Can we quickly go back to the exchange between Delphine and the Messenger in 4x10? Because there was a moment in particular that still stands out.
Messenger: ‘His altruism saved you’.
Delphine: ‘That wasn’t what it was’.
Going back to last year, I interpreted this exchange to signify a shift for Delphine, one that ultimately came down to her saying, ‘love saved me’. To be honest, it could still very well be the case, and I mean, I wouldn’t complain because that’s some ‘pit of the soul’ kinda love right there.
But now after having watched 5x01, I’m feeling differently about that exchange. To me, in 4x10, Delphine was already rather defiant and dismissive of the Messenger but in 5x10, I feel like her animosity towards him was tenfold. And after watching this episode, it’s so apparent that there is something big going on with her there, something that she seems extremely conflicted, concerned and consumed by.
So now, I’m thinking perhaps something was used on Delphine in her treatment, something that she is perhaps afraid of. She clearly believes in the science happening around her, she says it’s real, but she clearly does not believe in the cause. Think back to that exchange with the little girl seeking ‘The Fountain’ to cure her cancer. The look on Delphine’s face was troubled and we’ve seen that kind of expression before especially in instances where she has been burdened by information she is made to keep secret. Whatever this ‘Fountain’ is, whatever it is set to achieve, (prolongevity, eternal youth, perfect health etc etc), she is clearly not on par with it.
So, now going allllll the way back to that 4x10 exchange, I feel as though Delphine may have been, against her consent, treated by science that she does not believe in or that she has come to discover can be damaging.
The line ‘his altruism saved you’, implies Westmoreland saved Delphine to no advantageous gain of his own; that, by definition is what altruism is. How can we believe that though? At first I assumed altruism might have be the case because she is somehow directly linked to him, through lineage or something but it doesn’t add up; when she is summoned to meet him, her demeanour shifts instantly to one of skepticism and perhaps fear. Rather, what Westmoreland probably considers altruism, is in fact his definition of perfecting the human race; a - this isn’t just for me, this is for us all - kinda thought process. It isn’t a matter of saving one individual life but rather, selflessly sharing and applying his science to bettering mankind. Delphine’s interpretation though, is that he has used his science, his methods, his rationale on her, against her wishes, to propel his science further outwards. That in itself, is not an altruistic gesture. That, is robbing her of humanity, autonomy and freedom.
So, yeah. To me, there is absolutely something off about Delphine already. Something is tearing her apart and I’m wondering if perhaps, she is now a part of this control group and this study that intends to achieve life extension.
