Thread:Shanethefilmmaker/@comment-397235-20140801024539/@comment-397235-20140810004127

Oh God, not again.

By kill off the characters he put effort into, I mean the characters who were actually well rounded and relatable, or at least interesting.

Harold was one of my favorite characters from the get-go (I have to wonder if some parts of him are autobiographical of King, since he has some of the most depth of anyone). His death didn't particularly bother me, though I figured he'd probably reached a brink he could've come back from had it not killed him.

Larry was by far my favorite character, and as far as I'm concerned is the hero of The Stand since he's the only person who really grows over the course of the novel. His death made me angry enough to stop reading the book and skim the remaining hundred or so pages.

Lloyd is the kind of character every tribe based story needs: someone "on the other side" you can sympathize with. Unfortunately, after appearing to be a main character, Lloyd vanishes for a while, and never gets the development it seemed King intended.

Arrayed against this trio of well written characters, we have:

Stuart, a man who screams "I am a designated hero and proud of it!" What does Stu want from life? What are his goals for after the apocalypse? How is he coping with everyone he's ever known being dead? Well, King's not really sure, but honestly he should be since so much of the novel revolved around this asshole. It was Stu left the others going to make the Stand I realized they were all fucked. I hated this guy far more than I should.

Frannie was disappointing because she's a real person right up until she meets Stu, and then becomes his appendage (I believe the term King uses is "woman"). What attracts her to Stu? What does she love about him? For that matter, what does she hate about him? Again, King wasn't sure, but he apparently assumes meeting someone at the end of the world is enough to form a lifelong attachment and bond with them even though you have absolutely nothing in common. To subvert a meme, Twilight is a better love story than this.

Of course, considering how quickly the people of Boulder put these two unqualified fools in positions of power, I have to say I'm amazed they lasted as long as they did. What talents do either of them have which in any way, shape, or form set them up for leadership?

The Kid. Seriously, what does this guy even bring to the table? Besides being revolting anyway...

Trashcan Man. I loathe this character I suspect for the same reason you dislike Izumi Akazawa: I knew someone just like him growing up. It's not funny. It's not endearing. It's not cute. It's nine different kinds of fucked up, and the guy I knew wasn't even a pyromaniac, thank God (he was just a regular pervert and a creep who licked people's shoes and ate dead insects off the ground). Very few things make my skin crawl. Well done, Stephen King.

Mother Abigail I've already touched on as being a pointless character. I'll add to the roster of plot threads which go nowhere Nadine Cross and that "Asian-eyed" kid who followed her around everywhere. Again, where did any of that lead? Nowhere. Then why waste time writing about it?

Judge Farris. I loathe "Insert Self Sues" and that's all this guy is. It's the same reason I hate Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park.

So...yeah.