Jenny wrote: <Oh, he does act stupid. There's a lot of Gan's actions which are put down by a lot of people (including the crew) to his being stupid-- not checking to see if Jenna was behind him on Cephlon, or tearing out the computer banks in "Breakdown.">

The second instance is an invalid example, IMO, since it could have been caused by scrambled brain impulses caused by the malfunction. So you have one example of stupid behaviour (and I could add a second one, the temper-tantrum-moment with the handcuffs in Bouty when Vila is trying *not* to blow Blake's head off). But of course <veg> the odd dumb moment is so *unusual* in our crew. Personally, I consider Blake, Avon, Jenna, Tarrant and Soolin - at the *least* - to be very bright in their different ways. So ...

Want to ask Avon how he thought sending that message to Servalan (in Hostage) would help? And why his brain turned off once he went down to Exbar? Why he turned his back on Sara in MoD? Why in Rescue, when he clearly didn't trust Dorian, he left his gun in the other room while he took a bath?

Want to ask Tarrant why - after stating very firmly and loudly that he trusted no one but himself - he swallowed that whole incredibly silly story from Norl in City? Or why he insisted in DotG that *everyone* goes down with the ship?

Want to ask Cally why - when she *knew* Gan had tried to throttle Blake - she *let him go*?

Want to ask Dayna why at the end of Kairos she meekly teleported Servalan to safety instead of into open space? (oh, and want to ask Servalan why she decided to trust Dayna with her safety?) Or why - when Avon *told* her in Powerplay to 'shoot anyone who isn't me', she still managed to get captured by Klegg's men without even wounding one of them?

Want to ask Blake why he had so much trouble keeping up with the Twinfoil's explanation in 'The Web'? Why he repeatedly let Travis and/or Servalan live? Why in MoD he left the unsealed box with an incredibly valuable neutrotope lying around where at the first bump it would fall?

Want to ask Soolin why she decided to help Tarrant in Warlord, risking the whole alliance they'd worked for, the security of the base and all of their lives so he could have his little romantic fling?

Want to ask Vila about that dropped knife in Cygnus Alpha? Or playing the with loading bay controls on Albion? Or believing Blake's mind-rape-induced lies in 'Voice'? For that matter (and that episode), want both Avon and Jenna why - when they *knew* Blake's mind was decidedly awry - when he said 'give the mummy a bracelet', they gave the mummy a bracelet?

(Jenna doesn't have *many* 'where-in-the-world-have-I-put-my-brain' moments, but she does seem to persistently be several steps behind Avon and Blake (the dreaded 'what's going on, Blake?' bits) so that they have to explain things to her - Redemption is especially bad on this point).

Want to ask the whole lot of them why they didn't notice Cally was missing in SLD???? Or that Jenna *saw* their discarded handcuffs in Bounty and said nothing???

And that's just the ones I can come up with now.

After all, they're all under incredible stress - under sentence of death, caught up in a probably unwinnable war, and constantly fighting (sometimes even the enemy <g>). It would be very surprising if any of them *didn't* act stupid on occasion. Gan may be more phlegmatic than Avon or Blake or Tarrant, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't feel stress as well.

After all, speaking as someone whose claims to brilliance are ... errr, yes, well ... I wouldn't like to claim for for one minute that I'd even do half as well as he does, let alone better. Not under the circumstances.

Sally

PS - anyone else got any 'maybe-I-should-have-stayed-in-bed' moments they particularly treasure?

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