No other character has gotten to my heart the way Tobias Beecher, from HBO's Oz, has and I'm still not entirely sure why he's affected me so much.
Let me start with this:
I only decided to watch Oz because somebody (and hell if I can remember who, probably some anonymous person on a website somewhere) linked me to a video with various Chris/Toby kisses from Oz [that video is here]. Then I got caught up in watching all the Beecher and Keller moments on YouTube, before eventually I broke down and started watching the show itself.
Toby was one of the first characters that the show featured on, though after he was branded by Vern, he stayed in the background for a while.
Still, I knew I'd attached to him already.
The things Vern did to him were hard for me to watch. When Toby found Ryan - and drugs - that was hard, too, but I could understand his need for escape. I could understand Toby's need for somewhere to get away from his tormentor.
I don't know how narcissistic it would be to say that I see some of myself in Toby, but I do feel that we have some similarities. He's a good guy who made a mistake in his life and is paying for it a hundred times over. I could see myself reacting the same way he has in the same situations.
And with Chris? I completely understand how he feels. Chris took time to get through to Toby, and then he hurt him like that? It was tough to watch Toby beg like he did, but I knew I wouldn't have been much different in his place.
After he got his arms and legs broken - and that is a scene I'm not sure I'll ever be able to watch again, with how much it hurt me - I understood that he wouldn't want to forgive Chris, and I don't blame him for that one bit.
But this was the pattern -- something bad happens to Toby and I am crying right along with him. When he gets mad, I'm mad with him. And when he and Chris are having a moment together, I am right there with them.
Bad things happen to Ryan O'Reily, or to Busmalis, or to Said or anybody else, and okay, well it's part of the story. But when something happens to Tobias Beecher, I can barely stand it.
I'm not even finished watching Oz yet but I know that there's still more good and bad things in store for Toby, and I'll be along for the ride, letting my heart break again and again.
Let me start with this:
I only decided to watch Oz because somebody (and hell if I can remember who, probably some anonymous person on a website somewhere) linked me to a video with various Chris/Toby kisses from Oz [that video is here]. Then I got caught up in watching all the Beecher and Keller moments on YouTube, before eventually I broke down and started watching the show itself.
Toby was one of the first characters that the show featured on, though after he was branded by Vern, he stayed in the background for a while.
Still, I knew I'd attached to him already.
The things Vern did to him were hard for me to watch. When Toby found Ryan - and drugs - that was hard, too, but I could understand his need for escape. I could understand Toby's need for somewhere to get away from his tormentor.
I don't know how narcissistic it would be to say that I see some of myself in Toby, but I do feel that we have some similarities. He's a good guy who made a mistake in his life and is paying for it a hundred times over. I could see myself reacting the same way he has in the same situations.
And with Chris? I completely understand how he feels. Chris took time to get through to Toby, and then he hurt him like that? It was tough to watch Toby beg like he did, but I knew I wouldn't have been much different in his place.
After he got his arms and legs broken - and that is a scene I'm not sure I'll ever be able to watch again, with how much it hurt me - I understood that he wouldn't want to forgive Chris, and I don't blame him for that one bit.
But this was the pattern -- something bad happens to Toby and I am crying right along with him. When he gets mad, I'm mad with him. And when he and Chris are having a moment together, I am right there with them.
Bad things happen to Ryan O'Reily, or to Busmalis, or to Said or anybody else, and okay, well it's part of the story. But when something happens to Tobias Beecher, I can barely stand it.
I'm not even finished watching Oz yet but I know that there's still more good and bad things in store for Toby, and I'll be along for the ride, letting my heart break again and again.
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