It's all about the hair. Sort of.
Although I've been taking weekends off work for a while now (by turning down assignments and thus, lowering my income, which is not a viable longterm strategy but I had to do it for my sanity), the fact that I took a couple of extra days off last week for Pride meant I'd have to work this weekend, and I have been. Even on Friday. BUT...
Woman does not live on work alone, my darlings, so I am taking this brief break from my scintillating review of a book about hunting for snakes in the Congo (is not my life endlessly fascinating?) to write an important meta on a question that has troubled fans since ancient times:
What the FUCK were they thinking of with the Brian, Lindsay, and Michael hair of Season Five?
In contemplating this question, or rather, these questions, I have come to two conclusions and one state of agonizing incomprehension.
1. Brian's hair
I believe that Brian's unflattering hairstyle, and more importantly, the dark color of his hair, in Season Five were a deliberate part of his characterization as a "debauched aging club boy." I think they were intended to emphasize a sort of "Creature of the Night" effect, by making his skin look pale and his lips look slightly darker. I believe that the unflattering place on his face that his hair hit him was meant to add to this impression, and also to make him look just a bit older by hitting him at the widest part of his cheekbones and thus making his face look a little squarer and wider.
The only other possible explanation is the hairstylist hated him. There is nothing else.
2. Lindsay's hair
There is almost nothing I can imagine less flattering to Lindsay than the blown-out helmet hair we see her in during Season 5. The thing is, we only see her with that hairstyle part of the time. If you watch the show obsessively, as I do, you'll notice that whenever Lindsay is supposed to be unhappy, on the wrong track, uptight, or somehow messed up, her hair is straight. It makes her face look too long and thin, and emphasizes her neck, which is also, in Season 5, too thin.
But whenever her hair is left natural and soft, which is surprisingly often, it's a sign that Lindsay is opening up, making an important realization or change, or getting back on the right track.
3. Michael's hair
I got nothin'. Anyone? Anything? I like his hair the other four seasons, but this just hurts me. Thoughts?
I leave you with the following visions of beauty, the other side of Season Five hair, if you will:
This post was inspired by a discussion on pinkfriction's journal. Caps from Showtime and Reminiscent Designs.