The Theme of Final Space SPOILERS AHEAD
Before you read any further make sure you watch all episodes of Final Space since I will be talking about the whole first season.
I was watching the documentary that was released today where Olan goes into the theme of loneliness in the show and I started to realize how all of the characters are brought together by loneliness.
Gary is obvious. His father died when he was young and he was basically exiled in space for five years with a bunch of robots. He has a desperation to get out of that state by befriending anyone he comes across no matter their past. In the end, however, he is essentially back to where he started since the majority of his friends are either dead or MIA and his only comfort before death is talking with his AI friend HUE, someone he didn’t consider company when a prisoner.
Quinn is lonely in that she, at the time, was the only one in the Infinity Guard to defy The Lord Commander. She was betrayed by the very organization she based her whole life around and has a hard time trusting anyone else in the event she might be hurt again.
Avocato is lonely because he feels that no one would ever empathize with him. He’s hesitant about being close to anyone because he knows once people know about his history and how he was The Lord Commander’s second in command, they would never give him the time of day so he shuts down any friendly gestures at first. Avocato even anticipates his son will never forgive him for the things he’s done. He’s lonely in that he anticipates everyone will hate him.
Little Cato is another obvious one. Hell, he even says it in episode 7. He’s lonely because he never really had a family. Even when Avocato was alive, he was mostly separated from him and it is implied that Avocato was cold outwardly towards him when working for The Lord Commander. He had one moment of feeling whole again with his father and then it was suddenly ripped from his arms when Avocato sacrificed himself. His guilt for his father’s death makes him feel even more alone and would surely eat him if it weren’t for Gary.
Mooncake is lonely because as Nightfall and Lord Commander put it, “everywhere he goes, death follows.” No matter who he befriends with, it will always end in tragedy. In the end when everyone is dead due to people trying to protect him or when he himself uses his powers, he will be back to square one and wander in the loneliness of space.
KVN is actually a pretty relatable form of loneliness in that no one believes in him. Gary constantly makes it a point that he absolutely loathes KVN to the point it physically pains him to give him a thumbs up when he does something good. HUE even acknowledges that no one has any faith in KVN when he is in the process of saving the Galaxy One from the Infinity Guard. I feel that KVN is well aware that no one really believes in him but puts on a smile (even though he doesn’t have a mouth) to hide his insecurities. All he wants is approval and friends, but due to his annoying nature, it’s hard for people to actually take him seriously.
HUE is pretty simple in that him being a stereotypical “unfeeling AI”, he feels that he is destined to be lonely and friendless. However, over time, he develops a very close bond towards Gary and is probably the closest friend Gary has since they both had to live with each other for five years. He overcomes the loneliness of his programming by discovering a bit of humanity inside of him via his care for Gary. When Gary dies he actually feels loss and thus alone inside the helmet of his deceased friend. It’s basically how Cortana felt between Halo 3 and Halo 4 after John freezes himself for 4 years in space and she has no company but the frozen body of her closest friend.
The Lord Commander even has some loneliness inside of him and I feel that this is going to play a huge part in season 2. The Lord Commander, or Jack, is lonely due to the fact that he was always in the shadow of someone else and felt unimportant. He was the co-pilot of the great John Goodspeed but history only remembers John and not Jack on that fateful flight. His rise to power is a desperation for him to be remembered, but in doing so, he is regarded as one of the vilest beings in the universe. His value for loyalty is another desperation to get out of a lonely state since he wants everyone to pay attention to him and not anyone else. His insecurities really take form in the last episode when he insists that he got his powers because he was chosen and therefore important and therefore noticed. However, Gary lays the hard truth on him and tells him that his powers were a mistake and he is still a nobody which in turn infuriates Jack. In the end, the Titans choose Earth and leave Jack to suffer alone with his illness with no one to care for him.
I’m super excited where Season 2 is going to go but I hope the theme of loneliness continues throughout the show because I think its a very multi-layered and important theme to explore in fiction. :)
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