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#Timestamp is around 24:55 if you want to relisten to accompany this post
hephaestuscrew · 6 months
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When it becomes clear that Pryce is threatening to walk Minkowski out of an airlock in Ep57 The Devil's Plaything, Eiffel says No for three lines in a row. The first of these lines is a low Oh no of horrified realisation. The third is a defiant shout against the idea that he'd surrender. But nowadays it's the second of these lines that gets me the most: a No that's soft, understated, almost breathed, not addressed to Minkowski or Pryce, just a word which escapes him as the full reality of what might happen sinks in. It's quiet enough that it'd be easy to miss if you were listening in a loud place. It's not an initial sound of realisation. It's not an attempt at defiance. It's not Eiffel trying to plead with Pryce or snap Minkowski out of Pryce's control. He'll do those things later: yelling at both Pryce and Minkowski, banging against the airlock door, crying out in desperation. But before that, he breathes the word No, and he's not trying to communicate anything to anyone. He's just whispering No, expressing beneath his breath - perhaps unconsciously - that this cannot happen. Minkowski cannot die.
#Wolf 359#w359#Doug Eiffel#Renée Minkowski#Timestamp is around 24:55 if you want to relisten to accompany this post#that's on the ad-free feed though#Sorry for not including the clip#Anyway it's such an excellent Zach Valenti acting choice#Eiffel is normally so loud about his emotions#which I think is why it's so powerful that this is a more understated moment#This whole exchange is more understated in the episode than in the script#In the script when Eiffel realises what Pryce is threatening#his line is 'Oh. No. No#no...'#But in the actual episode it's just the one 'Oh. No' before Pryce speaks again#In his shock and fear and denial he's quiet at first#It's also particularly powerful because we're so used to hearing Minkowski react to Eiffel being in danger#which is often louder and less understated than this#but this is the first time we get Eiffel really seriously fearing for Minkowski's life#I think that's partly why he reacts how he does#Minkowski's not the near-death situations one so this can't happen#Also I think about how in the Patreon Q&A that they did soon after this ep#someone asked 'would Eiffel really have let Minkowski die rather than surrender?'#and Gabriel responded by saying something about how Eiffel obviously isn't thinking clearly in that moment#and that's how I see it too#like if he was able to properly think it through and he really believed that the only two options were#Minkowski dying or him surrendering#I think there's no way he'd let her die#But he believes so strongly in the third possibility that Minkowski will snap out of it#and Thank God he's right
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