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hmpfThere's something deeply frustrating about being a Methos fan:
Ever since I first discovered Methos (and Highlander), I've felt like a helpless passenger in a car going very fast in a direction I didn't want to go. Two things were always certain: the Highlander universe would always, ultimately, be about the fate of someone belonging to the clan MacLeod (short forays into Amanda's life notwithstanding), and in the end, "there could be only one." From these two basic facts followed with absolute certainty that sooner or later, Methos would be killed, and probably in a way that implied that MacLeod was worthier of survival.
Now, nobody who likes a certain character likes the idea of their favourite being killed. However, I would argue that my dislike of the idea of Methos getting killed is motivated not just by my love of the character and the fact that I think he's the sexiest man I've ever seen in my life ;-) (yes, even after eight years I still think that). No, I think that I dislike the idea of Methos getting killed also for reasons that are almost, well, philosophical in nature. There's a fundamental difference in worldviews at work here.
Let me sketch out first why I like Methos (apart from the purely physical reasons, that is).
I like Methos because I am fascinated by human nature, by the human psyche, by culture and its transience, by change, by the complex human reactions to life and death. I do not believe in purposes and meanings that we don't create ourselves; I do not believe that either history or any human being's life moves towards any kind of goal except for the obvious one, death. Which isn't a goal but more of a random cut-off point.
Methos, for the most part, seems to fit that worldview rather well. Methos to me is human nature personified, and human history made flesh. All our glory, all our nastiness; our strengths, and our weaknesses. He does not seem to believe in much, if anything at all, but he has an important spiritual quality: acceptance. Acceptance of life, acceptance of being human, with all that entails. And that, in some ways, makes him the perfect immortal to me.
Now, the official HL worldview, if you will, is rather the opposite of the one I just described above. The HL universe as it has been written so far is strictly teleological, meaning it moves towards a certain goal. It is a universe that is inherently meaningful, ruled by mysterious powers that have instituded the Game for some higher purpose, even if that purpose is not entirely clear. And the true heroes of the HL universe reflect that worldview - they are, in a way, searching for some kind of enlightenment, some kind of revelation, and they have a destiny. They're not about accepting simple humanity but rather about overcoming it, outgrowing it, becoming more than human (or becoming 'better' humans.) And this, in the world according to HL, is what we all should be, I suppose. Not accepting but constantly trying to improve, to strive for something better, and ultimately, reach some kind of metaphysical goal.
It seems to me that the 'best' place such a teleological universe has to offer someone like Methos would be that of a repentant sinner who finally sees the light, and is probably killed while aiding the hero, thus redeeming himself. The hero then goes on to take his destined, messiah-like place. And that idea offends me on a philosophical level, because it sort of devalues 'normal' humanity, I guess. I don't want Methos redeemed; I don't think he needs, or should need, redemption. I think he's perfectly worthy to live, and there's no higher instance that can grant him forgiveness, anyway.
Of course, there's also the option of him turning *against* the hero, but that would also be unsatisfactory. Any ending to his story that would depend on accepting the Game as a given would be unsatisfactory to me because I just don't believe the world works that way, and what's more relevant, since we're speaking about fiction: I am not particularly *interested* in a world that works that way. A messy world without clear directions and without clear lines between 'good' and 'evil' makes for much more interesting, and relevant, storytelling.
What I would like to see, what I always wanted to see, would be a show about immortals that did *not* take the Game for granted; a show that was - like H:TS in its best moments - about humans who just happen to live very long, and that looked closely at what that longevity did to their humanity. And I have always felt that Methos would be a perfect protagonist for such a show, if you were willing to make it complex, and make it 'real', and ditch the idea of having a central Hero with a capital 'H' who solves the Problem Of the Week. Despite the plague of reality tv we actually live in an era of very intelligent television, and there have been a great number of shows in the last five years or so that have proved that you do *not* need a central, 'noble' hero to have a viable show. You can have flawed heroes, you can have anti-heroes, you can have people who get thrown into a situation and just try to muddle through - you can do just about anything you can imagine if you do it *well*. There is almost *no* imaginable premise that can't work if written well. And sometimes, especially when reading particularly good fanfic, I can see that imaginary Methos show so clearly it actually hurts to come back to reality to realise it does not exist. And I so wish that someone among The Powers That Be, someone with a vision and some courage, saw what a winner they could have there, and pitched it to someone, and hired a couple of really great writers, and... and of course I know it's never, never going to happen. And there's that eternal, helpless frustration again.
Ever since I first discovered Methos (and Highlander), I've felt like a helpless passenger in a car going very fast in a direction I didn't want to go. Two things were always certain: the Highlander universe would always, ultimately, be about the fate of someone belonging to the clan MacLeod (short forays into Amanda's life notwithstanding), and in the end, "there could be only one." From these two basic facts followed with absolute certainty that sooner or later, Methos would be killed, and probably in a way that implied that MacLeod was worthier of survival.
Now, nobody who likes a certain character likes the idea of their favourite being killed. However, I would argue that my dislike of the idea of Methos getting killed is motivated not just by my love of the character and the fact that I think he's the sexiest man I've ever seen in my life ;-) (yes, even after eight years I still think that). No, I think that I dislike the idea of Methos getting killed also for reasons that are almost, well, philosophical in nature. There's a fundamental difference in worldviews at work here.
Let me sketch out first why I like Methos (apart from the purely physical reasons, that is).
I like Methos because I am fascinated by human nature, by the human psyche, by culture and its transience, by change, by the complex human reactions to life and death. I do not believe in purposes and meanings that we don't create ourselves; I do not believe that either history or any human being's life moves towards any kind of goal except for the obvious one, death. Which isn't a goal but more of a random cut-off point.
Methos, for the most part, seems to fit that worldview rather well. Methos to me is human nature personified, and human history made flesh. All our glory, all our nastiness; our strengths, and our weaknesses. He does not seem to believe in much, if anything at all, but he has an important spiritual quality: acceptance. Acceptance of life, acceptance of being human, with all that entails. And that, in some ways, makes him the perfect immortal to me.
Now, the official HL worldview, if you will, is rather the opposite of the one I just described above. The HL universe as it has been written so far is strictly teleological, meaning it moves towards a certain goal. It is a universe that is inherently meaningful, ruled by mysterious powers that have instituded the Game for some higher purpose, even if that purpose is not entirely clear. And the true heroes of the HL universe reflect that worldview - they are, in a way, searching for some kind of enlightenment, some kind of revelation, and they have a destiny. They're not about accepting simple humanity but rather about overcoming it, outgrowing it, becoming more than human (or becoming 'better' humans.) And this, in the world according to HL, is what we all should be, I suppose. Not accepting but constantly trying to improve, to strive for something better, and ultimately, reach some kind of metaphysical goal.
It seems to me that the 'best' place such a teleological universe has to offer someone like Methos would be that of a repentant sinner who finally sees the light, and is probably killed while aiding the hero, thus redeeming himself. The hero then goes on to take his destined, messiah-like place. And that idea offends me on a philosophical level, because it sort of devalues 'normal' humanity, I guess. I don't want Methos redeemed; I don't think he needs, or should need, redemption. I think he's perfectly worthy to live, and there's no higher instance that can grant him forgiveness, anyway.
Of course, there's also the option of him turning *against* the hero, but that would also be unsatisfactory. Any ending to his story that would depend on accepting the Game as a given would be unsatisfactory to me because I just don't believe the world works that way, and what's more relevant, since we're speaking about fiction: I am not particularly *interested* in a world that works that way. A messy world without clear directions and without clear lines between 'good' and 'evil' makes for much more interesting, and relevant, storytelling.
What I would like to see, what I always wanted to see, would be a show about immortals that did *not* take the Game for granted; a show that was - like H:TS in its best moments - about humans who just happen to live very long, and that looked closely at what that longevity did to their humanity. And I have always felt that Methos would be a perfect protagonist for such a show, if you were willing to make it complex, and make it 'real', and ditch the idea of having a central Hero with a capital 'H' who solves the Problem Of the Week. Despite the plague of reality tv we actually live in an era of very intelligent television, and there have been a great number of shows in the last five years or so that have proved that you do *not* need a central, 'noble' hero to have a viable show. You can have flawed heroes, you can have anti-heroes, you can have people who get thrown into a situation and just try to muddle through - you can do just about anything you can imagine if you do it *well*. There is almost *no* imaginable premise that can't work if written well. And sometimes, especially when reading particularly good fanfic, I can see that imaginary Methos show so clearly it actually hurts to come back to reality to realise it does not exist. And I so wish that someone among The Powers That Be, someone with a vision and some courage, saw what a winner they could have there, and pitched it to someone, and hired a couple of really great writers, and... and of course I know it's never, never going to happen. And there's that eternal, helpless frustration again.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-26 06:21 pm (UTC)