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fangrrl_squeesY'know, I think the working title has stuck, despite the fact that it makes almost no sense whatsoever. Oh well, c'est la vie.
Avon's not killing off the non-canon characters in Descendant is a matter of mathematics, as far he's concerned. Yes, dear ol' nothing-left-to-lose Avon could murder everyone on board, confident that he can get past Andriss' security arrangements on the Tenebras. He'd have a shiny new ship, and no-one to bother him except the occasional ghost. But he has no backup, no-one to lord his ego over (his favorite hobby) and, frankly, why do all the work alone, if you can manipulate people into doing it for you? What was that quote from Orac in Traitor? "The art of leadership is delegation". This fits in rather nicely with Darrow's own observation that Avon saw his crewmates as useful tools that he would kill/get rid of as soon as they lost their use1.
Mind you, exactly how a person in Avon's current state manipulates (bullies) people to come around to his way of thinking is probably a bit unpleasant and/or ham-handed. Love him as I do, subtlety was never that lad's strong point. He figures out what he wants, and sets out to get it by the most direct means possible.
With a pocket full of Pylene 50 (and the antidote), Avon might be able to convince himself that he's somewhat safe or, at least, able to render everyone in the vicinity harmless and tractable if he has to. However, he would consider such an approach to be the last resort - or close to it - because of the notes below. Granted, he's as capable of being a hypocrite as anyone else, particularly if it benefits him, but he has got a shred of conscience - and a big dollop of pragmatism. Zombies do not a good support team make.
Hmm...
Points to Remember
I believe that one of the reasons that Avon is (rather surprisingly) motivated to start leading an organized effort against the Federation - specifically the pacification program - was because the notion of Pylene 50 really, really disgusted him, and it scared him, too. Avon's one of those supremely self-centered, my-mind-is-my-own types, and the idea of being "adapted" is one he finds particularly repugnant. Which is also why he and Kara start off on precisely the wrong foot at the beginning of Descendant...
Servalan was not present in the episode “Blake”. JP’s contract was up, and she didn’t want to do another episode – rumors of personality clashes with the crew in general and Paul Darrow in particular. When watching the eps, take note of any references of her involvement (if any).
The characters – all of them – need challenging, or else what happens is so much circular/pointless activity. One of Blake’s strengths was that he challenged Avon and – ultimately – changed him. In Descendant, Vila is the best-positioned character to challenge Avon, because of their shared history. Kara can also present a challenge from an ethical/moral viewpoint, but – at the story’s inception – may be too easily intimidated by Avon. The man has a reputation, after all.
Avon will come to a realization that Kara is not the one to challenge – he can make the right noises to her about politics and trust, and she’ll believe him, just because she wants to. Andriss is the new arrival that could provide the most strife, potentially. It’s very much her ship and her money that keep things going. The fact that Kara is what keeps Andriss going will not escape either Vila or Avon’s attention.
Kara’s work is not perfect. The results of her psi experiments are proof of that. Therefore, it is possible and plausible that Andriss is not completely stable. Furthermore, Andriss has a habit of responding well to authority figures – despite having been on her own for half a dozen years.
Avon might be crazy (on the verge of it), but he’s not stupid.
Corollary: if bringing Andriss around to his point of view (ie, becoming a tool for his ends) requires staying on the good side of Kara (who could, after all, potentially boil his brain in his skull) then he’s willing to do that – even whilst making plans to protect himself from Kara’s abilities/kill her if necessary.
Points to Ponder
How does Vila feel right now? Is he comfortable around this devil he knows? Or will he – in a moment of hitherto unthinkable rebellion - try to convince Andriss and Kara to get rid of Avon? After all, he saw Avon kill Blake and (I like to think that) Vila believed that even Avon couldn’t do such a thing. How would Vila react to an accusation (by K, A or A) that getting away from Avon is yet another betrayal for him to cope with?
How does Avon feel right now? Honestly and truly? Especially about what he did to Blake? There is a mourning process to work through, here. How much guilt does Avon feel for what he did? Or did he see it as a completely justified action, despite assurances that Blake was not a bounty hunter and had not betrayed him? Does the suggestion that he hadn’t been betrayed by Blake make Avon feel better or worse? Signs point to worse, methinks. Avon is not one to tolerate his mistakes easily and - barring a coping delusion that the Federation forced him into a situation in which he had to kill Blake - not one to forgive himself easily, either.
It’s possible that Avon convinces himself that the person he killed was another clone of Blake. This could become a delusion which is rather vital to his mental stability – although it could fuel and obsession to find the “real” Blake.
Kara is very, very worried about both Avon and Vila’s mental state. They’ve been on the run for a long time, and have both been through some traumatic events. As a doctor and a compassionate human being (with a bit of a messiah complex) Kara will want to help them both survive what has happened and get along with their lives – whatever form they want those lives to take. Simultaneously, though, she must be concerned for her and Andriss’ safety. Upon seeing Avon’s paranoia in action, will she be compelled to force treatment upon him, without his consent? Or will ethics win? Ethics should, ‘cos if nothing else, Avon would learn about treatment by her, and he’d kill her out of hand. (nubbin in the sickbay: “make a decision like that for me again, and I’ll kill you” – simple enough).
Vila sees a kindred spirit in Andriss, in several ways (criminals, head-adjusted, a cheerfully pragmatic sense of self-preservation). Should these two start keeping company? Not necessarily in a romantic way, but they could become quite close, quite quickly – shared experiences and a fondness for strong drink can go a long way towards fostering friendship.
Corollary: Should such closeness occur – and I think it should because it creates a dilemma for Vila – Avon will be jealous of it. Not in a slashy way, and possibly not even in a conscious way, but Avon will resent anyone having influence on Vila, his pet thief/tool. An action motivated by that jealousy: seek to control Andriss, one way or another.
In the above, the term control is not used in the literal sense - well, not all the way... Avon will want to be taken seriously by the crew of the Tenebras, first, and then massage the dynamic to the point where he just happens to be giving orders and everyone else just happens to listen to him. Kara will be inclined to listen to him when it comes to fighting the Feds as he (and Vila) have gobs more experience than she does. Andriss, however, isn’t all that keen on anything that doesn’t make her money – until/unless Avon taps into her resentment over the Loratt2 affair.
So that’s what Avon needs to do: convince Kara that he’s the more knowledgeable and competent when it comes to revolutionary politics in general and provide Andriss a tangible possibility at the Federation being held accountable for Loratt – or, failing that (and both Andriss and Avon would be skeptical of such accountability ever occurring) a shot at direct, personal revenge against Captain Relt. With those two strategies, he can finagle Kara and Andriss both into deferring to him. Vila, however, might take more work that that, as he knows better.
FYI: Relt is one smart cookie. He’s learned about Sleer’s Love ‘em, Use ‘em, Kill ‘em method of power management and – should ever some sort of détente is established between them – won’t be caught in the same room with her, preferably not the same sector. He’s seen what happens to subordinates of Sleer/Servalan. Should those two start talking, an alliance is unlikely - not without there being something very tangible for both of them to gain. Double crosses and anticipation of same would be inevitable. It would all get very hairy before being resolved.
PS - I know I said I'd ignore The Syndeton Experiment from canon as it makes a large percentage of what I've got in mind rather redundant, but it was worth listening for Avon's line You know I like hurting people. About time he admitted it, hm? And yet, three minutes later, he's enthusiastically haranguing someone over a wee bit of genocide. So much for consistency. ;)
1 - Or if a better tool became available. Hm. Hmmm...
2 - Loratt was the incompetently-bungled-by-the-Feds colony on which Andriss was born. The Feds closed the book on said colony by wiping it out with an arranged accident and pretending it never existed. Andriss is one of a few dozen survivors. We have always been at war with Eurasia...
Avon's not killing off the non-canon characters in Descendant is a matter of mathematics, as far he's concerned. Yes, dear ol' nothing-left-to-lose Avon could murder everyone on board, confident that he can get past Andriss' security arrangements on the Tenebras. He'd have a shiny new ship, and no-one to bother him except the occasional ghost. But he has no backup, no-one to lord his ego over (his favorite hobby) and, frankly, why do all the work alone, if you can manipulate people into doing it for you? What was that quote from Orac in Traitor? "The art of leadership is delegation". This fits in rather nicely with Darrow's own observation that Avon saw his crewmates as useful tools that he would kill/get rid of as soon as they lost their use1.
Mind you, exactly how a person in Avon's current state manipulates (bullies) people to come around to his way of thinking is probably a bit unpleasant and/or ham-handed. Love him as I do, subtlety was never that lad's strong point. He figures out what he wants, and sets out to get it by the most direct means possible.
With a pocket full of Pylene 50 (and the antidote), Avon might be able to convince himself that he's somewhat safe or, at least, able to render everyone in the vicinity harmless and tractable if he has to. However, he would consider such an approach to be the last resort - or close to it - because of the notes below. Granted, he's as capable of being a hypocrite as anyone else, particularly if it benefits him, but he has got a shred of conscience - and a big dollop of pragmatism. Zombies do not a good support team make.
Hmm...
Points to Remember
I believe that one of the reasons that Avon is (rather surprisingly) motivated to start leading an organized effort against the Federation - specifically the pacification program - was because the notion of Pylene 50 really, really disgusted him, and it scared him, too. Avon's one of those supremely self-centered, my-mind-is-my-own types, and the idea of being "adapted" is one he finds particularly repugnant. Which is also why he and Kara start off on precisely the wrong foot at the beginning of Descendant...
Servalan was not present in the episode “Blake”. JP’s contract was up, and she didn’t want to do another episode – rumors of personality clashes with the crew in general and Paul Darrow in particular. When watching the eps, take note of any references of her involvement (if any).
The characters – all of them – need challenging, or else what happens is so much circular/pointless activity. One of Blake’s strengths was that he challenged Avon and – ultimately – changed him. In Descendant, Vila is the best-positioned character to challenge Avon, because of their shared history. Kara can also present a challenge from an ethical/moral viewpoint, but – at the story’s inception – may be too easily intimidated by Avon. The man has a reputation, after all.
Avon will come to a realization that Kara is not the one to challenge – he can make the right noises to her about politics and trust, and she’ll believe him, just because she wants to. Andriss is the new arrival that could provide the most strife, potentially. It’s very much her ship and her money that keep things going. The fact that Kara is what keeps Andriss going will not escape either Vila or Avon’s attention.
Kara’s work is not perfect. The results of her psi experiments are proof of that. Therefore, it is possible and plausible that Andriss is not completely stable. Furthermore, Andriss has a habit of responding well to authority figures – despite having been on her own for half a dozen years.
Avon might be crazy (on the verge of it), but he’s not stupid.
Corollary: if bringing Andriss around to his point of view (ie, becoming a tool for his ends) requires staying on the good side of Kara (who could, after all, potentially boil his brain in his skull) then he’s willing to do that – even whilst making plans to protect himself from Kara’s abilities/kill her if necessary.
Points to Ponder
How does Vila feel right now? Is he comfortable around this devil he knows? Or will he – in a moment of hitherto unthinkable rebellion - try to convince Andriss and Kara to get rid of Avon? After all, he saw Avon kill Blake and (I like to think that) Vila believed that even Avon couldn’t do such a thing. How would Vila react to an accusation (by K, A or A) that getting away from Avon is yet another betrayal for him to cope with?
How does Avon feel right now? Honestly and truly? Especially about what he did to Blake? There is a mourning process to work through, here. How much guilt does Avon feel for what he did? Or did he see it as a completely justified action, despite assurances that Blake was not a bounty hunter and had not betrayed him? Does the suggestion that he hadn’t been betrayed by Blake make Avon feel better or worse? Signs point to worse, methinks. Avon is not one to tolerate his mistakes easily and - barring a coping delusion that the Federation forced him into a situation in which he had to kill Blake - not one to forgive himself easily, either.
It’s possible that Avon convinces himself that the person he killed was another clone of Blake. This could become a delusion which is rather vital to his mental stability – although it could fuel and obsession to find the “real” Blake.
Kara is very, very worried about both Avon and Vila’s mental state. They’ve been on the run for a long time, and have both been through some traumatic events. As a doctor and a compassionate human being (with a bit of a messiah complex) Kara will want to help them both survive what has happened and get along with their lives – whatever form they want those lives to take. Simultaneously, though, she must be concerned for her and Andriss’ safety. Upon seeing Avon’s paranoia in action, will she be compelled to force treatment upon him, without his consent? Or will ethics win? Ethics should, ‘cos if nothing else, Avon would learn about treatment by her, and he’d kill her out of hand. (nubbin in the sickbay: “make a decision like that for me again, and I’ll kill you” – simple enough).
Vila sees a kindred spirit in Andriss, in several ways (criminals, head-adjusted, a cheerfully pragmatic sense of self-preservation). Should these two start keeping company? Not necessarily in a romantic way, but they could become quite close, quite quickly – shared experiences and a fondness for strong drink can go a long way towards fostering friendship.
Corollary: Should such closeness occur – and I think it should because it creates a dilemma for Vila – Avon will be jealous of it. Not in a slashy way, and possibly not even in a conscious way, but Avon will resent anyone having influence on Vila, his pet thief/tool. An action motivated by that jealousy: seek to control Andriss, one way or another.
In the above, the term control is not used in the literal sense - well, not all the way... Avon will want to be taken seriously by the crew of the Tenebras, first, and then massage the dynamic to the point where he just happens to be giving orders and everyone else just happens to listen to him. Kara will be inclined to listen to him when it comes to fighting the Feds as he (and Vila) have gobs more experience than she does. Andriss, however, isn’t all that keen on anything that doesn’t make her money – until/unless Avon taps into her resentment over the Loratt2 affair.
So that’s what Avon needs to do: convince Kara that he’s the more knowledgeable and competent when it comes to revolutionary politics in general and provide Andriss a tangible possibility at the Federation being held accountable for Loratt – or, failing that (and both Andriss and Avon would be skeptical of such accountability ever occurring) a shot at direct, personal revenge against Captain Relt. With those two strategies, he can finagle Kara and Andriss both into deferring to him. Vila, however, might take more work that that, as he knows better.
FYI: Relt is one smart cookie. He’s learned about Sleer’s Love ‘em, Use ‘em, Kill ‘em method of power management and – should ever some sort of détente is established between them – won’t be caught in the same room with her, preferably not the same sector. He’s seen what happens to subordinates of Sleer/Servalan. Should those two start talking, an alliance is unlikely - not without there being something very tangible for both of them to gain. Double crosses and anticipation of same would be inevitable. It would all get very hairy before being resolved.
PS - I know I said I'd ignore The Syndeton Experiment from canon as it makes a large percentage of what I've got in mind rather redundant, but it was worth listening for Avon's line You know I like hurting people. About time he admitted it, hm? And yet, three minutes later, he's enthusiastically haranguing someone over a wee bit of genocide. So much for consistency. ;)
1 - Or if a better tool became available. Hm. Hmmm...
2 - Loratt was the incompetently-bungled-by-the-Feds colony on which Andriss was born. The Feds closed the book on said colony by wiping it out with an arranged accident and pretending it never existed. Andriss is one of a few dozen survivors. We have always been at war with Eurasia...
