It seems to me that once you stop taking Vila at face value and start to think that at least some (and possibly all) of the whole "weak, stupid, unimportant, harmless" image is just that, an image and an act, and a very good one at that... Then you have to wonder why he's doing that, and doing it almost all the time and with almost everyone, including people he knows and ought to be able to trust (like Cally)... It does look very much like he's using it as a shield and form of invisibility cloak, telling everyone that he's not a threat to them, not important enough to think twice about. And for that behaviour to be so generalised and deeply ingrained in him, I can't help but think that he must have had to deal with some very nasty people indeed in his life, and probably on a regular basis at that...
Still, I tend to think of Vila as an optimist, or at least something of a "life-artist", making the best of what he's got. I don't think he need necessarily have been miserable or alone in his life before, there could have been many others like himself - i.e. essentially decent people just trying to survive in harsh circumstances - that he could have befriended, and yes, his skills would probably have offered some degree of status and protection, too. But I'm guessing it's still a world he would very much hesitate to go back to, even if he objectively speaking might be getting into more extreme forms of danger by staying on the Liberator.
it would have to be in circumstances where no one else could I keep thinking of those last moments in in 'Blake' with Vila disarming Arlen when everyone else is paralysed... If only the troopers had been a little later in arriving, maybe he would have continued from there, getting the survivors out. And maybe with Tarrant hurt and Avon near-catatonic and Soolin too smart to want leadership, he'd be forced to keep it up for long enough that they might just get used to the role-reversal... That would be a Series 5 that I'd watch.
I always feel bad when my replies are so much longer than that which I'm replying to. Which is pretty much always. I just don't seem to be able to do concise. :-P And with Vila... The temptation to write essays is just to great.
Oh yes, it's definitely an image he's projecting, right from failing to steal Blake's wallet. I imagine being too intelligent was a mark against him too, but his wit and grasp of language still shines through and Avon recognises and appreciates it. If he took Vila a face value, he wouldn't take him on so many missions that don't requires opening locks.
He's also quite practised at fitting in and making connections with people like Gan (a good choice) and Doran (definitely not one) but Doran, a very dangerous and nasty type, actually liked him, so I can see Vila doing OK with fellow criminals and prisoners and forming protective alliances. His manner and sense of humour just didn't fit in with most of the Liberator crew, though I think he really enjoyed having a real sparring partner in Avon.
I would read that S5!
I often feel embarrassed that my replies are too short!
The difference between what Vila projects as an image and what he actually feels and does is particularly marked in this ep.
The first we hear him, he's reciting a litany of his problems to Zen and sounds genuinely distraught and helpless, but still manages to work up a bit of snappy humour and when we actually see him, yes he's injured and bedraggled but he's managed to make a fire and secure his arm so he doesn't compound the injury and, since he's got a few days growth of stubble presumably must have found water if not food, and isn't really quite that helpess at all...
He's got enough creativity left to conjure up a story about hidden backup that's more convincing than Avon's attempt at fiction up on the Lib and when he's not believed he segues instantly into harmless-helpless-innocent.
The three different people he tells abut that broken arm he tells in three completely different ways - the men with spears get a 'don't hurt me I'm harmless' routine , the hunter girls get the endearing cow eyed 'it's nothing really', and Cally gets a very Vila-ish combination of exagerated bid for sympathy mixed with humour - "okay apart from the agony".
I'm somewhat charmed by the idea that Avon sees through Vila's act more easily than the others, not because he is more perceptive but because he is less sensitive to non-verbal cues. So when Vila says something it's the words (which most clearly show his wit and intelligence) that primarily get through to Avon, while all of the non-verbal "don't-mind-me-I'm-not-important" body language just doesn't register as strongly as it may do for those who have a more "intuitive" response to him.
but Doran, a very dangerous and nasty type, actually liked him He does seem to have a talent to get the most unpleasant types to like him (Egrorian is another example) which seems very telling. After all, I think Vila's abhorrence of violence is perhaps one of his most "true" and unfaked personality traits, so it simply can't be that he somehow condones it in these people, or is so used to it that he doesn't care. But I imagine that going into “hero mode” and confronting them has never been a realistic option for him; nor avoiding them. So he does the reverse instead: he keeps them happy. Because if he can entertain and distract them, and maybe stroke their ego a bit, then maybe nobody gets hurt today. Or at least does not get hurt as badly. At least I get the feeling it's not just himself that he tries to protect that way.
I love that explanation for why Avon sees more in Vila than the others; it rings very true.
It's not the case for Egrorian, but Doran's also the sort of person who'd get Vila's humour, honed on people very like him back on Earth. What works for them just doesn't for the Liberator people who grew up in different environments. OTOH Vila learns quickly enough that Avon is appreciative of witty banter. Maybe the others just don't have as much of a sense of humour.
Still, I tend to think of Vila as an optimist, or at least something of a "life-artist", making the best of what he's got. I don't think he need necessarily have been miserable or alone in his life before, there could have been many others like himself - i.e. essentially decent people just trying to survive in harsh circumstances - that he could have befriended, and yes, his skills would probably have offered some degree of status and protection, too. But I'm guessing it's still a world he would very much hesitate to go back to, even if he objectively speaking might be getting into more extreme forms of danger by staying on the Liberator.
it would have to be in circumstances where no one else could
I keep thinking of those last moments in in 'Blake' with Vila disarming Arlen when everyone else is paralysed... If only the troopers had been a little later in arriving, maybe he would have continued from there, getting the survivors out. And maybe with Tarrant hurt and Avon near-catatonic and Soolin too smart to want leadership, he'd be forced to keep it up for long enough that they might just get used to the role-reversal... That would be a Series 5 that I'd watch.
I always feel bad when my replies are so much longer than that which I'm replying to. Which is pretty much always. I just don't seem to be able to do concise. :-P And with Vila... The temptation to write essays is just to great.
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He's also quite practised at fitting in and making connections with people like Gan (a good choice) and Doran (definitely not one) but Doran, a very dangerous and nasty type, actually liked him, so I can see Vila doing OK with fellow criminals and prisoners and forming protective alliances. His manner and sense of humour just didn't fit in with most of the Liberator crew, though I think he really enjoyed having a real sparring partner in Avon.
I would read that S5!
I often feel embarrassed that my replies are too short!
Reply
The first we hear him, he's reciting a litany of his problems to Zen and sounds genuinely distraught and helpless, but still manages to work up a bit of snappy humour and when we actually see him, yes he's injured and bedraggled but he's managed to make a fire and secure his arm so he doesn't compound the injury and, since he's got a few days growth of stubble presumably must have found water if not food, and isn't really quite that helpess at all...
He's got enough creativity left to conjure up a story about hidden backup that's more convincing than Avon's attempt at fiction up on the Lib and when he's not believed he segues instantly into harmless-helpless-innocent.
The three different people he tells abut that broken arm he tells in three completely different ways - the men with spears get a 'don't hurt me I'm harmless' routine , the hunter girls get the endearing cow eyed 'it's nothing really', and Cally gets a very Vila-ish combination of exagerated bid for sympathy mixed with humour - "okay apart from the agony".
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but Doran, a very dangerous and nasty type, actually liked him
He does seem to have a talent to get the most unpleasant types to like him (Egrorian is another example) which seems very telling. After all, I think Vila's abhorrence of violence is perhaps one of his most "true" and unfaked personality traits, so it simply can't be that he somehow condones it in these people, or is so used to it that he doesn't care. But I imagine that going into “hero mode” and confronting them has never been a realistic option for him; nor avoiding them. So he does the reverse instead: he keeps them happy. Because if he can entertain and distract them, and maybe stroke their ego a bit, then maybe nobody gets hurt today. Or at least does not get hurt as badly. At least I get the feeling it's not just himself that he tries to protect that way.
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It's not the case for Egrorian, but Doran's also the sort of person who'd get Vila's humour, honed on people very like him back on Earth. What works for them just doesn't for the Liberator people who grew up in different environments. OTOH Vila learns quickly enough that Avon is appreciative of witty banter. Maybe the others just don't have as much of a sense of humour.
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