Highlander season 4: Judgement Day
Jan. 29th, 2006 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI had a post. It was a long post. I'd been deep and philosophical in it. I hit post.
Why is my post not posted?????????
*sobs at LJ*
Okay, from the top -
A clips show, again, Watchers, again, superior quality wrapper, definitely, again.
consequences, yaay!
Joe getting shot, unyaay.
Joe choosing to stand there and take his sentence, yaay. Goes right back to the Samurai. Honor might not be keeping promises, but it is living with the consequences.
"On your knees"
"Not in this lifetime"
is a great pair of lines, because it takes a factual statement about his disability and makes it over into a positive character statement.
Methos. "Let friendship thrive." Risk again. Giving them that book. Think he had it since it was first written? Think there's more than one copy?
Mac charging to the rescue ever so competently.
Watchers will die or kill to keep the secret. They keep the secret to preserve the organisation. They preserve the organisation to preserve records of Immortals. They record Immortal lives because as far as Watchers are concerned they are intrinsically valuable. The truth of those lives is valuable, at least as valuable as the secret, since falsifying records is a worse crime than telling the secret. And those lives themselves are valuable. That is the other part of the reason Watchers must never interfere, because it would mess with the Game. They are willing to kill mortals, Watchers, to preserve the integrity of the Game. They are willing to give their lives to study Immortals. They act as though Immortal lives are intrinsically more valuable than mortal ones.
Which is interesting, especially since Mac acts with the exact opposite priorities. He will kill Immortals for killing mortals, but not just for killing Immortals.
So we have this built in tension in philosophies.
We also have a central tension in Watcher priorities. Which is more important, keeping the secret or not interfering with the Game? Twice now we've seen them land on 'keep the secret'. Why? Immortals are why they exist. Why is killing Immortals consistent with the Watcher code? Especially since the cat is not only out the bag, it has had three years to breed. Killing Duncan will not restore the secret. So why kill him??
No consistent reason. Possibly just revenge.
comparison to Buffyverse Watchers. Different reason for apparent inaction in both cases. Buffyverse Watchers take a long time to make. Have to learn all that stuff, learn how to use it. Highlander Watchers take only a couple of minutes to make. That guy is Immortal, watch him and tell what he does. Done. (Well, there's the persuasion phase, but still, quickly done.)
... there was more, but its gone again.
*sigh*
I said it better last time
*sulk*
but, thats my thoughts on this episode. good and thinky.
Why is my post not posted?????????
*sobs at LJ*
Okay, from the top -
A clips show, again, Watchers, again, superior quality wrapper, definitely, again.
consequences, yaay!
Joe getting shot, unyaay.
Joe choosing to stand there and take his sentence, yaay. Goes right back to the Samurai. Honor might not be keeping promises, but it is living with the consequences.
"On your knees"
"Not in this lifetime"
is a great pair of lines, because it takes a factual statement about his disability and makes it over into a positive character statement.
Methos. "Let friendship thrive." Risk again. Giving them that book. Think he had it since it was first written? Think there's more than one copy?
Mac charging to the rescue ever so competently.
Watchers will die or kill to keep the secret. They keep the secret to preserve the organisation. They preserve the organisation to preserve records of Immortals. They record Immortal lives because as far as Watchers are concerned they are intrinsically valuable. The truth of those lives is valuable, at least as valuable as the secret, since falsifying records is a worse crime than telling the secret. And those lives themselves are valuable. That is the other part of the reason Watchers must never interfere, because it would mess with the Game. They are willing to kill mortals, Watchers, to preserve the integrity of the Game. They are willing to give their lives to study Immortals. They act as though Immortal lives are intrinsically more valuable than mortal ones.
Which is interesting, especially since Mac acts with the exact opposite priorities. He will kill Immortals for killing mortals, but not just for killing Immortals.
So we have this built in tension in philosophies.
We also have a central tension in Watcher priorities. Which is more important, keeping the secret or not interfering with the Game? Twice now we've seen them land on 'keep the secret'. Why? Immortals are why they exist. Why is killing Immortals consistent with the Watcher code? Especially since the cat is not only out the bag, it has had three years to breed. Killing Duncan will not restore the secret. So why kill him??
No consistent reason. Possibly just revenge.
comparison to Buffyverse Watchers. Different reason for apparent inaction in both cases. Buffyverse Watchers take a long time to make. Have to learn all that stuff, learn how to use it. Highlander Watchers take only a couple of minutes to make. That guy is Immortal, watch him and tell what he does. Done. (Well, there's the persuasion phase, but still, quickly done.)
... there was more, but its gone again.
*sigh*
I said it better last time
*sulk*
but, thats my thoughts on this episode. good and thinky.