I Darwin

[Guest Jim McLean]

The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason....

The most interesting part of the review is in dealing with iconography of the crossed palms. It is an element of the story that promises so much exciting arcanity but turns out to be a mundane case of coincidence. In two separate worlds James Hollis and Cass Doyle are embellishing their madness with symbols, in both cases eyes and palm trees form outward expressions of their debilitation. It is worth noting, however, that in James Hollis' case the eyes and palm trees are amongst a plethora of other icons, chess pieces, roses, lillies and so forth. Conspiracy fans such as myself are thus salivating at the prospect of an interconnected backstory of intrigue and immorality, that our characters stories are built upon historical Millennium Group machinations. But both James Hollis and Cass Doyle are products of two seperate evolutionary paths.

And maybe that's the whole point; that sometimes we look for connections - evolutionary paths - in events which transpire to be mere accident; that the show's audience and characters spend time trying to reconcile and justify data which is mere accident with no path. The coda then points out that regardless of whether you look for your answers, and be the answer transitory or accidental, the end result remains the same regardless how it is made.

Again, I can't quite equate that in the overall scheme of Darwin to the actual story, but it seems the only obvious allegory I see for the events that transpire - whether the palms/eye are coincidence or branches that have grown from an initial seed, the only answer that matters is who survives and who dies. Seems a pretty weak bridge.

I agree though that I don't see any relationship between the MG and Cass. There maybe a some root nexus back in the Middle East situation, but there are - to me - two definitive set of events which have transpired. Maybe one is to see Jame Hollis as being the result of choices and Cass' of accidents. I really don't know.

I enjoy episodes with depth, but I just can't help feeling the hook is defined enough in this episode to really delve into its intents.

[ethsnafu]

The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason....

The most interesting part of the review is in dealing with iconography of the crossed palms. It is an element of the story that promises so much exciting arcanity but turns out to be a mundane case of coincidence. In two separate worlds James Hollis and Cass Doyle are embellishing their madness with symbols, in both cases eyes and palm trees form outward expressions of their debilitation. It is worth noting, however, that in James Hollis' case the eyes and palm trees are amongst a plethora of other icons, chess pieces, roses, lillies and so forth. Conspiracy fans such as myself are thus salivating at the prospect of an interconnected backstory of intrigue and immorality, that our characters stories are built upon historical Millennium Group machinations. But both James Hollis and Cass Doyle are products of two seperate evolutionary paths.

I know I am committing a tacit faux pas by responding to myself but on review of the episodes that deal with the enigma of James Hollis and the Crossed Palms I feel my own denouement of its meaning to be mediocre. In retrospect my decision to give the palms no more importance than outward expressions of Alzheimer is unworthy. The sheer profound weight they are given in the episodes that appraise them seem to indicate that there is an enigma to solve, their use as origami art forms, as abstract scrawls on a motel wall and repeated inclusion as an apocalyptic view of palms obliterated by explosion lead me to think that to simply conclude that all of this is inconsequential is missing something. My irk lies with Season Threes's continual use of 'Hollis reads to much into it', this MacGuffin is utilized in Exegesis, Skull and Bones, Closure, Darwin's Eye and Bardo Thodol during which Frank is on hand to explain to Emma that there is little rhyme or reason to the patterns or revelations she perceives. The whole 'Palm Trees' motif seems yet another paradigm of throwing a concept before the viewer to have it discounted as devoid of meaning and relevance. I have often wondered if the Palm Tree tease was destroyed by the cancellation of the series but my musings inform me that the writers knew by this point that our beloved Millennium was dead in the water. So irked were the architects of VS4 that they attempted to offer an explanation for the Palm Tree symbolism that peppered numerous episodes by way of affording resolution to a random concept.

Palm Trees, Eyes, Melissa, Cass, can anyone offer a cogent explanation for the seemingly incongruent elements of Season Three's swan song?

here's hoping someone can ease my addled mind....

Smiles,

Eth