Wednesday February 14, 2001
215
Rick and David are served with a notice to get an injunction to stop the Atlantor project - and the hearing is on Valentine's Day. Grace is troubled by the fact that a building that is helping those who need help is being torn down to build Miles' (and therefore Rick's) project. David is frustrated that no one but him thinks that they have a serious problem with the project and the injunction to stop its construction. Rick sees Grace protesting and they have an argument. David quits the firm because of his opposition to the project. The court's decision makes no one happy, with the possible exception on Miles. Rick proposes to Lily, but she feels it's not the right time.
The Dark Side of Ambition hide show
Abe Lincoln once said a house divided will not stand. And that is exactly what is happening with Rick right now. As the project is underway his personal life is begining to crumble. Not just the fact that his ex-wife is trying to defend all of the people who's homes are going to be torn down but three people in particular Lily, David and Grace.
I can't help but feel this is a development in Grace's character because she is doing what she is always ment to do which is to defend all that is good and of course we see she is fearing she is getting further and further away from Eli. But also in the little subplot it demonstrates another thing about Carla's charcter she doesn't really care about anything. There has been a contrasting parallel thoughout the season between the two. We see that Carla is helping out but is rather passive on the issue, in one meeting scene we kinda see that she doesn't want to stay for the whole thing but instead spend time goofing around. And other where Eli and Carla visit Grace as she protesting with them, we see Eli in his eyes of protesting with Grace but instead he lets himself get dragged away by Carla to do, well whatever the heck they do. This is one of the reasons I don't feel Carla is healthy for Eli. I know these things probably don't mean much, it's not like their that big a deal but still it's always the smallest things that are a big sign of a person, this and that filty habbit of her of not throwing trash in the wastebasket ought to be telling you something. For David of course this episode is sadly the end of both his partnership and friendship with Rick. We know David is the one that Rick should really be listening to and not Miles. David obviously can't stand the guy in fact he hates Miles, so do we, because it's obvious Miles is so full of bull crap. An example of this would be in the 16 century antique bronze Tibetan turtle, personally I don't think it's really it's authentic it's probably in reality a fake a replica, because you can get turtles like that at those Mineral stores for 5 dollars a piece, which is why I don't find Miles claim reliable.
We can see whenever there is a meeting and David is trying to put in his two cents on the matter or present facts, Miles is chewing him out by always telling a phylosophical story which is sort of ironic to the sittuation but not in Rick's favor though. It's just hard to believe a lot of the people are actually buying into Miles crap, Miles is like an irritating class clown presenting jokes at ill times while your trying to conduct and finish off business. The turtle antidote mentioned is rather ironic because it's a story about perceving reality and truth. The turtle that Miles hands Rick is obviously symbolism of Rick's ambition. He see his ambition but the problem is he isn't getting the whole picture, he is blinded into seeing what damage his plan is going to do, that it's a bad plan, but most of all the ambition that he's perceving might be a lie.
It was one meeting scene though that finally pushes David over the edge when of course he hears about the outcome of what will happen to all of the people living in the area which is called Urban Blight, David is then making one last attempt to warn Rick and pull down the curtain of illusion but once again is chewed out by Miles, right then and there I knew it was already over. David of course leaves because he see no point to the meeting, and we see that final moment when David quits and says everything Rick should heard and does what any good man should do.
As for Lily, she still of course loves Rick as usual but even she can't ignore the facts of what is currently happening which do of course produce some doubts, she obviously doesn't agree or like what he is doing. Heck even thoughout the whole Valentines Day Rick doesn't think about doing something romatic with her, and that's not good.
In the last moments of Valentines Day of course Rick proposes to her. And this is at the worst possible moment, Lily of course refuses because he's doing it for the wrong reasons, she's right. And in the end Rick is left alone by not just everyone she cares about but the whole world.
When it comes to ambition it's not always a matter of wheteher it will be real or not but what kind of price one has to pay to make it happen, and that's the dark side of ambition. Rick we see in this episode has made the wrong choice, instead of listening to the people that know, love and care about him he desides to only listen to his own misguided ambition. When those kinds of people turn or abbanon you it's makes one's world a more lonely place and an ambition worth nothing.
dmarex
Editor
ericlong
Retired
ericlong
Retired
Riff_Rafferty
rustle49
Yakira
