(Chase Davenport - Lab Rats: Elite Force promo)
It's still disappointing that Lab Rats: Elite Force was cancelled after one season especially after that explosive cliffhanger. The show which was a spin-off from the TV series Lab Rats and Mighty Med, follows siblings Bree and Chase Davenport as they form the new team Elite Force with Oliver, Kaz and Skylar Storm.
This spin-off which had so much potential, held a lot of expectations from fans and had a difficult task of trying to please not only fans of both shows but new fans as well. I think the show met and exceeded some of expectations while failing at others which is probably why it was cancelled. I do wish this show had gotten a second season to fix the problems from the first season because things were really starting to come together with the Elite Force taking on the shape-shifting villains who not only destroyed the Mighty Med hospital but were also targeting all the superheroes to kill them.
Despite the show's many problems, I did like how Chase was shown. On Lab Rats, he's overly confident, slightly goofy and weird, socially awkward, uptight, extremely nerdy but also really caring and understanding which is rounded out with a superiority complex. He can also be petty when he feels either his intelligence or leadership is being threatened. It frustrates him when he can't figure something out or he's outsmarted and this can bring out his insecurities about his intelligence and leadership skills. These personality quirks are things fans of Lab Rats already knew about him but what I liked about the spin-off was that it gave Chase a chance to gain a bit of growth. On the original series, he was defined by two things: his super intelligence and being the leader of his bionic superhero team. Along with his other powers and abilities, he was created to be the smartest person in the world which he has proudly stated many times.
His favorable opinion of his intellect doesn't change but being a leader does in the Elite Force sixth episode "Follow the Leader". After a petty and jealous moment in trying to secure his role as leader of this new team, he made a surprising decision to give up that position. This was a huge breakthrough for Chase especially since being a leader has been a big part of his identity since he self-appointed himself mission leader at the age of 12 on Lab Rats. He was going to have to learn how to be a member of a team instead of being the leader but he was also starting to learn not to be so petty and spiteful.
On Lab Rats, Chase had several petty moments such as in the first season sixth episode "Exoskeleton vs. Grandma". He tampered with Mr. Davenport's exoskeleton suit when he was jealous of his new step-brother Leo Dooley being included in the product pitch meeting. He was so used to it just being him and Mr. Davenport conducting the meetings that he felt like he was being replaced, he did something stupid that had a dangerous result. You would have thought he would have learned his lesson but no there were other instances throughout the series that showed that he lashed out whenever he felt insecure.
That's why I loved his new character growth in Elite Force, he thought about his actions and made a decision that I believe in the long run would have helped him deal with his insecurities. Although, Chase was still extremely uptight, he was starting to relax (at least a little bit) while also trying to form new friendships with his teammates. Lab Rats: Elite Force may not have fared well because of a lack of direction among other things but at least Chase Davenport was on his way to growing into a better person.
No comments:
Post a Comment