Howdy Folks

[The Old Man]

I think we'd have seen Lara return had there been a fourth season!

[Earthnut]

On 2/8/2018 at 1:50 PM, The Old Man said:

I think we'd have seen Lara return had there been a fourth season!

I'm sure of it.  She was so popular with the fans.

[seesthru]

On 2/6/2018 at 11:33 AM, Earthnut said:

What is disappointing to me is we never had any kind of closure with Lara Means.  We all loved her character, and of course all the guys loved her.

My only problem with Lara Means was the "Here's My Thing"   It was very annoying.  But now, I find in it a reason to smile nostalgically ...  He character, when she arrived in "Monster"   was so strong, so self-assured,   determined...  The  end of the one season  she was on the show, was a far cry from the beginning.     I  wish that in Season 3 they had  given her closure, maybe had Frank stop by and visit her, well, and AWAY from the group for good.

[Earthnut]

13 hours ago, seesthru said:

My only problem with Lara Means was the "Here's My Thing"   It was very annoying.  But now, I find in it a reason to smile nostalgically ...  He character, when she arrived in "Monster"   was so strong, so self-assured,   determined...  The  end of the one season  she was on the show, was a far cry from the beginning.     I  wish that in Season 3 they had  given her closure, maybe had Frank stop by and visit her, well, and AWAY from the group for good.

 The "Here's my thing," was out of left field, but sure did catch on.  I've used it multiple times here and smiled every time.   Besides Lara's beauty, her strength and intelligence is what made her so popular.   

It's been thought that the group put Lara in a mental institution.  That would be my first "educated" guess, but then again remember, she gave Frank her antidote syringe for the virus.  I am sure the group had secret backups and may have injected her, locked her up, and threw away the key.  We will probably never know.

[seesthru]

I think the group gave her the vaccine, but she didn't know.  I think they gave her the syringe,knowing she would give it to Frank, and they set him  up to make a terrible choice.... If she had died in  the outbreak, I believe Frank would have mentioned it in the same breath he  told they killed his wife.

 If she came back to reality, the group would swarm in all over her.  If she stayed insane, they'd  wash their hands of her.   IF I were writing her story, I'd have her pretend to be insane, until she  could sneak away and  get free of them.

[Earthnut]

20 hours ago, seesthru said:

I think the group gave her the vaccine, but she didn't know.  I think they gave her the syringe,knowing she would give it to Frank, and they set him  up to make a terrible choice.... If she had died in  the outbreak, I believe Frank would have mentioned it in the same breath he  told they killed his wife.

 If she came back to reality, the group would swarm in all over her.  If she stayed insane, they'd  wash their hands of her.   IF I were writing her story, I'd have her pretend to be insane, until she  could sneak away and  get free of them.

Yes, the group very well could have set Frank up, and probably to get rid of Catherine, knowing she would sacrifice her life to save Jordan's.

I believe Lara was in more torment over not understanding her visions than she was the group and anything they would conjure up.

[seesthru]

Their promise when she joined them was that they would help her not go insane.  The group approaches people at their most vulnerable moment, their worst time... So I take it, she was in a bad way, maybe had been hospitalized like Frank had?? They got her at a weak time,   and like frank "helped her understand the nature of her "ability"  , and promised to protect her, help her  get strong.   Then the one faction promised her they would  help her get rid of her gift and not go insane.

But when she talked to Frank about it, During Midnight of the Century, she said when "he"  appeared, everything was so clear in her mind,  her senses sharpened, whatever it  was..  and I wondered if that were the case, why she would get so upset and cry when he appeared.  She did say she'd give anything not to have had it in her life, so like Frank, maybe she sought ways to not have it.  But with both, the group encouraged their "abilities"  fed them,   they both said their gifts were getting more pronounced  since joining.

 

I know in Walkabout, Frank was looking for a way to keep Jordan from having to experience what he and /or Lara did.

[Jabbapop]

I think there's something you bring up that begs a differing perspective. When you say the group approaches people at their weakest time, it sounds as if you mean that they prey on peoples vulnerability, as if it makes them more salient to joining the group. I think it's for quite another reason: they group wants to see a prospective member at a weak point, to see if they can be trusted to have strength of character to overcome difficult situations. For example, in Dead Letters, the prospective member Jim Horn is in a situation similar to what Frank would be in. His response of clouded judgement and volatility proved to the group he was unfit for candidacy. 

I've just finished Collateral Damage, but in this overlap of motifs, family members being endangered and what have you, you've got to admire Peter Watt's ability to keep his cool. One wonders the exact details of a difficult time, if any, the Group approached him at for candidacy. In the S2 finale eps he mentions a case of finding a baby decapitated in a cooler, the horrifying presence and irrationality of evil starting to get to him.  If the group truly has become evil, the tragedy of Watt's has got to be his strength in walking this tight path.

[Earthnut]

When it comes to the group I believe it has to do with which faction they're dealing with, Owls or Roosters.   Then we need to consider the fact that the Elder is the leader, the head of the Representative Board, which means all actions require his approval.  And of course he approves acceptance of candidates.  Then there's the Inquisitor, who is the judge of candidate's merits, and is the chairman of a review board that reviews the candidates progress and achievements.

Having said all of that, Jabbapop, I too believe that the group monitors candidates watching to see how they deal with their weaknesses, and how far they will go with their strengths.  And of course whether they can be trusted, especially by considering the group as priority, that ends up hardening the heart.  The one of many evil sides of the group is it must come first, even over family, which to me would actually become the group's biggest weakness, when the emotional realm is brought into the equation.

There was so much ab out Peter Watts that I wish the show had more time to address.  He is a very strong man, and yes, he did great in keeping his cool, and betting he was always a step ahead of everyone with his thinking, and didn't show it in anyway.  Instead of evil getting to him, he baby was the experience that gave him focus for his life to fight evil, and at any level.  The baby also let him know that family IS and always SHOULD be priority.

[seesthru]

The group turns out to be a cult.  cult tactic is to approach people in their weakness and  use that weakness to entice them into joining.  I believe the group did exactly that with Frank and Lara and yes, Peter too.   Told them what they wanted to hear.  Frank was told he'd consult, and his family would be protected, andhis gift would be stronger, but also that he would remain sane.  Lara was told she would be kept sane, and one faction even said they'd take her gift away to keep her sane, which is what she wanted apparently   Peter was given a sense of purpose, told that he would never again   be left with a boy in a cooler and have it go unsolved.  He was knighted in a real sense. 

 

But... in the end, Peter was afraid.  He had to choose to let his daughter be in the situation she was in, not say a word that would free her, in order to keep the rest of his family, and himself alive.   His dogging Frank wasn't his choice.  He was ordered to.   In the end, he warns Frank and allegedly dies for it.   IN Season 2 during the outbreak, he fully realized, when Frank asked him if they were supposed to remain loyal after watching their families die...Peter knew then, it was always about control.  He said it....

't

So yep, when I say the group approached them at their weakest, I mean, in order to exploit those weaknesses.  Horn couldn't hold it together to give the group what it wanted.  They cut him loose..   The man couldn't keep control, thus could never have been trusted with group secrets.   But, like Emma, every member has a weakness.  The group finds it, targets it, and uses it to keep the member under control.

 

How the good Old man figured into this, I will never get.  He was true blue..  Honorable.  He is the odd one out regarding the group.  Others seemed willing to go along, some downright ruthless... but the old man..  different story.