john sugar is the character of all time bc he will murder four people without hesitation but he will also wash the dishes for a grieving grandma. sugar you are so important to me
I was HERE from the very start (i'd had partial spoilers) for the exploration of what it means to be human when you are not a member of the actual homo sapiens species… (or any homo species, but h. sapiens is the only one relevant Now)
buuuut then Henry does the Classic Villain Thing where he's decided All Humans Are Terrible, with the classic addition of We Are Not So Different You And I directed at the Hero, who does NOT immediately call the guy's BS.
(ok, i'll admit i'm a bit hazy on the details here, bc of the gut feeling i mention right below. but it's the general idea i got. sure, the psychological torture against john, with rose petals and a dress, didn't help :] but the villain vs hero is what's relevant here. )
so, that was a twist in the guts. thanks, now i'm worried for S2.
So I decided I needed to rewatch, to see if there was Actual World Building there somewhere, or if the alien thing was all for Flavor, and uh…
Yeah. Now i'm HOPING it's Flavor, *or* that they Do Better in S2, because OH. MY. GOD.
let's compare :]
there is zero indication that the "polyglot socety" is in any way different or 'better' than their peers, and we can assume this for all of them, sooo…
Aliens are:
– "super intelligent", in this case meaning they are *super good* at adapting to new stuff— learning each at least a dozen languages, and memorizing details about a *completely alien society* that most humans would need deep personal experience or intentionally get super specialized in (i realize now the polaroid thing is possibly just printed on the back, but then why didn't he just say so?)
– (a side note: they – mostly john – say they've been here 'for a long time', so let's say ten years… but still?? anyway that first point is the most unclear of all, let's move on)
– they are SUPER ADVANCED technologically, including in bioingeneery stuff… THEY CAN PASS FOR HUMAN at least in everyday life, not even worried about if they get hurt and bleed. analysis of said blood would show weirdness supposedly, but. john says he 'feels human'. it's a *deep* transformation. and then *they can switch back* like. wtf
– (side note again: in ep6 a goon shots john in the arm and the bullet *bounces*. is that also a bioengeneering thing? or is that natural for them?)
– the typewriter thingy: they CLEARLY have faster than light communication.
– most obviously towards the end: their spacefaring abilities are waaayyy beyond ours, *and that alone should be enough for my point.*
WHY. ARE. THEY. WORRIED. ABOUT. HUMANS. DESTROYING THEM.
not just the people on the mission, but their whole society, which is *the point* the the mission in the first place!
WHY. WHY THE FUCK.
… and especiallya after the green-on-black anti-immigrant pages published by the white fucking house recently, my brain gets stuck at 'ooh, that whole basic idea stinks of fascistic ideology.'
in the list about 'ur fascism' by umberto eco, it reminds me of a phrase in point 8: the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak
and here, john's species is physically strong, but from a fascist's pov, "weak" because of their "peaceful ways" (was it Ruby who said that, or John? anyways.)
compassion is weakness.
violence is strength.
and i would love for this to be intentional, and see the stinky rethoric squashed, but i'm… not convinced.
because of that fucken ending.
(btw, looks like henry's phone is not an iPhone, who noticed that before the very end? :] )
sooo… yeah. i'm *very* worried for season 2.
(and i want to hug john, the human-shaped golden retriever puppy é_è )
[putting the tag in the spoilerific zone: i have a THING about non h. sapiens ppl being *at least* as human as the most compassionate and kind person you actually know irl]
