WebMistressGina
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- Joined
- Mar 26, 2012
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You know, I think you've put this perfectly and maybe that's one of the issues this show has. In our previous Muppet stories, Kermit's balancing act at being both boss and friend usually went more friend than boss. Think about it - In TMS, he really did try his best to be the boss, but more times than anything, he'd relent. When he did crack down and be the boss, it caused so much tension, it took the entire troupe to fix it.I can see and respect where you are coming from, however I respectfully disagree with your analysis on Kermit in this series.
While the show has a long way to go before it finally hits its stride, we've already seen fair examples of Kermit trying to walk the line between 'Boss Kermit' and 'Friend Kermit', especially when Piggy and Fozzie are concerned.
Also consider:
At San Diego Comic Con, Bill Prady stated that 'Kermit's fatal flaw is that he has hired his friends. His weakness is that he cares.'
I'm particularly thinking of the episode where he fired Piggy, which was probably more personal than professional (though if I remember correctly, Piggy should've gotten a suspension).
Even in the first three movies and the latest two - everyone clearly sees Kermit is the boss (even Piggy), but it's so very clear that Kermit doesn't want to be the boss. His rally speeches to get everyone onboard isn't because he's a good boss, it's because he's a good friend.
Role reverse that in M11 where Kermit makes the executive decision that they need to do a show, with or without Piggy, but it's clear to him, to the others, and to us that they need Piggy, not just because she's a fan favorite, but their group dynamic doesn't work without her.
And as we saw in MMW, that dynamic doesn't work without Kermit. The one time Boss Frog trumped Friend Kermit, it lead to disaster - I refuse to think that no one realized that Constantine was Kermit because that would make them not only horrible employees, but horrible friends. I would rather think that, with a 'new, relaxed' Kermit, they could do - and did - want they wanted. I equated as a week with a substitute teacher who pretty much says "don't care what you do, just leave me out of it".
I think this new show is really pushing more towards Boss Frog and only at the very end, do we get Friend Kermit and, as someone who HAS been the boss to a friend that was a co-worker, straddling that line is hard and in real life, in the work place, you're going to be more boss than friend. You have to be; you're running a business and your business will fail if you don't run it.
The problem with this 'real life' formula - where we see more Boss Frog - is that it works against Kermit's character and nature. Aunt Ru is right - Kermit is a reluctant leader, but will step to the plate when he has to; this show kinda shows him overcorrecting and hitting home the idea that he's the typical tyrannical, manipulative boss that we all hate to go work for.
The problem is...it's Kermit. Everyone loves Kermit. Can he be a manipulator and petty? Absolutely and we've seen it before, but he does uses it for good, not evil and in this show, sometimes he strays a little too evil too quick. Getting Piggy's ego to show in Hostile Makeover I thought was Kermit being both boss and friend because he knows Piggy and the quickest way to get her back to being herself was to hit the button that would work; that's Kermit using friend knowledge to work for him in business.