Spartacus 3x08: Agron thoughts.
After thinking it over for a while, I don't think Agron is dead yet. Yes, there is wishful thinking on a massive scale involved here. But even so, it makes far more sense for him to be alive, IMO.
In purely "But he was run through by a sword!" terms:
Compare Agron's fall with Donar's - there is absolutely no doubt that Donar is dead. Getting a sword through the skull is very unambiguous, as is getting your head lopped off, as Crixus did. But Agron is hit in (or stabbed through, I'm not sure) the side and loses consciousness, and is then shown lying rather fortuitiously dead-looking on the ground while Romans look for survivors to kill.
I've frequently thought people shown to receive injuries like Agron's were dead, only to find out later on that they weren't. Lucretia is just one example of this. Nasir received a wound not unlike this one. Crixus lived through worse. So, if he really were meant to be dead, wouldn't Agron have received a more dramatic and unambiguous injury?
In "Where's ze drama?" terms:
If Agron were truly dead, he would have gotten a different send-off, IMO. The ep would have devoted a bit more time to him and his relationship with Spartacus before he left with Crixus. I think the farewell with Nasir would have been more emotional, too. In retrospect, what there was of a send-off with Agron seems more like a "to be continued" tease rather than a "farewell dear character".
Not to mention that a true death scene of a character as prominent as Agron should have been more protracted and dramatic. Look at the Crixus death scene in comparison to Agron's fall. While Crixus was a more important character than Agron, there's still too much of a difference, IMO.
In "Think about the plot of the last 2 eps!" terms:
In terms of plot, Agron's death isn't as interesting as his continued presence among the living. You can have the "omg he's dead" reactions from Nasir and the others, and still have him alive and needing to escape / be rescued, thus gaining far more tension for the last two eps.
It's the same principle that had Gannicus hiding in and escaping from the city adding more dramatic tension than his death in a dramatic "covering your retreat"-battle would have. No matter how many waterfalls, rivers and lakes of fake blood that would have entailed.
In "It would just be frustrating and stupid!" terms:
Honestly: If this is the real death, then Agron taking off with a stupid line like that and Nasir being left behind in the company of Castus (?) the flirty pirate, plainly in the expectation that Nasir will end up happy with the man…
Wow, how sucky would that be? That is just about the most unsatisfying end to a relationship ever. It's too awful to contemplate. No. No, it would make much more sense to me if Agron were still alive, because then there'd be a chance to expand and build on what happened in relationship terms.
Because that was actually quite interesting, I think.
My thoughts on why Agron went off and left Nasir with a handsome flirty pirate.
My theory is that Agron let go of Nasir the same way he let go of Duro, back when Spartacus told him he wasn't doing Duro any favors by preventing him from growing into his own, but was actually endangering him by his over-protectiveness. In the battle against Rome, as in the arena, every man fights for himself in the end - Agron can't always be there to protect Nasir, just as he couldn't always be there with Duro.
Thanks to the flirty pirate Castus, Agron's jealous and overly protective reaction, and the tensions it caused in his relationship with Nasir, Agron realized he's been hovering over Nasir too much, trying to fight his battles and not letting Nasir do his own thing. It's the same thing he used to do with Duro. Obviously not exactly the same, but you know what I mean. *g* It's familiar and habitual behavior for Agron, hovering and being so protective.
And once Agron drew that parallel in his head, consciously or not, he realized that his behavior was holding Nasir back; turning into a threat, even, because he was limiting Nasir's growth, not allowing him to stand on his own two feet (which Nasir himself called him on at one point). The only reaction Agron has to this is to protect Nasir by not being so protective anymore - by taking a big step back. Taking himself right out of the picture to let Nasir grow stronger on his own.
It's a bit extreme to take a step back by means of rushing off to attack Rome, of course. But honestly, I don't think Agron would have done so well without an actual separation. He's just not the cool-headed type, and I expect watching handsome pirates flirt with his lover would pretty quickly have eroded his resolve to not interfere.
Also: That little speech about not knowing anything but blood and battle, and there being nothing for him north of the Alps? I think Agron did believe that. He has been fighting for so long that he has forgotten he ever knew anything else. Unlike Nasir - and so, in Agron's head, there's another reason for Agron to get away from Nasir, because he doesn't want Nasir to know only battle and death, and feels that that's all there can ever be for him by Agron's side.
Agron's wrong, of course. Nasir has a pretty good idea of what he wants, and that what he wants is a fully equal relationship, IMO. He's been strong and independent from the start and has never bowed to Agron's wishes, and he's shown to be growing stronger all the time; he will not let himself be limited by Agron's over-protectiveness even if Agron is right there beside him, growling at handsome flirty pirates.
Nasir is not like Duro, who grew up leaning on Agron and wouldn't have stopped without being made to. Nasir is like Naevia (though not as psychotic as S3 Naevia): He can grow strong within the relationship, because he knows that he wants to - and needs to. And because, like Crixus, Agron can learn, too. He can learn to be there for Nasir in all the ways his lover needs him to be, and still stand back when Nasir needs air to breathe, to fight his own fights, to stand on his own two feet, to do his own thing, what have you.
And Agron can learn to know more than blood and battle. Just because that's all he's known so far doesn't mean that's all there has to be in his future; it's clear he's capable of more.
So, really, all Agron needs to do is live, and all Nasir needs to do is set his head straight. And they should then both continue to live, damn it.
In conclusion:
Maybe not everyone will have to die in the end? Can't some of them escape over the Alps? Or many…?
Why did I think watching this series was a good idea again…?
*whimper*
In purely "But he was run through by a sword!" terms:
Compare Agron's fall with Donar's - there is absolutely no doubt that Donar is dead. Getting a sword through the skull is very unambiguous, as is getting your head lopped off, as Crixus did. But Agron is hit in (or stabbed through, I'm not sure) the side and loses consciousness, and is then shown lying rather fortuitiously dead-looking on the ground while Romans look for survivors to kill.
I've frequently thought people shown to receive injuries like Agron's were dead, only to find out later on that they weren't. Lucretia is just one example of this. Nasir received a wound not unlike this one. Crixus lived through worse. So, if he really were meant to be dead, wouldn't Agron have received a more dramatic and unambiguous injury?
In "Where's ze drama?" terms:
If Agron were truly dead, he would have gotten a different send-off, IMO. The ep would have devoted a bit more time to him and his relationship with Spartacus before he left with Crixus. I think the farewell with Nasir would have been more emotional, too. In retrospect, what there was of a send-off with Agron seems more like a "to be continued" tease rather than a "farewell dear character".
Not to mention that a true death scene of a character as prominent as Agron should have been more protracted and dramatic. Look at the Crixus death scene in comparison to Agron's fall. While Crixus was a more important character than Agron, there's still too much of a difference, IMO.
In "Think about the plot of the last 2 eps!" terms:
In terms of plot, Agron's death isn't as interesting as his continued presence among the living. You can have the "omg he's dead" reactions from Nasir and the others, and still have him alive and needing to escape / be rescued, thus gaining far more tension for the last two eps.
It's the same principle that had Gannicus hiding in and escaping from the city adding more dramatic tension than his death in a dramatic "covering your retreat"-battle would have. No matter how many waterfalls, rivers and lakes of fake blood that would have entailed.
In "It would just be frustrating and stupid!" terms:
Honestly: If this is the real death, then Agron taking off with a stupid line like that and Nasir being left behind in the company of Castus (?) the flirty pirate, plainly in the expectation that Nasir will end up happy with the man…
Wow, how sucky would that be? That is just about the most unsatisfying end to a relationship ever. It's too awful to contemplate. No. No, it would make much more sense to me if Agron were still alive, because then there'd be a chance to expand and build on what happened in relationship terms.
Because that was actually quite interesting, I think.
My thoughts on why Agron went off and left Nasir with a handsome flirty pirate.
My theory is that Agron let go of Nasir the same way he let go of Duro, back when Spartacus told him he wasn't doing Duro any favors by preventing him from growing into his own, but was actually endangering him by his over-protectiveness. In the battle against Rome, as in the arena, every man fights for himself in the end - Agron can't always be there to protect Nasir, just as he couldn't always be there with Duro.
Thanks to the flirty pirate Castus, Agron's jealous and overly protective reaction, and the tensions it caused in his relationship with Nasir, Agron realized he's been hovering over Nasir too much, trying to fight his battles and not letting Nasir do his own thing. It's the same thing he used to do with Duro. Obviously not exactly the same, but you know what I mean. *g* It's familiar and habitual behavior for Agron, hovering and being so protective.
And once Agron drew that parallel in his head, consciously or not, he realized that his behavior was holding Nasir back; turning into a threat, even, because he was limiting Nasir's growth, not allowing him to stand on his own two feet (which Nasir himself called him on at one point). The only reaction Agron has to this is to protect Nasir by not being so protective anymore - by taking a big step back. Taking himself right out of the picture to let Nasir grow stronger on his own.
It's a bit extreme to take a step back by means of rushing off to attack Rome, of course. But honestly, I don't think Agron would have done so well without an actual separation. He's just not the cool-headed type, and I expect watching handsome pirates flirt with his lover would pretty quickly have eroded his resolve to not interfere.
Also: That little speech about not knowing anything but blood and battle, and there being nothing for him north of the Alps? I think Agron did believe that. He has been fighting for so long that he has forgotten he ever knew anything else. Unlike Nasir - and so, in Agron's head, there's another reason for Agron to get away from Nasir, because he doesn't want Nasir to know only battle and death, and feels that that's all there can ever be for him by Agron's side.
Agron's wrong, of course. Nasir has a pretty good idea of what he wants, and that what he wants is a fully equal relationship, IMO. He's been strong and independent from the start and has never bowed to Agron's wishes, and he's shown to be growing stronger all the time; he will not let himself be limited by Agron's over-protectiveness even if Agron is right there beside him, growling at handsome flirty pirates.
Nasir is not like Duro, who grew up leaning on Agron and wouldn't have stopped without being made to. Nasir is like Naevia (though not as psychotic as S3 Naevia): He can grow strong within the relationship, because he knows that he wants to - and needs to. And because, like Crixus, Agron can learn, too. He can learn to be there for Nasir in all the ways his lover needs him to be, and still stand back when Nasir needs air to breathe, to fight his own fights, to stand on his own two feet, to do his own thing, what have you.
And Agron can learn to know more than blood and battle. Just because that's all he's known so far doesn't mean that's all there has to be in his future; it's clear he's capable of more.
So, really, all Agron needs to do is live, and all Nasir needs to do is set his head straight. And they should then both continue to live, damn it.
In conclusion:
Maybe not everyone will have to die in the end? Can't some of them escape over the Alps? Or many…?
Why did I think watching this series was a good idea again…?
*whimper*