Month: July 2022

LADY SYBIL, THREE

We don’t get as full a portrayal for Sybil as we do for the other sisters. Partly, that’s because she marries and leaves, shortening her time onscreen. Partly, though, it’s because the writers have designated her as the rebel. Sometimes her character makes choices to fit this mold, rather than as an inherent trait.

So, how far astray is she written, lol? What is her number? 

She’s always described as kind. She’s loved by everyone, upstairs and downstairs. Not only does she support the maid Gwen in her desire to become a secretary, Sybil works on her behalf, scheduling appointments, traveling with her, and writing her resume. Sybil walks the walk. This includes her nursing during the war. She wants to serve, insists on getting the training, and then puts herself in the middle of the soldiers’ recovery without flinching. She’s seen as an angel, with no class consciousness.

Is she a real character? Someone this perfect risks being a Null.

Ah, let’s call her a Three. She knows her own mind, and is tireless in pursuit of what matters to her. I’ll be curious to look at her parents’ numbers and Branson’s just to be sure. Off the top of my head, I suspect Lord Grantham will be a Nine. That his baby is a Three makes sense. 

Lol, isn’t it funny how close a Three and a Null can end up being? One is reasonably perfect, and the other unreasonably so.

In A Tree

LEFTOVER NINE

Haha! The opening shot is Spivey’s hole in the head. Reacher is incredibly consistent so far at beginning with the next beat in the story. 

ONE

Reacher shines the flashlight on the dead guy on the ground, and back to Spivey filling the trunk space. He goes through everyone’s pockets and breaks their cell phones. Behind Spivey is a bag of spy equipment that Reacher looks into and tosses back.

Then he shoves the two dead guys on top of Spivey’s corpse, breaking the last man’s legs so that he’ll fit. (Crunch.) The trunk lid now closes.

Roll credits.

TWO

Panting, Reacher calls Finlay. They discuss Finlay’s discovery that Hubble quit the bank a year ago, and then agree to meet at the site of a reported burnt out rental car. It could be Joe’s. Reacher asks who else knows, and Finlay says, “Only those who need to.”

Continue reading “In A Tree”

Quarian vs. Geth

This is one of the more fascinating themes of the story. Quarians invent Geth as a servant robot race, but they’re AI and they evolve into consciousness. When the Quarians realize this, they decide to wipe out the Geth. The Geth resist and fight back. Eventually the Quarians are driven from their homeworld and have since lived for centuries on the Migrant Fleet, a flotilla of nomadic spaceships that house the entire race.

Continue reading “Quarian vs. Geth”

LADY EDITH CRAWLEY, TWO

Edith has a lifelong antagonism with her sister Mary. Does her Enneagram number provide a clue why?

Ah, she’s very much an Envy person. Mary is mean to her, but Edith wants more than niceness. She wants Mary’s position of respect in the family. Mary is unflappable, while Edith is gently injured by every unkindness. Command comes easy to Mary (because she’s the eldest, and an Eight); Edith struggles to find her place.

Of course she’s a Two. That’s why she and Mary are at loggerheads. They’re each other’s strength and weakness number. It’s also why Edith can never get ahead. A Two is supportive and caring — an easy person to take for granted, especially when an Eight sucks all the oxygen from the room.

And Edith has a moment when she does something cruel. She informs the Turkish embassy, solely for revenge, of her own sister’s indiscretion with their diplomat. When a Two slides into weakness, that Eight quality dominates in a poisonous way. Edith is very unlikable in that sequence, but now we see she’s true to her character. We just prefer her as the nice, dependable Two person.

Spoonful

LEFTOVER NINE

Again, this episode begins where the last left off. Roscoe paces in her living room, just after discovering her break-in. When Reacher tries to reassure her, she jumps down his throat for being condescending. (He did suggest she was afraid.)

ONE

She’s not scared, she’s pissed. Her family founded this town, she refurbished her house with her own money, and someone who thinks they’re untouchable invaded her home.

TWO

Reacher wants a gun, Roscoe recalls. She goes into her closet and pulls down a decorative wooden box. Inside is a cannon of a handgun. It was Gray’s. Reacher respectfully takes it. (Then he pops the magazine and clears the chamber, checking the gun. I appreciate this level of safety detail.)

As Roscoe starts to pack, Finlay messages. Meet him at the morgue. 

Walking out the front door, Reacher turns to a stump in the yard and shoots it, making Roscoe flinch. “Never trust a weapon you haven’t personally test-fired,” he says. She gives a bit of an eye roll and follows him to the truck.

Roll credits.

Continue reading “Spoonful”

The Second Dream

Chase Boy through a dead forest again. This time shadowy smoke figures fade in and out, while our dead companion’s voice (either Ashley’s or Kaidan’s) relives their last moment. The dead haunt Shepard. 

Just as Shepard reaches Boy, a Reaper light shines on him and he runs, giggling as if he’s playing tag. (Is it wrong I wish Shepard could draw her gun? Too Renegade?) Again he finally stops and gives a last, soulful look as he bursts into flame.

The idea that Shepard doesn’t sleep — she’s too busy to rest — and then when she finally does it’s not restful, may or may not resonate later in the story. She’s still mentally and physically sharp. It’s only when she awakens that she’s not herself. Weakness and vulnerability are not normal characteristics for her. However, this is immediately after Mordin’s scene, so fatigue born of anguish is logical.

And now Udina, the politician Bioware wants us to hate, actually becomes a villain. We’re called to the Citadel. Cerberus, with Udina’s cooperation, has attacked. 

Our first encounter with Kai Leng, the Illusive Man’s henchman, is here, and we barely rescue the Council from a kidnapping. Also, our teammate (Kaidan or Ashley) doesn’t understand. They defend the Council, following Udina’s lead to usher them into the waiting shuttle. We actually have a guns-drawn showdown before we can resolve the stand-off.

Anderson and Miranda, separately, mention knowing Kai Leng and fearing his fighting skills. For Shepard, though, he’s a new character. 

It’s strange to introduce someone critical at this point in the trilogy. He’s just a dude, probably enhanced and indoctrinated, but he feels like a lazy creation. I wish they’d incorporated him earlier. How awesome would that have made our fights! And I wish they’d given him a more distinct character design. Nothing about him furthers the story. He’s just a boss battle with none of the pizazz.

One little story drop that only makes sense later: Anderson asks why Cerberus would be interested in taking control of the Citadel. In retrospect, after playing endgame, I realize that the Illusive Man has a small part of the Prothean archive data from Mars. He has the Catalyst portion. I like when a game ups the replayability with subtle plants like this.

LADY MARY CRAWLEY, EIGHT

She’s feisty and acerbic. Independent. Angry, even. Dockery’s portrayal is strong and consistent, but what is Lady Mary?

What about a Body Type? She’s the only daughter who rides. Look at those adjectives I just listed, lol! She’s an Eight. She has a chip on her shoulder, but she won’t be defeated. That’s very Eight. 

And when she really cares, as she does often with Anna, she slides to Two, her strength number, and becomes the most generous and thoughtful person possible. 

Oh, I like this. I get tired of Eight women being casually deployed by Hollywood as “strong women”. Here’s an Eight with all the beauty and all the warts inherent in the Enneagram number. Well done.

Mordin’s Reckoning

Wrex has one condition for leading the Krogan against the Reapers: cure the genophage. He wants his people to thrive, and he also wants some payback. Salarians invented the genophage and Turians distributed it across the Krogan planet. Now these two races need hardy and indefatigable warriors to defend their homeworlds.

We find Mordin with a Krogan female who is immune. As he brings her back to health, he also develops the cure. Meanwhile, we assist the Turian Primarch in defusing a bomb, and Wrex with a Krogan team that’s discovered a Rachni nest. (Consequences related to the Rachni queen decision on ME1 are relatively insignificant here, a huge disappointment.)

When the cure’s ready, Mordin’ll use the same delivery method the Turians used for the genophage, a monument called The Shroud, to spread the airborne cure across the world.

As we prepare to deliver the cure, a Reaper latches itself onto The Shroud, cutting off our access. The Turians send air support, and the Krogan travel overland with Mordin. It’s not going to be enough, though, to defeat the Reaper. 

And then the Krogan remember Kalros, the mother of all Thresher Maws who lives beneath the planet’s surface. Shepard must activate the hammers that call her. (I had forgotten how difficult this moment is. As I gasped with only one health bar I finally remembered to stop fighting and run like hell. Heh, good times.)

Kalros attacks the Reaper in an epic cut scene. Great game making, oh yeah.

The way is now clear, and Mordin can go up the tower and disperse the cure. Ah, dear. So many variations are possible at this moment based on earlier choices in ME2. It’s everything gamers want, all the consequences that can result from our actions, and the final scene is as emotionally powerful as the end of ME1. In every way that Bioware failed with the Rachni result, they exceeded all expectations with the Krogan plot. This is stellar storytelling. Sometimes the genophage is cured, and Shepard genuinely celebrates with the Krogan. Sometimes it isn’t, and Shepard flat out lies to their happy faces. And every time, the wonderful Mordin is dead.

PHIL COULSON, TWO

Clark Gregg parlayed a bureaucratic bit part in the Marvel Universe into a complex, beloved leader with his own agency. Coulson’s appeal lies in his light-hearted approach. He’s no fool — crises are serious business — but his glass-half-full view of problems and people is just so wonderful to spend time with. His irony and belief in the cause are a charming mix.

Well, after all that I go to Three. What other number can overcome a minion role to become the star of the show, lol?

He’s not a Body Type. Surrounding him are super-powered individuals, and he always engages on a social level. He’s a curious person, but he doesn’t wield a Head Type view of the world. 

He’s very Heart. Alright, though, what about a Two? His car Lola is just one of a number of mementos he keeps. His office is cluttered with antiques. Although we don’t get a tour of all his memorabilia, it’s always in the background of his desk scenes. I could even say that his job, to organize and assemble Inhumans, is a kind of collection.

What makes him so lovable is that the world overwhelms him at times. He’s not a Nick Fury, who micromanages everything. Those wide-eyed moments when Coulson is wracked with feeling — whether it’s anguish or joy — are what point to a Two. Under all the SHIELD paraphernalia, he’s a kind soul trying to make the world a gentler place.