Saturday, March 21, 2015

Character Crush: Gordon


If you've been reading my Agents of SHIELD recaps (or talking to me about television in general), you've probably gathered that I'm head-over-heels for Gordon, the Inhuman we've had 90 glorious seconds of. The first time we saw him, he was thirteen or fourteen years old, frightened by his erratic, newfound Inhuman abilities. He is comforted by Skye's mother, Jiaying, who holds him close and tells him, "It's going to be okay, beautiful," and tells him it's good to cry. "I keep trying," says Gordon,  "but I can't."

The next time we see him is present-day, when he appears to Raina in the middle of a freeway, rescuing her from suicide. As he puts an arm around her he says, "It's okay, beautiful," before teleporting her away.

Finally, in this last episode, he arrives near the end, snatching Cal away to what we assume is an Inhuman safe house. Cal throws a tantrum and trashes the room he's locked away in, and when Gordon finally arrives again, he says, "Are you done?" When Cal demands to see Skye and asks why Gordon took him in the first place, he says, "You were making too much noise." He also tells Cal, "You're a chemical experiment. You're not one of us," and then sends Cal to see someone (the mysterious Inhuman leader, most likely).


Total screen time? Uh, probably two minutes. So why do I love him so much so soon?

1. 'It's okay, beautiful.' The fact that these are the first words he says to Raina (who is feeling very much a monster) tells us a lot about his character. He remembers what Jiayang said to him, and the words were apparently of great comfort. He senses what Raina needs to hear, and he gives it to her. For a guy who explodes on the scene in a ball of blue light and looks like a classic movie monster, he's sensitive and kind.

2. 'Are you done yet?' Everyone is afraid of Cal. Coulson is afraid of Cal. Even Cal is afraid of Cal - but not Gordon. Gordon couldn't care less what Cal wants - he treats Cal like an ill-mannered child (which is what Cal acts like 99% of the time) and isn't threatened or cowed when Cal rages.

3. His abilities are just plain awesome, and it's quite clear that he's mastered them - to the point of honing in on people and teleporting directly to them. He might lack eyes, but he manages to be completely expressive and understandable without them.

4. He's protecting and mentoring other Inhumans (or at the very least, Raina) like Jiaying did with him. Again, it shows that he genuinely cares about those who are frightened of themselves, just like he was.

5. Let's face it; he's just plain awesome. He's kind, he's emotional, he's sassy, he takes no guff, and he has some awesome Inhuman abilities. I can't wait for more of him. And hey, if this keeps up, by the end of Season 2 we might have had five whole minutes of him!

For me, it was love at first sight. What about you? (And do you see what I did there?)


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