Discussion post for "Time, Space, and the Incurable Romantic"

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for "Time, Space, and the Incurable Romantic" by JMS. Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Next week, we'll be discussing "True Seeker" by Fiona Avery.

Comments

[tariqa.livejournal.com]

I read this once a while back, and being the nitpicker that I am it really annoyed me that Ivanova's hair was described as being black. She didn't have black hair! Marcus had darker hair than hers!

That aside, I can see what JMS was trying to do, taking the request from many (not necessarily most) fans for Marcus and Susan to have some fairytale, happily-ever-after ending and shoving it firmly into one of the ethically dubious grey areas that so many of the show's characters operated in from time to time. But for me it just didn't work. Ivanova was (or Ivanova Mark II is) too smart to totally fall for it, for a start, and even if they were stuck there I don't think she'd fall for Marcus solely because he's the only man there. And the decision Marcus made to go for this crazy plan don't seem right at all. We're talking about a close-enough-to-40-year-old virgin who said he'd never met the right person; how does that lead to cloning a deceased comrade-in-arms who he pined after for years with barely any indication of reciprocal interest?

I mean really, if he didn't want to make an attempt to live out his life, he could have just been an eccentric recluse with a fancy blow up doll or something. I'm sure they'll be able to do great things with robotics in the mid-25th century, and clearly he had the money.