Mac4781@aol.com wrote:
Sally and Mistral:
BTW - has anyone any ideas *on* what Avon and Cally's little conversation meant? Why didn't Avon mention the signal from the ground? And while
we're
at it, why send the crew babies on this one?
Those are related, IMO, and it's sheer pragmatism on Avon's part. Tarrant and Dayna haven't proven their worth or their trustworthiness to Avon's satisfaction, so he's more willing to risk them than Cally and Vila at this point.
That doesn't feel right to me. My take on it is that Avon didn't assign anyone to the mission. Tarrant and Dayna volunteered to go; they also might have been the ones who conceived the mission. Avon wasn't assuming a leadership role at this point; he seemed reluctant to order the crew about.
Hey, Carol :)
Yes, I agree completely that Tarrant and Dayna volunteered; also that Dayna had to go because her father knew Hower. However, I don't think that means Avon was apathetic enough to let two relative unknown quantities make decisions of that level of importance for him at this point. Tarrant's dialogue suggests that even Tarrant didn't consider them a cohesive unit yet. IMO Avon took them up on the offer because it suited him; he wouldn't have if it didn't.
Which we see later in the episode when he told Dayna and Tarrant about Cally and Orac but left it up to them to decide what they wanted to do.
The ship was falling apart around him and he was expecting an imminent attack, and Vila surely couldn't have expedited repairs enough to be left alone. I wouldn't expect him to go in person after Anna Grant herself in those circumstances. Agreed that he's reluctant to give orders; but if Tarrant will go, so much the better - you'll have noticed it's largely an afterthought.
Per what we see throughout early third season, Tarrant was the one who typically made decisions and tried to fill the vacancy in the leadership position. He continued to do that until Avon accepted that responsibility. There's no reason to think that Tarrant didn't make the decision about Obsidian.
Well, see above. They weren't IMO functioning as a unit at this point; this is the ep that makes them a unit. Remember that in Powerplay Avon saw Tarrant pretend to be a part of one group and turn on them at the first good opportunity; Liberator would be quite a prize if Tarrant decided to do the same again. Avon needs a reason to think Tarrant will show them some loyalty; and he knows Dayna is determined but also headstrong - can she be an effective team member?
Also, let's not forget that Dayna's father knew Hower. Which is a good reason for her to go.
The theory that Avon's more willing to risk them than Cally and Vila seems at odds with the fact that Avon risked himself to check up on Tarrant and Dayna but didn't do the same for Cally. I always thought that Avon was most protective of Dayna over other members of the crew. He might have felt more responsibility for her since his presence on Sarran contributed to her ending up with the crew.
I have always thought that Avon was willing to consider himself in loco parentis for Dayna. However, it seems to me that she made it clear very early on that she wasn't interested in being protected, and he for the most part respected her wishes.
As for checking up on Tarrant and Dayna, there wasn't the same level of immediate danger when he went down to check on them as there was later; you notice once he realized they'd probably been captured, he went back to the ship to have a nice long think, rather than rushing to the rescue. I'm not really talking about him being protective of Cally and Vila here as much as I'm talking about asset management, and the relative value of long-time team members and friends vs. new recruits/acquaintances, of known quantities vs. unknowns.
As I said, I completely agree that they volunteered. But by itself, that doesn't explain why Avon kept the signal a secret. After much thought (because it bugged me big time), the only reason that I can think of is that the presence of the signal indicates an elevated degree of risk. Ergo he didn't want the others to know about the risk; and ISTM that the only two possible reasons are that either he thought they might not go if they knew, or that they might be less effective due to nerves if they knew. In either case, this would seem to indicate that his confidence in their loyalty and/or ability is not yet very high; which would seem to support his seeing them as more expendable.
This is all based on working backwards from Avon's not revealing the signal and Cally's reaction to it; I don't insist it's the only explanation or even the best, but so far it's the only one I've got. If anyone has another, I'd be most interested to hear.
Cheers, Mistral