this weekend/highlander babbling
thefangirl and drujan came over Saturday night for a little movie party. We watched this French movie with Roy Dupuis (Michael from La Femme Nikita) called J’en Suis. (The big draw for this movie is that he plays an apparently straight character pretending to be gay, so you get to see him in lots of ridiculous outfits--including a kilt. Oh yeah, and full frontal nudity.) I wasn't so crazy about the movie itself, but Roy was wonderful and adorable. Very giggly and silly, not at all like the (distant, reserved) Michael. He has such nice eyes--kind of reminds me of Orlando Bloom in a way.
thefangirl also brought a bunch of her Highlander tapes--she has the European versions, with extra footage (!!!). So we watched the episode "Methos," in order to introduce drujan to the character. She seemed to like him okay. (We'll see if I can get her to come over and watch more episodes). She left after that, but thefangirl stayed long enough to watch "Comes a Horseman" and "Revelation 6:8." Best. Episodes. Ever. And with extra footage!
We sort of disagreed about Kronos' motivation for wanting Methos around. I'm really fascinated by the relationship between Kronos and Methos. It sort of reminds me of my relationship with my best friend in high school (y'know, minus the immortality and mass murder and so on). It's like, a relationship where you're two halves of the same whole, or like, the same person in different bodies. You think alike. (We used to finish each other's sentences). And nothing has quite the same meaning, the same value, unless you can share it with the other person--because they're the only one who knows you well enough to understand and appreciate the full depth of what you've done. It can be really unhealthy in a lot of ways--you need the other person to share experiences with you, and without that person things just don't have the same meaning behind them. Life is kind of pale and grey when they're not there.
It's sort of like an extreme version of how most artists feel the need to share their art with others. You can say "I only create for myself," but for most (I'm not saying all artists, but most), isn't it a greater thrill when you share it with someone else? When you watch someone's face as they read your story and bite your nails in anticipation of how they'll respond? And any positive feedback is nice, but there's "OMG that was grate! Rite more!!!11!!" and then there's a four page essay response analysing all your themes, picking out favorite quotes, noticing and loving every little detail you put in. Isn't that the greatest, when you find a really good reader who truly understands and appreciates every single little detail that you thought only you would fully appreciate?
I think that's what's really going on with Kronos and Methos. Kronos goes on and on about how Methos is his other half, about how they're brothers, about how they think alike, about how it's just not worth it without someone who can fully appreciate the -- how does he put it -- "true use of terror"? He tells Methos things like "I know you better than you know yourself" and "We think alike." He goes on about how he's tried to take up the old ways but it just never works without Methos.
Now, Kronos' excuse is that he needs Methos to plan, because Methos is so calculating and smart (sort of the Angelus philosophy--Kronos is in it because he appreciates causing pain, and Methos knows how to most effectively create pain and terror). This is Kronos' reasoning, and I think that Kronos actually believes it. I don't, though, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it doesn't hold up within the episode. Kronos says over and over that he and Methos think alike, and he anticipates every move that Methos makes (until the very last, when Methos challenges Silas). He knows when Methos is about to attack him, and he knows when Methos goes to warn Macleod. He uses each of these things to his own advantage. He's a smart guy, and he shows exceptional planning ability--he really doesn't need Methos at all. He's the one who comes up with the idea of a plague, and talk about knowing how to out-think someone--see the look of shock on Methos' face when Kronos explains that he's put a bomb containing the virus in the city's water reservoir?
Kronos does need Methos, but it's not really for Methos' ability to plan. It's because Methos understands him. They're brothers, they think alike--Methos is the only living being who could possibly appreciate the full depth and nuance of Kronos' ability to cause suffering.
In terms of close emotional relationships, Kronos wants (needs) Methos all to himself--certainly not just for "planning." Methos could plan while still having other close relationships. You can see from this how much Kronos needs Methos emotionally--Methos' attention has to be all on him and on what they're doing together. That's why Kronos forces Methos and Cassandra apart, and that's why "breaking up" Methos and Macleod is Kronos' big goal throughout the episodes. (And it's also his big blind-spot--Kronos' downfall happens because he underestimates Methos' loyalty to Macleod and to Cassandra--symbolically, to the side of "good" in general).
It's blatantly obvious that Methos is not fully loyal to Kronos. He attacks him with a sword almost right away! He breaks up Kronos' fight and saves Macleod! He warns Macleod about Kronos' plan! But Kronos can't accept it--to him, it's not worth it without Methos. He keeps Methos around long after it was clear that Methos was a liability to Kronos' evil goals. The interesting thing is that Methos has moved on from Kronos, and that's the part of him that Kronos can't see. To Kronos, they're brothers, they're the same, but in the thousands of years they've been apart Methos has grown. And Kronos just can't take that his "brother" has grown apart from him--he meets his downfall trying to get that relationship back. His success would have been much more likely if he'd given up on Methos and done it on his own--but then without Methos to share it with, it wouldn't have been as fun anyway, would it?
Of course, you can also make a case that Kronos just wants Methos around because he's the best at making evil plans. That's the explicit reason he gives, after all. But I think it's a lot more interesting this way. >:)
I don't know--I guess the thing that kind of freaks me out is that I find myself relating to Kronos in these episodes. I remember when my friendship with [my high school best friend] was breaking up. Some part of me knew that we were growing apart, and wanted desperately the pull her back to me. Part of me wanted her all to myself, and hated that she had other friends and other interests.
I stopped being creative when our friendship ended. It just wasn't worth it without her. I still remember the deep sense of disappointment I felt when she criticized one of my drawings (she said the eyes were flat), and I remember the elation when she said that a short story I'd written was up with the best short stories she'd read (so I bound it, made a fancy cover, and gave her a copy). We were always doing creative things together--writing fiction, filming, drawing. I've done none since, without her to share it with.
So, yeah. Kronos is a crazy evil bastard. But his relationship with Methos is fascinating.
I really have to find someone to discuss this stuff with. I've just been watching these episodes and thinking, but I have no clue what the discourses within Highlander fandom actually are. I'm very curious as to where my opinions would fall, and if they would change if I read other viewpoints.
I decided to watch through my tapes in order, since--with the ones thefangirl brought--I have all the Methos episodes of seasons three, four, and five. So after "Methos," I dug up my old tape of "Finale." Also on this tape: the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episode of "The Simpsons," and the X-Files episode "Anasazi." I remember that summer--my friends and I spent much of it obsessing over who shot Mr. Burns, how Mulder was going to get out of that boxcar, and how cool "Finale" was. (We even wrote a parody script of "Finale," I remember.) So I got curious what year that was, looked it up (1995), then calculated how old I was. I was twelve when "Finale" aired. Twelve. That blows me away. I thought I was, I don't know, fourteen, fifteen? I was twelve. That just seems so young and little, yet I remember it so clearly! I seriously got into Methos when I was only twelve? No wonder so much of this rediscovery seems so new. (And no wonder I was so freaked out when I looked up the series online and discovered slash for the first time!)
Anyway, that was weird. Oh, and also on Sunday night, I remembered that Peter Wingfield (the guy who played Methos) was going to be on an episode of the Oxygen erotica series "Bliss." I remembered about halfway through, so I missed the beginning, but what I saw was really good. He plays a guy who's into bondage, so his wife tries to learn to be a dominatrix. And he shows even more skin than Spike in season six. >:) And he looks very, very nice for a man now in his early forties.
And now I have to get back to work.
(Oh yeah, and I did read the AtS finale spoilers. Ha ha! What a load of crap. I am so glad I'm not a Jossverse fan anymore. The man is a lame, predictable, morally repulsive hack. And I so called the Harmony thing.
Glad that Spike lives, though, for fanfic purposes if nothing else.)
thefangirl also brought a bunch of her Highlander tapes--she has the European versions, with extra footage (!!!). So we watched the episode "Methos," in order to introduce drujan to the character. She seemed to like him okay. (We'll see if I can get her to come over and watch more episodes). She left after that, but thefangirl stayed long enough to watch "Comes a Horseman" and "Revelation 6:8." Best. Episodes. Ever. And with extra footage!
We sort of disagreed about Kronos' motivation for wanting Methos around. I'm really fascinated by the relationship between Kronos and Methos. It sort of reminds me of my relationship with my best friend in high school (y'know, minus the immortality and mass murder and so on). It's like, a relationship where you're two halves of the same whole, or like, the same person in different bodies. You think alike. (We used to finish each other's sentences). And nothing has quite the same meaning, the same value, unless you can share it with the other person--because they're the only one who knows you well enough to understand and appreciate the full depth of what you've done. It can be really unhealthy in a lot of ways--you need the other person to share experiences with you, and without that person things just don't have the same meaning behind them. Life is kind of pale and grey when they're not there.
It's sort of like an extreme version of how most artists feel the need to share their art with others. You can say "I only create for myself," but for most (I'm not saying all artists, but most), isn't it a greater thrill when you share it with someone else? When you watch someone's face as they read your story and bite your nails in anticipation of how they'll respond? And any positive feedback is nice, but there's "OMG that was grate! Rite more!!!11!!" and then there's a four page essay response analysing all your themes, picking out favorite quotes, noticing and loving every little detail you put in. Isn't that the greatest, when you find a really good reader who truly understands and appreciates every single little detail that you thought only you would fully appreciate?
I think that's what's really going on with Kronos and Methos. Kronos goes on and on about how Methos is his other half, about how they're brothers, about how they think alike, about how it's just not worth it without someone who can fully appreciate the -- how does he put it -- "true use of terror"? He tells Methos things like "I know you better than you know yourself" and "We think alike." He goes on about how he's tried to take up the old ways but it just never works without Methos.
Now, Kronos' excuse is that he needs Methos to plan, because Methos is so calculating and smart (sort of the Angelus philosophy--Kronos is in it because he appreciates causing pain, and Methos knows how to most effectively create pain and terror). This is Kronos' reasoning, and I think that Kronos actually believes it. I don't, though, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it doesn't hold up within the episode. Kronos says over and over that he and Methos think alike, and he anticipates every move that Methos makes (until the very last, when Methos challenges Silas). He knows when Methos is about to attack him, and he knows when Methos goes to warn Macleod. He uses each of these things to his own advantage. He's a smart guy, and he shows exceptional planning ability--he really doesn't need Methos at all. He's the one who comes up with the idea of a plague, and talk about knowing how to out-think someone--see the look of shock on Methos' face when Kronos explains that he's put a bomb containing the virus in the city's water reservoir?
Kronos does need Methos, but it's not really for Methos' ability to plan. It's because Methos understands him. They're brothers, they think alike--Methos is the only living being who could possibly appreciate the full depth and nuance of Kronos' ability to cause suffering.
In terms of close emotional relationships, Kronos wants (needs) Methos all to himself--certainly not just for "planning." Methos could plan while still having other close relationships. You can see from this how much Kronos needs Methos emotionally--Methos' attention has to be all on him and on what they're doing together. That's why Kronos forces Methos and Cassandra apart, and that's why "breaking up" Methos and Macleod is Kronos' big goal throughout the episodes. (And it's also his big blind-spot--Kronos' downfall happens because he underestimates Methos' loyalty to Macleod and to Cassandra--symbolically, to the side of "good" in general).
It's blatantly obvious that Methos is not fully loyal to Kronos. He attacks him with a sword almost right away! He breaks up Kronos' fight and saves Macleod! He warns Macleod about Kronos' plan! But Kronos can't accept it--to him, it's not worth it without Methos. He keeps Methos around long after it was clear that Methos was a liability to Kronos' evil goals. The interesting thing is that Methos has moved on from Kronos, and that's the part of him that Kronos can't see. To Kronos, they're brothers, they're the same, but in the thousands of years they've been apart Methos has grown. And Kronos just can't take that his "brother" has grown apart from him--he meets his downfall trying to get that relationship back. His success would have been much more likely if he'd given up on Methos and done it on his own--but then without Methos to share it with, it wouldn't have been as fun anyway, would it?
Of course, you can also make a case that Kronos just wants Methos around because he's the best at making evil plans. That's the explicit reason he gives, after all. But I think it's a lot more interesting this way. >:)
I don't know--I guess the thing that kind of freaks me out is that I find myself relating to Kronos in these episodes. I remember when my friendship with [my high school best friend] was breaking up. Some part of me knew that we were growing apart, and wanted desperately the pull her back to me. Part of me wanted her all to myself, and hated that she had other friends and other interests.
I stopped being creative when our friendship ended. It just wasn't worth it without her. I still remember the deep sense of disappointment I felt when she criticized one of my drawings (she said the eyes were flat), and I remember the elation when she said that a short story I'd written was up with the best short stories she'd read (so I bound it, made a fancy cover, and gave her a copy). We were always doing creative things together--writing fiction, filming, drawing. I've done none since, without her to share it with.
So, yeah. Kronos is a crazy evil bastard. But his relationship with Methos is fascinating.
I really have to find someone to discuss this stuff with. I've just been watching these episodes and thinking, but I have no clue what the discourses within Highlander fandom actually are. I'm very curious as to where my opinions would fall, and if they would change if I read other viewpoints.
I decided to watch through my tapes in order, since--with the ones thefangirl brought--I have all the Methos episodes of seasons three, four, and five. So after "Methos," I dug up my old tape of "Finale." Also on this tape: the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episode of "The Simpsons," and the X-Files episode "Anasazi." I remember that summer--my friends and I spent much of it obsessing over who shot Mr. Burns, how Mulder was going to get out of that boxcar, and how cool "Finale" was. (We even wrote a parody script of "Finale," I remember.) So I got curious what year that was, looked it up (1995), then calculated how old I was. I was twelve when "Finale" aired. Twelve. That blows me away. I thought I was, I don't know, fourteen, fifteen? I was twelve. That just seems so young and little, yet I remember it so clearly! I seriously got into Methos when I was only twelve? No wonder so much of this rediscovery seems so new. (And no wonder I was so freaked out when I looked up the series online and discovered slash for the first time!)
Anyway, that was weird. Oh, and also on Sunday night, I remembered that Peter Wingfield (the guy who played Methos) was going to be on an episode of the Oxygen erotica series "Bliss." I remembered about halfway through, so I missed the beginning, but what I saw was really good. He plays a guy who's into bondage, so his wife tries to learn to be a dominatrix. And he shows even more skin than Spike in season six. >:) And he looks very, very nice for a man now in his early forties.
And now I have to get back to work.
(Oh yeah, and I did read the AtS finale spoilers. Ha ha! What a load of crap. I am so glad I'm not a Jossverse fan anymore. The man is a lame, predictable, morally repulsive hack. And I so called the Harmony thing.
Glad that Spike lives, though, for fanfic purposes if nothing else.)