Carol wrote:
<In Blake's own words (and I'm sure you're familiar with his zealous delivery):
DEVA: These stupid games you insist on playing, Blake, will get someone killed eventually. BLAKE: I have to test each one myself.
Blake goes on to admit that Deva could do the testing via computer, but he still won't let go of the need to test them himself. Blake's inability to sway from a course that he recognizes to be dangerous and unnecessary suggests a "person with excessive attachment to an activity," which is one of my dictionary's definitions of a fanatic.>
No, I don't think it makes him fanatical. Blake's friends in the Freedom Party were massacred because of a traitor; Bran Foster's people were massacred because of a traitor; so were Avalon's people. Blake may have witnessed even more betrayals and gory scenes in the span of time between Star One and GP. He is forming a new group now and as usual, he takes the whole burden of responsibility for it. He's the leader; if anything should happen to these people it would be his fault. Blake's guilt complex is a trait well established in the series.
Another well established trait is Blake's capacity to see through people. I'm always fascinated by the speed with which he finds Ro's weak point and starts shaking his certainties. On GP, Blake still relies on his ability to intuit others, probably more than he relies on any computer. This ability has diminished, however, along with his clear 'moral vision'.
Blake's desperate need for certainty here, just like Avon's 'in the end, winning is the only safety', again remind me of Derrida. At any rate, this need doesn't make one fanatical; it's only natural in a universe characterized by chaos and disorder. One's psyche can hardly be in a different condition.
N.