Abby musings (NCIS)
Dec. 22nd, 2005 11:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mari4212So I woke up this morning, and I had about half of this written in my brain. Then I get here, and I can't remember any of it. Sigh.
Oh well, on to Abby.
The first thing that hits me when I think about Abby Sciuto, is that she is an original. She's so unique, so full of contradictions, but at the same time, she is one continuous person, and all of the contradictions work well into her personality.
To start off with, let's look at her personality. She's, well, bubbly is a very good word. Bouncy and happy and over-caffeinated, she thoroughly enjoys being what she is. She has fun watching people get confused about her. She's full of random moments of silliness, and they counterbalance the serious aspects of her personality. And of any character I've seen on network television, she is the most comfortable with herself and what she is. For all of her cheerfulness, there is more to her than is visible at first sight. She's also very good at what she does, highly intelligent, and a complex person. She's very loyal, to the point of hating Ziva at first because she worked with the guy that killed Kate, and then took Kate's place on the team. She tends towards jealousy at times, especially when McGee appreciates someone else. And she hates it when Gibbs intuits the answer to something right before she can prove it. She wants his approval, and when he blows past her it means that she doesn't get it from him.
Abby revels in being different. The tattoos, the goth attire, the toys strewn around the lab, the gunpowder perfume and the crime-scene art, they're all ways of asserting her individuality. The time when she was most miserable at work, aside from Kate's death, was when she was forced to wear a suit. To me, this comes across as a fear of getting subsumed. She loves being challenged, and work at NCIS gives that to her, but it's the government, and a large, bureaucratic organization. She fears being a cog. So while she might work there, she has to rebel. Gibbs understood this, and that's why he gives her such latitude. Director Sheppard didn't, and that's why they had problems. She formed her bond with Kate fast, because for all of Kate's outward conformation with the public image, Kate could and did accept Abby on her own terms.
When it comes to Abby's relationships with her co-workers, it's an odd mix. With both Gibbs and Ducky, she takes on an almost favored-niece status with them. They are close, almost familial, but there's not really a father-daughter relationship. She's like a niece, someone they love, but that they can give more latitude towards than they could a daughter. As she tells Tony, "Gibbs is always nice". To Tony, on the other hand, Abby is like a little sister, or more fittingly, the little sister of his best friend. They can talk and flirt a bit, but they're doing it more because it's fun than because they want anything sexually/romantically. Jimmy Palmer has a crush on her, and McGee is in an on-again/off-again relationship with her. Kate was her best friend, the one she could do girl things with and have fun. Ziva, she hated at first, and is still only grudgingly accepting. Abby does not seem to be neutral about anybody.
Okay, I had more to say than I thought I did.
Oh well, on to Abby.
The first thing that hits me when I think about Abby Sciuto, is that she is an original. She's so unique, so full of contradictions, but at the same time, she is one continuous person, and all of the contradictions work well into her personality.
To start off with, let's look at her personality. She's, well, bubbly is a very good word. Bouncy and happy and over-caffeinated, she thoroughly enjoys being what she is. She has fun watching people get confused about her. She's full of random moments of silliness, and they counterbalance the serious aspects of her personality. And of any character I've seen on network television, she is the most comfortable with herself and what she is. For all of her cheerfulness, there is more to her than is visible at first sight. She's also very good at what she does, highly intelligent, and a complex person. She's very loyal, to the point of hating Ziva at first because she worked with the guy that killed Kate, and then took Kate's place on the team. She tends towards jealousy at times, especially when McGee appreciates someone else. And she hates it when Gibbs intuits the answer to something right before she can prove it. She wants his approval, and when he blows past her it means that she doesn't get it from him.
Abby revels in being different. The tattoos, the goth attire, the toys strewn around the lab, the gunpowder perfume and the crime-scene art, they're all ways of asserting her individuality. The time when she was most miserable at work, aside from Kate's death, was when she was forced to wear a suit. To me, this comes across as a fear of getting subsumed. She loves being challenged, and work at NCIS gives that to her, but it's the government, and a large, bureaucratic organization. She fears being a cog. So while she might work there, she has to rebel. Gibbs understood this, and that's why he gives her such latitude. Director Sheppard didn't, and that's why they had problems. She formed her bond with Kate fast, because for all of Kate's outward conformation with the public image, Kate could and did accept Abby on her own terms.
When it comes to Abby's relationships with her co-workers, it's an odd mix. With both Gibbs and Ducky, she takes on an almost favored-niece status with them. They are close, almost familial, but there's not really a father-daughter relationship. She's like a niece, someone they love, but that they can give more latitude towards than they could a daughter. As she tells Tony, "Gibbs is always nice". To Tony, on the other hand, Abby is like a little sister, or more fittingly, the little sister of his best friend. They can talk and flirt a bit, but they're doing it more because it's fun than because they want anything sexually/romantically. Jimmy Palmer has a crush on her, and McGee is in an on-again/off-again relationship with her. Kate was her best friend, the one she could do girl things with and have fun. Ziva, she hated at first, and is still only grudgingly accepting. Abby does not seem to be neutral about anybody.
Okay, I had more to say than I thought I did.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:07 pm (UTC)She loves being challenged, and work at NCIS gives that to her, but it's the government, and a large, bureaucratic organization. She fears being a cog.
This is a wonderful insight. I think I've realized this in the back of my head, but never really thought about it.
They are close, almost familial, but there's not really a father-daughter relationship. and more fittingly, the little sister of his best friend.
Spot on! Wonderful!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:14 pm (UTC)And thanks!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:38 pm (UTC)Or anything either. That's something I really like about her character. She is so involved in what's she's doing and what's around her. She loves or hates, gets really excited or fights against whatever's going on. It gives her such life. :)
Very cool thoughts. The neice thing is spot on.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 07:10 pm (UTC)