[spoilers] Sir Harry Pearce - Return of the Jedi (#3)

[BravoNine]

(31-01-2011 02:49 PM)HellsBells Wrote:  I have been thinking about Harry quite a lot lately, and why I like his character. Something occurred to me that Harry can be a cold-blooded murderer. Think back to Kachimov in 7.2. Kachimov was unarmed, defenseless and willing to come-over to the British side, but Harry shot him in cold-blood, when Kachimov's only crime had been not sharing information with Harry. And in 9.2, Harry murdered Nicholas Blake, again Blake was unarmed and defenseless, and Harry pre-planned this murder. When did Harry become judge, jury and executioner?
Really do love Harry, honest.....

(31-01-2011 02:54 PM)Annie Wrote:  Well, Kachimov was behind the bomb that killed Adam, wasn't he? And Nicholas Blake did nothing to save Ros. It was Harry's way of getting justice for his friends.

That is very true that Harry did say before that he will do whatever it takes to protect his people and bring those who harm them to justice, and he certainly had justified reasons to want both Kachimov and Blake dead.

But there lies the danger that the character falls into......like HellsBells said, when did it deemed that Harry is the judge, jury, and executioner? When it did become that he gets to stand on high moral grounds and rain down judgment? When did it become that he gets to be above the law?

Yes he is a heroic character and yes as the leader of Section D, sometimes he has to make hard choices, but where do you place the line between justice and cold-blooded murder? And what happens when you cross those lines and take things into your own hands?

How can Harry, as a character, judge others for their ruthlessness and decisions when he has made choices, however justified they might be, that too were against the law?

I don't disagree with Harry's decisions to kill Kachimov or Blake for what they had done, but one has to wonder, who keeps a check on Harry then? Why does he get to run around and make his own decisions without consequences when others can't? How does he judge others for breaking the law when he has done the same?