"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Crow Road: Episode 3 - “Fergus” (1996)

 
There's a great clarification in this episode, about the necessity of stories.  Kenneth talks about how the people of Scotland are made of their stories, that they've fought and sometimes died to protect them, and that it's the only thing they can really leave behind.  That's what keeps pulling Prentice's narrative into the past, examining the pieces that made him.  And it's why he needs to make sense of Uncle Rory's writings so badly.  More than just to find out what happened to him, Prentice needs to learn the stories Rory has hidden – because if he's died, or even if he just remains unfound, the stories will be lost along with him, and what will be left then?
 
Prentice, in “Fergus,” is trying to sort through everything that fell upon him in episode 2.  More than ever, he needs to make sense of things.  He's “waiting to interview the chief suspect: God,” but he's not getting the answers he's looking for.  He can't hear God speaking to him, and Rory's most telling tales are locked inside ancient floppy discs he can't get into.  That's probably the hardest part for Prentice – that he knows they're there, but he can't see them.
 
PC continues to be used effectively in brief appearances.  There's an excellent flashback in this episode that tells you a lot about him as a writer, and about the relationship he had with his brother Kenneth.  Really, the flashbacks are always reliably good.  I'm less sure about the bits when he pops in on Prentice's subconscious.  It feels a little like a cliched storytelling device.  I do like, though, that he isn't especially wise or profound in these scenes, but simply himself.  I also like that Prentice isn't overly concerned that his uncle occasionally takes up residence in his head.  He's never surprised to see Rory, never worries that he's going mad.  He just asks questions, justifies his own actions or lack thereof, and sometimes argues.  I imagine it's probably a lot like what their relationship would be if Rory were still around.
 
Warnings
 
Add in a brief scene of violence.

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