Day 5: Will/Matt (W.I.T.C.H.)
Feb. 5th, 2015 11:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameAfter the slightly trainwrecky ship last time, I feel better writing about something cute. I often hold up Will Vandom and Matt Olsen from the animated version of W.I.T.C.H. as an example of how to do a superhero/normal person relationship right, and even more than that, it's how to do a superheroine/normal guy relationship right. It deals with all of the typical drama you expect from these sorts of relationships—broken dates because they're trying to maintain a secret identity, learning said secret identity, the normal one being placed in danger because the bad guys want to get to the superhero—and basically just cuts through the bullshit.
Will has a crush on Matt throughout the first season, but she really doesn't build up the courage to talk to him for a while. The girls invite him to her birthday party, but because of the chaos going on with superhero stuff, it doesn't look like they really get a chance to talk—they only meet up at the end. A few episodes later, a snotty exchange student arrives and clearly has the hots for Matt too, and he winds up stuck in the middle while she and Will challenge each other to a ski competition for the right to sit next to him on the bus. He insists the whole thing is ridiculous and he can sit next to the both of them, but it's more of a matter of honor. In the end, it turns out he really preferred Will anyway. He even buys her a dormouse from his grandfather's pet store, and though she names him Mr. Huggles, she's forced to give him away when her mother objects. They kiss and seal their relationship, but soon after, Will's Guardian duties end up taking the forefront, with the final battle looming closer. Matt starts to wonder why she's suddenly breaking off their dates, and—surprise of surprises—he actually goes to ask her about it! And stumbles into a portal. Okay, when I say stumble, he charges in like an idiot. But despite being obvious hostage-fodder, he insists he's not leaving until Will tells him everything. He's perfectly okay with her being a superhero, though he does admit that it makes him a little bit self-conscious, but he wants to help her no matter what—whether it's as someone on the outside she can vent to, or by putting himself in harm's way so he can help her. Because quite honestly, he can't stand the thought of her in danger while he can't do anything.
Matt really is the sweet guy you want to see in a superheroine show—if you're going to pair our superheroine off with someone, it might as well be to the guy who accepts her for who she is and always has her back. Unfortunately, the problem is that he's Meridian's #1 Hostage, and both he and Will know it. Just as much as he wants to help Will, she constantly worries about his safety because he's a normal guy with no fight training or anything that can actually help them in battle, running headfirst into danger and forcing her to split her attention between the battle and protecting him. Which is also really nice to see—both of them understand his feelings, but they also understand Will's feelings that he's a huge liability and she doesn't want him to get hurt. She never says it outright, but the fact that he can't do anything gives him a complex of sorts, and he goes to their other normal guy, the former Rebel leader Caleb, for fight lessons. And despite falling flat on his back and landing in the pool and all other kinds of embarrassments, he willingly puts up with it and tries to help. Only for Will to get a power-up, and he admits, yeah. It kind of embarrasses him—but simply because he's trying to impress her, and she's always going to be more impressive, so he's just making a fool of himself. But she likes this uncool dork who wants to help her out, and he appears to keep up with his training, eventually becoming good enough to sub for Caleb in a few episodes. Though, admittedly, there's only so much you can do with a sword against people who throw lightning.
Now, it would have been easy for Matt just to exist for the sake of being Will's love interest. But over time, he developed his own character arc—tied to her, yes, but also there to make him an independent character. In season two, Will's predecessor and new archenemy, Nerissa, decided to take advantage of him being the worlds' most desirable hostage and kidnapped him. To make things worse, she built up his hatred, creating a second personality and overlaying it over his own. Matt was pushed down in the darkest recesses of his own mind while Nerissa modified his body and gave him powers, creating the angel of malice, Shagon. Shagon took a special delight in tormenting Will, triggering her own hatred as he talked about all the horrible things he'd done to Matt, while never letting on that he actually was Matt. Will despised him, but even she noticed there was a tiny thread of mercy in his heart, calling bullshit on all of his reasons why he didn't just kill her and get it over with. After all, wouldn't Nerissa prefer him to stop playing with his food and just kill her, rather than keep her alive just so he could feed off her hatred more? It made no sense. But Shagon was good at recovering from this and continued to press Will's buttons, until he finally realized that Matt's love for Will was too strong to keep him from disappearing forever. Matt was still useful, giving him tips on how not to utterly fuck up his attempts to imitate him in school and at home so no one outside the Guardians would suspect he'd been replaced, but eventually, he got too much power over their body, taking the opportunity to slip messages to Will and basically tell Shagon to fuck off. Shagon decided enough was enough, and if the only way to destroy Matt completely was to kill Will, he'd do just that. So he took advantage of Will's suspicions that Nerissa was forcing him to do everything and tells her he just wants to be free now. He pretends to have moved Matt away from Nerissa but that it'll only be a matter of time before she catches up to them, so Will has to come now. His apparent desperation overrides her reason—and I think I've made a case for her to maybe sorta kinda have feelings for him too that she's not even going to try to acknowledge?—and she chooses to trust him and lands into his trap. But with Will in danger, Matt finally figures out that he's not meant to be a fighter, and that if he really wants to come through and defeat Shagon, it's with his love for Will. He breaks through and destroys Shagon's personality, just in time for Nerissa to strip him of his powers.
And you'd think that with this moral that it's okay for Matt to lend support without fighting is undermined by what happens next...well, you might not be wrong, but overall, I feel like his character arc was building up to it all along in season 2. Will continues to count on him as support in battle, and for a while, he mostly takes Caleb's place, since Caleb's kind of on a quest to deal with his origins (more on that tomorrow). He offers a unique perspective to the team, in that he's been on the other side and he knows what it's like to be under mind control. He tries to help in a support role when little Lillian Hale awakens her magical powers and accidentally warps reality to fit a fairytale her sister's telling her, but his attempts to derail the story are only irritating her. They finally get the idea to convince Lillian to hand over her powers temporarily to Matt, Huggles, and her cat, Napoleon, until she's old enough to handle them responsibly, and Matt retakes Shagon's form and powers, but this time in complete control.
He loves being able to fight alongside Will, and he does every chance he can get. But she has to ask him to stay out of the final battle again, above his protests. This time, it's not because he might be in danger. It's because she will be in danger, and he's her backup plan. He has to keep civilians from stumbling into the battlefield, and though he hates it, he agrees to do so—under the condition that if things get bad, he's going in there to help Will. The battle forces Will and the others to give up their humanity in order to tap deeply into their powers in order to defeat the enemy once and for all, but it means they're lost within. Matt senses the problem, and while his teammates cover for him, he goes in and tries to bring her back to herself. Eventually, his voice and the other girls' loved ones bring them back to normal, and they're able to resume normal lives—apparently forever, given that the show never got a third season.
What I love about this ship is the development of both of these characters. Will is hotheaded and stubborn...and Matt discovers that he is too. You'd think that a relationship built on two stubborn people with poor tempers would be a problem waiting to happen, but they balance each other out. Will may aggravate Matt by asking him to keep out of her battles, but the fact that she trusts him by the end to take care of the half of the battle she can't says a lot. Matt wants to protect her, but he'll always be weaker than she is, and he seems okay with it. Because his girlfriend is his "wingéd angel from above" and he loves every part of her. And the point so many male superheroes try to make to their normal girlfriends that if their enemies find out who they are, they'll attack their loved ones to get to them (yes, I'm looking at you, Peter Parker)? Will's identity is already known to the enemies. Matt is taken in order to hurt her. More than that, he's used to hurt her by brainwashing him. And their love endures. After that, after Matt returns the favor by letting his voice reach her and guide her home, just as Will had done for him, there's this sense that nothing can get between them now. They will always see each other as equals, no matter how many powers Will may discover (especially after reaching her zenith) or no matter Matt having to return his powers to Lillian when she comes of age. They've made it.
Will has a crush on Matt throughout the first season, but she really doesn't build up the courage to talk to him for a while. The girls invite him to her birthday party, but because of the chaos going on with superhero stuff, it doesn't look like they really get a chance to talk—they only meet up at the end. A few episodes later, a snotty exchange student arrives and clearly has the hots for Matt too, and he winds up stuck in the middle while she and Will challenge each other to a ski competition for the right to sit next to him on the bus. He insists the whole thing is ridiculous and he can sit next to the both of them, but it's more of a matter of honor. In the end, it turns out he really preferred Will anyway. He even buys her a dormouse from his grandfather's pet store, and though she names him Mr. Huggles, she's forced to give him away when her mother objects. They kiss and seal their relationship, but soon after, Will's Guardian duties end up taking the forefront, with the final battle looming closer. Matt starts to wonder why she's suddenly breaking off their dates, and—surprise of surprises—he actually goes to ask her about it! And stumbles into a portal. Okay, when I say stumble, he charges in like an idiot. But despite being obvious hostage-fodder, he insists he's not leaving until Will tells him everything. He's perfectly okay with her being a superhero, though he does admit that it makes him a little bit self-conscious, but he wants to help her no matter what—whether it's as someone on the outside she can vent to, or by putting himself in harm's way so he can help her. Because quite honestly, he can't stand the thought of her in danger while he can't do anything.
Matt really is the sweet guy you want to see in a superheroine show—if you're going to pair our superheroine off with someone, it might as well be to the guy who accepts her for who she is and always has her back. Unfortunately, the problem is that he's Meridian's #1 Hostage, and both he and Will know it. Just as much as he wants to help Will, she constantly worries about his safety because he's a normal guy with no fight training or anything that can actually help them in battle, running headfirst into danger and forcing her to split her attention between the battle and protecting him. Which is also really nice to see—both of them understand his feelings, but they also understand Will's feelings that he's a huge liability and she doesn't want him to get hurt. She never says it outright, but the fact that he can't do anything gives him a complex of sorts, and he goes to their other normal guy, the former Rebel leader Caleb, for fight lessons. And despite falling flat on his back and landing in the pool and all other kinds of embarrassments, he willingly puts up with it and tries to help. Only for Will to get a power-up, and he admits, yeah. It kind of embarrasses him—but simply because he's trying to impress her, and she's always going to be more impressive, so he's just making a fool of himself. But she likes this uncool dork who wants to help her out, and he appears to keep up with his training, eventually becoming good enough to sub for Caleb in a few episodes. Though, admittedly, there's only so much you can do with a sword against people who throw lightning.
Now, it would have been easy for Matt just to exist for the sake of being Will's love interest. But over time, he developed his own character arc—tied to her, yes, but also there to make him an independent character. In season two, Will's predecessor and new archenemy, Nerissa, decided to take advantage of him being the worlds' most desirable hostage and kidnapped him. To make things worse, she built up his hatred, creating a second personality and overlaying it over his own. Matt was pushed down in the darkest recesses of his own mind while Nerissa modified his body and gave him powers, creating the angel of malice, Shagon. Shagon took a special delight in tormenting Will, triggering her own hatred as he talked about all the horrible things he'd done to Matt, while never letting on that he actually was Matt. Will despised him, but even she noticed there was a tiny thread of mercy in his heart, calling bullshit on all of his reasons why he didn't just kill her and get it over with. After all, wouldn't Nerissa prefer him to stop playing with his food and just kill her, rather than keep her alive just so he could feed off her hatred more? It made no sense. But Shagon was good at recovering from this and continued to press Will's buttons, until he finally realized that Matt's love for Will was too strong to keep him from disappearing forever. Matt was still useful, giving him tips on how not to utterly fuck up his attempts to imitate him in school and at home so no one outside the Guardians would suspect he'd been replaced, but eventually, he got too much power over their body, taking the opportunity to slip messages to Will and basically tell Shagon to fuck off. Shagon decided enough was enough, and if the only way to destroy Matt completely was to kill Will, he'd do just that. So he took advantage of Will's suspicions that Nerissa was forcing him to do everything and tells her he just wants to be free now. He pretends to have moved Matt away from Nerissa but that it'll only be a matter of time before she catches up to them, so Will has to come now. His apparent desperation overrides her reason—and I think I've made a case for her to maybe sorta kinda have feelings for him too that she's not even going to try to acknowledge?—and she chooses to trust him and lands into his trap. But with Will in danger, Matt finally figures out that he's not meant to be a fighter, and that if he really wants to come through and defeat Shagon, it's with his love for Will. He breaks through and destroys Shagon's personality, just in time for Nerissa to strip him of his powers.
And you'd think that with this moral that it's okay for Matt to lend support without fighting is undermined by what happens next...well, you might not be wrong, but overall, I feel like his character arc was building up to it all along in season 2. Will continues to count on him as support in battle, and for a while, he mostly takes Caleb's place, since Caleb's kind of on a quest to deal with his origins (more on that tomorrow). He offers a unique perspective to the team, in that he's been on the other side and he knows what it's like to be under mind control. He tries to help in a support role when little Lillian Hale awakens her magical powers and accidentally warps reality to fit a fairytale her sister's telling her, but his attempts to derail the story are only irritating her. They finally get the idea to convince Lillian to hand over her powers temporarily to Matt, Huggles, and her cat, Napoleon, until she's old enough to handle them responsibly, and Matt retakes Shagon's form and powers, but this time in complete control.
He loves being able to fight alongside Will, and he does every chance he can get. But she has to ask him to stay out of the final battle again, above his protests. This time, it's not because he might be in danger. It's because she will be in danger, and he's her backup plan. He has to keep civilians from stumbling into the battlefield, and though he hates it, he agrees to do so—under the condition that if things get bad, he's going in there to help Will. The battle forces Will and the others to give up their humanity in order to tap deeply into their powers in order to defeat the enemy once and for all, but it means they're lost within. Matt senses the problem, and while his teammates cover for him, he goes in and tries to bring her back to herself. Eventually, his voice and the other girls' loved ones bring them back to normal, and they're able to resume normal lives—apparently forever, given that the show never got a third season.
What I love about this ship is the development of both of these characters. Will is hotheaded and stubborn...and Matt discovers that he is too. You'd think that a relationship built on two stubborn people with poor tempers would be a problem waiting to happen, but they balance each other out. Will may aggravate Matt by asking him to keep out of her battles, but the fact that she trusts him by the end to take care of the half of the battle she can't says a lot. Matt wants to protect her, but he'll always be weaker than she is, and he seems okay with it. Because his girlfriend is his "wingéd angel from above" and he loves every part of her. And the point so many male superheroes try to make to their normal girlfriends that if their enemies find out who they are, they'll attack their loved ones to get to them (yes, I'm looking at you, Peter Parker)? Will's identity is already known to the enemies. Matt is taken in order to hurt her. More than that, he's used to hurt her by brainwashing him. And their love endures. After that, after Matt returns the favor by letting his voice reach her and guide her home, just as Will had done for him, there's this sense that nothing can get between them now. They will always see each other as equals, no matter how many powers Will may discover (especially after reaching her zenith) or no matter Matt having to return his powers to Lillian when she comes of age. They've made it.