"anamnesis" (2nd Season)

[Earthnut]

I think what sold if for me as my favourite episode is Lara's line to Catherine after she had observed Clare McKenna experience a vision and she turns and says "I felt her go back". Just how enigmatic and suggestive is that line? Love it.

Eth

Oh my yes, I totally agree, I love that line. And by feeling her go back, Lara was actually in the spirit witnessing and seeing Clare go back in her own spirit. We are all capable of doing this, but most people's spirits are weak and have not developed any abilities. Oh how I love this episode.

[ethsnafu]

That's exactly what I took from the episode as well Darlene. It's almost like there is a quickening in Lara's abilities in the latter half od the season. They are clearly growing into something more profound than seeing angels (if you can get more profound than that) as she is able to attune herself to Clare spiritually and perceives visions akin to Frank's when she witnesses the forboarding of the horsemen. Whatever is ongoing with her it is enough for her angel to abandon her and that, in itself, deserves a whole topic of its own.

Oh I how I love this episode too.

Eth

[Guest arcanamundi]

Something I never considered until it was remarked upon here is the importance of this episode to Lara's character arc. Yes, she does choose to go against the group's orders, and in giving the material to Catherine at the end she suggests she doesn't trust the Group. Her instructions were to stand by and witness fate play out, without intervening, and her objection is that would be murder - so they know what is to happen, and who is to die, right? They know its not to be Clare but Mr. Fisher?

And could you expound a bit more on the issue of her angel abandoning her? That remains a murky subject for me.

More than a decade later and these episodes are still interesting and thought-provoking... God bless ambiguity! (and good writing!)

[Earthnut]

My thought on the death of Mr. Fisher, with what I remember of the scenes in the episode, is that they feared for Clare, and that she was going to be killed. I don't think it ever entered their mind that Mr. Fisher would be killed, or sacrificed, instead. They certainly knew something horrible was about to happen.

As far as angels abandoning us, they don't. As we grown in our spirit, we move to a different and higher level of understanding, and require a change of our spiritual guide. Angels are messengers (both spiritual and human), and it appeared to me from what Lara said about hers, that her angel usually brought messages of doom and death. Not the best kind of spiritual guide, but at least it gave her spiritual vision. It gave her these messages and even feelings, but I don't believe it helped much in educating her of the spirit and its operations, even though her spirit was becoming stronger. It possibly left her too soon, before it could be replaced, putting her in somewhat of a void, or limbo, which came to a head later on at the end of season 2. It's like giving someone a gift, where they have no idea what to do with it or how it works, then expecting him/her to figure it out on their own. Some people would succeed and some would fail, and some, like Lara, would be in the middle in a state of nothingness.

Hope my insight helped.

[Guest arcanamundi]

My thought on the death of Mr. Fisher, with what I remember of the scenes in the episode, is that they feared for Clare, and that she was going to be killed. I don't think it ever entered their mind that Mr. Fisher would be killed, or sacrificed, instead. They certainly knew something horrible was about to happen.

As far as angels abandoning us, they don't. As we grown in our spirit, we move to a different and higher level of understanding, and require a change of our spiritual guide. Angels are messengers (both spiritual and human), and it appeared to me from what Lara said about hers, that her angel usually brought messages of doom and death. Not the best kind of spiritual guide, but at least it gave her spiritual vision. It gave her these messages and even feelings, but I don't believe it helped much in educating her of the spirit and its operations, even though her spirit was becoming stronger. It possibly left her too soon, before it could be replaced, putting her in somewhat of a void, or limbo, which came to a head later on at the end of season 2. It's like giving someone a gift, where they have no idea what to do with it or how it works, then expecting him/her to figure it out on their own. Some people would succeed and some would fail, and some, like Lara, would be in the middle in a state of nothingness.

Hope my insight helped.

Food for thought, Darlene - thank you. So Fisher's sacrifice is not what the Group was expecting, you think? We were certainly being led to believe a repeat of Jesus's fate was about to be played out wtih Clare.

But about the angels... Fisher suggested Lara's was not with her because it was afraid of a higher power, implying Clare's I suppose; or perhaps the Magdalen, who apparently was riding in the backseat with Lara at one point. Maybe the intended suggestion was that there was some divine prerogative at work, and so Lara's angel intentionally refrained from warning her because what was to happen was part of a higher plan.

I kind of agree with you about our angels not abandoning us -- unless we are so awfully corrupted that they can longer tolerate us nor we them -- like, for example, in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Ever see that? I thought that was the scariest movie that year. At the end, Laura Palmer weeps when the angel in the picture has vanished - which I took to imply that Laura's embrace of her dark side drove off her own guardian angel.

[Earthnut]

No, I don't think anyone expected Fisher's sacrifice, and I agree, it did begin to appear like Clare was going to have the same fate as the Lord.

Wow Ralph, you certainly gave me something to think about in regards to Mary Magdalene. I agree totally that she is of higher authority. Lara's angel is not a guardian angel, but a messenger, one that, and I quote Lara:

"He only appears to warn me of imminent danger, or to point me into the direction of evil's presence."

Without hearing directly from the writers, it's hard to know exactly why some things went a certain direction. I for one can only draw on my own spiritual knowledge and understanding, and hope that it is in agreement with what the writers see.

And oh yes, I totally agree that there is a much higher plan. Higher then what most people can even imagine.

Sorry, never saw Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Just finished writing an article for "Midnight of the Century" and Christmas, where I discuss Lara's angel. Hope you enjoy it.

[Guest arcanamundi]

Just finished writing an article for "Midnight of the Century" and Christmas, where I discuss Lara's angel. Hope you enjoy it.

I very much look forward to reading it, Darlene! That's another of my favorite episodes!

[ethsnafu]

Something I never considered until it was remarked upon here is the importance of this episode to Lara's character arc. Yes, she does choose to go against the group's orders, and in giving the material to Catherine at the end she suggests she doesn't trust the Group. Her instructions were to stand by and witness fate play out, without intervening, and her objection is that would be murder - so they know what is to happen, and who is to die, right? They know its not to be Clare but Mr. Fisher?

And could you expound a bit more on the issue of her angel abandoning her? That remains a murky subject for me.

More than a decade later and these episodes are still interesting and thought-provoking... God bless ambiguity! (and good writing!)

I seem to have missed this post the first time around so forgive me. There are two ways of looking at this. One is that Lara defies the Group by giving the Catherine the information she has on Clare and the other is that she gives Catherine the information because she knows it is of no consequence to do so. There are two central conceits being played with in the narrative. One is that Clare is a descendant of the Madelene. The second, that is far subtler, is that Clare is an incarnation of the Magdelene. The episodes title is the clue to what is hidden in the narrative. Anamnesis means to remember something forgotten or to have the veil lifted so to speak. Now Lara is sent to determine if Clare is a descendant of Christ. In the conclusion of the episode she states that this is what 'some people believe' which infers it is not what she believes. When Clare recalls (or remembers what is forgotten i.e. the Anamnesis) the events after the resurrection, Lara states that she felt Clare 'go back' indicating that she wasn't simply recounting a story she had a heard but was recalling something she had experienced first hand albeit in a former incarnation. Lara hands The Family's book to Catherine which recounts the tale of the Gnostic Ennoia, the feminine principle of God who was cast out to incarnate time and time again and be regarded as a lost sheep in every incarnation. Whether it is the wrongly maligned Mary Madelene or the unfairly chastised Clare McKenna. In many ways she is urging Catherine to seek a gnosis of her own and understand, as she does, what the truth of the case is. Ultimately the Ennoia (in the earthly form of Clare McKenna) is what causes Lara's angel to withdraw as she is in the presence of a more considerable divine power.

At least that's my very alternative take on the episode.

Eth

[Guest justquiet]

I just watched this episode last night. It's one of my fav from season 2. And the music was great...I had to get a Patti Smith greatest hits after watching this the first time (when it originally aired). Dancing Barefoot is a great song. This is also the only episode that Frank wasn't in at all. Really played up the tension between Catherine and Lara too.

[ethsnafu]

Hi there justquiet (great screename, one of my favourite lines form the whole show)....

I love the tension between Lara and Catherine and it isn't as neatly drawn as the Mulder/Scully believer/sceptic dynamic as Catherine does seem much more open to things than Scully did. After al she belies her husband and daughter have unique abilities so she's willing to entertain some rather fantastic ideas. I think Catherine responds in the way she does because it's a representative of The Millennium Group and that is an opportunity to vent a little frustration she is feeling with them in general. She's certainly willing to at least entertain Lara's ideas by the end of the episode and I think both women come through it with much more respect for each other as a result.

Eth

PS I see this is your first post so welcome to TIWWA. I hope you have a wonderful time and make many new friends in the process.