Am I the only one who hates Shar?

[GMDreia]

I like all the other Andorians, just not Shar.
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His whiny little blue butt, drives me crazy. I find him to be a really annoying character, and the emotional wreckage he leaves in his wake, make me dislike him all the more. I was happy when he stayed on Andor in "Paradigm: Andor". The little emo boy finally grew up. It was nice character growth. But then, what he did next, totally unmade it for me. I wanted to wring his neck for his totally inexplicable gesture in the last chapter, though... giving Prynn a shapla locket and a note saying "someday"?! The gesture to me was the same as if I were getting married, then gave an engagement ring to some other person who'd had a crush on me, and a note that said "someday". Inexcusable. I wanted a ton of bricks to fall on the little blue jerk's head.

Or better yet, another Andorian (of the Shran mentality) to knock some sense into him.

 

[LightningStorm]

Warning: There are uncoded spoilers in the post below regarding events in the DS9-r up through Worlds of DS9 Andor.

fascinoma said:
giving Prynn a shapla locket and a note saying "someday"?! The gesture to me was the same as if I were getting married, then gave an engagement ring to some other person who'd had a crush on me, and a note that said "someday". Inexcusable. I wanted a ton of bricks to fall on the little blue jerk's head.

To the overall point of the thread, I don't hate Shar, but I am not overly fond of him either.

But the above quote I want to comment on specifically. I disagree to some extent about the way that looked. For one because he is Andorian and NOT human and therefore our human ideals and "rules" of relationships don't apply. The Andorians as represented throughout the DS9-r have made it clear that the Shelthreth(sp?) group is mostly forced upon them in order to keep the race alive. Now fortunately it seems that most of the time the four of them gather a rather tight bond to each other that one could even label as "love". However Shar specifically was very much clear about his "true love" being Thriss(sp?) and once she died that would be the Human equivalent of your spouse dying the day before the wedding. And since Andorians unlike humans have a loving bond with more than one person I don't think it a bad thing that he found love in another person while still maintaining love for the remaining members of his shelthreth group. Side note, I say "unlike humans" but let's be honest it is entirely possible for a human to fall in love with more than one person, it just so happens 'we' tend to look down upon that.

Just my 2 cents... er perhaps 20 cents.

 

[William Leisner]

Gee... Shar never had anything but nice things to say about you, fascinoma.

 

[Trent Roman]

Hmm... while I think Shar can come off as a whiny emo bitch, I thought he was sympathetic. Granted, he has many of the w.e.b. hallmarks: introverted, sensitive, angsty... but then, consider his background. His culture was trying to force him into a relationship he felt perpetrated the principle problem affecting it, and when he tries to claim some individuality by refusing to participate, he gets a load of guilt the size of Star Jones dumped on his head: you're failing to assure the continued survival of your species, and ruining the lives of those to whom you should be closest, all out of an (apparently) selfish desire not to conform. As such, I thought Shar reacted rather admirably: he removed himself from the immediate vicinity of the sources of guilt instead of wallowing in a hostile environment, and he actively worked on finding a way to get around the genetic impasse the Andorian species had reached. Yes, he was a melancholy character, but he had just cause for being unhappy, and worked to a solution, even if, in the end, he feels forced to acceed to the pressure placed on him by his culture and affective relationships. The demands of Andorian reproduction meant that, in the end, either his bondgroup or Prynn would have to be abandoned; one heartbroken woman, who can heal and move on, doesn't compare to three others people who would be left in the lurch in their powerful need to have a child, bereft of finding fulfillment quite possibly for the rest of their lives. (Thriss, on the other hand, is an inexcusable whiny emo bitch.)

As for the 'maybe someday' thing, I think LightningStorm is quite correct: you can't judge Shar's actions by the contemporary, western obsession with sexually exclusive monogamous marriages. Andorians, as Prynn had to know when she started up her relationship with Shar, are polyamarous (though generally within the bounds of the bondgroup); it is not at all dishonest for Shar to continue to express his genuine affection for her even as he makes another commitment where he feels the need is greatest. Likewise, reproduction is viewed in a rather dogmatic way generally by Andorians; while his relationship with his bondmates is affective, it does not necessarily equal to the kind of passionate love he shared with Prynn: the fact that a similar, prior union with Thriss was considered taboo shows up the contrast between romantic love and the more familial (if nonetheless sexual) affection he has for his other bondmates.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Dancing Doctor]

The only Andorian I hate is the Aenar male from The Good That Men Do.

God damn did he get on my nerves. Shar was just a little inexperienced and young.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Trent Roman said:
Thriss, on the other hand, is an inexcusable whiny emo bitch.

That was my feeling as well. I related to Shar and his dilemmas and never found him whiny or needy. He's a great character!

Dizhei could have been jealous of Thriss, who had the good looks, the great body and Shar's deep love, but she wasn't; Dizhei and Anichent were dependable and strong and it's a shame Thriss was so self-centred that she never seemed to appreciate them. When Thriss made her big, stupid decision, I felt more sorry for her three bondmates than Thriss.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Once Shar has conceived a child, the Shelthreth is essentially dissolved, allowing the four bondmates to do whatever. So Shar could have his kid to keep the Andorian race going and then return to his relationship with Prynn.

 

[T'Bonz]

I don't hate Shar, but he annoyed me. I had great hopes for the character when he was first introduced, but he really ended up not being my cup of tea.

And Thriss? "Emo bitch" is an apt description. I wanted to slap her.

 

[Quimby]

Honestly I had a hard time really getting into the entire Andorian sub plot that ran through the DS9 novels. I appreciated what they were trying to do but it just didn't work for me.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Quimby said:
Honestly I had a hard time really getting into the entire Andorian sub plot that ran through the DS9 novels. I appreciated what they were trying to do but it just didn't work for me.

On the other hand, some of us had been waiting on such a story arc since.... oh, about 1979. Thanks again Marco, Heather et al.

(And I'm not just gushing 'cos they named a park after me!)

 

[Gary Mitchell]

It's been so long since a Deep Space 9 book, I don't even remember who Shar is anymore.

 

[Therin of Andor]

^Perhaps it's not the timelag that is at fault, though?

You could always re-read the older ST books if you're really so caught up to the current books. Lucky you!

 

[Gary Mitchell]

No, it's definitely the time lag.

I just re-read Fallen Heroes--good book. :thumbsup:

 

[JD]

I actually really like Shar, in fact he was one of my three and a half favorite new characters from the DS9r the others being Prynn, Vaughn, Ro (she's the half since she was new to DS9 but not Trek). I thought the whole Andorian storyline was one of the most fascinating parts of the DS9r, and I was very happy with the way it both played out and concluded. Personally, I really hope Shar comes back so that him and Prynn can get to gether and have a happy relationship.

 

[GMDreia]

Vixen said:
The only Andorian I hate is the Aenar male from The Good That Men Do.

Theras was a whiny little emo kid. But for the most part, he was overshadowed by the awesome that is Shran.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

fascinoma said:

Vixen said:
The only Andorian I hate is the Aenar male from The Good That Men Do.

Theras was a whiny little emo kid. But for the most part, he was overshadowed by the awesome that is Shran.

Shran is teh awesome :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Anubis]

Shran is one of my favorite Trek characters of all time!

 

[JAG]

I liked the character. I think Shran had/has a lot of potential.

 

[Reanok]

Shran is a great character I hope he'll be featured in a another future Enterprise novel and Jhamel again I liked both of them in The Good That Men Do.

 

[JD]

I keep hoping that maybe they find a way to make him an NX-01 crewmember in the Relaunch like they were going to do in season 5. That is probably one of the rumors that had makes me regret the cancellation the most.