solitary_summer | (no subject) (Reply)

... because I can. I could, of course, also at least check out the s4 episode synopses, but then again... judging from fandom reaction, maybe better not. This is more fun, I think.

How many times can you stand among the ruins of everything that mattered to you and not crack? The more so when you have to live with the knowledge that this time you had a hand in the destruction? Would anyone have the strength or the stubbornness to try again? If anything, the s3 finale suggests that it's high time for a change of tactics. Anything else would be... Don Quichote against the windmills.

I think the Andromeda writers set up a scenario that made it extremely unlikely for Dylan to succeed in the first place, at least while retaining his idealism, integrity and sanity; and the odds they kept throwing into his path didn't help any. It's very human and as such quite understandable that during s3 he chose to step back into a semblance of the life he used to have, that he was happy to have at least part of the responsibility off his shoulders. Ironically, however, I think it was exactly the wrong thing to do. Time cannot be turned back; some things are irretrievably lost in a change, for better or worse. The Hellenistic kingdoms rendered Greek democracy irrelevant; Augustus couldn't re-install the Roman republic and at the same time retain the empire: almost two millennia had to pass before those ideas were taken up again and made reality.

Many s3 episodes were bad, trivial and generally annoying as fuck, but in hindsight (intentionally or not) they helped emphasise that some very crucial wrong decisions had been taken. A lack of purpose and direction that could only lead to the outcome it did.

There is no place for purity in the Andromeda-verse. There are no characters to equal Sheridan or Delenn in the B5 universe and this isn't a situation where their ideals would have been of much use. You can't argue with the Magog to go away. It's a time for compromises and sacrifices, not only of life, but of ideals, if need be.

So what if Dylan decided that enough was enough, with the Commonwealth lost (again), this, apparently, really wasn't the time and place for his ideals. Hovering between resignation, despair and the dawning realisation that there was a need for some fundamental change, that he wouldn't be able to re-create the world he used to know, it strikes him that maybe he had to change, not the universe. It’s a thought which at this point should occur, even to someone with his ego. And, on a more visceral level, he really doesn't know what to do; he doesn't have the strength or determination to try it all over again. Nor does he want the whole responsibility again. So why not try to do it Tyr's way. If not faced with the immediate decision of killing millions here and then he might even come to the conclusion that it was his obligation to sacrifice some of his ideals if it helped to ensure the survival of the universe against the Magog. His ego wouldn't let him believe that Tyr might succeed on his own, anyway. And somehow they’d come to an agreement.

It would be a dark story, because he would be forced to do things that would go against his nature and personality, and he would go on justifying them to himself, but it would change him, perhaps destroy him in the end. And Tyr... he'd love that, having won, in a way, this is what he wanted, after all, who he wanted Dylan to be. But he’d also sense something had broken and he'd never quite respect him the way he used to, illogical semi-suicidal idealism and all. There'd be a subtle poisoning of their relationship.

But balanced against this there'd be the fact that together they could achieve something, could defeat the Magog, and - maybe -, ultimately there'd be the realisation that however painful the personal cost, if this sort of self-sacrifice (rather than a gloriously heroic last stand) was needed for preparing a better future, than it was worth it and preferable to a battle of egos with the universe falling to pieces around them. Maybe.

I think the s3 finale is ambivalent enough to support this possibility. IMO Dylan is aware that much of what happened was a result of his decisions combined with his wilful blindness in other respects. If he had truly felt betrayed by Tyr he'd, well, maybe not have killed him, but certainly not have helped him escape, either. I think at least on a subconscious level he's aware that it took two to bring on this disaster. And that Tyr is a chance; is perhaps the only person who could salvage anything from the wreckage (yeah well, I know, so not happening; but indulge me... at this point, i think, it's a possibility.).