Forrest is a bit of a sad character. He is close friends with, and a member of the Initiative with, both Riley and Graham. He encourages Riley to pursue Buffy, feeling that Riley should have a happy life with someone he cares about outside of work. But Forrest and Riley live in a very black and white world, while Buffy's is filled with shades of gray, and Forrest quickly comes to resent and hate Buffy and her influence on his closest friend. Forrest represents what the Initiative is looking for - someone who will blindly follow orders. If Buffy had just been an average college girl that could make Riley happy for a bit that would have been one thing. But instead Buffy is the Slayer and she has her own way of doing things. This quickly causes the situation to turn into a turf war with both the military mindset of the Initiative and the council mindset that Buffy has - with both of them insisting that they are in the right and the other are in the wrong. Even worse, Buffy's influence on Riley has him questioning his life and his orders - and even breaking them, like when he tries to help Oz escape. This goes against everything Forrest believes in.
Ultimately Forrest is taken by Adam and turned into a cyborg. This does not upset Forrest. Instead he sees this as a continuation of what is necessary. His upgrades make him a better warrior and makes his world even more black and white (if that is even possible) as he is freed from his human feelings so he can better carry out Adam's orders. He even comments that he is freed from his weaknesses and doubts because of his transformation, and hopes that his friends will join him. In the end, though, it is Forrest and Adam who fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment