Post by Scott on Oct 25, 2006 10:57:35 GMT -5
Should Agent Brody have become a whitelighter? You be the judge.
Here's how the discussion in the Charmed Cafe began:
Leo died when he was only in his late teens or early twenties, so he was even younger than Chris when he became a whitelighter. I think the original requirement was that you had been a good person who had helped others and cared about others, however long you lived, and were then offered the opportunity to continuing helping others after death. It never had anything to do with dying heroically or living dangerously. You just had to be a good person.
That was all thrown out the window with Brody. When a violent, insane psychopath can become a whitelighter, all standards for the job went out the window.
Vandergraafk's first response was more of an aside:
Regardless of how you view Agent Brody. he nevertheless did help stop the Avatars. For that deed - and that deed alone - he was rewarded by the Elders.
ShantaD upped the ante with this more pointed response:
How is it possible not to be down on Brody? The man was an insane and violent psychopath. He knocked Paige unconscious when she got in his way, he put Sheridan in a coma and kept her there because she was getting in his way, he held a gun to Phoebe's head and threatened to kill her, he repeatedly tried to kill Leo, who had done absolutely nothing wrong. The man belonged in a prison cell or psych ward. His desire for revenge had made him evil and demented.
Another fan took a middle path:
Agreed.... But I think his taking out an avatar is what elevated him to whitighter status. Not sure how that one worked, but that's the best guess I can give. Other than that, he was alittle on the nuts side...
Vandergraafk replied as follows:
Brody bashing? Is that what we call it? Have we been reduced to Brody bashing? Well, he was a federal agent. Second, he had been on the trail of the Avatars apparently for years. True, you might not like what he did to Inspector Sheridan. But, as was explained in Season 7, Agent Keyes did order Brody to take out Sheridan. So, is he bad because he followed orders? (Yes, yes, I know that the mere following of orders was made criminal at Nuremberg if the act itself was criminal, but Sheridan apparently suffered no ill effects. Any long-term effects were eliminated by her own death at the hands of Zankou.)
Yes, Brody was intemperate, but this was the result of the trauma inflicted on him when he witnessed the murder of his parents. And, yes, he did mellow somewhat when he discovered that his anger had been ill-focused on the Avatars and not the demonic hitmen who assasinated his parents.
Brody did try to save innocent lives by investigating what miraculously rescued individuals suddenly died. He placed his own life at risk in order to investigate further. He was not responsible for Paige's losing her guardian angels, but he did do his best to protect her once she became vulnerable.
I think this incident, as well as his contributions to the struggle against the Avatars, one for which he - and he alone - was the only innocent victim, contributed to his swift elevation to whitelighter status.
Here's how the discussion in the Charmed Cafe began:
Leo died when he was only in his late teens or early twenties, so he was even younger than Chris when he became a whitelighter. I think the original requirement was that you had been a good person who had helped others and cared about others, however long you lived, and were then offered the opportunity to continuing helping others after death. It never had anything to do with dying heroically or living dangerously. You just had to be a good person.
That was all thrown out the window with Brody. When a violent, insane psychopath can become a whitelighter, all standards for the job went out the window.
Vandergraafk's first response was more of an aside:
Regardless of how you view Agent Brody. he nevertheless did help stop the Avatars. For that deed - and that deed alone - he was rewarded by the Elders.
ShantaD upped the ante with this more pointed response:
How is it possible not to be down on Brody? The man was an insane and violent psychopath. He knocked Paige unconscious when she got in his way, he put Sheridan in a coma and kept her there because she was getting in his way, he held a gun to Phoebe's head and threatened to kill her, he repeatedly tried to kill Leo, who had done absolutely nothing wrong. The man belonged in a prison cell or psych ward. His desire for revenge had made him evil and demented.
Another fan took a middle path:
Agreed.... But I think his taking out an avatar is what elevated him to whitighter status. Not sure how that one worked, but that's the best guess I can give. Other than that, he was alittle on the nuts side...
Vandergraafk replied as follows:
Brody bashing? Is that what we call it? Have we been reduced to Brody bashing? Well, he was a federal agent. Second, he had been on the trail of the Avatars apparently for years. True, you might not like what he did to Inspector Sheridan. But, as was explained in Season 7, Agent Keyes did order Brody to take out Sheridan. So, is he bad because he followed orders? (Yes, yes, I know that the mere following of orders was made criminal at Nuremberg if the act itself was criminal, but Sheridan apparently suffered no ill effects. Any long-term effects were eliminated by her own death at the hands of Zankou.)
Yes, Brody was intemperate, but this was the result of the trauma inflicted on him when he witnessed the murder of his parents. And, yes, he did mellow somewhat when he discovered that his anger had been ill-focused on the Avatars and not the demonic hitmen who assasinated his parents.
Brody did try to save innocent lives by investigating what miraculously rescued individuals suddenly died. He placed his own life at risk in order to investigate further. He was not responsible for Paige's losing her guardian angels, but he did do his best to protect her once she became vulnerable.
I think this incident, as well as his contributions to the struggle against the Avatars, one for which he - and he alone - was the only innocent victim, contributed to his swift elevation to whitelighter status.