"Clara Sheller" Season 2 video clip update: The more things change ...

I actually prefer the old J.P, the new guy is (for me) less attractive and plays the role with a much more bitter/queeny edge.

Clara is a wash. Gilles, I don't know--the previous Gilles was so unbelievably gorgeous, but real at the same time. The new one is equally gorgeous, but that's it, so far.

Loved the scene in the elevator.

NEW CLARA

I'm sure the new Clara is a fine actress but a bit generic. Old Clara was just like this crafty kitten. I miss her already. The previous actress had a very unusual, seductive quality about her. Pouty and very girly but not in a stereotypically helpless way.

Old Clara was also visually and vocally engaging and I could understand how anyone could be madly in love with her (as a friend or lover) and want to please her (that's sounds weirder than I mean it to but oh well...).

I just think with old Caral, you immediately FELT her carefree attitude rather than her having to TELL you how carefree she was. I don't know, she was just "richer" somehow in her portrayal of the character.

Perhaps NewClara will grow on me but I have my doubts and since I'm really only watching for JP and Gilles, no big whoop.

NEW JP

The new JP actor conveys JP with a bit more confidence and swagger (and he should be more confident being out for 3 more years) but I really liked the previous JP's HAIR and I thought he was cuter and just sweeter.

I know most folks hated Old JP's hair but it was so WONDERFULLY RETRO and sexy and I think it fit with his kind of perpetual "SIGH..." with regard to life.

I don't dislike the new JP so I can roll with him. The scooter is cute and makes for good outfit possibilities.

The new boyfriend, Marc, blah, blah, boring, ugh! RUN JP RUN!!!! Gilles is your true love! Snatch that man from Clara. Ahem.

NEW GILLES

I thought old Gilles was incredibly sexy and he was so big and brawny yet kind of gangly. He was a very sexy man and I could see both men and women falling for him on sight.

I'm willing to give new Gilles a chance. He's a bit too "domesticated" and lacks the edge and more traditional "sweep you up into his arms leading man" kind of masculinity.

I liked about old Gilles but I'm keeping an open mind.

New Gilles is very cute and sexy in his own right, just so different thathe feels like a different character altogether.

CONCLUSION

I'll have to wait to see how New Gilles and NewJP interact. I don't care as much about Clara. I haven't watched any of the spoiler videos because I want it all to be a surprise but it seems from the elevator conversation that JP still has a thing for Gilles even 3 years later.

"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)

I was really affraid when they changed the cast cause I really liked the old one, especially JP (yes I like Frederic Diefenthal, so ?) and Clara, weirdly I didn't really care for Gilles but he was a good actor and cute. And I was even more scared when I saw the new cast in another show (that didn't have much to do with CS except that it was about people who discovered that they were gay late in their life... really bad show by the way, the guests were really stupid). Anyway the cast seemed so bored (and I can understand them) but they also seemed too sure of themselves.

[If no one dared to guess what is gonna happen there might be some minor spoilers in the next sentence]

Anyway I wasn't thrill about all that but now that I finally got to chance to watch the show (the last 2 episodes at least) I think they're pretty good, I even became kind of attached to Clara, Gilles had his moments and he had a good enough chemestry with JP but I wasn't entirely convinced by his love for JP. JP was nice, gentle and kinda cute but like I said, I liked the previous actor better.

But the more I think about it, the less I care that they recast the whole show so I guess it's a good sign.

I'm just not feeling it with the new JP. With the previous actor, he came accross in a very specific way. He seemed kind of confused, sometimes, about people. He was often unlucky. He was a nice guy, but things never seemed to go quite right for him, and that made him relatable, because he was the "everyday" kind of character, who the viewers wanted to see succeed, eventually. The fact that he could forgive his ex-lover and best friend for breaking his heart, made him sympathetic and likeable. It also showed a type of emotional maturity. The previous actor captured all of this really well.

The new actor is good, and he also makes JP likeable. But he's just a totally different person. The script doesn't help, either. I can understand putting characters in situations where they're not perfectly happy. There's no story if everything's perfect and, besides, real life is never perfect. But I did not want to see JP become the kind of person who creates his own unhappiness. In the first season, I didn't see him as the kind of person who would be in a long term relationship with somebody he doesn't even really like, just because he's afraid of being lonely, or whatever. (I guess he had the potential to be like that, but I'm sad that he actually did go that route.)

The new actors for Clara and Gilles are fine for me. To be honest, I don't feel much difference. However, the storyline for the characters, is unrealistic to me. I'm surpriesed that Gilles is the one who wants to be responsible and grown up. I would have expected him to be the wild type who parties and runs around on Clara with "old friends" like Kaori.