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"I wasn't making a pilgrimage." -- So what was he doing?

posted 10 years ago by ph75006
14 replies | jump to latest

Hathaway walked the Camino de Santiago, the long pilgrimage route in Spain. It's also known as The Way of St James and ends at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, which houses a shrine to and is the alleged burial place of the apostle St. James. Considering Hathaway's background in theology and that he had lost his faith somewhere along the way to becoming a priest, I wonder what he really meant when he insisted to Lewis that his walk "wasn't a pilgrimage." Then what was it exactly? A bit of soul-searching? Especially considering that the walk was also known as St. James' Way....could it be that Hathaway was using it to also find his own way, and it eventually led him back to his work as a detective. Could it be that he decided not to go into the Cathedral b/c his whole objective was not to walk in honor of St James so it didn't matter if he went in or not. And if he did, then it would be partially with a false heart?

[–] fanaticita 10 years ago

Maybe he just wanted a vacation? 😏 I don't know . . . he is a very deep character and his motivation could have been complex or very simple. I think people like to find his reasoning for doing things because he doesn't give much away in facial expressions, except for the ending of episode 3 where he clearly had a little crush on the blond woman. I'm LOVING this season's episodes. . . .excellent plots and writing.

[–] lawson14 10 years ago

The BBC suits probably decreed that James had demonstrate that he had lost his faith and the way they did that was to have him walk the way of St. James but not to finish it and to specifically state that he wasn't on a pilgrimage. It's a shame they had to do this.

[–] fanaticita 10 years ago

I don't think that Hathaway "lost" his faith. Faith is something you chose; you either want it or you don't want it. For some reason, which I don't think was ever revealed, he left the seminary. It was his decision. Why did he take that long walk? Who knows. Hathaway is a complex character, and I like that and I think a lot of others do also. 

[–] Sibyla01 10 years ago

I agree, he never lost his faith, sometimes he says to Lewis: we catholics. No ex-catholic would say that. He found out that priesthood isn´t his way, OK, that´s legitimate, better sooner than later. About the "pilgrimage", perhaps, with his schollary training, he oposed to a conventional taking of pilgrimage - certain prayers at certain hours and so on. I think it was de facto a pilgrimge - a long, meditative way, where he can make order in his soul. And he didn´t enter the church at the end, perhaps because of the crowds and noise there. He wanted to be alone with his soul, and perhaps with God. I agree, that heś a very complicated, complex person, and I like him very much.

[–] lilactime2014 10 years ago

ITV Suits.....

'tler

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[–] thephoenixxx 9 years ago

I got the feeling during series 7 that James was becoming disillusioned with staying in the Police, as the last episode of that series made clear.

I got this impression too, and it's fairly realistic. I know a lot of police officers and their work definitely takes its toll. It's hard to see the things they see everyday and be able to remain positive. There are a lot of moments throughout the series where James seems to have these moments. It's an emotionally draining job and it leads up to him wanting to quit and return to his former interests.

I always took his "pilgrimage that wasn't a pilgrimage" as a break to find himself. As if he thought he wasn't happy or was missing something from his life, but as he walked he realized something (what he realized isn't totally clear, but given that he returned to the police service perhaps he realized he was happy where he was). Because he realized this along the way, by the time he reached his destination he didn't feel the need to go inside.

[–] Earthmonkey16 9 years ago

A pilgrimage is a long walk with an aim to worship something at the end.

The pilgrimage route is not off limits to people who want to do long distance walking.

If you do not intend to worship it is not a false pilgrimage, it would be a walking meditation.

To me it was always a 'pilgrimage' to find himself.

I'm not crazy, I'm just not your kind of sane
He who laughs last, didn't understand the joke

[–] ladysocceroo 9 years ago

I think he started as a pilgrimage but had the realisation during and didn't need to finish it at the end

[–] sasha99 8 years ago

I agree with this. And I also think that saying to Lewis that it wasn't a pilgrimage was a gentle way of telling Lewis that he didn't want to talk about it.

[–] lawson14 8 years ago

The Suits needed to show James as someone who is spiritual but not a Christian and the easiest way was to have him go on a pilgrimage but not to complete it. Wouldn't it follow that as one who almost entered into religious life wouldn't he be more spiritually minded than he is normally depicted?

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6448) a year ago

I read it as his ambivalence about religion. He embarked on study to become a priest, but in the end turned away. Walking the Camino and not finishing it is just another example of the exact same thing.