I’m not sure what it is about daddygate that gets people so fired up.
I’ve complimented the writers several times, letting them know how much I love their dialogue, the way they play with it so. I’m not sure if anyone else notices, but it’s not always exact. Much of it is actually left open to interpretation. Open to the point where it can fit one theory or another, and I’m not just talking about Red and Liz’s connection. I’m talking about everything. It’s actually one of the reasons I love this show. It keeps the audience guessing and theorizing, which I actually find quite fun. I love it when a show makes me think and feel long after each episode has aired.
I’m going to address one of the biggest arguments anti-daddygaters use, and show you what I mean about playing with dialogue and why it’s not exact.
It comes from Liz asking Red if he’s her father, and the “Red doesn’t lie to Liz promise” that people like to believe in.
Let me throw the dialogue up here:
Liz-“Wait. One question, please. It’s about my father. Growing up, Sam. He raised me like his own. He was my whole world. But he wasn’t my father.”
Red-“What is the question, Lizzie?”
Liz-“Are you my father?”
Red-“No.”
First, I want you to notice how Red asks, “What is the question, Lizzie?”
This is Red- waiting to see how she words the question. He’s done it before with Liz. It’s actually quite effective. Get to the question, and let me hear the exact wording you use. One can actually lie without lying when you consider wording. Not that Red needs to lie in this instance because the very wording of her question wasn’t exact.
Had she asked him, “Are you my biological father?” and he gave that same “no” response, I’d have let daddygate go, but that wasn’t the case. She simply asked, “Are you my father?”
He can still be her biological father and not be lying to her about not being her father. How? Simple. She was adopted by Sam when she was four, and in that moment (whether legally or not), Sam became her father. He had all parental rights. Something parents typically give up when they give up their child unless it’s an open adoption. One also has to consider their own personal definition of what a father is, and you can play around with that however you like.
So when you ask the writers if Red is her father, her dad, or any other term you want to use, make sure you include the word “biological” in your question and see how they answer you. Until Liz asks it with exact wording or the writers answer to that exact wording, I will continue to believe that Red could be her biological father. Even further, for those so inclined to know the very truth of the matter- you may want to ask using her birth name (Masha Rostova) because Elizabeth Keen is actually an alias of sorts. So in asking, make sure you ask using Masha. When wording isn’t exact, writers are able to avoid revealing any truth.
I wanted to add two things while I’m here because I find them interesting to think about.
1. Why would Liz ask Red if he was her father? Was it his actions that made her question it, or was it how he made her feel?
2. Another thing to think about is the dialogue Liz threw at Tom when they spoke about the music box. The music box Red spent days restoring, then gave to Liz.
Liz-“Where’d you get that thing?”
Tom-“I was gonna ask you the same question. I found it in the basement.”
Liz-“That’s where that was. I’ve been looking for it. My father gave it to me.”
“My father gave it to me.”
jacobvanloon
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