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gwaevalarin) wrote2011-10-03 12:11 pm
gwaevalarin) wrote2011-10-03 12:11 pm
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Everyone's faith is different, unique.
You might remember that I loved the first episode of Divine: The Series. To be honest, I wasn't too sure about the second one. But after episodes 3 and 4 I can only say: Damn, this show is good.
I think - Mohave aside - Father Andrew is easily my favourite character so far. And what I find very interesting are the parallels and differences between him and Father Christopher, who I believe to be Andrew's predecessor.
Episode 3 - Feed Him For Life
We meet Andrew first when he steps into a cab to go to Eastside Rescue Mission, but his story starts earlier.
Father Andrew is a young priest from a very religious family, judging from the way his mother talks to him about faith and God. I wonder if it was really his choice to become a priest. He believes, there is no doubt about that. But he believes in a different way than he is expected to. It is more personal and complicated for him. I'm under the impression that he comes from a rather wealthy and respectable background where it is more important to keep your good name than be who you really are. That doesn't mean that there isn't love in his family, he clearly loves him Mom. But this isn't him, and he just can't pretend anymore.
He wasn't even aware he was pretending, until someone who trusted him and turned to him for guidance committed suicide, and Andrew blames himself for it. He was there, he should have saved him, but he couldn't. Because the church says that homosexuality is a sin, so Andrew couldn't give him the acceptance he was looking for. Even though, deep down, he doesn't believe it is a sin, and he might have said as much later. And now he is relocated to a mission, and it does become pretty clear that it is a punishment. A punishment that may just as well turn into a way to find himself.
Before he moves to this new place, and starts a new life, accepting this fate, he drives up to what is probably his family's cabin somewhere in the woods. He needs to think about where he stands, and what he believes, and if he thinks that he deserves this, because he isn't sure about anything any more. He just knows that he feels guilty, and that, even if he could convince the Bishop to return him to his old position, he could never just go back and pretend like nothing happened. He accepts this, because he needs to atone, but not for what he is expected to atone for, but for not listening to what he really believes enough to help this poor soul when he still could. Because he was not brave enough to overstep old boundaries in order to help someone until it was too late.
From what we see in this episode, Andrew's main character trait is that he is very soft, and very forgiving, and very accepting, just not towards himself.
He says "The Lord helps those to help themselves" just like his mother did, like it is something that never used to believe in, because he wanted to help others who couldn't help themselves, but now he says it with bitterness like it is true, and the world just is that cold, and he is only now starting to see it. It's like he lived in this dream all his life, and now he has woken up to a cold and cruel and, most of all, complicated reality.
And even when the cab driver gives him one last chance out, one last chance to go back, Andrew decides that he has to do this.
I'm not entirely sure how to interpret the driver's stigmata. I'm afraid that's where my knowledge of Christian symbolism leaves me. Does it mean that he was the one to give Andrew the right words so he can find his way? I'd love to hear ideas about this.
At the mission Andrew receives a warm and kind welcome from Deacon Jim to their "haven in the shade". It's hard to see but I think Jim carries at least one stigma on his arm as well. And from above, Mohave is watching.
Episode 4 - Simple Men
The next time we see Andrew, it is apparently right after he witnessed his first miracle healing of Divine. A scene we don't get to see but that probably went very similar to what we saw with Christopher in the very first episode.
Andrew looks like he is pretty much in shock, which is understandable, still holding on to the bible with the little silver cross that he already held last episode. He can't even find the words, because it was proof for God's existence, and at the same time it was so horrible and bloody and so far away from the safe and clean business faith used to be in his home, at least before the suicide. This is the truth, the brutal and humbling, the frightening and reassuring and so complicated truth. And the first thing Andrew wants to know is how this can still be a secret that everyone else is unaware of.
Which brings us to Christopher, who has been there as well. Christopher was assigned to the mission just like Andrew was. But what instantly stands out is that he didn't receive the same warm welcome form Deacon Jim that Andrew did. There are so many possibilities for why that may be. Maybe Jim just had a bad feeling about Christopher from the start. Maybe Christopher was sent to him for something that Jim found harder to trust him, while Andrew came for something that made it harder for Jim to trust him. Maybe Jim never wanted to share the knowledge about Divine with anyone, but Christopher convinced him, and now he feels it's worth the risk, even though it went so horribly wrong with Christopher. I hope that we will see more of that in future episodes.
Christopher and Andrew are both young priests who were relocated to the mission for a specific reason, but they could hardly be more different. Andrew reacts with almost insecurity but faith, Christopher just seems annoyed and angry. Andrew thinks that this might be something he needs to do to find himself again, Christopher doesn't want to be there at all.
I really think Jim tried to help Christopher, and remembering how humbled he looked during the miracle, he seemed on the "right path" for a while. But it didn't last, and now Jim may be trying to make up for his failure with Christopher by not making the same mistakes with Andrew. I don't think he ever tried to explain things to Christopher like he does to Andrew now, I'm not sure if it would have made a difference if he had.
There is a very fundamental question here, the question it all comes down to: Do people deserve to know the whole truth or if it is better to keep them in the dark to protect them? Or maybe it is more about protecting Divine from the world in this case. That's certainly how Jim makes it sound. Another point is that maybe the world doesn't deserve to know if they don't look. Jim talks about how it is no secret, and what I hear is, if people really wanted to know the truth then they could find it, but they aren't trying. They'll rather continue living the lie so why would they deserve being told?
Considering Divine is so old, and the Deacon started doing this when he was younger than Andrew is now, I'm wondering if he is looking for someone to take his place when he is gone, someone to do the ritual and guard the secret that isn't a secret.
Christopher wasn't that person. Christopher wanted to bring Divine in, probably turn him into something like a lab rat for the church to probe and study and use to twist the truth in a way that fits them best. At least that is what I think Jim is convinced will happen. Even after what he has seen, Christopher still believes in the church, in the order he has been taught to accept. Accepting chaos and something that is so complicated when you are used to something that is safe and has a clearly defined order is difficult I guess.
I've seen a lot of people assume that Jim killed Christopher after this confrontation to keep the not-secret safe. And I think they are right. There are quite a few indications, from Christopher never being mentioned when Jim talks about the people who know, or at all really, to the chess piece to the simply fact that he isn't there but he obviously hasn't told the higher authorities either.
We learn a lot about Divine's fate, not necessarily new facts but more important things. He did something he has to atone for, potentially for the rest of eternity, and it's impossible to really grasp what that means. How horrible the sin must have been, how impossible it is to keep up your faith through this all, and not give up, whether Divine can really deserve this fate, and who decides that he does. God? Divine himself? How far gone from the world tat he tries to protect Divine must be by now, and whether he even really remembers why he does what he does, or if he's just going through the motions.
And that's what Jim sees as his - and Jin's and Andrew's - role, to keep Divine grounded and remind him of humanity, of reality, of people as individuals not just steps on his endless path towards salvation.
But Divine is also the one to help them find their way. Jim specifically sought Andrew out for this, because of what happened. His crisis of faith is what proves that he truly has faith. He may be struggling right now, but he holds the truth somewhere in him, his own truth and only his, not anyone else's. And I believe that this right here will give him a chance to find it, for his own and Divine's sake.
I aplogise for any misuse of religious terms and symbols. I come from a Catholic background but my family isn't very religious so I'm only familiar with the basics.
I think - Mohave aside - Father Andrew is easily my favourite character so far. And what I find very interesting are the parallels and differences between him and Father Christopher, who I believe to be Andrew's predecessor.
Episode 3 - Feed Him For Life
We meet Andrew first when he steps into a cab to go to Eastside Rescue Mission, but his story starts earlier.
Father Andrew is a young priest from a very religious family, judging from the way his mother talks to him about faith and God. I wonder if it was really his choice to become a priest. He believes, there is no doubt about that. But he believes in a different way than he is expected to. It is more personal and complicated for him. I'm under the impression that he comes from a rather wealthy and respectable background where it is more important to keep your good name than be who you really are. That doesn't mean that there isn't love in his family, he clearly loves him Mom. But this isn't him, and he just can't pretend anymore.
He wasn't even aware he was pretending, until someone who trusted him and turned to him for guidance committed suicide, and Andrew blames himself for it. He was there, he should have saved him, but he couldn't. Because the church says that homosexuality is a sin, so Andrew couldn't give him the acceptance he was looking for. Even though, deep down, he doesn't believe it is a sin, and he might have said as much later. And now he is relocated to a mission, and it does become pretty clear that it is a punishment. A punishment that may just as well turn into a way to find himself.
Before he moves to this new place, and starts a new life, accepting this fate, he drives up to what is probably his family's cabin somewhere in the woods. He needs to think about where he stands, and what he believes, and if he thinks that he deserves this, because he isn't sure about anything any more. He just knows that he feels guilty, and that, even if he could convince the Bishop to return him to his old position, he could never just go back and pretend like nothing happened. He accepts this, because he needs to atone, but not for what he is expected to atone for, but for not listening to what he really believes enough to help this poor soul when he still could. Because he was not brave enough to overstep old boundaries in order to help someone until it was too late.
From what we see in this episode, Andrew's main character trait is that he is very soft, and very forgiving, and very accepting, just not towards himself.
He says "The Lord helps those to help themselves" just like his mother did, like it is something that never used to believe in, because he wanted to help others who couldn't help themselves, but now he says it with bitterness like it is true, and the world just is that cold, and he is only now starting to see it. It's like he lived in this dream all his life, and now he has woken up to a cold and cruel and, most of all, complicated reality.
And even when the cab driver gives him one last chance out, one last chance to go back, Andrew decides that he has to do this.
I'm not entirely sure how to interpret the driver's stigmata. I'm afraid that's where my knowledge of Christian symbolism leaves me. Does it mean that he was the one to give Andrew the right words so he can find his way? I'd love to hear ideas about this.
At the mission Andrew receives a warm and kind welcome from Deacon Jim to their "haven in the shade". It's hard to see but I think Jim carries at least one stigma on his arm as well. And from above, Mohave is watching.
Episode 4 - Simple Men
The next time we see Andrew, it is apparently right after he witnessed his first miracle healing of Divine. A scene we don't get to see but that probably went very similar to what we saw with Christopher in the very first episode.
Andrew looks like he is pretty much in shock, which is understandable, still holding on to the bible with the little silver cross that he already held last episode. He can't even find the words, because it was proof for God's existence, and at the same time it was so horrible and bloody and so far away from the safe and clean business faith used to be in his home, at least before the suicide. This is the truth, the brutal and humbling, the frightening and reassuring and so complicated truth. And the first thing Andrew wants to know is how this can still be a secret that everyone else is unaware of.
Which brings us to Christopher, who has been there as well. Christopher was assigned to the mission just like Andrew was. But what instantly stands out is that he didn't receive the same warm welcome form Deacon Jim that Andrew did. There are so many possibilities for why that may be. Maybe Jim just had a bad feeling about Christopher from the start. Maybe Christopher was sent to him for something that Jim found harder to trust him, while Andrew came for something that made it harder for Jim to trust him. Maybe Jim never wanted to share the knowledge about Divine with anyone, but Christopher convinced him, and now he feels it's worth the risk, even though it went so horribly wrong with Christopher. I hope that we will see more of that in future episodes.
Christopher and Andrew are both young priests who were relocated to the mission for a specific reason, but they could hardly be more different. Andrew reacts with almost insecurity but faith, Christopher just seems annoyed and angry. Andrew thinks that this might be something he needs to do to find himself again, Christopher doesn't want to be there at all.
I really think Jim tried to help Christopher, and remembering how humbled he looked during the miracle, he seemed on the "right path" for a while. But it didn't last, and now Jim may be trying to make up for his failure with Christopher by not making the same mistakes with Andrew. I don't think he ever tried to explain things to Christopher like he does to Andrew now, I'm not sure if it would have made a difference if he had.
There is a very fundamental question here, the question it all comes down to: Do people deserve to know the whole truth or if it is better to keep them in the dark to protect them? Or maybe it is more about protecting Divine from the world in this case. That's certainly how Jim makes it sound. Another point is that maybe the world doesn't deserve to know if they don't look. Jim talks about how it is no secret, and what I hear is, if people really wanted to know the truth then they could find it, but they aren't trying. They'll rather continue living the lie so why would they deserve being told?
Considering Divine is so old, and the Deacon started doing this when he was younger than Andrew is now, I'm wondering if he is looking for someone to take his place when he is gone, someone to do the ritual and guard the secret that isn't a secret.
Christopher wasn't that person. Christopher wanted to bring Divine in, probably turn him into something like a lab rat for the church to probe and study and use to twist the truth in a way that fits them best. At least that is what I think Jim is convinced will happen. Even after what he has seen, Christopher still believes in the church, in the order he has been taught to accept. Accepting chaos and something that is so complicated when you are used to something that is safe and has a clearly defined order is difficult I guess.
I've seen a lot of people assume that Jim killed Christopher after this confrontation to keep the not-secret safe. And I think they are right. There are quite a few indications, from Christopher never being mentioned when Jim talks about the people who know, or at all really, to the chess piece to the simply fact that he isn't there but he obviously hasn't told the higher authorities either.
We learn a lot about Divine's fate, not necessarily new facts but more important things. He did something he has to atone for, potentially for the rest of eternity, and it's impossible to really grasp what that means. How horrible the sin must have been, how impossible it is to keep up your faith through this all, and not give up, whether Divine can really deserve this fate, and who decides that he does. God? Divine himself? How far gone from the world tat he tries to protect Divine must be by now, and whether he even really remembers why he does what he does, or if he's just going through the motions.
And that's what Jim sees as his - and Jin's and Andrew's - role, to keep Divine grounded and remind him of humanity, of reality, of people as individuals not just steps on his endless path towards salvation.
But Divine is also the one to help them find their way. Jim specifically sought Andrew out for this, because of what happened. His crisis of faith is what proves that he truly has faith. He may be struggling right now, but he holds the truth somewhere in him, his own truth and only his, not anyone else's. And I believe that this right here will give him a chance to find it, for his own and Divine's sake.
I aplogise for any misuse of religious terms and symbols. I come from a Catholic background but my family isn't very religious so I'm only familiar with the basics.