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Sasha is a character that I desperately want to like, and initially did.
However the more I saw the less I liked, and eventually got to a point
where I had little or no respect for her whatsoever. I'll try to
explain.
When Sasha first roared up to the doors of the
winery on her Harley I was thrilled. Here was a strong, feisty, young
woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind...and she was kinda stylin'
too! I knew Brigid Walsh from American Gothic and really enjoyed her
performance in the Pilot. Somehow though, between the Pilot and Prince
of the City there seemed to have been a meeting in which the powers that
be decided to have a change of heart. Apparently it wasn't cool to have
a tough talking vixen, who knew what (and who) she wanted, they had to
turn her into a childish, spoilt brat instead. I
remember the exact moment when I changed my mind about Sasha. The
Nightstalker in the garden with Archon and Julian discussing Cash's stay
in The Suncrest Psychiatric Hospital. Sasha walks in and accuses Julian
of purposefully keeping Cash away from her. I'm not sure whether it was
the realisation that Sasha thought the entire world revolved around her
that disturbed me, or her rather eerie neediness of Cash. Either way she
wasn't the woman I had hoped her to be. From that point
on little things jumped out that niggled me more and more. The language
she used to describe her desire for Cash was all about want and need as opposed
to love and respect, making me doubt the motives of her feelings. Her
relationship with Cash now seemed more about showing Julian that she
couldn't be controlled than any real depth of emotion. That opinion was
further bolstered by her childish antics in the Haven (R&J)
after Cash dismissed her, leading her into Martin's arms. After she was embraced by Martin her behaviour became even more abhorrent;
blaming everyone but herself for her predicament and turning on those
who'd tried to take care of her. I should add that the clan war and
Sasha's initial reaction to her embrace was the one point I thought she
would be redeemed. When Cash explained what was happening, and begins to
see their future as enemies Sasha was great; making him see, for the
moment at least, that their clans were unimportant. Later when Sasha
chose
Julian over Eddie and effectively ended the Brujah's bid for war I also
admired her. And her conversation with Julian at the end of Romeo
and Juliet gave me hope that the Sasha I had seen in the Pilot was back.
My hopes were soon dashed. Excuse me a moment while I
climb up on my soapbox...there, I think I'm ready to continue now. If
you love someone the one, totally taboo thing you can do is get involved
with their best friend. When Sasha hit on Zane she crossed a line I
personally couldn't forgive. Though I was never convinced by the
Sasha/Cash love affair her involvement with Zane was really the
clincher. Not only did she actively pursue his best friend, she flaunted
it in front of him and his peers. The relationship with
Zane also strengthened my resolve that Sasha would only be interested in
men that her 'Uncle' Julian disapproved of. In this case not only did
Zane go directly against Julian, but challenged the Prince on his own
territory. Sasha's interest in Zane was as much a symbol of rebellion as
it was lust, mirroring her initial pursuit of Cash. Had
Sasha been simply a bad guy I don't think I'd have minded her nearly as
much, but the writers seem to think her deserving of sympathy and often
try to make her the victim. That it is often her own selfishness that
leads her into trouble is mostly ignored. Equally had she been written
as a confused adolescent struggling with her own desires I think I would
have liked her. Unfortunately Sasha seemed wholly in control of her
actions at all times, and it was only the consequences that tended to
amaze her. Had the show continued I think I would have
liked to see Sasha develop into a fully fledged Brujah bitch; perhaps
teaming up with Cameron, the new Primogen. Her softness coupled with his
arrogance would have made for an interesting dynamic. Set them against
the Ventrue Prince and his Gangrel bodyguard and there would be
fireworks aplenty.
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