kai's emotions
is it me, or did kai have more emotion in th e first 4 movies then the rest of the series?
Leonesa Mistress of the Lash
Posts: 123
(12/31/03 8:54 am) Reply
His emotions
oh yes I'm sure when the first four movies were created as told to me by those in the know..he was more emotional then it was decided to create a series of the movies and the beans with again I'm sure MM's input the character of Kai was thought out more thoroughly. He was playing the role of one who was 'dead' and hence no emotions. But in the ongoing work of creating the series Kai did show snippets of 'need' or 'wanting'..even though the dead do not.....
Quite enjoyable seeing Kai developing as the series continued...
Anyways..welcome to the MMFanBoard my dear..sit a spell and enjoy...drool buckets will be provided as needed....have fun!
Re: His emotions
Hi Fellow Kai Fans,
I've found that to be true as well; in fact, I also thought he was starting to get more emotional during the last 3/4 episodes of the 4th season, especially `Yo Way Yo'. He even looked emotional during the 1st episode of the 2nd season, then became wildly emotional in,` Wake the Dead', then suddenly became emotionless again until the last 3/4 episodes of the 4th season.
Happy New Yr,
Keyeo
mmlover Kai Slave
Posts: 151
(1/1/04 10:17 am) Reply
Re: His emotions
He definitely was more emotional in the first four movies, especially when Zev kisses him at the end of gigashadow. The first couple of episodes of season two he was much more emotional before he developed his character into the dead do not man.
Leonesa Mistress of the Lash
Posts: 130
(1/1/04 12:36 pm) Reply
Re: His emotions
In Yo Way Yo..those last few moments as he held Xev and told her..."I wish I could have loved you like you wanted." There was regret in his voice, sadness in his eyes..the dead did have a tiny sliver of emotion there for this woman who cared for him until the very end...
Re: kai's emotions
I wonder if the 2 years between the movies and S2 had anything to do with the change or if Kai was just written a lot "dryer" in the TV series. I don't know if his character was written by the same person in the movies and the tv series.
Re: kai's emotions
I think the 'emotions' Kai showed in the first season (the movies) was because they didn't expect the movies to be turned into a series, and Gigashadow was intended to show hope for Kai's future, etc..
After the series 2 began, I think they decided to keep him more 'reserved' since the storylines were quite different, and using the pretense that Kai 'couldn't' be more emotional made his character a static one that others could play off of. If they'd made him more emotional, he wouldn't really have been much different than the others.
mmlover Kai Slave
Posts: 664
(9/11/05 7:53 am) Reply
Re: kai's emotions
Just looking back over this old post, I have to agree with sexxylexxy. If MM as Kai had continued to be more emotional, he would have seemed more like just one of the living crew. I think that is a big difference as to what set him apart from the rest. And also the dead do nots. During the movies and the first two eps of season two, there was a small spark of emotion, maybe twinges of rememberances. I think MM did a terrific job of keeping the character much more stoic after that, and that is a big reason why it drove so many women wild. The aloofness of the dead.
Edited by: mmlover at: 9/11/05 7:53 am
Bluestar Kai Protector
Posts: 79
(9/11/05 12:23 pm) Reply
Re: kai's emotions
Exactly. There was a point at which the Beans wanted to make Kai more emotional, but MM refused to do that. He had the right instincts about it IMO.
Re: kai's emotions
now...
I think that Kai showed his very own emotions throughout the series....the way the dead do....
If he had really none, he wouldnīt have cared for Xev and Stan...
Okay, maybe itīs the way MM told in one interview...Kai only reflects the emotions of other people... Maybe he does...but he acted a lot up on his own agenda...if he wasnīt interested in what happens to Xev for example he would never had searched for her, never cared about her. But he does....
Maybe we can interprete what we want with the last sentence he said to Xev: iīm sorry that I wasnīt able to love you in the way you wanted me to
Maybe it was a last little comfort for her, maybe it was real regret...I think, in the end, he started to feel again, and all the efforts Xev always had done to bring him back to life, to get some response from him, didnīt leave him uneffected...which human being wouldnīt have felt something?
I mean, when Xev begged that he should try to get out of the asteroid, he said that he would try (okay, I just ignore the bittersad smile on his face, cause he knew that he wouldnīt...)
Itīs always interesting to speculate about...what if...
or does he at least have some emotions left.
I think yes, there is something, but to 99% in a platonic way.
Hell, why couldnīt they have done a malfunction of him in a different way than Wake the dead...not as killer, instead he maybe could have been sex-starving or so? I mean, Xev would have been more than ready to help him out of the misery, or???
Aenea
Bluestar Kai Protector
Posts: 84
(11/4/05 7:52 am) Reply
Re: kai's emotions
Quote:Maybe we can interprete what we want with the last sentence he said to Xev: iīm sorry that I wasnīt able to love you in the way you wanted me to
Maybe it was a last little comfort for her, maybe it was real regret...I think, in the end, he started to feel again, and all the efforts Xev always had done to bring him back to life, to get some response from him, didnīt leave him uneffected...which human being wouldnīt have felt something?
I mean, when Xev begged that he should try to get out of the asteroid, he said that he would try (okay, I just ignore the bittersad smile on his face, cause he knew that he wouldnīt...)
Wasn't he alive when he said that? (sorry, I still haven't seen the final ep yet)
Anyway, I don't think in his dead state he has no emotion at all. He often shows little signs of feeling, and rather distinct signs of feeling pissed off at times.
mmlover Kai Slave
Posts: 689
(11/5/05 4:57 pm) Reply
Re: kai's emotions
I think when he said that wasn't Kai on the moth, flying it towards the asteroid, and Prince had just made him alive? He knew Xev loved him for a long time, and by saying those words, maybe it was his way of apologizing for the fact he was dead and just couldn't care for her the way she would have wanted. It was a bittersweet ending to Yo Way Yo. It was very sad when the Lexx became senile and finally died, but also a happy ending with the little lexx, he was very cute, you really should watch it if you haven't yet, bluestar.
kaiīs emotions
Of course he was alive then...sorry if I confused you.
I spent some time thinking about the last scenes and extracted some tiny little thoughts about their behaviour:
1. by talking about: Please get out there and Kai answering her to try it, I got the feeling both tried to hide the real facts at the moment, both knew that there wasnīt a happy end to come, somehow...
Some kind of comfort maybe...
2. That what Lexx always stands for: Never giving up. And the hope...
Xev always had her hope...thatīs what I really like about her...she never gives up. A thing that made her strong and weak at the same time, (and fine stuff to write about, ya know...*lol*).
3.And of course, I think Kai knew exactly what would happen and what else should he have said to her: No, you know I cannot get out...I have to blow up the asteroid to save the universe??? Would have been a bit nonsensitive...
I think to hold her hope up a little while longer, guaranteed her final survival...who knows if she hadnīt followed him...and thatīs something our hero didnīt want for sure. He wanted Xev to survive... maybe thatīs another little thing why he reacted this way.
4.I think Kai was relieved that his "life" was over. What else than suffering and pain would it have brought if he stayed alive? And his existence also had been pure ordeal...it was a good way to end it in this way. He died for a greater cause...and nothing less his death should have been...after all he had to go through and after all he had done in the service of his divine shadow...
In the end he really fulfilled his own predictment:
In the LightZone I have been darkness....(maybe) in the DarkZone I (will) be light.
For all the unknown and undiscovered planets, for the dark universe he will forever be the light that saved them. Thereīs no better way to express what he finally became:
The real light in a dark universe...
Goodbye last of the BrunnenG!
Aenea
mmlover Kai Slave
Posts: 691
(11/7/05 6:22 pm) Reply
Re: kaiīs emotions
That's one thing I liked about Xev, she did have hope, she wasn't afraid to explore and see what was out there, she herself was brave and she did genuinely care about Stan and despite her love slave libido and wanting sex all the time, she did love Kai, who couldn't give her the physical or even emotional kind of love she needed and wanted.
Kai did die for a greater cause, saving the rest of the universe and probably several others by destroying the asteroid, which would have consumed every life bearing planet it came across. For a second time, he died a hero's death. And his laughter was ironic at the end, he knew he was truly a dead man.
Quote:Thereīs no better way to express what he finally became: The real light in the dark universe..
I really like that statement, Aenea, I think it's a very apt description of Kai. I think he really did some good on his own. Of course he was often concerned, well as concerned as the dead can be, for Stan and Xev. I think partly it was to make sure they found a home before he completely ran out of protoblood, as often he was their protector, and when he was gone who would protect them? While his *concern* may not have been for others, it was for his crew mates.
Re: kaiīs emotions
Don't know if anyone's still reading this particular post since it's kinda old, but I'd love to inject my own two cents. I've sat an analyzed this show to death. I have every single episode and movie, watched all the special features and interviews and such, read interviews with the cast and so forth, so I feel like I'm not speaking out of my arse...grin.
Id have to agree with Aenea on this one. I definitely think Kai had emotions. Sorry naysayers, but I do. I know Michael professed he didn't want his character to have emotions, and I know that he claimed the character was reptilian in his responses to others, but I'm sorry, Michael, I have to disagree with you on this one. I'm a huge admirer of Michael, but I'm also a huge admirer or logical storyline and the character of Kai himself, so here's my argument: The Brunnens were fiercely proud of their culture. Kai went to great lengths to make this clear whenever he sang the Brunnen G song. And just why did he sing it anyway? Because it was residue memory from some dead race he holds ties to simply because he used to be alive? Why would a dead emotionless automaton care about that? Even if he reacquired his memories, he wouldn't have bothered to comfort himself with tributory songs. (which he continued to sing throughout the series...not just in the first movies when the Beans were trying to figure out whether or not he should have emotions) He would not have identified with his heritage other than to be dismissive. However, Kai is clearly very in touch with his heritage, reminding Stan and Xev and even Prince on various occasions of the way Brunnens did things. Kai also tended to show greater tenderness towards Xev than other women. If his emotions were reptilian, he would have been much more receptive to Tina in Season 4, whom he practically insulted when she begged them to take her aboard the LEXX so she wouldn't die on Earth. She'd never shown anything but genuine worship for the guy and he simply rolled his eyes at her, whereas Xev was downright hostile to Kai in Stan's Trial and Kai bore it stoically. Kai would not have been gentle with Xev when she yelled at him and tried to break away from his grasp. I think he also would have gone ahead and killed the deformed woman in Woz as he had agreed to do so. Instead he took pity on her at the last moment and told her he would not kill her. I could probably think of dozens of examples, but my point is that a strictly logical being with reptilian tendencies would never bother with pleasantries or pity. And when everyone was trying to kill each other in Prime Ridge, Kai would have probably gone berzerk and attacked if he was reptilian...even in his weakened state. Instead he simply runs outside and flops down on the lawn. And I have to say, Michael sure made Kai look either disappointed or jealous whenever Xev mentioned sleeping with another guy. He always had this look on his face like: I expected better from you Xev, you know I can't please you so why do you always flaunt my shortcomings? Personally, my take is that deep down, Kai does have emotions...just to a lesser extent. I believe he is haunted by the ghost of his own essence and therefore derives some life from it..hence some emotion. The fact is, he does feel pain and sadness, but he buries it deep because it is way too horrible to face. He is the existential tragic hero, tormented and disfigured, shunning affections he knows he cannot reciprocate. I don't think Kai being emotionless is what sets him apart from Stan and Xev, nor do I feel like he would have been just like them if he'd had them. What set him apart is that he was the voice of reason, the spirit of valor, the siren of compassion and the soul of humanity, living or dead. In fact, I think he would have been MORE compelling with emotions. I know I personally would have been glued the screen if Kai had expressed emotions and confessed to Xev and Stan that he cared about saving humanity, and that he could never give Xev what she wanted, but not because he didnt have a sex organ. He couldnt because his heart had always belonged to his lost love back on Brunnis 2 whom he was sure he would never be reunited with, even in spirit. And yet, in spite of tremendous pain and regret, he sets aside everything and decides to press on against all odds to help Stan and Xev live their own fulfilling lives knowing he has no future at all. It would make him a thousand times more tragic and all that more heroic than if he simply did things because of a reptilian response, with no care one way or the other. After all, what does he have to lose if he doesn't care? That's not heroic, that's just voluntary. How is that somehow more beautiful? A feeling Kai, on the other hand, is truly the noblest and beautiful of beings no comparison, hands down.
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies