User blog:Phenglei Kai/"Courageous" - The Sam/Freddie Relationship

The other day, my sister (Serene Girl) posted a comment on the Seddie page, giving her view of how much the value of courage defines the Sam/Freddie relationship.

Not surprisingly, it dropped off the first page of comments in a matter of hours, and as of this writing, it's down to Page 6. I decided to re-post her comment in this blog, because I thought it was quite eloquent. (Several Seddie commentors liked it as well.) I just didn't want it to disappear too quickly.

"Courageous." - When I was asked to describe the Sam/Freddie relationship in a single word.

Courage. Their relationship is practically built on it.

Every day he goes to hang out with Sam, Freddie has to wonder what new torments she's going to put him through.

All the time they spend together, they each have to worry about accidentally letting their real feelings for each other peek out from the mask of hostility they've created.

But, of course, the greatest moment of courage in their relationship will come when they finally stop playing this game of acting like they hate each other (which, as Dan Schneider has said, they keep playing because they're afraid to stop) and admit their real feelings for each other.

We may, of course, finally see that happen in iOMG. As my siblings have often said, Freddie's speech to Sam ...

"I know it's scary for you to put your feelings out there. Because you never know if the person you like is going to like you back. But you never know what might happen."

... was an extraordinary moment for their friendship and relationship. It will take a lot of courage for Sam to finally tell Freddie how she feels about him. And if Freddie really was talking about himself there, it already took courage for him to even take the first step toward laying his own feelings out for Sam to see.

And when and if they do become a couple? Any time you get into a relationship, you take a risk - that the person you commit yourself to won't live up to that commitment, that the relationship might fail despite both of your best efforts, that you'll wind up with a broken heart.

Loving somebody always takes courage. But in Sam's case, she also has to find the courage within herself to let down all of her emotional walls, that she's built up from years of neglect in her own home. When she met Carly, and then Freddie, she managed to let down her walls enough to let friendship into her life.

Now, she has to let them down enough to let in somebody who she knows might love her forever ... but might also break her heart. And it's not just anybody she's taking that risk for, but somebody she has spent the better part of six years harassing, insulting, humiliating, and putting down.

It's no wonder she's scared.

Freddie, meanwhile, not only accepts the risk of getting heartbroken himself, but also the burden of responsibility. He knows that he faces the daunting task of trying to break down Sam's emotional walls to get through to her, and he can't know if he's capable of the task. Freddie also knows that if he fails, he could wind up hurting Sam to the point that she will never trust anybody ever again.

It takes courage to accept that kind of responsibility.

I'm inclined to doubt that we'll see anything quite that heavy come out in the T.V. series. It is a children's show, after all. But I've always felt that it's a very poignant quality of their relationship ... and, in any case, definitely fertile ground for fan fiction writers to explore. :)

(My sister also posted a comment on the Creddie page, talking about how she described the Carly/Freddie relationship in a single word - "Adorable".)

As long as we're on the subject of Serene Girl and her post ... Not that this has anything to do with iCarly, but it reminded me of a line from a certain Harry Potter fan fiction story which I liked very much (although it was never completed or posted). It was called "For The Badger's Honour" ... Once again, right back at ya, Sis! :) ... and this scene involved the romantic affections of a different blond girl with deep emotional inhibitions :

"It was so hard ... but I did, finally, learn to let the people who cared about me ... Ginny, Neville, Ron, Hermione, and you, too, Harry ... I finally let all of you into my heart ...

... But the kind of love that you're looking for, Harry, I still can't give. I can't let somebody that deeply into my heart. If I did, I would always be so afraid that he'd go away, like my mother did. It's so much different than just being friends with someone ...

Harry, I know you, and I know myself, well enough to know this : If I could give you that love, I would. If it was possible, I would have fallen in love with you so easily ... But I can't. One day in the future, maybe, but not now ... and I won't ask you to wait for me.

If you really care about me as much as you say, Harry, then you'll respect my wishes, and you will move on. Find somebody who can give you what you need and want, the love that you deserve."

- Luna Lovegood, rejecting Harry Potter's bid for her romantic affection ("For The Badger's Honour")

Considering how much this particular author loved the Harry / Luna relationship, I was surprised that the one Harry Potter fanfic she was planning to write involved Harry's love for Luna turning out to be unrequited.

Oh, well ... Although I don't support the Seddie relationship, my sister does very much. For her sake, and all of the Seddiers on this hope, we can hope that Sam's emotional inhibitions prove easier for Freddie to overcome than Luna's did for Harry. ;)