May I ask you what's your opinion about Portia Fyfe? (At the beginning I like this character... but her reaction when Philo confesses his secret shocked me...)
Well, thatās a loaded question, isnāt it? š
The truth is, Portiaās character arc is one of the biggest things that bugs me about this show. Iāve heard it said that you know if media is well-written based on whether youāre mad at the characters or the writers ā and I was mad at the writers. Frankly, I think Portiaās character was badly written and I donāt quite understand what the writers were trying to do with her; it feels like they changed their minds halfway through.
From the beginning, Portia is portrayed as a compassionate, insightful character. She clearly cares about Philo (more than he does about her, sadly), and thatās shown through everything like little comments and subtleties and how she acts around him. She really seems to grasp his struggle with letting others love him, and instead of judging him, she acknowledges his pain, supports his healing journey, and gently persists in showing him she cares. My overall impression for the first 5.5 episodes was that sheās an empathetic woman whoās very much in love with a man whom she knows doesnāt quite feel the same, and every scene sheās in is characterized by her shy, slightly hesitant love for him.
Then, yeah, episode six happened, and it was like whiplash. I just donāt get it when she rejects Philo like that. First of all, only a little while earlier, thereās a scene where one of her tenants tells Portia heās moving out at the end of the month because sheās āacting like a harlot,ā and she tells him off for policing her choices and then kicks him out that very day. So, this scene builds Portiaās character by having her assert her autonomy, her devotion to Philo, her independence and right to make choices as an adult, and her defiance of societyās expectations. Add that to the rest of her character development as an insightful empath, and Iām even more confused by her disgusted, almost violent reaction when she finds out Philoās a halfblood. It doesnāt add up! That reaction in no way fits with the entirety of her character development up to that point.
And then she tells Dombey everything? My mind just explodes even more. Despite the fact that she didnāt realize the police would thereby suspect Philo of murder, itās pretty common knowledge in the Burgue that halfbloods or full fae āpassingā as human is punishable by a year in prison (mentioned I think at the beginning of episode two). So, even if a murder accusation wasnāt her intended revenge for Philo hiding the truth from her, why is she surprised that he was arrested and jailed? She told a police officer that heād committed a crime! Is this woman stupid? Also, again, itās obvious sheās in love with Philo, even after she outs him. The scene where sheās stripping Philoās bed and then sits down and hugs his sheets wistfully is a pretty obvious indication to me. These arenāt the actions of a woman in love, and thereās no question that her feelings for Philo are strong.
Upon several rewatches, it almost seems to me that when Philo reveals everything to her, she seems more scared than repulsed. Could it be that sheās actually scared that sheāll be next, since the people whoāve died were close to Philo and so is she, and therefore she wants him out? But this idea isnāt explored or made clear, so itās kind of left to the viewer to decide.
I just. Donāt. Get it. Where is the logic? Why would they build her character up in very specific ways only to smash all that in ten seconds?
Well, thereās an answer to that. The writers needed a catalyst for the drama of the last three episodes, and that catalyst was the reveal of Philoās secret. They chose to have Portia do the dirty work ... which was a lazy writing decision. They shouldāve found another way to do that without creating inconsistencies in characterization; her rejection of Philo was totally out-of-character, and Iām mad about it.
Look, Iām a writer (not a published one, but Iām working toward that!). Characterization and narrative structure and all that jazz are concepts I spend a lot of time and energy exploring and focusing on, so Iām very tuned into them. That makes it very noticeable and extra frustrating when I see massive flaws like this in otherwise well-produced media.
In answer to your question, a lazy, wouldnāt-this-be-shocking writing decision was made without thinking deeply about whether or not it actually fit the character, and I am Bitter About It. (Sorry for the essay! š)