The character of Neil: a little contrived?
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roland-rockerfella — 9 years ago(September 30, 2016 02:56 AM)
The funny thing is that David was the first choice to take over from Jennifer. Neil only got the gig because Brent failed the medical. The board clearly thought David was the better choice despite his antics, it would be interesting to see how he would have done in it.
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bpjtuition — 9 years ago(January 11, 2017 10:27 PM)
I think that Neil was a very realistic character. He was everything Brent imagined himself to be but at the same time lacked much of his heart and kindness behind the facade.
There was something slightly smug about Neil that was very much behind the surface but that audience subtly picked up on. His friendship with Finch was a fantastic observation of human interaction. Finch is a bully and a nasty, intimidating man. Neil appreciates this fact and Finch also appreciates that Neil is someone whom h has to respect and show admiration for.
Smug is the word that fits Neil's flaws more than anything else. So whilst Brent is insufferable at times and hopelessly deluded, as the show reaches it's conclusion we see that Brent is a tragic figure and that in some respects the seemingly perfect Neil is actually a haughty man full of himself.