Continuing from yesterday, starting with the scene where Methos returns to where Kronos is staying. Also known as Methos is a little shit, and Kronos demonstrates he is sometimes really blind to some nuances of human nature. Like, don’t ask Methos to kill his friends. It’s dangerous.
Below a cut because this is getting long. It has a lot of dialogue I like.
… And here is where I want to drop a nice anvil on MacLeod. Although this is another bit with some favored lines. Under cut for length.
Nope, more anvils. Joe does make things better.
(And I know there’s a lot missing, because all this is transcribing is the dialogue, and the actions and everything do add nuance.)
“Joe, you can’t defend it.”
“I’m not defending it. I’m trying to understand it.”
“What’s there to understand? When he rode into a village, there was life. When he rode out, there wasn’t.”
“No. You weren’t there. Different times, MacLeod. Different rules, different morals. You can’t compare it.”
“I won’t compare it, and I can’t excuse it.”
“Yeah. How many men have you killed? How much blood have you shed in anger?”
“No. No. I know what I’ve done, and I live with it. But I’m telling you, this is different.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about a bunch of murdering bastards that burned and raped across two continents! They butchered innocent women and children, Joe! You live with that; you see that.”
(Oh, MacLeod, you idiot.)
“I have. Vietnam. When we took out a village, we couldn’t tell the farmers from the soldiers. You think somehow the bullets managed to miss all the children?”
“This is different.”
“How?”
“Because he loved it. Because he had pleasure in killing.”
(*sighs* At the time, yes, he probably did, at least for a while. But just because he enjoyed it then, MacLeod, you fucking twit, doesn’t mean he still does. Or that he doesn’t regret that part of his life now. People. Change. And Methos is the ultimate survivor. He changes as he needs to in order to fit into the morals of the culture in which he lives. Even if other people who are rigid in their moral beliefs don’t like that he does so.)
Methos does love his fire. And it’s an effective tool in this case. And you can see the change in him, the calculated loosening of stance, the way he used the fire to manipulate the outcome, the annoyance in the gesture of throwing the belt of Cassandra’s coat after her into the water (his annoyance over all the shit he’s trying to cope with).
Also, Cassandra just. Can’t let the idea of “must kill them both/all” go. Which by itself, not necessarily a bad thing. But when expressed in front of Duncan “judge, jury, and executioner” MacLeod? Then it becomes a bad thing.
Cassandra needs therapy and a safe place. Kronos needs to be kept away from the rest of the world, and MacLeod needs to get the stick out of his ass.
*sighs*
There's a Mirror on the Wall 