Gauda Prime set up theory

Whitestar

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Hey fellow B7 fans!

I came across an article that I printed many years ago and it's a good thing that I kept it because it's no longer available online. However, I have taken the liberty of rewriting the entire article for eveyone to read. Here it is:

Gauda Prime set up theory
What led to the last moments in "Blake"? IMO, Avon's erratic fourth season behavior and inability to understand simple statements like "Tarrant doesn't understand." Others have different opinions and below is a brilliant one. This Gauda Prime set-up theory was devised by Betsy Ramsey, one of the great people who used to be on the Blake's 7 list. It's posted here with her permission.

From Betsy Ramsey:
I wrote this in 1991, less than a week after I'd seen "Blake" for the first time. Most people do not like the theory I describe below; for them, much of what B7 means to them personally would be radically altered if Avon did not kill Blake or at least shoot him in anger/despair/whatever at the end of "Blake". And that's fine with me. But this is what I got from the episode, from my very first viewing of it. I haven't had any reason to change my opinion in the many times I've viewed the episode since. Enjoy (or not! :).

It seems like most people like to view "Blake" as the show's finale, the last statement from the show's creators. I tend to view it instead as simply yet another series cliffhanger. They managed to get out of every cliffhanger they had prior to this one, so it's interesting to speculate what they might have had in mind this time.

Let me review for a moment what most other people seem to think. I knew what happened at the end of "Blake" from B7 fanfic and some snippets of video I'd seen. I also knew, from the same sources, what conventional wisdom held was the cause: Blake, distrustful after years of fighting a losing battle with the Federation and obsessed with his need to test prospective candidates, makes a serious mistake in attempting to manipulate Avon when they meet in the tracking gallery. Avon, stressed to the breaking point after the combined events from Terminal on, cannot cope with Blake's evasive answer to his question, and kills him.

As I started watching the fourth series, I expected to see Avon spiral down into insanity. That's what fanfic had lead me to expect. That isn't what I saw. I saw Avon, under very difficult circumstances, doing his best to fight the Federation as effectively as possible given their resources, while keeping at least some margin of safety for himself and the others (admittedly in that order). There were a lot of defeats, but some successes also (they did get the stardrive, learn the formula for the Pylene 50 antitoxin, and prevent the tachyon funnel from falling into Servalan's hands). I didn't see any gradual disintegration of Avon's mental health as the series progressed. The Avon of "Warlord" is no less sane than the Avon of "Traitor".

Nevertheless, I sat down to watch "Blake" resigned to the idea that Avon was going to shoot Blake, and hoping to be able to convince myself that the person Avon killed was Blake's clone from "Weapon" instead of the real Blake. Even though I hadn't seen it all season, I expected to finally see an Avon who was at the end of his tether, who was losing it, so to speak. I was hoping that Blake would act something like the clone Blake, but from his first scene I knew that I was looking at the real Roj Blake, not the clone.

The episode was very, very different than what I had been expecting. Throughout the episode, Avon was very rational, as he always is. He knew exactly what he was doing and why. He'd obviously done a lot of thinking about the Gauda Prime situation, and did not intend to repeat the mistakes he made at Terminal. Blake was pursuing ends of his own, in his usual focused, deliberate and surreptitious manner. As far as I was concerned, nothing whatsoever was out of character with these two, until the last scene. All of a sudden, ultra-rational Avon leaps to an unsubstantiated conclusion based soley on Tarrant's word. Deliberate "I'm still alive" Blake mishandles Avon very badly. No way. It was too inconsistent with everything that had gone before, not just in previous seasons and episodes, but in this very episode.

Moreover, there were lots of little things in the episode that didn't make sense or weren't explained or both.

* Gauda Prime has been told by the Federation to put its house in order. It is "the day of the bounty hunter" -- Avon himself notes that outlaws like themselves are definitely not welcome on Gauda Prime right now. It would seem to be a bad time to pay a visit.

* Avon is unconcerned about Blake's supposed new profession. As Tarrant points out, there is still a price on their heads. Given that, a bounty hunter is the last person they'd want to run into.

* Blake tells Arlen that he can't really tell who is Federation and who isn't any more. But later, when Deva remarks that Blake is good at this bounty hunter business, Blake responds, "I'm still alive."

* When Scorpio is attacked, Avon expresses no opinions about or interest in the identity of their attackers. He does, however, seem surprised at the extent of the damage received by Scorpio.

* This is the only episode in which Orac is tied down. This proves to be a prescient move on someone's part, given Slave's inability to maintain a level flight path during the attack.

* Blake receives electronic permission to hunt two outlaws. Then the computer emits another permit granting Blake law enforcement authority. This is a surprise to Deva. Blake makes a joke about undiscriminating computers. Neither permit card is referred to again.

* Blake identifies himself to Arlen very early on. And she is prepared to barter that information with Deva in exchange for her life (which hardly gives her a passing grade on any test of loyalty to the rebellion).

* Avon has Orac imitate a Federation distress beacon. This is clearly designed to attract someone other than bounter hunters (Blake says to Klyn, "There's nothing in it for me, then"), yet no one shows up before nightfall, even though Avon is obviously expecting company.

* A flyer approaches the shack that Vila, Soolin and Dayna have just found, hovers nearby for a moment, and then departs. But the men who attack them later land their flyer far enough away to avoid being heard.

* Blake announces to Tarrant that it's getting light and suggests it is time to leave the Scorpio wreakage. It is shortly after dawn when Avon and his people make their way from the shack to the flyer that they have inherited.

* The "I'm still alive" Blake turns his back on Tarrant, which gives Tarrant the opportunity to escape. Blake prevents Arlen from shooting Tarrant as he runs. Blake is no hurry to chase after him.

* In the heat of their argument following Tarrant's escape, Blake tells Deva, "I find it difficult to trust. It's a failing, I admit." At Star One, Blake told Avon, "I have always trusted you, from the very beginning."

* In the course of their argument, Blake and Deva reveal everything about the state of the rebellion, including Deva's opinion that it can't survive Blake's death. Arlen is standing in the background listening.

* Blake removes his weapon before leaving with Arlen.

* Just before Blake and Arlen leave to follow the fleeing Tarrant, Blake says, "Relax, Deva. Nobody's indispensible." Earlier in the episode, when Soolin was questioning him about the viability of the rebel alliance without Zukan as a figurehead, Avon said, "Nobody is indispensible."

* Avon doesn't wonder how Tarrant got to Blake's base. All he says is "I'm glad you made it."

* Avon doesn't have the weapon he uses to shoot Klyn and Blake before we see him enter the tracking gallery. It's not one of the weapons carried by the men who attacked Vila, Dayna and Soolin in the shack, and no one was carrying any similar weapons on the way to the flyer. So he got it at the base or onboard the flyer. Why would he choose to carry a weapon of unknown quality rather than his familiar Xenon handgun, which was in perfect working order earlier in the episode?

* Avon looks at the gun and grips it in a particular manner before he turns to shoot Klyn.

* There is no sign of blood when Avon shoots Klyn, unlike when he shoots Blake.

* Avon's attention seems to be totally focused on the fallen Blake until immediately after the last his party is downed, at which time he looks up to watch the guards file into the room and surround him.

While these are all little things, they add up to something larger. And what is that, you ask? Here's what I think.

Blake and Avon are in cahoots in a scheme to convince the Federation that they are dead, which will give them time to manufacture and distribute the Pylene 50 antitoxin and get the rebellion properly organized. Blake and Avon set up the Gauda Prime scheme as a fallback in case the Warlord alliance failed, which it did.

Blake knew all along that Arlene was a Federation spy. He made certain that she knew that the rebellion was doomed if Blake were to be killed, and that she would be there at the right place and time to witness and participate in their "deaths". Avon's job was to make sure that he and all his people were also there, in place, at the right time.

Unfortunately, Scorpio was damaged more severely than Blake and Avon had hoped, with the result that Blake's assistance was required to ensure that things didn't fall off schedule. The mysterious computer card and the Federation distress beacon were signals from Avon to Blake informing Blake of their circumstances. Avon was expecting to be picked up by Blake, but since it was too close to nightfall, Blake instead went directly to Scorpio's wreakage to render any assistance that might be needed, after first locating the others, which allowed Orac to guide Avon to their location. Blake left it up to Avon (who, armed and with Orac, is far from helpless) to rendezvous with the others and find transportation back to the base. Avon is sure that Blake is in the other flyer, but isn't expecting him to use a random flight program, which causes him a minor amount of consternation.

Blake arranged for Arlen to be carrying stun charges, just as Avon did with his people (only Avon fires his Xenon handgun before the tracking gallery scene). The rifle is also carrying stun charges, laced with a neural paralyzer (pardon the ST terminology). Klyn is not wearing blood packs (and is not in on the scheme), so she doesn't bleed as Avon shoots her. Blake is wearing them in order to make his death that much more spectacular for Arlen, and more importantly, to reduce the chances she'll want to examine the body. (Who was to predict that Vila would take her out? But she's only unconscious, conveniently. She can be awakened to see whatever they need her to see.)

The Federation troops are actually Blake's people, and are also carrying stun charges. After all of Avon's people, including Avon himself, are stunned, rebel "reinforcements" will arrive to rout the "Fed" troops. Arlen will be allowed to escape in the ensuing melee. She'll go back to Servalan and report what she's seen and heard (and probably die under questioning in order to satisty Servalan that she's telling the truth).

Whether or not you can accept all or any of this depends heavily on how you view the characters. I think Dorian's analysis of the crew's relationship was quite good. "One of the group was killed before I got to them. But the group remains, bound together by time and pain and the need to survive... That's why I came for you. You care for each other. After what you've been through together, you couldn't fail to care for each other. Even you, Avon... I wouldn't expect you to admit it, but you belong to them, Avon, just as they belong to you. That's why I rescued you... What you will give me, all of you, is life." I see fundamentally good people who, sometimes despite themselves, have come to care for each other, and who are involved together in a quest to build a better future.

Looking more specifically at Blake and Avon, I think that Blake meant what he said at Star One, that he did trust Avon right from the beginning, and I think Avon believed him. One can argue that Blake has shown many times that he doesn't trust Avon. His "Avon might run" statement at Horizon is the prime example. But in my opinion that was more a case of Blake's not wanting to put temptation in Avon's way rather than a basic lack of trust (Blake may be dumb, but he's not stupid :) (I think he's neither, of course). When Blake *really* needed someone (e.g., "Pressure Point", "Star One"), he turned to Avon, and Avon was there. Fundamentally, beneath all their verbal sparring and jostling for control, the trust is there. Because I believe that Blake trusts Avon and Avon knows it, I have no trouble believing the scenario I have painted.

And this is an attempt to explain what might have gone on with Avon (in light of the above theory) between the time he teleported down to the surface and the time he reaches the shack where the bounty hunters are about to club Dayna and Soolin.

Things are not going entirely according to plan. Rather than landing Scorpio somewhere near Blake's base, Avon finds himself somewhere in one of the forrested plantations of Gauda Prime. He asks Orac for the location of the nearest settlement and suggestions on how he might get there. The answer doesn't please him. Avon instructs Orac to simulate an official GP distress beacon. When Orac questions him about this, Avon tells him he wants to attract a search party. Orac points out that in the present political environment, such a party is likely to be heavily armed, but Avon doesn't seem concerned. Nor is he interested in discussing the matter further. He tells Orac to tap into the nearest GP tracking center computer and notify him when any flying vehicles come into their region. He then instructs Orac to attempt to make contact with the Slave computer. Orac reports back that while Scorpio was badly damaged by the crash, Slave continues to function on emergency power. Avon asks "Tarrant?". Orac reports that Slave says that he appears to be alive but unconscious; Slave cannot determine the extent of his injuries. The crash site is too far way for Avon to make it there before dark, so, with the same amount of regret he showed just after Scorpio crashed, he doesn't try. He sits down to wait, gun drawn just in case. Time (an hour?) passes. Orac, never very patient when there's a mystery involved, and noting the dwindling daylight, finally can't stand it and speaks up.

Orac: I assume you have given some thought to how you will explain your presence here, not to mention my impersonation of an official distress beacon.

Avon: Just keep sending, Orac. I don't particularly want to spend the night out here.

Orac: You may have to. There is very little daylight left, and search parties are unlikely to operate in this terrain at night.

Avon: [rising] Stick to th distress beacon, Orac. When I want your impersonation of a pain, I'll let you know.

Once Orac has pointed out how closeit it is to nightfall, the scenario changes. It now becomes a priority for Avon to locate the others. After dark, this area will be searched by roving teams of bounty hunters. He starts off into the woods, toward the coordinates where the others teleported down. On the way, Orac informs him that a flyer has entered the area. Avon instantly tells it to tap into the flyer's flight and sensor computers. Orac tells him that the flyer was launched from an underground silo some distance away, and now appears to be searching the area. Avon quickens his pace. Then Orac tells him that the flyer's sensors have picked up heat from three bodies, closely grouped, and that the flyer is moving to investigate. Avon snarls "How far?!". Orac tells him, but it's too far for Avon to do anything about it. Avon demands more details from Orac, which reports that the flyer is now hovering over the location. Then it moves away, continuing its search pattern in a different location. Avon tells Orac to lead him to the location of the people spotted by the flyer, to keep tracking that flyer, and maintain a watch for additional flyers. They move on. Orac then tells Avon that the flyer has reached Scorpio's wreakage, as confirmed both by Slave and the flyer's on-board computers. It lands, and Slave notes one human who enters the flyer, checks Tarrant, looks around, and then settles in to wait. Avon, not knowing Tarrant's actual condition, cannot risk voice contact at this point, and instead has Orac instruct Slave to ignore both the human and the presence of the parked flyer, but to inform Tarrant of any other flyers. He and Orac continue on. Then Orac reports that another flyer has entered the area and is searching. The flyer's sensors detect a massive heat source from the same location as before. Avon demands to know what kind of heat source. Orac suggests some sort of fire. Avon says nothing, but from his expression he is pissed as hell. The flyer is settling down over a mile away. They hasten their pace, but fortunately they are closer than the bounty hunters. When they are near the shack, Avon hides Orac in the brush and continues on alone.

Most people don't believe any of this, of course. They prefer to believe that Avon snapped, that he shot Blake, stood there and watched everyone get gunned down, and then more-or-less committed suicide by raising his gun and firing against insurmountable odds. I, of course, believe that my theory fits better with the facts of the episode, with Blake and Avon's relationship, with Avon's personality, and with the cliffhanger season ending nature of the last episode (they didn't know the show was to be cancelled).

Well, well, well. I don't entirely agree with Betsy Ramsey on this, nonetheless, it's quite an interesting perspective on the final episode "Blake". And she at least goes out of way to fill in the gaps of certain plot holes in the aforementioned episode. What does everybody else thinks?
 
Well its another way of viewing the "final episode" Its all plausible and she makes a good arguement. I am even keen to go along with it all.

Why. because I to want to believe that Blake is alive. I remember watching that final episode many many years ago and I cried... I was a Blake supporter, rather than Avon. So if anyone wants to tell me he is still alive and it was all part of a greater plan, hey I am for it.

I agree that I do not feel Avon had lost his marbles during season four, well there was that time he decided to do away with Vila, but that was just a once of thing.

The problem though is that this may have been what Terry Nation had in mind. Paul Darrow mentions both in his book "Your him arnt you" and also in Forever Avon - on the Season Four DVD that Terry had future ideas to finish of Blakes 7 at a later date with a couple of mini series. He claims to have know what Terry had in mind and maybe Betsy Ramsey is on the mark and this is exactly what Terry had planned.

I like it, it would work and I also think it would make Blake fans pretty happy, but sadly we will never know, we can only keep the dream alive with theories. For me its to late, I do not want to see new characters try to recreate Gareth Thomas's Blake, Paul Darrow's Avon or Michael Keatings Vila. Maybe a new generation can adopt Blakes 7 with new actors but I wont be watching. For me there was only one Blake.
 
Some good points there. I had noticed alot of the same things as well.

I never got the impression that Avon was insane or even going insane in S4. Very stressed definitely. And unlike most people I Avon had as many successes as Blake did. Even more depending on how you count them. Avon had alot of successes in S4. The last few were not. I tend to count traps differently. I consider surviving a deliberate trap as a success because the enemy did not succeed in their objective. And alot of Avon`s actions were to deny resources to the Federation, which he did achieve, even though he didn`t get the resources himself. But obtaining the resource was never his primary goal. And if you subtract the times Blake succeeded due to sheer luck, Avon actually succeeded far more times than Blake.

As for the final episode, Avon was very clear-headed and knew exactly what he was doing. He had very compelling reasons to kill Blake. I think in many ways, Blake brought it on himself. If he had not treated Avon the way he did, I doubt if Avon would have killed him.

The look on Avon`s face right before he takes that first shot is one of pure hatred. And the look on his face after the third shot changes from shock to a very unpleasant look, as if wondering why this man just won`t die? Before he deliberately puts his gun to Blake`s head to blow it off.

I always believed that Avon hated Blake as well as loved him. And it was because Blake always mishandled Avon. Oh, he got Avon to do what he wanted. Through deviousness, lies, manipulation and bullying. It worked. But I think these tactics made Avon increasingly angry and resentful. By Star One, Avon is livid. He can`t stand Blake, he feels trapped and he wants to be free of Blake.

I never believed what Blake said to Avon about trusting him from the very beginning. And I don`t think Avon believed him either. Look at Avon`s face. When Blake says it, Avon has absolutely no reaction. Then after Blake leaves, Avon`s eyes narrow in suspicion, as if wondering what trick is Blake up to now by saying something that is clearly a lie.

Blake rarely trusted Avon. He showed and said it very clearly many times. Whenever Avon has any kind of delay, Blake`s lack of trust is very clear. He rounds on Avon very quickly and automatically assumes that Avon doesn`t have a good reason for the delay. This is after Avon has already repeatedly saved Blake`s life at great risk to himself.

Blake was always very deliberate never to leave Avon alone on the ship or leave Avon alone with Jenna on the ship. He doesn`t want to leave the temptation. But that means he doesn`t trust Avon.

Not to mention his despicable admission to Jenna in Horizon that 1) he`s been playing the odds to keep Avon there by making sure Avon never has the conditions in which he feels he can leave (makes it sound like Avon is some kind of prisoner), 2) he tells Jenna that he is taking her down with him because he trusts HER to watch his back (very clearly indicating he doesn`t trust Avon to do that) and 3) Blake is making sure Avon does not have a first-class pilot with him, without Blake on the ship (actually Jenna doesn`t realize that Blake has just shown that he doesn`t trust her either).

The number of mistakes Blake makes in `Blake`, that seals his own doom is ridiculous. He lets Tarrant run free even though Tarrant now believes that Blake has betrayed all of them and he knows Avon is coming. So the first thing Avon sees when he enters the base is one of Blake`s people trying to kill Tarrant.

"Tarrant doesn't understand?" How difficult is it to understand Blake having one of his own people trying to murder their pilot who looks like he's probably injured? And Blake is very nonchalant considering he doesn`t bother to tell his people that Avon is coming and so that his own people think that Avon is the enemy. Klynn called the security guards on Avon. Doesn`t exactly inspire confidence if this is supposedly Blake`s base and Blake has been expecting him. Plus did Blake`s people try to kill Avon and his crew before getting to the tracking gallery? Avon had to have gotten that gun somewhere. And even if they didn`t. Avon was just extremely lucky that Blake`s people didn`t try to kill him like they did Tarrant.

And how hard is it to answer a simple question? Well very hard if your name is Blake. But of course, Blake is most devious when he is being evasive and doing something that he knows the others would object to because they would think it too unacceptable a risk. Avon would have remembered that. He would remember Pressure Point and how Blake was evasive and lied to him about Kasabi`s group being wiped out. Blake also did not answer Avon three times there in order to trick him into coming down against his will. I`ve lost count of the number of times Blake betrayed his crew`s trust just to serve his cause. Plus Blake has shown repeatedly that he has no concept of morality when it comes to what he is willing to do in order to serve his cause.

And I don`t think Avon was alone in believing Blake had betrayed them. Vila was very quick to defend Blake when Avon said Blake was a bounty hunter. But Vila is curiously silent each of the three times Avon asks Blake if he betrayed them. And not one of the crew lifts a finger to help Blake or says anything when Avon shoots Blake even though there is a pause between each shot.

I think Avon knew exactly what he was doing and was very sane when he shot Blake. If he had not hated Blake as well as loved him, he would never have killed him.
 
Well its another way of viewing the "final episode" Its all plausible and she makes a good arguement. I am even keen to go along with it all.

Why. because I to want to believe that Blake is alive. I remember watching that final episode many many years ago and I cried... I was a Blake supporter, rather than Avon. So if anyone wants to tell me he is still alive and it was all part of a greater plan, hey I am for it.

I agree that I do not feel Avon had lost his marbles during season four, well there was that time he decided to do away with Vila, but that was just a once of thing.

The problem though is that this may have been what Terry Nation had in mind. Paul Darrow mentions both in his book "Your him arnt you" and also in Forever Avon - on the Season Four DVD that Terry had future ideas to finish of Blakes 7 at a later date with a couple of mini series. He claims to have know what Terry had in mind and maybe Betsy Ramsey is on the mark and this is exactly what Terry had planned.

I like it, it would work and I also think it would make Blake fans pretty happy, but sadly we will never know, we can only keep the dream alive with theories. For me its to late, I do not want to see new characters try to recreate Gareth Thomas's Blake, Paul Darrow's Avon or Michael Keatings Vila. Maybe a new generation can adopt Blakes 7 with new actors but I wont be watching. For me there was only one Blake.

You make a good point, there.


Some good points there. I had noticed alot of the same things as well.

I never got the impression that Avon was insane or even going insane in S4. Very stressed definitely. And unlike most people I Avon had as many successes as Blake did. Even more depending on how you count them. Avon had alot of successes in S4. The last few were not. I tend to count traps differently. I consider surviving a deliberate trap as a success because the enemy did not succeed in their objective. And alot of Avon`s actions were to deny resources to the Federation, which he did achieve, even though he didn`t get the resources himself. But obtaining the resource was never his primary goal. And if you subtract the times Blake succeeded due to sheer luck, Avon actually succeeded far more times than Blake.

As for the final episode, Avon was very clear-headed and knew exactly what he was doing. He had very compelling reasons to kill Blake. I think in many ways, Blake brought it on himself. If he had not treated Avon the way he did, I doubt if Avon would have killed him.

The look on Avon`s face right before he takes that first shot is one of pure hatred. And the look on his face after the third shot changes from shock to a very unpleasant look, as if wondering why this man just won`t die? Before he deliberately puts his gun to Blake`s head to blow it off.

I always believed that Avon hated Blake as well as loved him. And it was because Blake always mishandled Avon. Oh, he got Avon to do what he wanted. Through deviousness, lies, manipulation and bullying. It worked. But I think these tactics made Avon increasingly angry and resentful. By Star One, Avon is livid. He can`t stand Blake, he feels trapped and he wants to be free of Blake.

I never believed what Blake said to Avon about trusting him from the very beginning. And I don`t think Avon believed him either. Look at Avon`s face. When Blake says it, Avon has absolutely no reaction. Then after Blake leaves, Avon`s eyes narrow in suspicion, as if wondering what trick is Blake up to now by saying something that is clearly a lie.

Blake rarely trusted Avon. He showed and said it very clearly many times. Whenever Avon has any kind of delay, Blake`s lack of trust is very clear. He rounds on Avon very quickly and automatically assumes that Avon doesn`t have a good reason for the delay. This is after Avon has already repeatedly saved Blake`s life at great risk to himself.

Blake was always very deliberate never to leave Avon alone on the ship or leave Avon alone with Jenna on the ship. He doesn`t want to leave the temptation. But that means he doesn`t trust Avon.

Not to mention his despicable admission to Jenna in Horizon that 1) he`s been playing the odds to keep Avon there by making sure Avon never has the conditions in which he feels he can leave (makes it sound like Avon is some kind of prisoner), 2) he tells Jenna that he is taking her down with him because he trusts HER to watch his back (very clearly indicating he doesn`t trust Avon to do that) and 3) Blake is making sure Avon does not have a first-class pilot with him, without Blake on the ship (actually Jenna doesn`t realize that Blake has just shown that he doesn`t trust her either).

The number of mistakes Blake makes in `Blake`, that seals his own doom is ridiculous. He lets Tarrant run free even though Tarrant now believes that Blake has betrayed all of them and he knows Avon is coming. So the first thing Avon sees when he enters the base is one of Blake`s people trying to kill Tarrant.

"Tarrant doesn't understand?" How difficult is it to understand Blake having one of his own people trying to murder their pilot who looks like he's probably injured? And Blake is very nonchalant considering he doesn`t bother to tell his people that Avon is coming and so that his own people think that Avon is the enemy. Klynn called the security guards on Avon. Doesn`t exactly inspire confidence if this is supposedly Blake`s base and Blake has been expecting him. Plus did Blake`s people try to kill Avon and his crew before getting to the tracking gallery? Avon had to have gotten that gun somewhere. And even if they didn`t. Avon was just extremely lucky that Blake`s people didn`t try to kill him like they did Tarrant.

And how hard is it to answer a simple question? Well very hard if your name is Blake. But of course, Blake is most devious when he is being evasive and doing something that he knows the others would object to because they would think it too unacceptable a risk. Avon would have remembered that. He would remember Pressure Point and how Blake was evasive and lied to him about Kasabi`s group being wiped out. Blake also did not answer Avon three times there in order to trick him into coming down against his will. I`ve lost count of the number of times Blake betrayed his crew`s trust just to serve his cause. Plus Blake has shown repeatedly that he has no concept of morality when it comes to what he is willing to do in order to serve his cause.

And I don`t think Avon was alone in believing Blake had betrayed them. Vila was very quick to defend Blake when Avon said Blake was a bounty hunter. But Vila is curiously silent each of the three times Avon asks Blake if he betrayed them. And not one of the crew lifts a finger to help Blake or says anything when Avon shoots Blake even though there is a pause between each shot.

I think Avon knew exactly what he was doing and was very sane when he shot Blake. If he had not hated Blake as well as loved him, he would never have killed him.

Very true, Blake did betray his crew numerous times, unlike Avon. It just goes to prove that despite the fact that Avon was also an amoralist, at least he did not betray his crew (with the exception of Vila, of course).
 
A great theory to start this thread off and one I really enjoyed and appreciated.

Unfortunately there is the 'real world' to take into account, that is the actors and actresses, producers et al.

All of this would have effected the final episode. I read an interview with Chris Boucher, who was effectively running the show at that time and wrote the final episode. In it he said that at time of writing he did not know the show was going to be cancelled and felt that he was given his first chance to write the cliffhanger ending that had been in place since the first season. Although it was vague, he said that he knew how it would be resolved. It was only after the show went to air that they were informed it was the end, and the felt in some heartless way it served as a good ending.

That seems to fit with a lot of the theory above. There was a way out.

However the idea that Blake and Avon were working together does not fit with interviews given by Gareth Thomas at the time. When he initially left the show one of the reasons was his fear of being typecast (it kind of backfired as he is still seen as Blake to this day). He wanted to get back to working on the stage and different roles and that is what he did.

The only problem he had was that fans would not let it go. Blake was still out there and would have to return.

So he agreed to cameo in Terminal and have it stated that he was dead.

It didn't work, as Avon says in 'Blake' Servalan lies, which is what all the fans felt. Thomas then agreed to return to the show as long as it was indisputably shown that Blake was killed, on screen, in a manner that could not be argued with. So as far as Blake goes I'm pretty sure he was meant to be dead. (All this was stated in the Radio Times and The Blake's 7 magazine.) Of course it did not work the way they wanted as everyone pointed out there was still the clone - and a slight hint there was a second. Of course it did not matter the show was off the air.

As an aside, ironically one of Thomas' first major roles after B7 finished was 'The Knights of God' a series on ITV. Starring alongside former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton, he played a resistance leader fighting against a corrupt regime. So much for not being typecast eh? (Although not available on DVD, there are episodes floating around on youtube).

I feel that Blakes 7 is open to interpretation that means a lot of people draw different things from it.

My dad said at the time that he felt Avon had sold everyone out and was working with the Federation at the end!

For myself, in brief as my views are changing as I re-watch the show. I felt the end was a culmination of ever increasing paranoia. Avon was always paranoid to a degree, but Blake was a different case. Following Star One he was lost, having to come to terms with his mistakes as well as his success, and the fact that the Liberator never went looking for him just started to fuel it.

By the time he had reached Gauda Prime (and lost Jenna along the way) he was incapable of trusting his own senses. Everyone who had to enter his rebellion had to be tested. Even people like Tarrant who had been with Avon.

Avon had become more and more paranoid, something that probably started to spiral after his betrayal by Anna Grant. When his best effort to form an alliance collapsed - again due to a betrayal - he was close to the edge. Not mad or insane, just so paranoid that the slightest thing could have set him off.

When he and Blake face off it is a tragedy in the sense that the two different paranoia's feed off each other perfectly. Blake's instance on testing everyone triggers Tarrant to tell Avon that Blake has betrayad them

Following the betrayals he has known - hell if the woman he loved could do it, Blake certainly could. It was the culmination of all this that caused Avon to pull the trigger...
 

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