Re: Crozier’s first direct conversation with Hickey (the “he shared a drink with me like equals 🤩”/ “YEAH I REMEMBER YOU YOU HAD A DOG TURD IN YOUR HAND” conversation) - at the end of it, he says he might have done better to have “gulled the world” as Hickey did. Obviously referring to Hickey’s erasure of his Irish accent, but also a wink wink nudge nudge to repeat viewers of course regarding Hickey’s utter menagerie of lies -
But what came to mind is, I wonder if some echo of that conversation was in Crozier’s mind at the end of the tale, when he chooses to be Aglooka over Francis Crozier. To say, “I’m done with being this person, I have no more explanations or justifications to offer, I bury myself and what you think you know of me.”
That’s really brilliant. I’ve been searching for a way that Francis might have remembered Hickey, made some kind of… concession to Hickey, and there it was, right in front of my face. Does Francis ever think of Hickey? Yes. Every day of Francis’ life.
On a personal note. God, poor Hickey. He spends so much time building up this man, his perceived relationship to this man, and Francis just knocks Hickey down every time. I understand why Francis behaves this way toward Hickey. And I understand that Hickey behaves the way he does because what can’t be accounted for by a life of no-doubt deeply conflicted feelings toward male authority figures in Victorian England is due to Hickey losing his mind from lead poisoning…
But it still hurts.
Flan how dare you leave these in the tags
#OH WOW I. NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE#god bury me in crozier & hickey parallels they are FASCINATING#and i know. i know.#the look on hickey’s face when crozier offers him a drink is INCANDESCENTLY JOYFUL and despite literally everything i am sad for him#that scene and hickey’s misreading of it is an excruciating slow motion tragedy#also like…on an obvious surface level crozier is distainful towards hickey because hickey is#an insouciant manipulative sleaze at best and a monster who commits unspeakable atrocities at worst!#but as has been said there’s also a lot of misplaced and hypocritical contempt aimed at hickey#AND hickey is crozier’s MIRROR and SHADOW SELF so like. what does it say that hickey is the only character he is COMPLETELY dismissive of?#the only character he never attempts to understand or make amends to? the only one (OTHER THAN HIMSELF) he says he cannot forgive?#THAT’S SELF LOATHING BABE !!