TMA 132, "Entombed"
Feb. 25th, 2023 19:58![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starladyThose who refuse to serve the Powers,
become the tools of the Powers.
Those who agree to serve the Powers,
Themselves become the Powers.
Beware the Choice! Beware refusing it!
— Diane Duane, High Wizardry
The above came to mind after I finished readingastrogirl's entry discussing through episode 128, in which she extremely perceptively said that "I trust who he is... but there is no trusting what he is, and so of course, of course that means he can't be trusted." John never really did have much of a choice, did he? In the end it came down to death or resurrection, and he wanted to help people if he could, which meant being resurrected as no longer human. (That said, in some ways he came back from the dead and is still an absolute idiot.) But as Helen points out in 131, the line between human and monster really doesn't mean much. Side note: it deeply, deeply freaks me out when Helen (and other avatars) end with the farewell from The Prisoner, "Be seeing you." In the context of TMA, it always sounds extremely ominous. Speaking of humans and monsters, I agreed with all of what kindkit said about 131 as well.
But really my reaction to 131 was…well, I guess I found Melanie grating because she reminded me too much of, well, me. I too was angry for years, so angry that I stopped even being aware that I was angry, and yes, it did help me hang on and get things done and powered me through adversity. But it also made me short-tempered and suspicious and when I finally let it go and looked back I could see that it had been a weight pushing me down. I hope for her sake that she can learn to be herself without the anger.
Hearing Gertrude's voice in 130 again, I was immediately reminded that Elias admittedly killed her because she wanted to destroy the Archives. There's a lot of evidence that she was right in that, and I wonder whether she was in some ways able to refuse the choice that John faced, as she clearly died far more human than he is now. But it also strikes me that no one else seems to have taken up that "Archives delenda est" spirit, and that seems to me to be an interesting oversight. But also potentially a fatal one.
ETA: I feel extremely vindicated in my interpretation of all this by John's line in 132, "One thing I’ve learned, Daisy, is that we all get a choice. Even if it doesn’t feel like one."
become the tools of the Powers.
Those who agree to serve the Powers,
Themselves become the Powers.
Beware the Choice! Beware refusing it!
— Diane Duane, High Wizardry
The above came to mind after I finished reading
astrogirl's entry discussing through episode 128, in which she extremely perceptively said that "I trust who he is... but there is no trusting what he is, and so of course, of course that means he can't be trusted." John never really did have much of a choice, did he? In the end it came down to death or resurrection, and he wanted to help people if he could, which meant being resurrected as no longer human. (That said, in some ways he came back from the dead and is still an absolute idiot.) But as Helen points out in 131, the line between human and monster really doesn't mean much. Side note: it deeply, deeply freaks me out when Helen (and other avatars) end with the farewell from The Prisoner, "Be seeing you." In the context of TMA, it always sounds extremely ominous. Speaking of humans and monsters, I agreed with all of what kindkit said about 131 as well.But really my reaction to 131 was…well, I guess I found Melanie grating because she reminded me too much of, well, me. I too was angry for years, so angry that I stopped even being aware that I was angry, and yes, it did help me hang on and get things done and powered me through adversity. But it also made me short-tempered and suspicious and when I finally let it go and looked back I could see that it had been a weight pushing me down. I hope for her sake that she can learn to be herself without the anger.
Hearing Gertrude's voice in 130 again, I was immediately reminded that Elias admittedly killed her because she wanted to destroy the Archives. There's a lot of evidence that she was right in that, and I wonder whether she was in some ways able to refuse the choice that John faced, as she clearly died far more human than he is now. But it also strikes me that no one else seems to have taken up that "Archives delenda est" spirit, and that seems to me to be an interesting oversight. But also potentially a fatal one.
ETA: I feel extremely vindicated in my interpretation of all this by John's line in 132, "One thing I’ve learned, Daisy, is that we all get a choice. Even if it doesn’t feel like one."
(no subject)
Date: 2023-02-27 03:01 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-02-27 07:52 (UTC)