Characters You HATED to Die!! Episode 5: Linderman
Ok, it’s no secret that the majority of Friday fans watch
each chapter hoping to be shocked and awed by the extravagant and often
explicit ways that each would be victim will be dispensed in. It could even be argued that some characters
are set up just for the payoff of rooting for and enjoying their bloody ends
- we’re looking at you Trent from the
reboot…
Having said that, every so often one of the films would
present a demise that not only caught fans off guard, but we were actually sad
to see them meet their maker.
The long awaited Freddy vs. Jason finally came to fans in
2003, and although it can be argued that the majority of the characters were
established simply to be dispensed in bloody gloriousness (mostly at the hands
of Jason if anyone was keeping count), one character stood out as a fan
favourite.
Charlie Linderman (did anyone know that was his first name?)
was portrayed by likeable actor Chris Marquette who in 2011 would appear in
another genre offering The Rite, with Anthony Hopkins. What makes Linderman such a fan favourite is
mostly that he offered both empathetic relation and heroism.
Linderman is the nerd in all of us fanboys. He is quickly established as mooning over our
lead and final girl Lori (Monica Keena).
Repeatedly shot down and humiliated by her BFF and big mouthed bully Kia
(Kelly Rowland), Linderman not only finally finds the nerve to stand up to Kia
and bring her down a notch by voicing her faults, but a unique development also
occurs. Linderman and Kia, throughout
numerous near fatal encounters with both Freddy and Jason, begin to develop
their own chemistry. Whether getting
down at the cornfield rave or avoiding blows from both villains in the climax
at Camp Crystal Lake, these two develop a blooming protectiveness for each
other.
Naturally this leads to Linderman’s downfall. While Lori unconsciously works on dragging
Freddy into the real world so Jason can get his hands on him, Linderman and Kia
work hard at keeping Jason back until just the right moment. When Jason turns to give Kia a cuffing, our
hero nerd Linderman steps in to her aid…only to have Jason sail him across the
room with a blow that lands on a protruding board sticking out of the wall. While Kia helps her Superman limp out of the
cabin as Jason sets his sights on Krueger, Linderman requests to take a rest
behind a Camp Blood tree.
Selfless to the end, Linderman insists that Kia make a run
for it and that he will be fine to hide out until she returns with help. What Kia does not notice before running off
and is that her knight is quickly bleeding out, and Linderman leaves us seconds
after Kia is off to meet her own bloody end at the hands of Jason.
So here’s to good old Charlie Linderman; intellect, friend,
ally, hopeless romantic, and protector until the end. May he finally meet his dream girl (and for
once not have to pay for it) in the afterlife!
Don’t forget to pay your respects to Linderman in the Freddy vs. Jason forum page.
