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darn you, Sanctuary
How can I quit you, show, when you keep giving me Tesla episodes that are so totally my thing? ♥ I never wanted to be that person who only watches the episodes that her favorite guest star is in. But. TESLA.
(The B-plot, though ... nrgh. I made it through maybe a minute of it before I started skipping directly back to MORE TESLA. I got the impression that maybe it was less excruciatingly dull later? Maybe?)
ANYWAY. TESLA. It's funny, because watching all the Tesla episodes back-to-back a few months ago with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xparrot and gnine kinda ... sold me on a very different view of Tesla than I'd had before. Throughout seasons 1-3, I'd seen him as a sort of Machiavellian evil character with a soft spot for Helen. Driven to fix the world, yes, but in a "cheerfully killing anyone who doesn't fit into my better new world or tries to stop me" kind of way, and more because he can't stand the rest of humanity doing things wrong than actually wanting to help people. (Which made me feel vaguely guilty for liking him as much as I do, but ... I can't help it.)
And yet. Watching all (well, most of) the Tesla eps in our Tesla-thon this summer, I think that there is some of this in his makeup, sure. But I do think that he's more genuinely well-intentioned than I'd thought at first, more of an oblivious scientist type than an evil scientist type. He really does care about Helen. He really does want to make the world a better place. He's just got a raging ego and an overwhelming tendency to justify the costs to himself (which was what this episode was all about, really). "The ends justify the means" is a philosophical point that he's totally on board with in theory, provided the stakes are worth it, but he can't maintain it when he's brought face-to-face with the actual faces of the people whose lives he's risking.
In a way I kinda wish they'd made this point with a random stranger rather than with Henry, because there's still an undertone of "... well, killing strangers is okay, but not people I know". (He did seem regretful when he discovered that the other victims besides Henry were irretrievable, but more in a "... huh, that's interesting" kind of way.) But! One thing I've really been wanting to see is Tesla forming connections and relationships with people other than Helen -- basically Tesla bonding with other people in Team Sanctuary -- and I think we really got that in this episode. ♥
I was actually expecting Tesla's (entirely predictable) change of heart regarding the "human cost" of the energy tech to come about through the death of Red-Haired Scientist Lady. (On a side note, I thought it was rather adorable that Tesla's co-workers at Evil Scientist Labs, Inc. seemed to like him.) Either that, or Helen getting snatched by the tentacle thing. But hey, Tesla-Henry friendship FOR THE WIN. I am so down with that. ♥ ♥ ♥
There's still that little bit of plausible deniability that you always have with Tesla (how much of his guilt over being responsible for Henry's "death" was more due to having hurt and alienated Helen; how much of his decision to go into the creature's lair was just to keep Helen from doing it, since it was evident that he wasn't going to be able to stop her) but ... still. HE WENT. ♥ And isn't that scene in the cave the first time that he calls Henry by his real name, as opposed to a nickname?
Oh, and callbacks to "Trail of Blood" ftw! XD
Henry: Hey, could you maybe pick it up a little bit?
Tesla: I'm sorry, are you rushing me? Because I seem to recall when the roles were reversed in Colombia you taking your sweet time.
Henry: Yeah, but dude, WE'RE IN ITS NEST.
Tesla: Right. Cutting.
I also liked the way that this episode played up the platonic side of his relationship with Helen -- the friendship is often emphasized over the flirting anyway, but this was more overt than most, with Henry's comment to Tesla about "the best friend you'll ever have", and no direct flirting at all. Heh, this was another thing that came up when we were watching the episodes last summer -- I think it wasxparrot who floated the idea that Tesla's flirtiness with Helen is not necessarily inconsistent with the real Tesla's asexuality, because it's possible that he simply doesn't know any other way to express love or affection. Which made me go "OH TESLA! BABY!" because ... it kinda fits. At least, I think it's a valid way of looking at them. I don't recall that we've had even a hint that he's been in a canonical sexual relationship with anyone, and I seriously doubt if he's been saving himself for Helen or any such thing. I certainly don't think that a sexual reading of his relationship with Helen is anti-canonical in any way, but I also think it's quite consistent to view them as anywhere from completely platonic (and Tesla is simply that messed up about relationships) to asexually romantic.
So, yeah, in conclusion, TESLA. ♥
(The B-plot, though ... nrgh. I made it through maybe a minute of it before I started skipping directly back to MORE TESLA. I got the impression that maybe it was less excruciatingly dull later? Maybe?)
ANYWAY. TESLA. It's funny, because watching all the Tesla episodes back-to-back a few months ago with
xparrot and gnine kinda ... sold me on a very different view of Tesla than I'd had before. Throughout seasons 1-3, I'd seen him as a sort of Machiavellian evil character with a soft spot for Helen. Driven to fix the world, yes, but in a "cheerfully killing anyone who doesn't fit into my better new world or tries to stop me" kind of way, and more because he can't stand the rest of humanity doing things wrong than actually wanting to help people. (Which made me feel vaguely guilty for liking him as much as I do, but ... I can't help it.)And yet. Watching all (well, most of) the Tesla eps in our Tesla-thon this summer, I think that there is some of this in his makeup, sure. But I do think that he's more genuinely well-intentioned than I'd thought at first, more of an oblivious scientist type than an evil scientist type. He really does care about Helen. He really does want to make the world a better place. He's just got a raging ego and an overwhelming tendency to justify the costs to himself (which was what this episode was all about, really). "The ends justify the means" is a philosophical point that he's totally on board with in theory, provided the stakes are worth it, but he can't maintain it when he's brought face-to-face with the actual faces of the people whose lives he's risking.
In a way I kinda wish they'd made this point with a random stranger rather than with Henry, because there's still an undertone of "... well, killing strangers is okay, but not people I know". (He did seem regretful when he discovered that the other victims besides Henry were irretrievable, but more in a "... huh, that's interesting" kind of way.) But! One thing I've really been wanting to see is Tesla forming connections and relationships with people other than Helen -- basically Tesla bonding with other people in Team Sanctuary -- and I think we really got that in this episode. ♥
I was actually expecting Tesla's (entirely predictable) change of heart regarding the "human cost" of the energy tech to come about through the death of Red-Haired Scientist Lady. (On a side note, I thought it was rather adorable that Tesla's co-workers at Evil Scientist Labs, Inc. seemed to like him.) Either that, or Helen getting snatched by the tentacle thing. But hey, Tesla-Henry friendship FOR THE WIN. I am so down with that. ♥ ♥ ♥
There's still that little bit of plausible deniability that you always have with Tesla (how much of his guilt over being responsible for Henry's "death" was more due to having hurt and alienated Helen; how much of his decision to go into the creature's lair was just to keep Helen from doing it, since it was evident that he wasn't going to be able to stop her) but ... still. HE WENT. ♥ And isn't that scene in the cave the first time that he calls Henry by his real name, as opposed to a nickname?
Oh, and callbacks to "Trail of Blood" ftw! XD
Henry: Hey, could you maybe pick it up a little bit?
Tesla: I'm sorry, are you rushing me? Because I seem to recall when the roles were reversed in Colombia you taking your sweet time.
Henry: Yeah, but dude, WE'RE IN ITS NEST.
Tesla: Right. Cutting.
I also liked the way that this episode played up the platonic side of his relationship with Helen -- the friendship is often emphasized over the flirting anyway, but this was more overt than most, with Henry's comment to Tesla about "the best friend you'll ever have", and no direct flirting at all. Heh, this was another thing that came up when we were watching the episodes last summer -- I think it was
xparrot who floated the idea that Tesla's flirtiness with Helen is not necessarily inconsistent with the real Tesla's asexuality, because it's possible that he simply doesn't know any other way to express love or affection. Which made me go "OH TESLA! BABY!" because ... it kinda fits. At least, I think it's a valid way of looking at them. I don't recall that we've had even a hint that he's been in a canonical sexual relationship with anyone, and I seriously doubt if he's been saving himself for Helen or any such thing. I certainly don't think that a sexual reading of his relationship with Helen is anti-canonical in any way, but I also think it's quite consistent to view them as anywhere from completely platonic (and Tesla is simply that messed up about relationships) to asexually romantic.So, yeah, in conclusion, TESLA. ♥
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It cracked me up a bit that Helen just NEVER TOLD TESLA about the time travel thing.
I have nothing helpful to add.
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One thing I rather love about the two of them is that it is possible to read virtually ANYTHING into their relationship and have it work. I don't recall that I've run across any interpretation of Helen and Nikola that couldn't be easily plausible with regards to canon.
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...What have you done to meeee?!? :P
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... but seriously, yeah, the Tesla eps always push my buttons, and not just because they have Tesla in them. And this one is definitely worth watching. (Now that I've completely spoiled it for you ...)
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(btw, since I'm only watching the Tesla show - what is the deal with Henry's possibly pregnant gf?)
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... but anyway, yeah, cute as bunnies, wasn't it? ^^ I've always thought Tesla and Henry's interactions were loads of fun (if you haven't gone back and watched the episodes we skipped, there's more Henry-Tesla interaction in those - not a whole lot more, but they're basically sharing lab space for a while, and it's silly fun). And it's nice to get an indication in canon that they actually do like and perhaps even care about each other, in their way.
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Teslaenjoyment! :D... and actually, it appears that tonight's episode was a Tesla one! Which I had somehow overlooked. Guess I know what I'll be watching sometime soon ...
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Ohhhhhhhh! You mean fictional Tesla!
Ah well, Tesla is awesome anyway you get him.
P.S. Haven't watched Sanctuary but can't pass up a chance to go on about him.
TESSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
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