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Innnnteresting! (Yes, Highlander again.)
I'm watching the rough cut of the Horsemen episodes with the commentary, and the cut Greece flashback actually adds a whole lot of insight into Methos in the second episode. (Though the commentary is right: the scene is super-cheesy, and it's not a bad thing for the episode that it was cut. XD) Actually, even more than the flashback itself, the other cuts that had to be made around it caused a cascade of small changes that reverberate through the episode. The cut bit right before the flashback, when Kronos tells Methos that the submarine base is Methos's whole world now, and Kronos will kill Cassandra if he tries to leave ... I kinda wish we hadn't lost that. It makes the following sequence in the aired episode, where Kronos starts telling Methos how kidnapping Cassandra was Methos's idea all along, very painful -- because we've just seen exactly how much Methos is struggling here, and how Kronos is using his emotions to control him. It makes it pretty obvious that this isn't Methos's master plan, that from here on out he's as much a prisoner as Cassandra is, and he's simply improvising in an attempt to survive. That little "yes, that was my plan all along" nod isn't really at all ambiguous in the original version: it's Methos appeasing Kronos, surviving, letting Kronos shape his reality while he looks for a way to turn the situation to his advantage.
There's another little cut bit in the Methos-and-Cassandra-in-the-cage scene, too, that relates to that theme, where Cassandra tells Methos that Kronos only has power over him because Methos lets him, "just like always".
It also puts a bit of a different spin on the scene at the end, where Duncan's not asking Methos why he didn't kill Kronos now, but 2000 years ago. (Well, and probably also now, to some extent. But mostly it's Greece he seems to be talking about.)
It all just ... well, like they said in the commentary, the cuts make Methos look a lot more ambiguous in the version of the episode that aired, than he did in the original, longer cut. It's not that there's no ambiguity in the original -- his motivations for rejoining the Horsemen are still pretty complicated. But especially towards the end, Methos's actions seem to be largely motivated by fear of Kronos more than anything else.
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There's another little cut bit in the Methos-and-Cassandra-in-the-cage scene, too, that relates to that theme, where Cassandra tells Methos that Kronos only has power over him because Methos lets him, "just like always".
It also puts a bit of a different spin on the scene at the end, where Duncan's not asking Methos why he didn't kill Kronos now, but 2000 years ago. (Well, and probably also now, to some extent. But mostly it's Greece he seems to be talking about.)
It all just ... well, like they said in the commentary, the cuts make Methos look a lot more ambiguous in the version of the episode that aired, than he did in the original, longer cut. It's not that there's no ambiguity in the original -- his motivations for rejoining the Horsemen are still pretty complicated. But especially towards the end, Methos's actions seem to be largely motivated by fear of Kronos more than anything else.
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edited because I cannot write a single sentence without a typo these days >.<
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What happens is that they had to trim the Horsemen episodes for length, so most of what they cut (from both episodes) is an extended flashback of Kronos and Methos's original falling out in ancient Greece. Basically Methos tries to leave the Horsemen, for all the reasons you'd expect. Kronos won't let him, so Methos poisons him and then can't bring himself to kill him, and, instead, throws him down a well ... type of thing and locks an iron grate over the top. Kronos is locked up down there for a thousand years or so, and is understandably pissed when he gets out.
So in addition to the flashback, they cut various bits of dialogue from the rest of the episodes that alluded to it. For example, in the tag scene with Methos and Duncan, it starts with Duncan saying something along the lines of "You had to know he'd get out of there eventually" and then asks him why he didn't kill Kronos. It's really interesting, because the episode makes perfect sense without the Greece flashback in there, but it puts a slightly different spin on some scenes if it has it.
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--But yeah, I don't actually own the DVDs, and since I'm not really involved in the fandom at all I don't know what new material's been released in the intervening years. But it's cool to know what actually did happen to Kronos! I always wondered...and I like anything that makes Methos heroic-ish, sooo~....
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Kronos's is worse, though.
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(Kronos's totally looks photoshopped, it's so absurd. HEEEEE.)
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*dies*
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The DVDs really do have the best special features EVER. I would have died to have some of this stuff in some of my previous fandoms. What's doubly neat about it is that the particular selection of outtakes and extra stuff is so ... fangirlish. XD I mean, I'm totally used to outtakes and DVD commentaries that completely ignore my favorite bits in favor of, say, twenty minutes of how they did a special effect or whatever -- which is interesting, but it's a whole different experience to get an outtake selection that is almost completely focused on the characters and their interactions.
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(I've started a handful of HL fics, and, though Methos is in most of them, I can never actually do his POV. I just can't get into his head like that; something about it throws off the illusion.)
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And HL fic! Hee! Keep writing! Yeah, I wouldn't want to write Methos POV either, and I definitely prefer to read Methos through someone else's POV. Paradoxically that makes him more real.
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Absolutely, which is how I like it! :D
It's interesting how my impressions of him have changed over the seasons. I noticed rewatching the Horsemen episodes that I interpret certain scenes differently than I did the first time I watched them
I think you'll have fun rewatching all of the Methos eps from scratch once you finish them once.
I see hurt or fear in scenes where I'd seen anger before, for example
Yeah, even when he throws all those things at Duncan in the car scene, it can (and has been) interpreted as him intentionally pushing Duncan out of his way, but I think he just lost it. With Kronos finding him, Cassandra after his head, and knowing he's probably losing MacLeod and Joe's friendships over this I think it was almost a wounded reaction from him. Which he then turns around and uses to his advantage later, which I so love about him.
Another interesting thing about those episodes is how Joe remains loyal to Methos, defending him to MacLeod. That friendship/loyalty takes a hit with Mike's death but Joe still turns to Methos when Richie is dead.
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I'm actually not sure what my thoughts about Methos would be if I hadn't seen those scenes, because that's all kinda become part of my head-canon for Methos. Hmmm. I'll have to think about that. :)