I see where you're coming from, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. My own parents have been had at least 3 partners over the course of my life, and they were all very different from each other, both physically and in terms of personality (so much so that I've often wanted to ask my parents how they could be with X after being with someone as radically different as Y - although maybe that was the whole point, I don't know).
I know there are some people who are only attracted to "the same type of person personality wise", and I've definitely seen that happen too, but that doesn't seem to be applicable to Rio at all because Jerrica and Jem are very different "personality wise".....as I've mentioned elsewhere, Jerrica uses Jem to allow herself to be glamorous, outgoing, flirtatious and outrageous. Rio even differentiates what he perceives to be Jerrica's distinct traits from Jem's while talking to Jerrica about her alter-ego in STARBRIGHT PART 1: FALLING STAR. He says that Jem "makes the air sizzle", while Jerrica is the "dependable" one that makes you feel comfortable in her presence, leading Jerrica to tell him that he makes her sound like "a pair of old shoes" compared to Jem.
Yes, the whole situation is definitely messed up, but it's not really Rio's fault. It's Jerrica's!! You also missed the point entirely when you said "it's like saying it's okay if a guy cheats on you as long as the girl he cheats on you with is similar to you". Jem and Jerrica are THE SAME PERSON, whether Rio knows it or not. They are TWO SIDES of the SAME COIN, and Rio is attracted to BOTH SIDES equally - as well he should be.
Also, Christy Marx the creator/head writer explicitly stated that Rio and Jerrica weren't supposed to be committed to each other, even though that's the idea that a lot of viewers seem to have. She said that their 'relationship' had developed very slowly over the years, and that they hadn't officially become an item. You will notice that they never say "I love you" to each other throughout the ENTIRE duration of the show - not even ONCE. This makes it all the more impressive that Rio is only attracted to Jerrica and Jem throughout the whole show, despite not even being COMMITTED to either one of them.......whereas Jerrica/Jem flirts with other guys, and eventually finds herself unable to resist Riot!! So yes, I would definitely say that Rio is a better person than she is.
You may be right that it's not fair to compare Rio with a girl who is Kimber's age - a lot of whom tend to be guy crazy like you said, although there again, I much prefer girls like Raya (who was also younger than Jerrica, Aja and Shana) who was VERY CHASTE AND PURE. Raya is hands down my favourite Hologram, and Kimber is probably my least favourite (although there is a lot to admire about her too).
I can totally understand why you would not want to date Rio based on his "overly jealous" tendencies, however. I don't find it as "annoying" as you do, but I can understand how it could get on some girls' nerves.
I do think that there's an unspoken ETHNIC/RACIAL dimension to Rio's jealousy though (something the cartoon could never have explored, of course). Rio - whose last name is Pacheco - is a Latino guy. You will note that all the other guys that Jem/Jerrica flirts with, makes out with, and/or falls for, are as WHITE/CAUCASIAN as can be - three of them are BLONDE, BLUE EYED "Aryan" types even (Nick Mann the actor from the 'Starbright' movie set, Svenson the Scandinavian Ski instructor, and of course Riot). Then there was the British rock promoter who played the Beast while she was playing Beauty in London. In all of these cases, I personally believe that Rio's main concern - subconsciously - was not just losing Jerrica/Jem to another guy, but losing her to a WHITE guy (the type of guy that is usually, sadly portrayed as the masculine ideal).
Rio is far from perfect - he is a very flawed man - but just as much as I understand why you don't like him, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND why he is the original poster's favourite character as well. I would definitely take him over someone like Riot any day of the week!!!!!
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modelajb
8 years ago
Oddly enough, they repeatedly refer to Rio as Jerrica's boyfriend in the show. It would have been better if they hadn't done that and had made it clear that heand Jerrica weren't officially an item. I would have been a lot more ok with him being attracted to both Jerrica and Jem but eventually choosing Jerrica. The way the show presented things, he just comes off like a cheater and a hypocrite. Not to mention, he's overly possessive and controlling.
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rapture87
8 years ago
I totally agree with you that the show did a piss poor job of SETTING the whole thing up. Christy Marx herself should have laid it out more clearly from the beginning. She said she enjoyed writing "soap opera", so maybe she decided to leave it as ambiguous as possible to heighten the drama (even though it's frustrating for us as adults).
I wouldn't pay too much attention to them referring to Rio as Jerrica's "boyfriend" though. I feel like it's a loose term - considering that Kimber had multiple boyfriends. The only character on the show that had ONE, steady boyfriend was Shana. Jerrica/Jem came across as much more of "a cheater and a hypocrite" than Rio, as I've said elsewhere.
Rio was definitely overly possessive and controlling - but a great deal of that is his exaggerated sense of Latino 'machismo'. A distinctly Latin American trait that was considered a positive masculine trait in that culture, but a negative trait in Caucasian American culture.
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bartallenii
8 years ago
I have a theory about Rio that kind of takes the rough edges off for me, and that's that Rio knows that Jem/Jerrica are the same and understands why she won't tell him.
In flashbacks, we see that Rio was always hanging out at the house long before Emmett died, and since Rio is good with electronics, what if Rio helped build Synergy? He helped put her together (Emmett just never mentioned it in his diary, knowing that Jerrica might read it after his death). After Emmett finds out he's dying, he spells it out for Rio that Synergy could be dangerous if she falls into the wrong hands and must be protected, along with his girls, at all costs.
After Emmett dies, Rio is the one who sends Jerrica the earrings and sets everything up, erasing Synergy's knowledge of him. He immediately recognizes Jem as Jerrica because he knows her so well, but remembers what Emmett told him and wants Jerrica to tell him the truth on her own, putting on the whole 'I hate liars and deception' thing to drive home the point that she could keep her identity secret from not only him, but the whole world.
That's why he can so easily date Jem/Jerrica at the same time. At least that's what I'm starting to believe.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11891397/1/Supernatural-Wayward-Sons
A new monthly ongoing series
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