(Some Of) My Favorite Media Friendships
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| Image description: From left to right, this is Cullen, Cassandra, Josephine, and Leliana from Dragon Age: Inquisition. This fab foursome of advisors contains some amazing friendships in a game full of them, so it seems appropriate that they headline a post all about some of my many, many fave friendships in media. |
Over the course of the last few years, I have noticed
something different and delightful about Valentine’s Day. Whether this has always
been present and I'm just taking more note of it now, or if this is a recent
and welcome trend, I’m not entirely sure, but I'm so pleased to start seeing
Valentine’s Day treated as a holiday about love of all kinds, not just romantic
love. Sure, I still spent the day that doubled as my blog anniversary seeing
people buying flowers and chocolates for their significant others, but I also got
to witness a lot of spectacular rebranding of the holiday – using it as an opportunity
to celebrate friends, family members, even pets. And yes, of course this is
just a way to expand the buying of greeting cards and candy, sure. But setting
that element aside, it also provides a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe, just
maybe, the concept of love can in fact be redefined and expanded.
Where am I going with all of this? Well, when I began
planning my schedule of 2022 posts, I thought that a post about friendships
would be appropriate for the Friday after Valentine’s Day as a way to infuse
some platonic love into the middle of all the romantic love. But as it turns
out, it’s actually appropriate for a different reason: to
keep up this encouraging celebration of various forms of love, and to hopefully
see it continue beyond just this one week in February.
Both in life and in media, there are a lot of great romances out there, but
there are just as many (usually even better) friendships, if not more. In fact, as I started
putting this list together, I knew I couldn't possibly discuss
all my favorite friendships in media in one single post. Thus, I decided to limit myself to the four friendships I’m
about to describe to you now.
The friendships here are some of my favorites because they
involve very diverse and different characters, coming together to build
meaningful, deep, emotional bonds based on the unexpected common ground they
each share. In general, it was actually a little difficult to decide which relationships
to discuss, because so many good types of platonic relationships exist. I tried
to limit myself just to ones that feel entirely like friendships, rather than,
for instance, ones where one party is expressly highlighted as a mentor to the
other, or relationships where a character is filling a sort of parental role. Who
knows, in future I may decide I want to cover just those types of relationships
specifically, but for now, these are the four friendships I want to highlight
as some of my favorites in all of media.
Cassandra
Pentaghast and Cullen Rutherford from Dragon Age: Inquisition
The notion of battle-forged military friends is a time-honored one. In my case, if you give me that concept and add in a male-female platonic bond, I will be a fan of it forever, as is true of the first friendship on this list – Cassandra Pentaghast and Cullen Rutherford from the video game Dragon Age: Inquisition. I do admit that, of all the friendship duos in this list, Cass and Cullen’s friendship is probably the least developed, due to the nature of the media they’re in. Both characters are potential romance options for the player character and their contributions to the story and the world the game takes place in are significant, but they are not the main character. Cassandra is what is considered a “companion” – one of the characters you can take with you on adventures to battle alongside of you – while Cullen’s in-game role is that of “advisor,” meaning he almost always stays at the base of the game and is interacted with mostly through timed missions, dialogue options, and in response to the game’s main quest. But that doesn’t mean we never see Cassandra and Cullen interacting. If anything, of all the non-player characters in the game, I would argue we see Cass and Cullen interacting with each other the most, and to me, those interactions speak volumes.
Right from the start, the game makes it clear that when
Cassandra began assembling the Inquisition – the force that would help right
the wrongs of a tumultuous world – she
recruited Cullen specifically. This comes at a time when Cullen has been through
hell, and where he is not confident in his future, his ability to lead, or
himself. Cassandra believes in him, however, and knows he will be a good
commander for the Inquisition’s fledgling forces. This belief she has in him
continues throughout the game, and in fact makes up a huge part of Cullen’s storyline
later. Before joining the Inquisition, Cullen was a Templar, a soldier specifically
trained and equipped to deal with magical threats. But to do that, Templars are
required to ingest an addictive substance known as lyrium, which not only gives
them the ability to fight magic, but also keeps them chained to the Templar
Order as the only place where they can safely procure more lyrium. Both staying
on and getting off lyrium are dangerous, but Cullen chooses
the latter, attempting to shake off the shackles of the past, even though it
puts him through agony.
Cassandra knows all this, and as Cullen’s struggle to break
free of lyrium rages on and gets worse, she is there for him. Although the choice on
whether Cullen takes lyrium once again or continues his quest to be free is
ultimately up to the player (there is only one correct option and that is tell
him not to take it), it is Cassandra’s belief in him that really shines
through. Not only does she tell him he gives himself “too little credit” when
he feels as though the struggle is hopeless, but she reasserts to the player
character her belief that he can do the task, although it’s difficult. The
dialogue makes it clear that Cassandra recruited Cullen knowing this was a
factor in his life and knew even before he started that he could endure the
difficult task ahead.
All my Dragon Age friends know that Cullen Rutherford
occupies perhaps the most special place in my heart of any fictional character
ever. If you could see the amount of time I’ve spent writing him in fan works, you would
know it’s not an exaggeration to say I’ve practically dedicated my life to this
character. So naturally, I am very attached to the relationships he forms with
the characters around him. As stated before, the nature of the game means that
most of the relationships we see form between the non-player characters don’t
get to be explored in great detail, but what we do see is incredible,
especially when it comes to Cullen. Beyond just his friendship with Cassandra, he
has amazing interactions with the other two advisors in the game, Josephine and
Leliana (who appear in the cover image of this post) and with other companions
like Dorian or Varric. From conversations to hilarious in-game banter to games
of chess, I love that Inquisition takes time amid the action-heavy plot to
explore these character driven moments of growth and friendship, and this is especially
true for Cassandra and Cullen, my absolute favorite warrior friends.
Seven of Nine
and Naomi Wildman from Star Trek: Voyager
I’ve done many posts talking about Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, a human who was taken by the cybernetic Borg as a child until she is freed by the crew of Voyager and restored to her human form, more or less. Because Seven has spent a majority of her life with the Borg, much of her story is about readjusting to human life and human relationships – some of which is good and some of which is downright terrible. To me, some of Seven’s best stories center on the friendships she makes with the crew rather than any type of shoe-horned in romance. I’ve discussed in the past how much I adore Seven’s mentor-mentee relationship with the young Icheb, who is a liberated Borg like she herself is, or the way she relates to characters like Captain Janeway or Tuvok. These are all amazing relationships, but when it comes to pure friendship, I think one of Seven’s best friendships comes from a surprising source – Naomi Wildman, a young girl who was born aboard Voyager during its wandering journey to get back home from the Delta Quadrant.
While Seven’s relationship to the Borg children like Icheb
is that of a guide, a mentor, and even occasionally a mother figure, Seven’s
relationship with Naomi has a different and unique flavor. This is specifically
because Naomi is simply a kind-hearted friend to Seven, and Seven treats Naomi
with respect in return. Over the course of Seven’s time on the ship, she learns
to be patient with Naomi the way an older sister might, and Naomi learns
Seven’s rhythms enough to respect what she needs and wants in a way that most
of the others don’t. One of my favorite examples of this is a scene where Seven
expresses her dislike of crowds while she and Naomi are in the crowded mess
hall. When Seven says this, Naomi apologizes that her suggestion to come to the
mess hall made Seven uncomfortable and says they should leave to eat lunch
elsewhere – an act so respectful and wise beyond Naomi’s years that it truly
demonstrates the special bond the two have as members of the Voyager
family.
This is especially highlighted in an episode called “Bliss,”
where Naomi and Seven unite over the fact that they’re both hesitant about the
notion of Voyager returning home to Earth. The doubt they share leads
them to not only grow closer, but actually enables them to save the ship
when it gets into danger. The fact that only these two understand one another’s
fears and doubts speaks volumes about how special their bond is, and I really
appreciate that the episode actually treats their fears as valid, rather than
using them to belittle either character or try to portray Seven as a child. To
me, these moments of deliberate care to build up Seven and Naomi’s friendship have
tremendous payoff, and they allow us to see Seven grow and develop as a
character on her own terms, rather than requiring that she completely abandon
who she is or what she stands for in order to become "acceptably human."
As mentioned earlier, some of Seven’s relationships in the
show are portrayed horribly, due in large part to the fact that she exhibits
many aspec tendencies that are largely ignored by the show’s writers when it's
convenient for them. Even some of the relationships that I love for Seven –
such as how Janeway serves as a guide and mentor for her – can be used for
cringeworthy purposes if the plot of an episode demands it. That never happens
with Naomi, and, in some cases, the young girl is one of the only people who
seems to thoroughly honor Seven’s wishes, as demonstrated in the scene in the
mess hall. Many times, Seven’s interactions with Naomi are not presented in a
way that’s meant to "normalize" Seven, like so many other relationships are for
her, and I find that extremely refreshing. I will always love Seven and Icheb,
or significantly enjoy scenes with Seven and Janeway interacting, but her
friendship with little Naomi Wildman will always have an extra special place in my
heart.
Captain Kathryn
Janeway and Lieutenant Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager
If you’re at all familiar with Star Trek, when I say “Human captain and their Vulcan friend,” your brain will go, of course, to Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from Star Trek: The Original Series. Kirk and Spock, along with Dr. McCoy, are easily one of the most iconic trios in Star Trek, if not of all time, and Kirk and Spock’s human and Vulcan dynamic in particular is such an important template, not just in TOS, but in future Star Trek lore as well. Therefore, I think it would have been very easy for Star Trek: Voyager to simply copy and paste this formula when they began developing the relationship between Captain Kathryn Janeway, Voyager’s human captain, and its Vulcan chief of security, Tuvok. The fact that they didn’t fall into this trap is, to me, part of what makes this friendship so special.
If you’re unfamiliar with the world of Star Trek, the
Vulcans are a race of humanoid aliens who value logic and wisdom above
emotions, and their odd-couple match with humans form the backbone of much of
the Star Trek universe. Often times, these interactions rely on the
differences between humans and Vulcans, but in my opinion, some of the best
stories between human and Vulcan characters come when they form profound
relationships despite these differences. For that reason, Janeway and Tuvok are
one of my favorite friendships of all time because the respect they have for
one another is immense. The show goes to great lengths to portray how much Janeway
and Tuvok are a part of each other’s lives, and how this over twenty-year friendship
has led to deep trust between them. One of my favorite humorous moments between
them is when Janeway works to discover Tuvok’s birthday and
presents the stoic Vulcan with a cake, containing a single lit candle. When Tuvok
blows the candle out, eliciting a pleased smile from Janeway, he demurs, “It
was a fire hazard,” an excuse which his friend does not comment on, but is
clearly not buying.
For a more dramatic example of Janeway and Tuvok’s
friendship, look no further than the powerhouse two-part episode “Year of
Hell.” In that episode, Voyager is beset upon by a villain who attempts
to alter time in order to fix a past mistake. During the lengthy encounter with
this villain, the ship and the crew go through extreme hardships, including one
that effects Tuvok. There is no dialogue from Janeway regarding this, but there
doesn’t need to be; actress Kate Mulgrew is able to convey all the possible
emotions Janeway is experiencing with a single look as she watches her friend struggle
– sorrow, anger at herself, anger at the circumstances, and a deep desire to
make sure this version of Voyager’s reality never happens. In that same
episode, when Janeway undergoes a quest to do exactly that, the goodbye she
shares with Tuvok is once again virtually wordless, but nevertheless deeply emotional.
Something I’ve always adored about Janeway and Tuvok is that
they care about each other where they are – Janeway is never too human for Tuvok
and Tuvok is never too Vulcan for Janeway. Their goodbye in “Year of Hell”
proves that on an emotional and heart-wrenching level, and the earlier
birthday example proves it on a sweeter and more playful level. As a Vulcan,
Tuvok clearly finds birthday celebrations illogical, but he knows how much it
means to his human friend, so he indulges her. Meanwhile, Janeway understands her
Vulcan friend enough to not comment on this moment, but still knows how special
it is. Star Trek sometimes uses its Vulcans in ways that make them the butt of
the joke, but to Janeway, Tuvok is her respected, trusted, and close friend,
not someone to be changed, teased, or belittled. That is a rare and beautiful
thing even in real life friendships.
Juliet O’Hara
and Carlton Lassiter from Psych
In my most recent “Ace Safe Space” post, I talked about the comedy Psych and how it’s been something of a staple in my life whenever I need a laugh. The show centers around Shawn Spencer, whose gift for observation lets him pass himself off as a psychic, working to solve crimes with the Santa Barbara Police Department. Two of the detectives at said police department are the duo that make up my last friendship pair of this post – Head Detective Carlton Lassiter and his partner Juliet O’Hara. A lot of the comedy in Psych comes from the fact that Lassiter’s strait-laced, rule and procedure focused police work is starkly at odds with Shawn’s over-the-top antics, often pitting the two against one another in hilarious ways, especially in the show’s early seasons. While Lassiter (or “Lassie,” as Shawn calls him) is often serious, with a shoot-first-ask-questions-later mentality and a strong desire to see justice done, his partner Juliet is far more willing to believe in Shawn and his methods, while still playing by the book and being a good cop.
At the beginning of the series, it’s clear Lassie is meant
to be more of an antagonist, an image which eventually softens so that,
although he still exists in a perpetual state of done-ness with Shawn’s antics,
he is nevertheless a character whose life and relationships we care about. One
of those relationships is his partnership with Juliet, a partnership built on
absolute trust and understanding. Despite their differences in personality –
Lassie’s gruffness contrasted to Juliet’s earnestness – the show often demonstrates
to us that “Lassie and Jules” are just as much of a dynamic duo as Shawn and
his best friend Gus are. Throughout the series, Lassiter is always there for
Juliet and vice versa. They are shown to always have each other’s back, to work
together perfectly, and even give each other personal advice (often in hilarious
and adorable ways). There is even an entire episode about how, when Lassiter
solves a crime with Gus and Juliet tries to do likewise with Shawn, Lassie
and Juliet miss each other and the way they solve crimes together.
But one of my absolute favorite Lassiter and Juliet friendship moments comes near the end of the show’s run when Lassiter is finally given the coveted position of chief of police, a role he has been waiting for his entire life. However, the position comes with a catch – his head detective will be someone the mayor chooses, rather than Lassiter’s own choice, which is of course Juliet. As such, rather than feeling any type of joy at this dream realized, what Lassiter feels is utter defeat and disappointment, so much so that he’s willing to give the job up and continue being Juliet’s partner instead. It’s such a touching moment of friendship, made all the sweeter by the fact that it’s not the only one in the series. Throughout the show – and even into the movies that have been made since the show’s finale – Lassiter and Juliet have each other’s backs completely and are shown to be not just partners for life, but dear friends for life too. I think it would have been easy for the series to continue to show how different Lassiter and Juliet are, and thus let that continue to be a source of easy comedy. But instead, they let them connect on a human level in ways that are fun, heartfelt, and meaningful.
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What makes a good friendship in a piece of media varies from work to work. In the case of Seven of Nine and Naomi Wildman, it’s about respect. In the case of Cassandra Pentaghast and Cullen Rutherford, it’s about belief. It’s about how two characters relate to each other and how their bond fits into the world around them. And in many ways, that's what friendship in real life is about too. There are so many amazing friendships in media that inspire me, lift me up, and make me smile, and I hope discussing them today has done likewise for you.
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