A much-anticipated finale to the popular British show, "Blake" was a Shakespearean ending that lasted long in the mind. If truth be told, though there were some great episodes in the interim, this is the only other episode in the entire series that stands out along with the first two: The Way Back and Space Fall, which opened Season One.
Here the themes and the characters stay very true to what was established there, with the general mood of the episode being one of betrayal and despair.
Having failed in his bid to create a union of warlords to defeat the Federation, Avon (Paul Darrow) takes the Scorpio crew to Gauda Prime to find Blake (Gareth Thomas). But Blake has now become a bounty hunter and appears to have sold out to the Federation...
I was thrown by the ending initially, as I had misread a magazine article about the final episode and which left me with the idea that Avon had intended to murder Blake. As it happens, he didn't, and the latter's tragic murder is the result of a fatal misunderstanding.
Some solid acting by both Darrow and Thomas, along with the rest of the cast, create a great atmosphere. This is combined with some great studio work, with grey sets appropriately lit in red, and eerie location work in the forests of Gauda Prime.
The slow-motion ending, which lingers over the deaths of each individual crew member, is wonderfully effective. The fact they go down bloodlessly does not diminish this (Gareth Thomas only asked for a gory death for Blake to establish with absolute certainty that the character was finished). And the final shot with Avon smiling as the Federation troopers surround him, refusing to go down quietly as gunshots echo over the closing credits, is an indelible image.
With modern times more cynical than ever, "Blake's 7" is definitely due a timely remake. It is unlikely, though, that such an endeavour would ever live up to this.
Here the themes and the characters stay very true to what was established there, with the general mood of the episode being one of betrayal and despair.
Having failed in his bid to create a union of warlords to defeat the Federation, Avon (Paul Darrow) takes the Scorpio crew to Gauda Prime to find Blake (Gareth Thomas). But Blake has now become a bounty hunter and appears to have sold out to the Federation...
I was thrown by the ending initially, as I had misread a magazine article about the final episode and which left me with the idea that Avon had intended to murder Blake. As it happens, he didn't, and the latter's tragic murder is the result of a fatal misunderstanding.
Some solid acting by both Darrow and Thomas, along with the rest of the cast, create a great atmosphere. This is combined with some great studio work, with grey sets appropriately lit in red, and eerie location work in the forests of Gauda Prime.
The slow-motion ending, which lingers over the deaths of each individual crew member, is wonderfully effective. The fact they go down bloodlessly does not diminish this (Gareth Thomas only asked for a gory death for Blake to establish with absolute certainty that the character was finished). And the final shot with Avon smiling as the Federation troopers surround him, refusing to go down quietly as gunshots echo over the closing credits, is an indelible image.
With modern times more cynical than ever, "Blake's 7" is definitely due a timely remake. It is unlikely, though, that such an endeavour would ever live up to this.