with him pre-court order, but if we were to condemn any character for going out of bounds, we'd have to condemn pretty much every character on the show. If she'd let slide something especially egregious, I would've been pissed, but I don't think she did. She knows and understands him on a deeply personal level, so I think it's safe to say that her intuition when it comes to Eric is trustworthy. If she'd sensed that he needed more help than she could offer, or if his slip-ups and stumbles were bigger and badder, she would have gone to H. I don't think this has affected her negatively.
When it comes to her romantic feelings, I've said recently that I've come to see her relationship with Jake in a positive light. After Speedle, Peter and Hagen, she needed someone or something to bring her out of her funk. She needed something safe, something familiar, something that didn't involve the possibility of jeopardizing the most important friendship in her life. Jake fulfilled those needs. She WAS happy with him. I just don't think she was completely happy. I think their involvement helped her to connect with her emotions again, which in turn helped her to recognize her feelings for Eric, feelings that she realized weren't going to go away.
I also wanted to say very quickly that I can understand her hesitation to accept Eric's "half-confessions" and "high-context insinuations" of his feelings. After Hagen and Jake (who, again, was good for her to some degree but whose very presence was also extremely unreliable), she needed something concrete. She needed more than hints and loaded comments and suggestive looks. That's why I was sooooooo relieved when, in
Smoke Gets In Your CSI's, he straight-up admitted to saying that he couldn't imagine living without her. Now THAT'S unambiguous.
All of this makes sense to me. I can wrap my head around it. This, to me, is not what "forced" looks like.
Oh, and about the "overhyping"... yeah, I think it's been overhyped lately. Like practically everyone else has said, it's sweeps time, and sex sells. I
adored the promos but I can certainly understand why others didn't. The thing is... articles and interviews and promos may have gone a little E/C-centric, but to me, those will always be a distant second to the show itself. I don't usually pay much attention to the press (with my recent attention being the notable exception), so I see
Hiphuggers almost completely through the show and nothing else. That's how I developed my interest in this pairing, through CSI Miami itself and not through media outside the program, so the hype isn't a big deal to me.
Good gawd, I wrote too much. Sorry, just had to get my thoughts out there. If you made it through all of that, then thank you for wading through all of my ramblings. If you didn't, well, you obviously didn't make it this far and I don't blame you. And I don't expect many people to respond (since this is a MASSIVE) post, but... well, I'm posting it anyway. This is a message board, after all, and this is where my E/C thoughts belong!
