#her liberty is too impt to her

[roobylavender]

had talia not been character assassinated do you think she and bruce should have gotten back together?

no. i hate to use the word "phase" bc that would seem to diminish the importance of what's between them, which is something that will always persist esp as their continued dedication to the same causes and their respect for each other remains. but i do think realistically bruce should be a phase in talia's life. at least in terms of consummated romances specifically. i do love the idea of them remaining allies, close friends, and co-parents, but i think allowing talia to walk away from ra's and bruce in the first place has to stand for something in the long term. before talia went her own way i think it was easier to imagine a potential future where she ended up with bruce bc it felt like the desirable option. she was in this very debilitating position where she had little to no freedom to act on her own desires and goals, the embodiment of which was none other than bruce. so when you frame her situation pre-tower of babel, obv wanting to be with bruce was appealing. he was as much the love of her life as he was a means of escape and freedom and talia having the scope to then act on her own desires. i think that's what subsequently makes dc #750 (or is it #570. i never get the numbers straight and i'm too lazy to check) a really clever issue, actually, bc it acknowledges that and the fact that bruce once again setting her free bc of his love for her actually gives her the courage to step out on her own where she never has before. the fact that she has the option to go back to gotham with bruce and presumably have everything she's ever wanted with him, but she leaves it anyway, is a really huge deal. it's a statement. she loves him, but not more than she loves herself. and sure, what talia puts herself through during lex corp era certainly begs the question of whether her version of loving herself is really viable or in any way healthy, and i would love to see bruce help her recognize that she's not alone and that she doesn't have to do it alone to prove that she's capable. all of this i agree with. but i don't think that really means she and bruce have to fall back on their once-imagined dream of playing house. even if talia did find methods of going about her work that were mentally healthier i don't really know what'd be in it for her to play house with bruce in gotham. bc that is what it would have to be, for their relationship to work in any way. bruce will never leave gotham and son of the demon didn't need to explore that issue bc it was never going to get there but trust that corny as the line about naming the baby thomas or martha was it was reflective of a reality: gotham is bruce's entire life. no matter where he goes, no matter what he does, no matter who he works with, in the end he will always belong to gotham. and i simply do not think that would ever work for talia bc there is so much more she is capable of. while her vision is aligned with bruce's her scope of access and ability is entirely distinct of his own and there is so much more that she can do aside from relegate herself to gotham (hence why lex corp as an arc makes so much sense, bc it capitalizes on that scope). and yeah every superhero couple is kinda crazy and they have teleportation and shit but idk i don't think it's really a relationship for each party to go on long missions with ill-defined parameters that give them the worst sleep schedules known to man and occasionally they share a bed. it really isn't. and that's something that bruce and talia have to live with. their duty is always going to come first even though they both have a passion for civilian life. for talia to be in a relationship again she would have to stop having the liberty of being able to go wherever the work carries her and for bruce to be in a relationship again he would have to have the equivalent of a robin-wife. neither of these things is ever going to happen. so

[occidentaltourist]

do you think it would hv been better that the writers put down the guardian thing and have james learn that as a photojournalist he could be a hero too? i miss s1 james tbh.... and i was hoping that since queller was saying how impt media would be for this season that james would come out shining as the editor-in-chief rather than pick up his guardian mantle again

We’ll have to see how the storyline unfolds, but in principle I do agree that James being a hero through his work at Catco is a much more compelling angle than anything they’ve managed with Guardian so far. I mean, I already find Manchester Black a lot more interesting than Guardian, and he was just introduced! 

I wonder if one practical reason they keep going with Guardian is that the intrepid reporter storylines will really focus more on Kara and Nia going forward? As EIC, James basically has a corporate desk job, and there isn’t much more they can do with him beyond what they’ve already shown: running editorial meetings, deciding what kind of op-ed to write, occasionally giving advice to his staff. 

With Lena’s main stories seemingly anchored to her L-Corp role, complicated family, and consulting work for the DEO, it may also be that they kind of need Guardian as a connection point between her and James as well. 

If that’s the case, I’d honestly have preferred that they spent more time on the question of whether the DA would press charges - and have him and Lena deal with that together. Instead the way they set it up it’s likely going to be a Dramatic Thing they fight about: Lena trading info to make a deal without telling him, then James deciding to go back to being Guardian unilaterally and without really considering the implications - personal or professional - for their relationship.    

Having said all that. :) I do agree with you that the Guardian bit continues to be a weak link storyline. I’m even less thrilled with the idea that Agent Liberty is co-opting Guardian for his anti-alien movement, and I hope they don’t go much further down this path story-wise. Probably wishful thinking on my part!