What amuses the heck of me is that it actually MATTERS to anyone how many times Doyle is rescued by Bodie. For me it has nothing to do with that - and that has nothing to do with their equality either. And I'm not at all sure where you get the idea that their "essences" are made up of identical dual qualities to be honest - in fact I'd've hoped that my original post explained that was exactly the problem I had with their characters in SotK, that they were interchangable!
My point in mentioning the rescues, as I've said elsewhere, was to note that any characterisation which has Bodie constantly rescuing Doyle, and Doyle constantly in need of rescue, and Bodie only ever perfectly competent in contrast, is, for me, flawed. It's not something that I see in canon, and so that characterisation stretches my belief in a story.
I do think that they share some qualities - professionally they have to balance each other rather than be carried by each other, when it comes down to it. So yeah, they're pretty much equally brave, equally strong, equally fast, equally good shots etc. But those are skills, they're not necessarily character traits - although, of course, they add to their characters, and may have been formed by them! They do both have weaknesses - and I've mentioned some already - Doyle's tendency to impetuousness for example. Bodie's tendency to brush things aside might be another. Doyle's temper and the way he resorts to violence, despite what he espouses. Cf Bodie blowing off an obbo, and Doyle covering for him - what tensions might that actually raise between them? The way Doyle got so serious about Ann Holly in just two weeks is another example of a character flaw, one that's been well-covered by fic. I'd find them very boring characters if they didn't have any flaws - I don't see any point in writing, reading or watching perfect characters.
But I'm not sure that most fans do see them as perfectly equal characters - I know I don't! Balancing essences, yes, but not dual essences...
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For me it has nothing to do with that - and that has nothing to do with their equality either. And I'm not at all sure where you get the idea that their "essences" are made up of identical dual qualities to be honest - in fact I'd've hoped that my original post explained that was exactly the problem I had with their characters in SotK, that they were interchangable!
My point in mentioning the rescues, as I've said elsewhere, was to note that any characterisation which has Bodie constantly rescuing Doyle, and Doyle constantly in need of rescue, and Bodie only ever perfectly competent in contrast, is, for me, flawed. It's not something that I see in canon, and so that characterisation stretches my belief in a story.
I do think that they share some qualities - professionally they have to balance each other rather than be carried by each other, when it comes down to it. So yeah, they're pretty much equally brave, equally strong, equally fast, equally good shots etc. But those are skills, they're not necessarily character traits - although, of course, they add to their characters, and may have been formed by them! They do both have weaknesses - and I've mentioned some already - Doyle's tendency to impetuousness for example. Bodie's tendency to brush things aside might be another. Doyle's temper and the way he resorts to violence, despite what he espouses. Cf Bodie blowing off an obbo, and Doyle covering for him - what tensions might that actually raise between them? The way Doyle got so serious about Ann Holly in just two weeks is another example of a character flaw, one that's been well-covered by fic. I'd find them very boring characters if they didn't have any flaws - I don't see any point in writing, reading or watching perfect characters.
But I'm not sure that most fans do see them as perfectly equal characters - I know I don't! Balancing essences, yes, but not dual essences...