Carnivale... thoughts, and Alias recs
You know, instead of a proper Carnivale review, which still eludes me for I know I will be unfair in writing one, I offer this summary of the two last episodes in not quite Jacobean blank verse:
Enter THE EVIL PREACHER: So thou art Scudder? Why, thou witless fool
Norman is more impressive in his sleep. Still, I must kill thee
to be a Prophet proper.
THE EVIL MINION: Onwards, good Brother!
You will enjoy the deed, I swear.
aside: Meanwhile, I will molest your sister.
THE OTHER MINION: Nay, wait - for Scudder first
Must gain his wits, or Justin will lose his.
(THE AUDIENCE: You mean he hasn't already?)
THE EVIL PREACHER: Curse it. Ah, well. I shall speak softly to
the maiden fair called Sofie while I wait.
SCUDDER: If I had known this was to be my ending,
I would have displayed Prophet power sooner.
Eyes, dark! And twitchy minion, die!
Scudder is on his way to liberty.
PREACHER: Or thus thou thinkest. But despite
The fact I never swung a blade,
I shall behead thee from behind
With one swift stroke.
SCUDDER: Oh thrice dammed fate! I should have stayed
With my mad mother. *dies*
*Somewhat sooner, there was this subplot*
SOFIE: Good Iris, I must tell thee exposition.
Learn that my mother was a gypsy fair,
by trade a teller of most auspicious fortune.
And I was born in yonder little town
thou and thy brother used to live, though this
was never mentioned until now.
IRIS: Alas, now I recall
that dire day of wrath when Justin
forced such a maiden to endure his will.
And will to boot, and will in overplus.
True, this might seem unlike the man
Who flogged himself for merely thinking
A lustful thought about myself, but Knauf,
good Daniel Knauf has said that this was so.
And Daniel is an honorable man.
Be calm, my raging thoughts, and onwards, plot!
Character continuity be now forgot.
THE KNIGHT: Great dangers have I passed, and now I am
ready to slay the evil Preacher. Hark!
Who is it that approaches me now?
IRIS: Iris I am, the sole remaining proof
of ambiguity in California. Get thee hence
To yonder lake. My brother thee awaits
unknown to him. But leave thy ax with me.
A mind game must be played.
THE KNIGHT: I do obey. Getting baptised by him,
I'll use my knife, and even will get clean
for the first time in two entire seasons.
But woe! What do mine eyes behold?
Sofie it is, my love so young and fair!
SOFIE: Getting baptised in Brother Justin's arms
would please me more if Ben would not be watching.
And there's a corpse! This is enough for me.
I shall get hence, and will consult with Iris.
THE KNIGHT: But let me warn thee first, sweet Sofie.
Yon Preacher is an evil, evil man.
For my first proof, take this: He is a Russian.
SOFIE: Nay, thou speakest false!
But since I have defended Brother Justin
plot does require I must see his evilness
from this point onwards. For a start
I'll hear how Iris and himself
converse in treacherous Russian tongue.
THE PREACHER: Fair Sofie, come to me. I shall
forego all subtlety, and make a move.
For there's a tempest, and the mood exites me.
THE KNIGHT: Do I hear more, or do I interfere? Unhand her, villain!
Oh thrice-licentious, lecherous, evil villain!
THE LOYAL SUPPORTER: Nay, keep thy peace, good knight.
True, I myself
used to be most concerned for Sofie
and beat you up on her behalf.
But now I am a married man. So, keep thy peace.
SOFIE: This is too much. My trust in thee is broken.
Justin, farewell! And family dream, adieu!
Somewhat sooner, there was this scene:
IRIS: Norman, my most dear father, dost recall
Justin obsessing over one annoying gypsy?
NORMAN: I do, for Daniel Knauf says it was so,
and Daniel is an honorable man.
True, not two years ago I treasured
the two of you as my most precious children
and thought that Justin was a good and worthy man.
But Daniel says I knew he was a rapist,
and Daniel is an honorable man.
IRIS: Fair Sofie, whom I hired recently
is that same gypsy's daughter.
So much for exposition. Now I must
hire the carnivale, for well I know
it will unsettle Justin.
THE PREACHER: My dream made flesh! This must be Iris' work.
Come here, sweet sister, for a double shot,
for though our storyline makes not much sense
ever since Creed, this image shall remain.
IRIS: And so it will. What horrors next await
I do not know. The season is soon over.
Thinking of it as a Jacobean revenge drama really helps. Meanwhile, Te watched season 1 - ah, season 1 - and come up with this wonderful fanfiction.
***
And two Alias fanfiction recs: A Shift in the Wind, one of the products of the recent remix ficathon, and for my money far better than the original. Sydney in season 3, literature, memory and the present falling apart. A great character vignette.
On the more humourous side of things, I just found this priceless take on Weiss in season 4,
"Paranoia and Potential Fatal Agony", subtitled: The Trials and Tribulations of Falling for the Daughter of a Diabolical Genius. Just what I wanted to read ever since seen those priceless scenes with Sloane and Weiss in The Index. Have a taste via a quote:
Weiss had used to have a whole lot of pity for Mike - because he was dating Jack’s daughter, and all. Yeah, Sydney was a great girl - probably worth all of the agony, even - but Weiss wasn’t sure he would’ve kept pursuing that particular romance, if it meant he had to deal with the looming possibility of the ultimate formidable father-in-law. He’s still a little surprised that Jack didn’t just take Mike out back somewhere and shoot him for the whole marrying-Lauren-and-crushing-Syd’s-soul deal. Maybe the wife-killing created some deep spiritual bond, or something. But the thing is, Jack seems almost (and Weiss thinks this in the straightest and most masculine of ways, mind) appealing as of right now. Because Jack? Okay, yeah, scary as hell. But at least he hadn’t been the head of an evil organization who seemed to hold a whistle-while-you-work mentality about offing innocent people.
Enter THE EVIL PREACHER: So thou art Scudder? Why, thou witless fool
Norman is more impressive in his sleep. Still, I must kill thee
to be a Prophet proper.
THE EVIL MINION: Onwards, good Brother!
You will enjoy the deed, I swear.
aside: Meanwhile, I will molest your sister.
THE OTHER MINION: Nay, wait - for Scudder first
Must gain his wits, or Justin will lose his.
(THE AUDIENCE: You mean he hasn't already?)
THE EVIL PREACHER: Curse it. Ah, well. I shall speak softly to
the maiden fair called Sofie while I wait.
SCUDDER: If I had known this was to be my ending,
I would have displayed Prophet power sooner.
Eyes, dark! And twitchy minion, die!
Scudder is on his way to liberty.
PREACHER: Or thus thou thinkest. But despite
The fact I never swung a blade,
I shall behead thee from behind
With one swift stroke.
SCUDDER: Oh thrice dammed fate! I should have stayed
With my mad mother. *dies*
*Somewhat sooner, there was this subplot*
SOFIE: Good Iris, I must tell thee exposition.
Learn that my mother was a gypsy fair,
by trade a teller of most auspicious fortune.
And I was born in yonder little town
thou and thy brother used to live, though this
was never mentioned until now.
IRIS: Alas, now I recall
that dire day of wrath when Justin
forced such a maiden to endure his will.
And will to boot, and will in overplus.
True, this might seem unlike the man
Who flogged himself for merely thinking
A lustful thought about myself, but Knauf,
good Daniel Knauf has said that this was so.
And Daniel is an honorable man.
Be calm, my raging thoughts, and onwards, plot!
Character continuity be now forgot.
THE KNIGHT: Great dangers have I passed, and now I am
ready to slay the evil Preacher. Hark!
Who is it that approaches me now?
IRIS: Iris I am, the sole remaining proof
of ambiguity in California. Get thee hence
To yonder lake. My brother thee awaits
unknown to him. But leave thy ax with me.
A mind game must be played.
THE KNIGHT: I do obey. Getting baptised by him,
I'll use my knife, and even will get clean
for the first time in two entire seasons.
But woe! What do mine eyes behold?
Sofie it is, my love so young and fair!
SOFIE: Getting baptised in Brother Justin's arms
would please me more if Ben would not be watching.
And there's a corpse! This is enough for me.
I shall get hence, and will consult with Iris.
THE KNIGHT: But let me warn thee first, sweet Sofie.
Yon Preacher is an evil, evil man.
For my first proof, take this: He is a Russian.
SOFIE: Nay, thou speakest false!
But since I have defended Brother Justin
plot does require I must see his evilness
from this point onwards. For a start
I'll hear how Iris and himself
converse in treacherous Russian tongue.
THE PREACHER: Fair Sofie, come to me. I shall
forego all subtlety, and make a move.
For there's a tempest, and the mood exites me.
THE KNIGHT: Do I hear more, or do I interfere? Unhand her, villain!
Oh thrice-licentious, lecherous, evil villain!
THE LOYAL SUPPORTER: Nay, keep thy peace, good knight.
True, I myself
used to be most concerned for Sofie
and beat you up on her behalf.
But now I am a married man. So, keep thy peace.
SOFIE: This is too much. My trust in thee is broken.
Justin, farewell! And family dream, adieu!
Somewhat sooner, there was this scene:
IRIS: Norman, my most dear father, dost recall
Justin obsessing over one annoying gypsy?
NORMAN: I do, for Daniel Knauf says it was so,
and Daniel is an honorable man.
True, not two years ago I treasured
the two of you as my most precious children
and thought that Justin was a good and worthy man.
But Daniel says I knew he was a rapist,
and Daniel is an honorable man.
IRIS: Fair Sofie, whom I hired recently
is that same gypsy's daughter.
So much for exposition. Now I must
hire the carnivale, for well I know
it will unsettle Justin.
THE PREACHER: My dream made flesh! This must be Iris' work.
Come here, sweet sister, for a double shot,
for though our storyline makes not much sense
ever since Creed, this image shall remain.
IRIS: And so it will. What horrors next await
I do not know. The season is soon over.
Thinking of it as a Jacobean revenge drama really helps. Meanwhile, Te watched season 1 - ah, season 1 - and come up with this wonderful fanfiction.
***
And two Alias fanfiction recs: A Shift in the Wind, one of the products of the recent remix ficathon, and for my money far better than the original. Sydney in season 3, literature, memory and the present falling apart. A great character vignette.
On the more humourous side of things, I just found this priceless take on Weiss in season 4,
"Paranoia and Potential Fatal Agony", subtitled: The Trials and Tribulations of Falling for the Daughter of a Diabolical Genius. Just what I wanted to read ever since seen those priceless scenes with Sloane and Weiss in The Index. Have a taste via a quote:
Weiss had used to have a whole lot of pity for Mike - because he was dating Jack’s daughter, and all. Yeah, Sydney was a great girl - probably worth all of the agony, even - but Weiss wasn’t sure he would’ve kept pursuing that particular romance, if it meant he had to deal with the looming possibility of the ultimate formidable father-in-law. He’s still a little surprised that Jack didn’t just take Mike out back somewhere and shoot him for the whole marrying-Lauren-and-crushing-Syd’s-soul deal. Maybe the wife-killing created some deep spiritual bond, or something. But the thing is, Jack seems almost (and Weiss thinks this in the straightest and most masculine of ways, mind) appealing as of right now. Because Jack? Okay, yeah, scary as hell. But at least he hadn’t been the head of an evil organization who seemed to hold a whistle-while-you-work mentality about offing innocent people.