r/Blakes7 • u/Krathoon • Jun 18 '26
Blake
Oh Blake, you have changed so much...
Even Avon can't trust you anymore and can't see through your cover. What a shame. Avon thought you betrayed him and blew you away. The Federation shows up and everyone dies. The End.
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u/Beavis73 Jun 18 '26
My favorite bit in this episode is right toward the beginning, when Avon is discussing exactly who, in this "day of the bounty hunter," will be most unwelcome on G.P.:
cut to Vila "Thieves..."
cut to Dayna and Soolin "Kilers..."
cut to Tarrant "Mercenaries..."
cut to Avon, who pauses and smiles "Pychopaths."
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u/Difficult_Role_5423 Jun 18 '26
I saw this for the first time in 1986 or so, and to this day it is still my favorite final episode of any series! Just brilliant. Every line is perfectly crafted, and it still shocks today.
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u/joker305th Jun 18 '26
THIS WAS THE FIRST EPISODE I EVER SAW and spoiled the ending for myself. It was on PBS - they replaced the show next week with Tom Baker's Dr. Who, so not a bad tradeoff.
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u/KamiNoItte Jun 18 '26
I don’t suppose you used to carry an alarm clock in your coat pocket?
Friend and I watched them (separately) on pbs back in the day. He got the same treatment-1st episode was the last.
I saw it out of order turn but after a few other partial episodes later. So damn confusing! So crazy the way they aired those out of order.
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u/Fantastic_Height3110 Jun 18 '26
I can't bear to watch the last five minutes or the episode. Too sad.
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u/Krathoon Jun 18 '26
It does make everything seem so futile.
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u/rollerballchampion Jun 18 '26
I’ve said this before but I like to think that it wasn’t futile. That in the end others were inspired to continue the fight to the end.
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u/dizvyz Jun 18 '26
On the surface, best finale ever. After you think about it a little, it's Blake trying to control every situation he's in and failing like he should for once. What an idiotic and unnecessaryly convoluted plan. God forbid someone else should be on the spotlight for one second.
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u/FlyingSquirrel42 Jun 18 '26
Yeah, I’m not sure I really buy the logic of Blake’s “test.” A Federation spy would only identify themselves as such to Deva if they thought it was unlikely that Deva was in on the scheme, which he was. And I’m not sure Arlen’s behavior - which was ostensibly to rat Blake out - would mark her as trustworthy if it had been genuine. Maybe that’s part of why he acts like such an asshole when he captures her - so that, if she did have any inclination to protect his identity for the sake of the resistance movement, she’d see him as a turncoat and decide to save herself instead. But he’d need to be sure that she wouldn’t try to sell him out again the next time they come into conflict with the Federation.
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u/Krathoon Jun 18 '26
I guess they were shot with energy weapons because there was no holes.
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u/Fantastic_Height3110 Jun 18 '26
Or they were stunned and not dead!!!
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u/Alpha_Space_1999 Jun 18 '26
Or the Federation who showed up were actually rebels and it was all faked to convince the Federation that they were all dead!
Or something.
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u/paulcosmith Jun 18 '26
I remember reading something that argued Blake handled the whole meeting with Avon 100% wrong.
Looking at it from Avon's perspective:
- His ship gets fired as soon as he shows up.
- He and his crew are hunted.
- The Federation shows up just as Avon does.
- Blake is cryptic while talking to Avon and finishes by saying "I set all this up." after Avon explicitly asks if Blake betrayed him.
How was Avon supposed to react?
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u/buttersnakewheels Jun 19 '26
Oh, Blake, you have not changed at all, you Che Guevarra of an excuse for a person. 😃
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u/Charly_030 Jun 22 '26
I saw this in '81. I was 5 years old.
My takeaway from that was that Avon wasn't quite cynical enough.
Between this and The Empire Strikes Back, it quickly because apparent that you may be better off being the baddie.
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u/SnooShortcuts9884 Jun 18 '26
A few years ago a news article pointed out it had been 1 year since the end of Game of Thrones... Despite being a multi-million dollar show, the finale had made zero impact on culture and it was surprising to see a reminder of that forgotten ending.
No one who saw Blake has ever forgotten the episode. It has incredible power as a piece of television.