MovieChat Forums > Survivors (1975) Discussion > any thoughts on the ending of 'Revenge' ...

any thoughts on the ending of 'Revenge' episode?

posted 15 years ago by yojimboy
5 replies | jump to latest

Why do you suppose Vic lets Anne Tranter live? The dialogue in the scene as he starts to strangle her through the ending is sort of whispered and hard to make out. I understand she says that survival is all that's important and she wants to live, but why does this convince Vic? Also, curious as to what other people make of Anne's body language as she wordlessly leaves in the final shots. It seemed to me that she was almost laughing over having suckered Vic again, relishing her ability to put men under her thumb. But I'm not sure.

[–] anonreviewer 15 years ago

I think that he was touched by her humanity and her desire to live.

As for her final scene, I think her litle smile was just her appreciation at being alive. She was young and had life. What more can one want?

[–] lists-94 14 years ago

Yes, I think he says something like, "you're real," meaning that he finally saw her vulnerability and her sadness beneath the callous exterior. I thought it was one of the most refreshing scenes in the series and I applaud Jack Ronder's nuanced writing and the unconventional way the story unfolds. I fully expected one of them to die.

[–] Miss_Chievous 12 years ago

Well, this is my favorite episode in SURVIVORS, precisely because it defies an easy label. It is so complicated, so beautifully acted by HUGH WALTERS and MYRA FRANCES it's like watching . . . well the only thing I can imagine comes close isn't even film, it's opera (Madame Butterfly).

There are entire novels contained in just the last 10 minutes of "Revenge" and here you see TERRY NATION at his absolute best. I can (all too easily) imagine how cheaply this episode could have been treated with; but we were lucky to have been the recipients of pure, naked humanity on display in the exquisite writing of TERRY NATION.

Go over to WALTERS message board and give him some love people:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910242/board/threads
He's a tower of talent, and you'll be pleased to see that he continues to be very active in film and TV. A greatly underappreciated talent, and the one episode that I consider the crowning glory of the series.

mc

[–] hansons-160-801817 10 years ago

I was surprised at the "Revenge" episode having read the book first. Although the series is good the book is better, more realistic, and depressing.

[–] ghostgate2001 9 years ago

I read the end of that episode as a "talking it out" between the two characters. Vic's aim is all about revenge (unsurprisingly, considering what she did to him!) but she is honest with him, admitting that she has nothing in her life except the need to survive. It's made fairly clear that the two characters have sat there for much of the night, talking it out and holding each other, until daybreak.

Her smile, as she leaves, could be interpreted in a couple of ways. You could interpret it as devious: she got exactly what she wanted, manipulated Vic's remaining feelings for her, and survived a life-and-death situation by talking her way out of it.

I think the more likely interpretation, though, is that she truly opened up to Vic - gained his forgiveness - and is now walking away with her guilt over the incident salved. If her aim was simply to talk her way out of being killed, she did not have to stay the entire night talking to Vic. She could've got away from him at any unguarded moment. It's not as if he could chase her down.

So, my interpretation of her smile at the end is that it is genuine happiness, not "I got away with it." She has cleared her conscience, put it all behind her, and lived to fight another day - and this good outcome resulted from her being honest and open, rather than cold and deceitful.