An Ode to American Idols
For five years I've slogged through Rambaldi, Vaughn/not Vaughn, married Vaughn, murderer Sydney, good Sydney, is-he-isn't-he-is-he-isn't-he-is-he-isn't-he Evil Sloane (he was), is-he-isn't-he-is-he-isn't-he-is-he-isn't-he Evil Jack (he wasn't), and the oh-so-mysterious, does-she-doesn't-she-does-she-doesn't-she-does-she love Sydney? Irina (she didn't - not really).
The ultimate dysfunctional family drama.
And through it all, Syd kept changing those wigs and jumping out of third stories in her high-heeled shoes and kept on running.
I remember a pre-series interview with Jennifer Garner. She said something along the lines of "This chick is scared. All she wants is a normal life and she's living several identities at once - any of which can kill her or the people she loves."
And Sydney, for all the horrors she went through, finally achieved that goal - a normal life. Marriage, family, a house on the beach with the man and children she loved. And jaunts to Paris, running in heels with napalm exploding around her, when she wanted them. (Personally, I'd rather go for the croissants and museums).
Why this series touched me so, I'll cover in another entry. Suffice it to say the writing was great. And complex. And the writers didn't talk down to the audience. And I like complicated families. I live in one. I grew up in one. But fortunately, no secret identities or emotional abuse.
Moving on.
This is why I couldn't make this entry just about Sydney. I needed to also talk about Taylor Hicks.
Taylor Hicks is an American everyman with a dream. He wasn't coming from a musically-privileged background, where he was coddled as a singer from day one (see Paris Bennett, Katharine McPhee, Lisa Tucker), nor was he a kid from a broken home (see Kellie Pickler, Brenna Whatever Her Name Was). This was just a good guy, from a good, average family, who wanted to be a musician, played gigs and finally, got his big break.
He had that ordinary life that Sydney wanted, and what he wanted was the extraordinary.
And they both got what they wanted. And they both worked HARD for it. And I guess that's my real message. Talent is just a piece of the equation. If you want something. Work it, work it, work it.
Soul Patrol!
