I love good guys

When brainstorming for fkficfest converged with certain real-world events, I discovered that while I remembered that Tracy shooting someone in the line of duty was the impetus for the "Trophy Girl" plot, I did not remember whom she'd shot, or why, or what happened to that person. That was unsettling! Why couldn't I remember? I determined to re-watch "Trophy Girl."

So, after putting it off for a while, I tried -- tried! -- to re-watch "Trophy Girl" last night. Um. "Trophy Girl" is now my least-favorite episode in the entire series. Good grief. To fulfill my purpose, I did re-watch every Tracy scene. But I had to skip the scenes in the prison. And I could barely cringe through some of the other scenes. There are bits of this episode that do good things! But they are swamped by two wrongheaded tides poorly overlaid, and not helped by the conventions of '90s syndicated television and the expectations of the USA network. Ick.

You can take for granted that I find the flashback thematically hollow and aggravating. Apparently, its story purpose is to further parallel Nick -- Nick, as much or more than Lacroix -- with the present-day villains. Why? What's the point of that? A first-season episode would let Nick learn a lesson from that; this third-season episode's text offers no learning to the character, only disgust to the viewer. Sure, we can build a thematic subtext ourselves; we're very good at that! But the filmed version fails. What did Nick learn from that past event? A better story would have fit in an impact on the character.

More importantly, we have Tracy, who by the end of this episode has ended two human lives in service of the "she really is a good cop; believe us as we tell you this over and over in so many words" effort.

Having Tracy deal with the psychological impact of killing -- even in the line of duty, even as indisputable necessity in the moment to save lives -- could have been a spectacular episode, could have paralleled with Nick not wanting to kill, could have explored and built character! Did it? No. She claims killing didn't phase her. No one tells her that it should phase her, that she should need a pause for reflection. Reese or Nick should have told her that, but they didn't. Maybe her relatives or friends, but no. Instead, she throws herself into an unauthorized dangerous situation in a foolish way without backup -- attempting to prove herself, pushing back on what she mistakenly sees as a suspension, which misperception could have been a powerful pivot, more important and interesting than the prison scenes -- and then she ends up killing again. And what lesson does the character take from all of this? How does she get to grow or develop? None. She doesn't. In the end, Natalie tells us that Tracy was taken to the hospital -- off screen -- and that's that, never again do we hear about any of this. What was the story deliverable? That Tracy can shoot and is oversensitive to thinking she is being treated differently than others? We already knew those things. How was repeating them like this worth this set-up?

Oh, the person killed at the start of the episode? We learn that he was a drug dealer. We don't learn anything else about him. Not even his name. Not even the specific crime. The episode opens with Nick and Tracy chasing him and another man. Nick manages to apprehend his guy unharmed. Tracy ends up in an alley with hers. He shoots at her; she shoots back; he dies.

By the end of "Trophy Girl," Tracy shoots — and kills — two criminals. Both cases are just about as clear-cut as they come; neither will trouble Internal Affairs. Tracy robustly protests that she "can handle it" and claims she doesn't need time off to reflect or a shoulder to cry on (although Schanke did in "Close Call," and Stonetree almost retired over "Fatal Mistake," for comparison). She "keeps busy" by going undercover unauthorized, and perceives the normal, required, "cooling off" period as a suspension.

That aftermath could make a really nice post-ep/between-the-eps fanfic for someone: Tracy reacting to those deaths at her hands. ( Read more... )

What's Good?  I'm happy to get to have February's recommendation-of-the-month spotlight "Beyond the Grave" (1996, PG, ~2K words) by lastscorpion.  With a light touch on heavy events, "Beyond the Grave" answers the old "Discovery" challenge: "What would it take for Tracy to discover Nick's vampirism?"  In this case, a near-death experience:

     "I mean, even vampires die eventually. They get stuck out in the sun, or stabbed with a stake, or suck on a bad rat..." Tracy's voice trailed off.
     "That's true, darlin'. Nobody lives forever, and just being a vampire is no cause for damnation. But choosing to be a vampire is a little bit like choosing to be a psychopath."

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What's New on FKFic-L?  One story, "Winter Merriment" (G, ~1K words) by pj1228, posted to the list in January.  However, four stories have posted in February so far!

What's Good?  For February, I am excited to finally get to recommend leela_cat's novel "Broken Promises" (1996, NC-17)!  My recommendations project's rules require that I get the author's permission before spotlighting a story; I first asked after this one in '00.  "Broken Promises" links Nick and Vachon's pasts to produce fully-integrated present-day action.  Many minor canonical characters turn up along the way, including the rarely-seen Larry Merlin.

     "Damn it, Javier!" Laine began to retort, but stopped when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Just great. Now she'd never persuade Javier. She glared at the vampire who entered the attic.
     "Vachon..." Nick's voice faltered as he caught sight of Vachon's guest. "Who...?" Doubt, hope, denial. All of them were visible on his face. "I know you. Don't I?"

What's New?  In January, fkfic-l saw three new stories by three authors.  ( list with links )

This is the little story I posted to fkfic-l on the thirteenth anniversary of "Last Knight," written just because I wanted to post something new that day.  (The story has nothing to do with LK.)

My thanks to much_madness for the prompt of Tracy and Schanke discussing Nick, and to leela_cat and amilyn for the eleventh-hour scrutiny and scrubbing that let me post on time.  (tv_elf? Happy Easter.)

	•	Title:	"When Donut Met Button" (also on AO3)
	•	Length:	~1,600 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L May 18, 2009
	•	Rating:	G (gen)
	•	Summary:	Tracy receives advice from Schanke on partnering with Nick.
	•	Setting:	Shortly after "Outside the Lines"
	•	Characters:	Tracy, Schanke
	•	Quotation:	"Trust me: he's not so generous with his pats on the back that you can afford to brush them off."