Lucas North Speculation

[ignatz]

(26-12-2010 05:12 PM)binkie Wrote:  John’s damnation is guaranteed by his murder of Lucas North, but he pursues his own redemption in the decision to become the man he has killed. John is, for the writers of season 9, a warrior eating the heart of his enemy, thereby becoming the thing he has destroyed, and taking on the admirable qualities of the worthy adversary. It’s not a terribly original approach, but it is an undeniably potent one.

I've enjoyed reading the discussion on this topic, despite coming on board rather late in the game.

I've thought about this quite a bit since watching the final episode and what Binkie has to say fits in with my thoughts. I think that John/Lucas found something in the MI5 life he borrowed that gave him purpose and the chance to "do something" that he had longed for. He immersed himself in it and whether for the noble aim of "making a pact" with the real Lucas each day or simply because it suited him, he *became* the person he wanted to be. So much so that he refused to let go of it even during years of horrific torture. When Vaughan returns and says, to paraphrase, that Lucas is a killer who went to sleep and dreamed he was a hero -- that is a perfect way of putting it.

I believe that once Vaughan turned up Lucas realized the life he made for himself was slipping away and was desperate to do something, anything to keep that from happening, even if it meant doing things we'd never imagine "our" Lucas doing. I believe at this point he began to have a psychotic break. Remember, this is someone who endured years in prison to maintain his MI5 life. Fearing a return to pointless ruthlessness he'd had during his time with Vaughan, he began to fixate on his earlier history, before he was tainted or "went bad." This is why he glommed onto Maya, although it was clear there was no chemistry there at all. "I fixed things," he tells her.

I think the writers definitely erred in having her essentially be a plot device who asked only token questions, etc. But for a man in the midst of a terrifying meltdown, with the memories he has & the threat he was facing, his reverting to this non-Lucasy "John" makes a lot of sense. NOT THAT I LIKED IT. But I do think that to some extent it makes sense.

It is unfair the writers took him down this road. But these are the people who blew Adam Carter up, left Zaf in the hands of certain death and had Danny shot. People don't get what they "deserve" on this show. It's just how it is :/

Thanks for being here to let me share. I haven't anyone to discuss these things with "in real life," so it was a relief to find a venue where people were/are wrestling with their disappointment.

To speculate on next season ... I think Lucas is dead and we won't see him return. But I do hope that some of what I'm speculating is realized by the team, we see them wrestling with their feelings (to some extent, because the show really can't keep focusing on Lucas) and that they accord him some respect for the good he did with the team. I don't know if he can be forgiven for what came before, though.