LOKI
S01E02 THE VARIANT
The opening scene of Artificial Condition is so endearing. SecUnit says in complete seriousness that its main focus in escaping the transport ring is to blend in as a regular human and NOT a terrifying murderbot...a task which it then goes on to define as not panicking when anyone makes eye contact with it. 🥺 Which...yeah. There's some stuff to unpack there, sweetheart, but being a terrifying murderbot ain't the whole of it.
Part of what makes Dukat such a compelling character is his core belief in his own superiority and that he is the main character of the universe. This is accomplished through writing but also because Marc Alaimo really, really believed in Dukat as a character. He never plays him with a hint of self doubt. If he experiences opposition to this self image Alaimo plays him as deeply embarrassed, angry or even mentally compromised - all signs of someone who's self hinges completely on this image of himself he has constructed. To the point that any real opposition, like the realisation the universe doesn't revolve around you, crushes him if he can't reconstruct it to fit his own narrative.
Alaimo wanted redemption for Dukat and a romance with Kira. I'm very glad that didn't happen. But the fact that Alaimo never accepted Dukat as fundamentally bad is part of why Dukat works. Dukat can't be redeemed. Not because he doesn't have the opportunity. But because he is fueled by greed and lust for power and that's always behind the choices he makes.
So he needs to be played without self doubt. Without a trace of any remorse. Another actor might have been tempted to play Dukat with cracks in the armor of his bravado where he shows remorse or realisation. Because we want to believe villains have complex feelings about their behavior, right? That deep inside, they doubt? But Dukat always carries this unfaltering belief in himself. He doesn't feel sorry. He doesn't regret anything. In fact, he revels in his crime. In his oppression of the Bajoran people.
It really is interesting how Alaimo having a different view of the character is such a big part of what makes him a good villain.
Watch free livestream of the Our Flag Means Death cast panel with Rhys Darby, Samba Schutte, and Vico Ortiz live from ECCC '23
Rhys Darby, Samba Schutte, and Vico Ortiz talk about Our Flag Means Death at Emerald City Comic Con 2023, and you can watch it live.
ReedPop is setting sail for Emerald City Comic Con 2023 to bring fans the As a Crew panel, featuring members of the Our Flag Means Death cast! Join Rhys Darby, Samba Schutte, and Vico Ortiz as the pirate crew discusses their time on the show and discuss the show's exciting second season. Stream it on Popverse!
Popverse will be livestreaming the As A Crew: The Cast of Our Flag Means Death panel from Emerald City Comic Con 2023 free to the public here on ThePopverse.com. The event is scheduled to begin Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 11:15 a.m. Pacific Time.
Watch As a Crew: the Our Flag Means Death caast panel with Rhys Darby, Samba Schutte, and Vico Ortiz recorded at Emerald City Comic Con 2023 here.
Before, after, and during the ECCC 2023 Our Flag Means Death panel, please look into our growing menagerie of related stories such as the Our Flag panel from ECCC 2022, the cast talking about how lockdown shaped their tight bond, Con O'Neill telling us the show's kindness is the secret to its success, a story of O'Neill and Nathan Foad spending time with fans at C2E2, an OFMD season 2 guide, and even some recommendations for queer comics OFMD fans would love.
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Started my "herding cats" socks (...again bc the first attempt was too low contrast). Really loving how they're coming out but I just tried it on and I could barely get it over my heel lmao
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