Dark Angel Season 2 angst
Nov. 21st, 2005 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieOK, I ended up watching two Dark Angel S2 episodes that just...guuuh. Yes, I think overall, I like Season 1 better. However, how could I not love Season 2? It has that amazing Max/Logan angst. I love the scene in one of the episodes where at the very end the two of them are sitting in his apartment, and if ever a couple had a legitimate reason to move on, it would be them, but they just sit and then his phone rings and her phone rings and it's a girl who has a crush on Logan and a guy who wants to take Max out. And he just quietly, sadly goes "It's Asha" and she just as quietly and sadly goes "It's Rafer" and they just sit there, letting the phones ring and ring, staring out at the rain. Wow.
But generally, they snark as well, and I love that. My OTP is just so compatible. Btw, I don't really see Alec/Max. Maybe because she treats him as this annoying younger sibling. The funny thing is, if it wasn't for my Max/Logan OTP, I could have totally gotten behind Max/Zack, but Max/Alec just doesn't interest me. I adore Alec beyond the telling of it: he is snarky, and clever and just beautiful. But he's too relaxed most eps. I don't generally crush on him the way I do on Logan and Zack. I guess he is too laid back most times and I prefer it with the angst or desperation. Maybe it's because I prefer my crushes to be either idealists or walking wounded (which would explain full-on Zack love as he is both), and Alec is neither. Neither that is, except for The Berresford Agenda which makes me crush on Alec like mad and has more angst and desperation than anyone could ever want and which is is the best. freaking. episode. ever. Except for Some Assembly Required which is a Zack ep and is my favorite DA ep so far.
So yeah, I watched Some Assembly Required and thoughts on it are behind the cut.
Max is so lucky. She has all these people in her life that love her immensely. Logan has proven time and time again that he was willing to die for her, but Zack? Zack did die for her. He killed himself to be an organ donor for her. There is NO way you could ever repay something like that. So, plot of this ep? Max comes across Zack again. And it totally broke my heart to see him there, Manticore-fixed (sorta) and completely disengaged and vacant and obedient and not remembering things. Because Zack has always been decisive (not to say bossy) and rebellious, and a leader. And now he is a shadow of his former self. And he doesn't remember anything because of the brain damage, and because the gang that "bought" him has been using devices that won't let him heal, and the scene where Max takes him home because the doctor said he'd remember better in familiar places (though some things will never come back and he'll confuse dreams and reality) and he remembers her and then the one thing he wants to know is if the others are safe and Max lies to him and tells him that they are (and how heart-breaking is it that the one thing he is obsessed about is protecting his "siblings"). And then he remembers what really happened during the night and he ends up crying in Max's arms, falling apart and I am kinda sniffling myself.
And then of course there is the Max/Zack angst. Because it's pretty clear he's always loved her, though he'd never let it out unless under extreme stress (the last time we got a major hint was after he escaped Manticore torture and was a mess). But because of the weirdo condition of his brain, he remembers the times he held her or what not and he obviously remembers the way he felt and so he misinterprets. He totally is going off on Logan because he wants to blame him for failure of the mission but also because he thinks Logan came between him and Max. And then of course, you realize that when Manticore had him, they brainwashed him against Eyes Only, and so he'll be triggered at any moment and then when Max is kidnapped and he rescues her (guuuuh, I have such a thing for White Knights) and he tries to kiss her and she rejects it and he is so lost and...*sniffle* And then he loses it and yells at her "I died for you" and it's just such a hugely emotional scene and that's the last little straw that kicks in Logan trigger and he goes off to kill him and in order to save Logan, Max has to short-circuit the electronics in Zack's brain. And the doctor tells Max and Logan that what that means is that all Zack's memories from his first encounter with Max in the alley are viped out. So unless Max goes to him again and triggers the memories by showing him her bar code and so forth so on, he won't remember any of it. And Logan (who is seriously, such a good guy) tells Max that they should try again and explain to Zack etc etc and Max says that he's been programmed and something WILL trigger it and she can't lose Zack and she can't lose Logan and Logan says he will get Zack a new identity. And then Zack wakes up in a hospital bed and this farmer tells him he was a trucker for him blah blah blah (what is it with Logan and farms?). And then he is being wheeled out of the hospital to go "home" and he sees Max in the waiting room and he stops the wheelchair and he looks at Max like a confused little boy and asks Max if he knows her and she says No. And that's it. And I am kinda sobbing. Because he doesn't know who Max is. Max! (Though of course, considering protecting her ended up in his being tortured severely twice, brainwashed, wounded, and killed, maybe he's better off not remembering her).
And how screwed up is it that Manticore so screwed with him and screwed him up that not only did they mangle his body, but they mangled his mind so much that the only way for him to be functional is to forget all about it? And the fact that he was obviously a guy all about free will and choice and he's been made to be triggered, choice taken away from him. Of course, it's good he doesn't have the burden of responsibility any more which he was NEVER going to put down, but...guuuuuuh. I really hope there are some prety farm chicks that dig cute truck drivers.
The thing that I love most about Zack is that he keeps talking about "emotion is a weakness, tactical this and that blah blah" to Max and it's utterly ironic because everything he does is he does for love: for love of Max, for love of the other escapees. He is utterly selfless in it, and it's just...guh.
OK, SAR is just...so much lovely, amazing angst. And it broke my heart in 10 different, but good ways.
Even though I had to skip 3 eps to do so, I watched The Berresford Agenda because everyone kept telling me how good it was and...and...and. Damn. Alec angst. Damn, damn, damn.
How an ep so full of funny goodness can be so heart-breaking, I don't know, but this was amazing. Manticore really fucks everybody up. Alec's coping mechanism is clearly to put everything in the back of his mind, unless directly confronted. And then he falls apart.
He and Max have to make a delivery to Berresford house and it brings it all back. Basically, we learn that on his first "away" operation for Manticore, he was supposed to learn info on a subcontractor. And then, if the superiors determined Subcontractor was a threat, he was to kill him. His cover was to be a piano teacher to Berresford's daughter, but he fell in love with her. Angst, woe, and misery ensued. (Btw, if my piano teachers looked like this, I'd still be practicing).
It's really interesting to see him as young and vulnerable and dedicated (I bet after the aftermath of this mission is when he became the rule-bending utter cynic). It's always creepy to me the way Manticore treats is soldiers like things. Thinks of them as things, too. And Alec sort of gets the taste of emotions and niceness and is more and more confused as he works for Berresford who really IS nice, and as he falls in love with his daughter who really is cool. I love the scene when she tells him she is in love with him and he is just so...I don't even know the expression and then she notices his hands are shaking and he tells her it's because he's happy.
And then the command tells him to take Berresford and his daughter out as a little message to other contractors. And he tries to pretend detachment and asks them wouldn't it be better just to kill Berresford and they tell him not to think, just do. So he plants a bomb in their car, and he has the trigger, but he just can't do it and he goes to Rachel and tells her about himself and the assassination and he is so desperate and he tells her to take her father and leave and he'll just lie to Manticore that they left at night (which, if he pulled it off, would probably have been Alec=organ donor) and she slaps him and runs down to the car to warn her father and he runs after and then the car explodes and we see Manticore ops pull up (with their own trigger, they don't leave things to chance) and make Alec get into the car. And then of course he gets the Zack treatment, as Manticore's method with dealing with recalcitant personnel is not to give them time off and he gets horribly tortured and I assume re-brainwashed and thrown into solitary and he is just falling apart about Rachel.
Of course, in the present, a weird person keeps calling and playing classical music and he sees a woman's silouette in the Berresford house window and he breaks in but it's Berresford, who survived because Rachel saved him. But Rachel herself is in a coma and is going to die any moment so Berresford who saw him on a security camera wants to kill him and Alec tells him he deserves to die. Of course, Max rescues him (though Alec, whose method of coping is NOT to share, is shutting her out just as much after this as before). And then, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dangermousie is sniffling just a tad, he goes into Rachel's hospital room and tells her he wishes he knew to tell her he loved her and he just sobs at her bedside. And he shows up at the cemetary at her grave a few days later and Berresford is there too, and he tells Alec he is glad he didn't kill him, because he wouldn't want to be like him.
But the saddest thing about the whole ep? Max goes to talk to Alec to see if he is OK at the very end (because Logan nudged her, because Logan is just...super cool), and she asks him if he is fine, and Alec looks at her and goes "I am always fine" and you can see the mask begin to slip back on and it's not perfect yet, it has cracks, but you can tell that really soon it will be firmly in place once again. And my heart breaks.
But generally, they snark as well, and I love that. My OTP is just so compatible. Btw, I don't really see Alec/Max. Maybe because she treats him as this annoying younger sibling. The funny thing is, if it wasn't for my Max/Logan OTP, I could have totally gotten behind Max/Zack, but Max/Alec just doesn't interest me. I adore Alec beyond the telling of it: he is snarky, and clever and just beautiful. But he's too relaxed most eps. I don't generally crush on him the way I do on Logan and Zack. I guess he is too laid back most times and I prefer it with the angst or desperation. Maybe it's because I prefer my crushes to be either idealists or walking wounded (which would explain full-on Zack love as he is both), and Alec is neither. Neither that is, except for The Berresford Agenda which makes me crush on Alec like mad and has more angst and desperation than anyone could ever want and which is is the best. freaking. episode. ever. Except for Some Assembly Required which is a Zack ep and is my favorite DA ep so far.
So yeah, I watched Some Assembly Required and thoughts on it are behind the cut.
Max is so lucky. She has all these people in her life that love her immensely. Logan has proven time and time again that he was willing to die for her, but Zack? Zack did die for her. He killed himself to be an organ donor for her. There is NO way you could ever repay something like that. So, plot of this ep? Max comes across Zack again. And it totally broke my heart to see him there, Manticore-fixed (sorta) and completely disengaged and vacant and obedient and not remembering things. Because Zack has always been decisive (not to say bossy) and rebellious, and a leader. And now he is a shadow of his former self. And he doesn't remember anything because of the brain damage, and because the gang that "bought" him has been using devices that won't let him heal, and the scene where Max takes him home because the doctor said he'd remember better in familiar places (though some things will never come back and he'll confuse dreams and reality) and he remembers her and then the one thing he wants to know is if the others are safe and Max lies to him and tells him that they are (and how heart-breaking is it that the one thing he is obsessed about is protecting his "siblings"). And then he remembers what really happened during the night and he ends up crying in Max's arms, falling apart and I am kinda sniffling myself.
And then of course there is the Max/Zack angst. Because it's pretty clear he's always loved her, though he'd never let it out unless under extreme stress (the last time we got a major hint was after he escaped Manticore torture and was a mess). But because of the weirdo condition of his brain, he remembers the times he held her or what not and he obviously remembers the way he felt and so he misinterprets. He totally is going off on Logan because he wants to blame him for failure of the mission but also because he thinks Logan came between him and Max. And then of course, you realize that when Manticore had him, they brainwashed him against Eyes Only, and so he'll be triggered at any moment and then when Max is kidnapped and he rescues her (guuuuh, I have such a thing for White Knights) and he tries to kiss her and she rejects it and he is so lost and...*sniffle* And then he loses it and yells at her "I died for you" and it's just such a hugely emotional scene and that's the last little straw that kicks in Logan trigger and he goes off to kill him and in order to save Logan, Max has to short-circuit the electronics in Zack's brain. And the doctor tells Max and Logan that what that means is that all Zack's memories from his first encounter with Max in the alley are viped out. So unless Max goes to him again and triggers the memories by showing him her bar code and so forth so on, he won't remember any of it. And Logan (who is seriously, such a good guy) tells Max that they should try again and explain to Zack etc etc and Max says that he's been programmed and something WILL trigger it and she can't lose Zack and she can't lose Logan and Logan says he will get Zack a new identity. And then Zack wakes up in a hospital bed and this farmer tells him he was a trucker for him blah blah blah (what is it with Logan and farms?). And then he is being wheeled out of the hospital to go "home" and he sees Max in the waiting room and he stops the wheelchair and he looks at Max like a confused little boy and asks Max if he knows her and she says No. And that's it. And I am kinda sobbing. Because he doesn't know who Max is. Max! (Though of course, considering protecting her ended up in his being tortured severely twice, brainwashed, wounded, and killed, maybe he's better off not remembering her).
And how screwed up is it that Manticore so screwed with him and screwed him up that not only did they mangle his body, but they mangled his mind so much that the only way for him to be functional is to forget all about it? And the fact that he was obviously a guy all about free will and choice and he's been made to be triggered, choice taken away from him. Of course, it's good he doesn't have the burden of responsibility any more which he was NEVER going to put down, but...guuuuuuh. I really hope there are some prety farm chicks that dig cute truck drivers.
The thing that I love most about Zack is that he keeps talking about "emotion is a weakness, tactical this and that blah blah" to Max and it's utterly ironic because everything he does is he does for love: for love of Max, for love of the other escapees. He is utterly selfless in it, and it's just...guh.
OK, SAR is just...so much lovely, amazing angst. And it broke my heart in 10 different, but good ways.
Even though I had to skip 3 eps to do so, I watched The Berresford Agenda because everyone kept telling me how good it was and...and...and. Damn. Alec angst. Damn, damn, damn.
How an ep so full of funny goodness can be so heart-breaking, I don't know, but this was amazing. Manticore really fucks everybody up. Alec's coping mechanism is clearly to put everything in the back of his mind, unless directly confronted. And then he falls apart.
He and Max have to make a delivery to Berresford house and it brings it all back. Basically, we learn that on his first "away" operation for Manticore, he was supposed to learn info on a subcontractor. And then, if the superiors determined Subcontractor was a threat, he was to kill him. His cover was to be a piano teacher to Berresford's daughter, but he fell in love with her. Angst, woe, and misery ensued. (Btw, if my piano teachers looked like this, I'd still be practicing).
It's really interesting to see him as young and vulnerable and dedicated (I bet after the aftermath of this mission is when he became the rule-bending utter cynic). It's always creepy to me the way Manticore treats is soldiers like things. Thinks of them as things, too. And Alec sort of gets the taste of emotions and niceness and is more and more confused as he works for Berresford who really IS nice, and as he falls in love with his daughter who really is cool. I love the scene when she tells him she is in love with him and he is just so...I don't even know the expression and then she notices his hands are shaking and he tells her it's because he's happy.
And then the command tells him to take Berresford and his daughter out as a little message to other contractors. And he tries to pretend detachment and asks them wouldn't it be better just to kill Berresford and they tell him not to think, just do. So he plants a bomb in their car, and he has the trigger, but he just can't do it and he goes to Rachel and tells her about himself and the assassination and he is so desperate and he tells her to take her father and leave and he'll just lie to Manticore that they left at night (which, if he pulled it off, would probably have been Alec=organ donor) and she slaps him and runs down to the car to warn her father and he runs after and then the car explodes and we see Manticore ops pull up (with their own trigger, they don't leave things to chance) and make Alec get into the car. And then of course he gets the Zack treatment, as Manticore's method with dealing with recalcitant personnel is not to give them time off and he gets horribly tortured and I assume re-brainwashed and thrown into solitary and he is just falling apart about Rachel.
Of course, in the present, a weird person keeps calling and playing classical music and he sees a woman's silouette in the Berresford house window and he breaks in but it's Berresford, who survived because Rachel saved him. But Rachel herself is in a coma and is going to die any moment so Berresford who saw him on a security camera wants to kill him and Alec tells him he deserves to die. Of course, Max rescues him (though Alec, whose method of coping is NOT to share, is shutting her out just as much after this as before). And then, as
dangermousie is sniffling just a tad, he goes into Rachel's hospital room and tells her he wishes he knew to tell her he loved her and he just sobs at her bedside. And he shows up at the cemetary at her grave a few days later and Berresford is there too, and he tells Alec he is glad he didn't kill him, because he wouldn't want to be like him. But the saddest thing about the whole ep? Max goes to talk to Alec to see if he is OK at the very end (because Logan nudged her, because Logan is just...super cool), and she asks him if he is fine, and Alec looks at her and goes "I am always fine" and you can see the mask begin to slip back on and it's not perfect yet, it has cracks, but you can tell that really soon it will be firmly in place once again. And my heart breaks.
