what it says on the tin

howling-wizard's side blog for the show blake's 7

[whump-galaxy]

You ever wish a character died more brutally? Like, they had too much of a ‘peaceful’ ending. They’re supposed to pull on the heartstrings, their death doesn’t even strum on them. I want you to tear them out!

I want it to be unfair, I want them to have unfinished business, I want them to have so much regret. And I also want their death to feel earned. There was no avoiding it. This was the inevitable conclusion. There was no escape.

[silikat]

I am rewatching Blake's 7. I have now seen the first two episodes. Here are some loose thoughts:

Blake is really giving the Eighth Doctor a run for his money in terms of Traumatically Forgetting Everything, huh

God it's so striking that there's this secret group meeting underground and all they're doing is some civil disobedience. And that gets them massacred. Like, the resistance is literally just having meetings and writing petitions and the Federation is still gunning them down.

Character named Tarrant in a Terry Nation property, take a shot

Dev Tarrant, Terry? Really?

I gotta say, it's basic 70s sci-fi, but I really do like the costume design here. Everyone wearing an undershirt then over-tunic in different block colours, I always interpret the colours as meaning, like, what the character's class/job is in this society.

The legal system in this universe is a joke.

Actually, here's a thing - Blake is portrayed in this one as being weirdly trusting in said legal system. He wants to make a statement before the court. The judge is a computer, who does he think is going to be listening? Who does he think will care? At this point, he already knows he's been mindwiped and his family/friends/colleagues have been brutally murdered. Does he think there's not even more coverups going on here?

If it was a modern show we'd see more of Jenna and Vila's interactions in jail before Blake shows up and honestly I want that more than anything.

Vila's so...off...in these first few episodes. They really hadn't decided his personality fully yet, and he comes across as too edgy in the first one, and too stupid in the second.

Love that guy with the space walkman.

I love the 1970s of it all. Sure we have interplanetary space flight and pew pew laser guns. But if you want to access someone's records, you gotta physically go to a place and look at a screen or a bit of paper.

RIP lawyer dude, you were so stupid. Why did you tell your whole plan to Woman (seriously, she literally only exists for him to talk to) in front of walkman guy. Did you think that would go well for you.

Also how do you get to be a Federation defence lawyer and not know that the Federation is inherently corrupt at every level

One of the most terrifying things in this first episode that doesn't get focused on so much is the idea that the Federation thinks nothing of implanting memories of being molested into children's minds. And those kids just have to live with that.

Hi Gan and Avon! Boy, I wish Gan had an actual introduction. Or a characterisation.

Cannon-fodder extra is named Nova for fuck's sake Terry

The question isn't 'why is Jenna wearing eyeshadow four months into a trip on a prison ship', but 'how is Jenna wearing eyeshadow four months into a trip on a prison ship'

There's a real ambiguity about how much Blake remembers now that I'd love to have seen addressed better. The show doesn't do enough with the idea that Blake is largely just making this up as he goes along, or how right he is about his own past

He's talking like he knows how to be a leader and how to be a revolutionary, which would imply some of his memories came back, but that's never explicitly said

And his plan is. Uh. Not great, given that the outcome is 'everyone gets caught immediately'

The captain of the London is the worst character in this episode, imo. The part where he basically gives Riker permission to assault Jenna is chilling. Horribly effective little bit of writing

Riker himself is an asshole, obviously, but the captain is willing to turn a blind eye or actively endorses his behaviour

What is on Avon's bit of paper? Does that ever get addressed?

Jenna seems so willing to blindly follow Blake that it feels like there's a scene missing here, something where Blake earns that loyalty from her - another point in the favour of Jenna Should Have Gotten More Focus Dammit

Blake is outraged at Riker and...wants his crimes to be recorded officially so that Riker can be officially reprimanded? Is he serious? Does he still have any faith in the system? He's literally here because of a Federation coverup! By the end of the episode he's talking about fighting back, with the implication of actual fighting, but here he's still on the civil disobedience stuff

Would really like to know what's going on in Jenna's Trippy Liberator Flashback, writers.

Actually having said that the idea that Avon has a brother never gets addressed either, it's all Anna Grant here on out.

Pity that Blake's dead family is not explored more, I'd love to see what relationship he had to them and what they were actually like.

Zen's an asshole here. Like, you coulda just zapped them. You didn't need to psychologically torment them.

I wish Jenna being gung-ho about spaceships and being a badass spaceship pilot had more to it. That coulda been a neat character trait for her.

The end of the episode is Blake telling Avon that with a ship and full crew, they can start fighting back - now, if Avon really were as detached and self-centred as he wants you to think, I reckon he'd respond to that by nopeing the hell out as soon as he was somewhere reasonably safe. Even just the fact that he stays alone tells you that he believes more in the idea of revolution than he wants you to think, even if he might not admit it to himself yet.

[avonsnumberonefan]

oh no it's a space rat!!!

[insectsect]

finally drew these freaks (everybody cheered) (im doing all of these to practise drawing their faces before i do anything actually interesting but i'm having fun regardless) (had to make it a little something)

[avonsnumberonefan]

21 - reading

[animate-mush]

Blake/Avon is like Moby Dick honestly. You can destroy yourself, your ship and everyone on it for this. You can kill him - or he can kill you, who knows? But there will always be something tragically unrequited about it. That whale will never hate you back.

There was that post about Ahab and Starbuck, where Ahab has trust but no loyalty/devotion, and Starbuck has loyalty/devotion but no trust. Blake trusts Avon, but his devotion is to his cause.

The whale might chew you up and spit you out, but it will never hate you back. Not the way you want it to. Not the way you need it to, to justify what it's cost to get here.

[avonsnumberonefan]

20 - I love you

[avonsnumberonefan]

cowboy avon/vila core

[avonsnumberonefan]

b7 reboot but they cast avon as a woman BUT there's still toxic sex with servalan and betrayal by anna

[avonsnumberonefan]

date idea: we are robbing every space casino we come across

[avonsnumberonefan]

I'm screwed But, hey, what can you do? I'm a touchy feely fool

[avonsnumberonefan]

19 - injury

[oxideblack]

[avontarrant]

also on ao3

[avonsnumberonefan]

avila sticker pack I made for @actthepenguin 🥰🥰🥰 with their aus, namely: robot!avon, werewolf!vila and wild west 💥 🔫 pow pow

[avonsnumberonefan]

the whole world at their feet

[avonsnumberonefan]

18 - massage