What makes Blair toss and turn at night?
- Thread starter Wulf
- Start date
Blair lives?
I know it may seem a stretch, but I just saw the last scene from Prophecy again and against my prior memory, there is no clear cut evidence that Blair is dead. Call it nostalgia, but Blair might very well have survived his encounter on gate 7 of the nephilum wormhole.
You don't really believe that the hero of the confederation was outsmarted by a roach do you?
He still had plenty of time before the countdown terminated when that bug swooped down from above. Blair has great skill in close quarters combat as he demonstrated in WC4 after dusting off some Black Lance security and escaping on a Dragon. He could've have iced the falling bug and boarded his LC.
The fact that he had been kidnapped by the bugs before and managed to survive is a testament to this man's incredible strength. If that kidnapping didn't occur, then I would be more likely to conclude that Blair did die on gate 7.
How on Earth did the bug know who he was?? Did that not bother the heck out of you when it screamed out Blair!!? I know it bothered me and at first I said to myself "No way did the bug say Blair". But then I ran the last scene with subtitles and sure enough we have a special bug. Either the bug was telepathic, which is not unheard of considering a roach problem I had in the past and the way the bugs knew to stay away from me. OR The bug might have also had tremendous eyesight and knowledge of the english alphabet and merely read his nametag. OR the bug might have seen him on Nephilum's most wanted when he was being tortured, which is suprising that he'd be such a bug celebrity given that he was hardly a celebrity outside of military circles for Terrans.... remember the opening scene from WC4 where the ex-pilot has trouble figuring out who he is.
Bugs must be smarter than us.
It also bothers me that the best fighter pilot ever would go out like that. That was a marine's death, something that would have brought Dekker and his men honor. They would have died in their field, doing what they do best- but Blair was an ace fighter pilot. I think we've all dusted off millions of furballs via him in three episodes of combat. Maybe if: he'd been alone and ambushed by 20 Devil Rays, was fighting his way out and the bug higher ups decided that they should point a ship killer at him and fire away, taking him and the Devil Rays out of commission. Maybe if Blair went down like that I'd be satisfied. Maybe if: he decided that gate 7 required more time and the only way to provide that time was to fly through the wormhole, guns blazing in a vampire, and that it was the only way to give the marines the time they needed to lower the shields- so that we would see a cutscene akin to Butch and Sundance taking on the Venezuelan army- that would be something more fitting.
So basically, I'm saying that Christopher Blair is alive and well- whether he's in a Marine LC somewhere, or on the wrong side of the wormhole, or on some planet in Kilrathi space searching for a way to get back to Confed, he's still there and knowing Blair, he will succeed. I'd personally prefer the last option because it can open up to a whole other story and would explain why by the time Sec Ops had come out that no word had been received. Perhaps he couldn't tell the Kilrathi all at once who he was or he did and was held prisoner. Here the possibilities are endless, unlike on gate seven with a roach overhead and in the situation with the Kilrathi there is more intrigue.
If I was Blair, the thing keeping me up at night would be: why couldn't I get any lines with Ginger Lynn in WCP?
I know it may seem a stretch, but I just saw the last scene from Prophecy again and against my prior memory, there is no clear cut evidence that Blair is dead. Call it nostalgia, but Blair might very well have survived his encounter on gate 7 of the nephilum wormhole.
You don't really believe that the hero of the confederation was outsmarted by a roach do you?
He still had plenty of time before the countdown terminated when that bug swooped down from above. Blair has great skill in close quarters combat as he demonstrated in WC4 after dusting off some Black Lance security and escaping on a Dragon. He could've have iced the falling bug and boarded his LC.
The fact that he had been kidnapped by the bugs before and managed to survive is a testament to this man's incredible strength. If that kidnapping didn't occur, then I would be more likely to conclude that Blair did die on gate 7.
How on Earth did the bug know who he was?? Did that not bother the heck out of you when it screamed out Blair!!? I know it bothered me and at first I said to myself "No way did the bug say Blair". But then I ran the last scene with subtitles and sure enough we have a special bug. Either the bug was telepathic, which is not unheard of considering a roach problem I had in the past and the way the bugs knew to stay away from me. OR The bug might have also had tremendous eyesight and knowledge of the english alphabet and merely read his nametag. OR the bug might have seen him on Nephilum's most wanted when he was being tortured, which is suprising that he'd be such a bug celebrity given that he was hardly a celebrity outside of military circles for Terrans.... remember the opening scene from WC4 where the ex-pilot has trouble figuring out who he is.
Bugs must be smarter than us.
It also bothers me that the best fighter pilot ever would go out like that. That was a marine's death, something that would have brought Dekker and his men honor. They would have died in their field, doing what they do best- but Blair was an ace fighter pilot. I think we've all dusted off millions of furballs via him in three episodes of combat. Maybe if: he'd been alone and ambushed by 20 Devil Rays, was fighting his way out and the bug higher ups decided that they should point a ship killer at him and fire away, taking him and the Devil Rays out of commission. Maybe if Blair went down like that I'd be satisfied. Maybe if: he decided that gate 7 required more time and the only way to provide that time was to fly through the wormhole, guns blazing in a vampire, and that it was the only way to give the marines the time they needed to lower the shields- so that we would see a cutscene akin to Butch and Sundance taking on the Venezuelan army- that would be something more fitting.
So basically, I'm saying that Christopher Blair is alive and well- whether he's in a Marine LC somewhere, or on the wrong side of the wormhole, or on some planet in Kilrathi space searching for a way to get back to Confed, he's still there and knowing Blair, he will succeed. I'd personally prefer the last option because it can open up to a whole other story and would explain why by the time Sec Ops had come out that no word had been received. Perhaps he couldn't tell the Kilrathi all at once who he was or he did and was held prisoner. Here the possibilities are endless, unlike on gate seven with a roach overhead and in the situation with the Kilrathi there is more intrigue.
If I was Blair, the thing keeping me up at night would be: why couldn't I get any lines with Ginger Lynn in WCP?
Lt.Death100
Spaceman
Well, wouldn't Blair have been found by the Midway if he had survived? Surely they would have had S&R vessels out there looking for him.
McGruff
Banned
Not if he was on the other side of the alien gate.
It was Bolivia I believe. In any case, very rarely does an actual Military war hero end up with the perfectly fitting death in a blaze of glory against incredible odds like in the movies. Audie Murphy was a passenger in a plane crash, Patton was in a car accident, and Sgt. York had a stroke. So if the wormhole incident did actually kill Blair, it was still a pretty darn heroic death without him going out in some kind of Hollywood cliche.
It was Bolivia I believe. In any case, very rarely does an actual Military war hero end up with the perfectly fitting death in a blaze of glory against incredible odds like in the movies. Audie Murphy was a passenger in a plane crash, Patton was in a car accident, and Sgt. York had a stroke. So if the wormhole incident did actually kill Blair, it was still a pretty darn heroic death without him going out in some kind of Hollywood cliche.
You're right McGruff, but don't tell me that as Blair for 3 episodes of WC you don't think he deserves a much better ending?
When I played the last mission in WC3 a second time, I decided to eject for the hell of it and see where I'd end up. Getting your heart ripped out by Thrakath is above and beyond slipping off a platform and then getting jumped by a bug. Blair didn't even draw his weapon until the cockroach stood up straight and flexed itself. Something about saying "Screw You" and being hauled in the air by a Kilrathi who has his paws deep in your chest is so much more fitting.
When I played the last mission in WC3 a second time, I decided to eject for the hell of it and see where I'd end up. Getting your heart ripped out by Thrakath is above and beyond slipping off a platform and then getting jumped by a bug. Blair didn't even draw his weapon until the cockroach stood up straight and flexed itself. Something about saying "Screw You" and being hauled in the air by a Kilrathi who has his paws deep in your chest is so much more fitting.
RogueBanshee
Rear Admiral
Flying with a hangover.
Flying with Maniac as his wingman while Maniac has a hangover.
Flying with Maniac as his wingman while Maniac has a hangover.
... I should've picked Flint ...
Speaking of which, from all the WC3 fans I know, I seem to have been the only one who made out with Flint at the bar in the TCS Victory. I mean she's no porn star but she is still really cute and reminds me of the elusive girl in high school who has the looks but isn't stuck up and is still innocent deep down inside.
Anyone agree?
Speaking of which, from all the WC3 fans I know, I seem to have been the only one who made out with Flint at the bar in the TCS Victory. I mean she's no porn star but she is still really cute and reminds me of the elusive girl in high school who has the looks but isn't stuck up and is still innocent deep down inside.
Anyone agree?
AD
Finder of things, Doer of stuff
I don't think Blair was tormented enought over whether to choose Flint or Rachel in the bar that it kept him up at night... If anything, he picked them like I'd choose between Advil and Tylenol for a headache. (just so you know Advil - Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory unlike tylenol - acetemetaphine - which is a more straightforward analgesic which relieves pain killer andreduces fever, but does not have anti-inflammatory properties) Blair was more likely trying to kill the pain that was angels death - which most likely did keep him up at night.
That said, I almost always chose - if at all - Flint. There was just something I didn't like about Rachel.
Janet Noslen
Spaceman
~~~ yeah! That's her alright, and first time I played I picked her!
Blair was tossing and turning because everyday more men and women were giving their lives for an almost lost cause, a war no one wanted to fight but had to.
Flint all the way, she was cute AND useful in a fight. I can load my own missiles, a decent wingman is hard to find (having said that, I played through WC3 enough times to chose both of them or none of them). You could pick Flint to heal the pain of Angel, then let her die on the last mission - Bingo, no baggage....... Not that I would ever advocate that sort of behaviour
.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
The tower exploded *before* any of it fell through the gate -- nobody ever argues that "oh, the Midway jumped out after Dallas' fighter exploded, he must still be alive". Still, there's a much more in-depth recent thread analyzing Blair's fate, here: http://www.crius.net/zone/showthread.php?t=21025
There are hints throughout the game that the bugs are specifically looking for Blair -- they 'noticed' the Confederation when it destroyed Kilrah... and they have a number of taunts about the 'planetkiller'.
Then, of course, they kidnap Blair and allow him to survive when they're cutting everyone else up for medical tests. Also, the type of bug that jumps at him at the end is a "warlord" (their leader/ace caste), and was supposed to be the same one that captured him at the comm array.
It makes more sense now
Thanks for the link to the prior discussion on this topic LOAF, that clears up so many misconceptions I had about the future of Blair.
I suppose that WC had planned to move on from Blair to the next generation by the time Prophecy came up, I mean how many races can one man single-handedly eliminate! Then again it seemed that by keeping Blair in WCP, the WC crew ran the risk that the player would still not be able to part with his avatar for 4 games (on screen for 2). Maybe it was that combined with the fact that the man in question was Mark Hamill, who is the 'chosen one' in every great sci-fi story that made us want more out of his end.
At this point I've resided myself to take a similar position to LOAF on the issue. Blair may be alive, he may be dead, but I don't think it really matters either way. He did what he could for ConFed and we will always love him for it.
No army should absolutely depend on one man, for even Achilles found an untimely death, yet his side still prevailed.
We will have to await the next Achilles.
Thanks for the link to the prior discussion on this topic LOAF, that clears up so many misconceptions I had about the future of Blair.
I suppose that WC had planned to move on from Blair to the next generation by the time Prophecy came up, I mean how many races can one man single-handedly eliminate! Then again it seemed that by keeping Blair in WCP, the WC crew ran the risk that the player would still not be able to part with his avatar for 4 games (on screen for 2). Maybe it was that combined with the fact that the man in question was Mark Hamill, who is the 'chosen one' in every great sci-fi story that made us want more out of his end.
At this point I've resided myself to take a similar position to LOAF on the issue. Blair may be alive, he may be dead, but I don't think it really matters either way. He did what he could for ConFed and we will always love him for it.
No army should absolutely depend on one man, for even Achilles found an untimely death, yet his side still prevailed.
We will have to await the next Achilles.
On a side note, has there been any official or reputable non-official fiction taking up from where Secret Ops left off?
I just finished the game for the first time in 4 years and my mouth is watering with the prospects of ConFed controlling one side of the Alien Wormhole in Proxima.
I just finished the game for the first time in 4 years and my mouth is watering with the prospects of ConFed controlling one side of the Alien Wormhole in Proxima.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Nothing that I know of (on the official side, anyway)... but who knows, maybe there'll be something new announced any day now.