darwinquark replied to your post “damn that was intense and I screeched at one point and it’s 5am here…”
YES. I actually keep seeing complaints from book fans about how the show messed it up by making them each other’s last resort instead of having them choose each other out of some connection, and I was like ’!?!?!?!’ it’s been like three seconds? Why would they already be each other’s first choice? Isolating them and backing them into each other is the only remotely realistic way to partner them up, like? NOW is when all the bonding comes? The show’s doing it WAY better.
I was browsing the tag after the show had aired as well and saw the same as you and it really made me think. The way I see it, I cannot say that one is better than the other, it’s just different, which is caused predominantly by the different types of media that the story is presented to us by. I read the book as well (like a week ago) so I definitely see the points where their story differs.
The book is definitely very well-written and as it provides deeper insight into characters, the progress of Rosaline and Benvolio’s relationship has a chance to be much more gradual. In every scene, they are more and more accustomed to each other’s presence, becoming partners in their little investigation, and thus their ‘elopement’ is a quite logical outcome of events. If you haven’t read the book, there is a scene when they’re trying to find some information about their common enemy and they are meant to meet after lunch again. Rosaline completely forgets, going to her former home, lost in the past and memories of her family. Benvolio finds her there, concerned about her well-being, bringing food, and then he actually has a picnic there with her. In this scenario, there is a lot of time for bonding and therefore the choice is quite reasoned.
In our beloved TV show, time is not what we have. Rosaline and Benvolio are basically tossed into this situation and they don’t have the luxury of a gradual development of their relationship. But still, in terms of choice, I think they choose each other, in a way. I know, Benvolio first decides to run away with Stella, but that was understandable, seeing how much she meant to him in the previous episodes. After her betrayal and finding out that Friar Laurence knows something, he could follow him alone but that’s not what happened, is it. He rather loses even more time in order to come to Rosaline and ask her to accompany him, no demand, only a desperate plea of a man whose life’s in danger. And Rosaline’s choice is Benvolio, because she could tell him that he can go alone, but she doesn’t. Right now, they’re still driven by the urge to do what’s right but I think when you put the scenes in her home and the balcony scene in comparison, one has to think of the lines they say to each other, “You only hate me for my name.” “And you hate me for mine.” If they had more options (being with Stella/Escalus), eloping together would feel forced and as you say, not very realistic. After four episodes calling each other Capulet and Montague, at the end they decide to use their first name, seeing the person behind that name, rather than one of the houses, and for me, this is a huge step forward. So even though they have nobody else to turn to, they still choose to see the other one for who they truly are (which is in the book as well, but I feel that the contrast is much stronger in the TV show as in the book they often call each other my lord and my lady even without witnesses). And we mustn’t forget that there is another dimension in the TV show concerning choosing each other, the fact that we got a fight scene (which isn’t in the book) when they’re concerned about the other and want to save the other one (the lines “Come with me, I’ll help you.” “Run. Capulet, for the love of God run and save yourself!” – they give me so much f e e l s).
So yes, I think their situation has to be a bit more desperate in TV show due the lack of time – I’m quite sad that we cannot have more episodes because I definitely wouldn’t mind gradual progress of their relationship but yeah, like I said, the way abc handles this series, I’m grateful for what we have. And I think the way this show is restrained, it still does a damn good job in storytelling. And just like you, I’m also looking forward to their bonding in the next episodes ;)
