The tragedy that is Vlad Masters

M

MINH D

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I really feel bad for Vlad's entire story. It's obvious that he brought a lot of that on himself, still, I still feel bad for him, he felt he was given a raw deal out of life and he used the the power that he had (his wealth and ghost powers) to either gain somthing he missed out of that is too late to aquire or to fufil his own selfish or evil purpses. If he wouldn't have harbored such feelings for Jack maybe he wouldn't have been so misrible and selfish. I feel if he could have been Danny's mentor instead of him trying to force him to be his son and asked the Fentons to visit him more often in his human form in Wisconson, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did for him. It's undertsandable to be angry with someone but he let it control how he lived his life and I feel that the way DP ended (for now IMHO), Vlad's story was just so sad.

Thoughts?
 
You know Neo-Yi and I have both mentioned this on the forum before but I really think that after The Ultimate enemy they missed an opportunity to elaborate on the question of whether Vlad could change his ways.

That being said after seeing later apperances I'm in the camp that see's Vlad as a victim of his own greed and ambition. Even after his accident he could have reshaped his life and move on. But he became Dr. Doom like and obsessed with an accident that really wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. And of course his lusting after a woman who he could never have. As the series progressed his schemes became worse and worse. In season 3 he got to the point where he was willing to put technological development back centuries by corrupt the timeline, steal elections, and it all lead up to a plan to extort the global community in the middle of a world class threat. In the end he bit off more than he could chew with the asteroid and got what he had coming to him.

P.S I'm in the camp that doesn't think he's dead.
 
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I agree. Of course the only reason Vlad even realized his evil ways in TUE was because he lost his ghost powers and was forced to literally sit and think about what his actions had caused . Of course he has that opportunity once again - in the dark nether regions of space.

But then again - would we really want a kinder, gentler Vlad? Or a conniving, ambitious, and manipulative foil for Danny??
 
The thing is Vlad has every potentials, the heart and soul to go deeper into his already complex character to dig out the true fears he holds inside. He is human and he has every chance of redemption, it's a hard thing to grasp for an unwavering man like him, but not impossible. True, it would mean losing Danny's primary rival, but good character development would triumph overall. Besides, I easily predict Phantom would make some grand return and reside as the new big bad.

Unfortunately, Season Three did not take that route and for the majority stuck him in a near personality-less role of his former self. I knew by "D-Stabilized" there would be no chance in hell they would make Vlad's redeem, though I did suspect Vlad would either go that route or further villainy. It provided a bit of a wasted opportunity for me as a result.

BUT theoratically speaking, Vlad DID redeem...........at the last minute. The moment he knew he could not save the world and that his best friend gave him the cold shoulders and left him in space did he realize the follies of his mistakes. It's wordless, but his face says it all. In the end, what I got was an almost poetic form of Vlad's karma--which baring that irritating humorous "death" (count me in as someone who thinks him alive, too) he received gave me the satisfaction I needed (not perfect, but good enough).
 
After reading the threads regarding the last episodes of DP, I wanted to share a few thoughts about Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius..

I tend to feel that Vlad had three separate motives during the course of the show. During the first and most of the second seasons, he tried to get Danny to renounce his father and become a son to Vlad. Having failed at this on numerous occasions, he then tried to create a Danny clone so that he could have him as a son. During the third season, Vlad seems to want to acquire power and influence on a major scale, hence his becoming mayor, then trying to blackmail the world into making him ruler.

A few have expressed a desire for Vlad (as well as other characters) to have been give some more character development. While I understand that desire, I have to point out who created the series (Butch Hartman of FOP fame) and where the series was aired (Nickelodeon). The series definately had a FOP feel to it (sight gags and funny lines) but added some character development and a continuing storyline. Adding more depth to the characters might have given the show a different feel to it, possibly not a positive one. Also, airing on Nickelodeon, the target demo was 8-12. Nick would probably have frowned on adding a ton of extra characterization to the show, feeling it would have been wasted on its targeted audience. Avatar is the exception--not the rule...at least for now...

Even with Vlad's regret about revealing his secret, I don't feel he's a candidate for reforming. Perhaps if new episodes are made, there might be a chance, but not right away. I don't believe Vlad is gone...the asteroid scene and the music during it kind of leads me to think it was just a final payback for his actions. It reminds me of other times during the series he had similar payback (i.e. explosions, ghosts attacking him, etc.).
 
Let's hope Avatar to be the trendsetter for any other aspiring cartoons that wants to go in depth as that show. That stated, in my view, DP has enough characterization that I've spent hours geekily analyzing/writing 2000+ paragraphs over. No, the show can't reach exceed Avatar's depth, but Season One sent a path for the character's growth while Season Two contained the meat of it, extending it into bold territories.

Though I do feel Season Three is where your paragraph I quoted rings more true then anything else as everyone sans Danny seems to be acting so one-dimensional, though I blame it on the cancellation and the fact that all the old writers left. Shame because I did feel DP really did grow with it's stories and characters. Considering what I've seen DP do (and what they CAN do), Season Three is insulting.



Exactly. That's how I view it. But we ain't getting anymore and I'm gonna continously stick with my theory that Vlad feels guilt...just at the last minute. It's the closest were gonna get to continuity from his "TUE" counterpart. Whether Vlad can or cannot reform, the show portrayed he's still human, that he has heart (just used in a less moral inclined way).
 
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