This. I mean, not that exact point (though I do agree) but the idea that one of the things that sets them apart is Rossi's self-awareness. Not only of his flaws, but of his role as a cog in the machine. I find that aspect of his character very interesting, since he seems so much more outwardly arrogant and ostentatious compared to Gideon's more unassuming appearance, at least at first glance.
And yet Rossi is the one who makes an effort to recognize his flaws and sometimes even works to correct them so that he can better fit into the world (his sudden transformation into a guy who's all about the team, for example) whereas Gideon expected the world to change to accommodate him. I know there's been a lot of discussion of the show playing with stereotypical gender roles, and I think they're sort of doing the same thing here by playing with our expectations of certain character types and the tendency everyone has to judge a book by its cover.
You wouldn't think that Rossi, of all people, would be the one to give Hotch the the-world-will-go-on-without-you speech (though I do think some of that was just him saying what Hotch needed to hear in that moment), and yet he is. And I think he even sort of believes it because, hey, he did leave, and the job did go on without him.
I don't know, I just think the transformation he's undergone over the years has been kind of cool. Even though the job is incredibly gruesome, working with the team has had such a softening effect on him. It's smoothed out his rough edges a little. He'll still try to buy his way out of cheap motel rooms while the rest of the team has to suck it up, but when it comes to the really important things, he's there for them. The David Rossi of 2003 wouldn't have been.
Not that he wouldn't have been capable of it; the potential for that interaction with the team was always there, if we look at the relationship he maintained with Carolyn. I do think his remaining friends with his first wife (and the fact that she came to him to help her commit suicide) speaks to his loyalty and the incredible friendship they must have had, but I'm actually not sure that could be said for his other wives. People don't remain static, and it could have been that he became so consumed by his job or his trauma or his ambition that he was quite the asshole to wives #2 and #3.
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momijizukamori
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Date: Dec. 28th, 2011 03:50 am (UTC)This. I mean, not that exact point (though I do agree) but the idea that one of the things that sets them apart is Rossi's self-awareness. Not only of his flaws, but of his role as a cog in the machine. I find that aspect of his character very interesting, since he seems so much more outwardly arrogant and ostentatious compared to Gideon's more unassuming appearance, at least at first glance.
And yet Rossi is the one who makes an effort to recognize his flaws and sometimes even works to correct them so that he can better fit into the world (his sudden transformation into a guy who's all about the team, for example) whereas Gideon expected the world to change to accommodate him. I know there's been a lot of discussion of the show playing with stereotypical gender roles, and I think they're sort of doing the same thing here by playing with our expectations of certain character types and the tendency everyone has to judge a book by its cover.
You wouldn't think that Rossi, of all people, would be the one to give Hotch the the-world-will-go-on-without-you speech (though I do think some of that was just him saying what Hotch needed to hear in that moment), and yet he is. And I think he even sort of believes it because, hey, he did leave, and the job did go on without him.
I don't know, I just think the transformation he's undergone over the years has been kind of cool. Even though the job is incredibly gruesome, working with the team has had such a softening effect on him. It's smoothed out his rough edges a little. He'll still try to buy his way out of cheap motel rooms while the rest of the team has to suck it up, but when it comes to the really important things, he's there for them. The David Rossi of 2003 wouldn't have been.
Not that he wouldn't have been capable of it; the potential for that interaction with the team was always there, if we look at the relationship he maintained with Carolyn. I do think his remaining friends with his first wife (and the fact that she came to him to help her commit suicide) speaks to his loyalty and the incredible friendship they must have had, but I'm actually not sure that could be said for his other wives. People don't remain static, and it could have been that he became so consumed by his job or his trauma or his ambition that he was quite the asshole to wives #2 and #3.
OP, adorable macro is adorable. That cat.