It really is sickeningly poignant that Zandik and Feofan gave so much of themselves to each other. Each new piece of information that comes out about them, both individually and as a pair, just rips my heart out all over again and stomps on it. 😭
On one hand Zandik was finally accepted at his worst. His best. Unequivocally and in no uncertain terms. Not only is Feofan okay with what he does, his methods and his madness, but he actively encourages him too. Supports him even when he may not like what the outcome is going to be. And given Pantalone’s 6.6 dialogue, I think it’s very obvious he didn’t want Dottore to go through with his Irminsul plan. But not only did he show up and support his decisions right until the bitter end but he even stayed there with him until Dottore finally disappeared. Like. He didn’t have to do that. The contract didn’t say anything about a deathbed vigil, I’m sure.
And isn’t it even more fucked up to think about how that time in front of the Irminsul was the first and the last time he actually got to say goodbye to Zandik? He’d come in when the autopsy was already underway. The other segments were destroyed too suddenly for goodbyes. But at last he was able to stand by his dearest friend’s side until he was truly gone. The exiled was at last given a true home.
Then on the other hand Feofan found in Zandik someone who would meet him on equal footing. Someone who wasn’t going to sell him a third time. Someone who turned out to be the catalyst that would allow him to truly claim his own power and autonomy without turning on him somewhere along the way. It was a mutually beneficial relationship, yes, and one could argue about contracts and agreements, expectations all they want, but at the end of the day I think it’s very clear that they saw in each other what no one else was able or willing to see.
Zandik saw the wealth of human potential in Feofan and he took the time to cultivate it, to give him the tools and the opportunity he needed to accomplish his goals. Not wanted, needed. Feofan saw the intellect, the passion, the overwhelming need to surpass the boundaries set by the gods and he admired that, wanted to see how far Zandik could really go. Even if it meant orchestrating his own demise in the process.
And isn’t it ironic that the mad scientist, the unscrupulous, cruel doctor would turn out to be the one true savior of a faithless man? Not the gods, not the heavenly principles. He was saved by someone called a heretic.
Like. It really is no wonder that these two still had each other’s backs even after all the centuries and the autopsy, the segments, the rejected proposals, even the self destruction. I’ve seen a few people try to say there’s a power imbalance here, that it’s unhealthy, it’s only contractural, they’re bad men so of course their relationship was also bad. But that’s really missing the point, I think. All the evidence points at them treating each other like equals regardless of anything and everything else. They wouldn’t be who they are without that shared past between them, and honestly I think it’s VERY obvious that the positive impacts were a two way, mutual street for both of them. Not only did they complete each other’s life but they even brought nourishment and fulfillment that neither had ever gotten anywhere else before.
You truly cannot have one without the other. And I am SICK just thinking about it.
