Mary Ann - Potential or Dud?

[darksea]

I saw this mentioned in another forum, and thought it might be some good food for conversation. After Mary's last turn-up in the last episode, do you think that her character has become too one dimensional, has very little direction to go, or does she still have potential to grow and be integral?

State why or why not you are thinking the way you are, get your two cents in .

[gbird]

Interesting question.

I find her less annoying than I used to , but I dont think that the character has the potential to grow much.
They have already had her kidnapped , arrested and reunited with Mom so in order to have her around more they would have to give her an arc which for me would detract from other story lines which we already have . I dont mind her popping up every now and again but other than showing a softer side of Steve I do think she has limited potential as a character .

I don't feel that I have ever invested in her character as I have with others so that may have something to do with my thoughts on the matter .

[biochemgeek]

I don't find her annoying or distracting, but neither am I overly interested in seeing more of her, or seeing her character develop further. For me, she is a useful tool for exploration of Steve's character, as she brings out the protective big brother side of him, and she has an effect on the family dynamics between him and his mother which are being heavily featured this season with her return from the dead.

[cookiejar]

I think she has limited potential. I can't see her as a permanent addition but I like her interaction with Steve - it shows a different side to him. And now that Mama is around I can see some scenes between Mary and Mama being interesting.

[irishfan]

While I've not yet seen Monday's show, I can honestly say that I can either take or leave Mary Ann.
I do like that she brings protective big brother Steve out but I don't exactly miss her when she's not there.
I hope that makes sense!

Fiona

[goldberry]

I don't see what else they can do with the character.

They gave her a lot to do in season one, but they cut her out of a bunch of episodes. The material they lost isn't canon and can't be used later without reintroducing it somehow. What they cut out also contrasted her even more sharply with Steve and made her more interesting. It could have been good story fodder with Mom, too.

[davilarose]

I think she is good to have around only if it brings out the softer, big brother side of Steve-which is sweet to see......If they really wanted to have her fleshed out as a character, TPTB would not have left her on the cutting room floor from the get go. As it is, she is very one dimensional--can't keep a job, was arrested for DUI, sort of strikes me as a scatterbrain......I like her more now than I did after her first appearance in season 1---but to bring her into the fold and have her be a regular--or more recurring-- cast member would take a lot of time away from the main characters and all the story lines that have been set up so far.

I'm rambling here...hope this makes sense......not enough coffee yet...and I've been cooking since I got out of bed. Maybe it's time for some wine??

[katlyn520]

I can't see that I'd ever want her to be a recurring character but I agree with those who see her as a vehicle for bringing out the "big brother" in Steve. Moving from job to job would get old if every time we see her she's doing something new. I don't really care what she does for a living. Except for the flight attendant job, nothing she's done has really been a plot point so it doesn't matter what she's doing.

But I do think that Steve deserves a family and if Mary Ann and Doris are it, I'll take them. Give me the choice of one or the other and I'd probably take Mary Ann because she doesn't have a hidden agenda that we're STILL WAITING to find out about. I COULD be persuaded to change my mind about that if we ever find out what Doris is up to ... but for now, I think Mary Ann does more for the character of Steve than Doris does.

[runner]

I like Mary Ann's character as the annoying and immature little sister, the same way I like Rachel as Danny's psycho ex-wife.

The occasional appearance is good, as long as it's kept to a minimum and has a legit purpose in the episode.
Mary Ann adds to Steve's family history and upbringing, part of which makes him who he is today. She is also a good source of frustration for Steve which, when done right, adds humor.

[sunnyirish08]

there was some potential in season 1, she came, she screwed up, she found the champ box and then was not heard from again for another couple of episodes until she was kidnapped and then sent back to the mainland. she's grand coming on the odd occasion and to bring in the big brother role for steve. he looks out for her and wants to protect her.

it also shows how different life has been between the two siblings, while steve was put on his path at 15, poor oul mary at 10 years old has had a tougher road trying to figure out where she belongs in the world. i have no doubt she'll probably have another job the next time we see her.

as for bringing her back as a regular, eh no, sure come back every once in a while is grand.

[Dannos Dani]

I'm the one that brought her up because she's beginning to bore me... she's good for a laugh, you wonder about her latest screwup and she doesn't disappoint. Then we get the emotional wringer. It's a like a formula. Yes, she brings out Big Brother Steve, but is that enough? We can easily substitute in Uncle Steve.She's not horrible the way SWSNBN was, she hasn't yet come to "oh no, not her again" level like Rachel has, but I don't see what else they can do with her, and with a show as rich in characters as H50, I really wonder why keep her on. Instead of having her come on, I'd rather see some other character explored a bit, or have a brand new one. Now that she's seen Doris and has reconciled, they can make her go away. Until Doris dies, that is, and there'll be more emotional wringing for all of us.
And while we're at it, I'd mention Rachel, which is IMO, another useless character. As Psycho she was fantastic, as Rachel she tarnished Danno's character forever, and as Monkey's mother she's really irritating. The baby thing flopped horribly and the custody case has thankfully not been mentioned, although they really have to make it go away now that it was brought into the open. Not that I want the storyline to develop any further, but another one-liner to solve it would be really dumb too. But one way or another, I'd like to see the whole thing go away and never come back. It was fantastic the first time around but enough already, put it to sleep. Send Rachel far far away and keep Monkey around so Danno can keep being Daddy Danno.

[sportsmom8]

Personally, I don't see the character of Mary Ann going any further than she has. The only purpose I see in her right now is to push Steve's storyline along and make him more human if you will. Like others have said, she 's the little sister, the family screw-up. She'll always be that to me and I know that I wouldn't be able to accept her in any other capacity at this point.

[darksea]

My personal opinon: she's 3D wallpaper, good for a little bit of scenery to enhance Steve's storyline, and then fades into the sun.

[Leni]

Nov 26, 2012 23:46:59 GMT -5 darksea said:

My personal opinon: she's 3D wallpaper, good for a little bit of scenery to enhance Steve's storyline, and then fades into the sun.

Don't pass out.... but I agree with Darksea on this.
I feel completely indifferent about Mary. The best thing that can happen to her character is that she becomes the collateral damage of Doris and her secrets. I doubt TPTB will go there, but that would complete her storyline in a BIG way.
I did like her at first, but we get that she is the screw up of the family and yadda yadda yadda. I know I am in the minority but her episode was just "eh". I undertsand the need for it, but the old guy was pointless. yeh, yeh, he is the one that convinced her to see Doris, but that could have been anyone.
If they only bring her once or twice every season, I am ok with that.

[margarine]

I agree with a lot of what's been said, but especially, as Dani said, it's a formula. That's the thing that's been nagging at me - how much the show has come to depend on tropes. Mary Ann hasn't contributed anything since her photographing the Champ Box contents. She's a plot device.

When we talk about character development we tend to mean that we're learning more about what makes them tick, and if all we get is random details that don't add up to a real person, it's just make-work for the writers. Is Steve really a protective big brother? We've had nothing to base an opinion on except the way he's behaved toward her since she showed up and gotten into trouble. First we saw of her, she'd been out of his life for years and it was pretty clear they weren't in touch. They're separated by several years, which can mean a close big brother/little sister relationship, but it can also mean a distance too - as in, "I'm in high school now, I'm not hanging around with a little kid." There's been nothing to suggest they were close at the time, unless I've forgotten something that was so fleeting that it didn't really make an impression. There's also been nothing to suggest they stayed in touch after they were sent away. As is usual with the show, we're expected to fill in the blanks for ourselves.

They've managed to keep her personality consistent, that's nice, but she has nothing in common with Steve. You could say that Steve takes after his mother (which makes sense for me since they both seem similarly mentally unstable to me), and maybe Mary Ann takes after her dad, but there's just not much to make me interested in their relationship to each other. If there had been anything in the dialog that brought their shared history to life, you could be drawn into it, but as it is, she's just, well, a plot device. In a well-drawn family relationship, it might not matter that I don't like her. If I did like her, I might not mind if she was a plot device. As it is, it's just an annoyance when she shows up.