Dominar Rygel XVI

[Spedoinkel]

Well of course. As Zhann said he has been on Moya longer than anyone. Including Pilot.

[bubblez]

Seems most agree that he has grown, even if he may still redeem some of his earlier qualities. I imagine that is the same for anyone. Moreover, I think represents a great point of attraction for Farscape : None of the characters are stale; i.e. two dimensional. Each shows growth, change, realization, etc., making them three dimensional... more realistic.

However, is Rygel _reeaallly_ a Dominar? Or is he as delusional and looney as he claims Stark is?

[Spedoinkel]

Well he was a Dominar, but was hastily pulled from that and had a hard time adjusting.

[faustus]

well from my strange fragmented mind I think I heard somewhere that the only time a dominar is not a dominar is when he's dead. So there probably wasn't a precedence when his cousin took over the throne.

[LT Garrix]

I think the original question here was whether or not he was ever the Dominar or if that was just a figment of his imagination after all those cycles of imprisonment.

I think that this can be ruled out because of Orhn's reaction to him in Fractures. She clearly recognized him as the deposed Dominar.

[Spedoinkel]

And also the royal medalian that Durka took from him, and royal ring he traded in Premiere.

[SueDonym]

I'm with fandom. Even back in first season Rygel showed surprisingly selfless moments. He does, however, like to be *thought* of as a completely selfish, corrupt soandso...and occassionally follows suit. It's like he was raised to think that being that kind of manipulator was the clever thing to do but that it doesn't completely jibe with who he is. Same as D'Argo, who shows a lot of signs of wanting to be a poet, musician, farmer rather than the straight warrior it seems his society wants him to be.

The Ryg is also often oddly chivalrous to women despite the words of advice he hands JC about Aeryn and his own statements about his former harem. In addition to the two cases mentioned by fandom, there is one of my favorite eps IYYY where he's willing to sacrifice himself/money for a waitress he's barely met. Of course, she served him some really decent chow so... (He and Scorpy make a good match, actually. They're both negotiators who like to think they see the big picture and have a handle on things, although both make mistakes along those lines.) And actually there are several other examples of this. An interesting character addition in one who prides himself on being so self-involved. He was upset about how things turned out with Chiana when they took off together (Season Four background), although he was perfectly willing to use her to further himself.

Rygel's personality and 'use' in an ep depends a lot of whose writing/directing. I think he's deeper than he's sometimes given credit for, and dislike it when he becomes a punching bag or walking fart joke. He puts up with a lot of abuse sometimes just because he's small and physically at a disadvantage to the rest, which I also don't like.

[Spedoinkel]

Well we can't say alot about his upbringing except that his mother was manipulator also.

"Mother always said itwas my face that belongs on the royal seal. That's why she had all my siblings exiled." A Bug's Life I believe.

[SueDonym]

Given that he was deposed by his cousin, and given the rather bloody battles over ascending various thrones here on earth, this might have been intended as a merciful idea, depending on when she did it. Royalty. Ick. Too many evil choices.

[Darth Buddha]

You know, the whole Durka thing was a really BIG issue for Rygel to get over. True, he dealt with it in "Durkha Returns", but how much MORE happy must he be when he has Durka's head on a stick!

I don't know if he'd have taken on the Charrid's so effectively in season one. He was so unaccustomed to doing things himself in I E.T. that he needed MASSIVE moral support to even TRY anything challenging... with the Charrids, he was a virtual firebrand!

Of course, he is still selfish. We are ALL selfish to some degree (hell, I want to stay alive and put some weight on that myself)... but it would seem that the weight that Sparky puts on his own comfort and survival is diminished relative to those whom he considers friends (for example, Moya, as mentioned earlier).

[bubblez]

But couldn't the act of cutting Durka's head off simply illustrate that Rygel is psychotic? Maybe he's the cousin trying to take over the throne, but was caught and exiled. To make life easier he tries to claim himself Dominar...
As for having a soft side for the females...heck, who doesn't? Sure, she starts off with a simple wink and smile, but soon enough you're on your knees barking like a dog and writing bad checks...... er, anyway don't underestimate the beguiling effects of feminine charms.

Just an innocent post

[SueDonym]

Originally Posted by bubblez

Sure, she starts off with a simple wink and smile, but soon enough you're on your knees barking like a dog and writing bad checks......

My god I'll have to try that.

At any rate, there's enough outside collaboration to prove he's a dominar Although I like the delusional idea and think it's insidious enough for FarScape, there's just not enough to support it whereas there IS outside evidence of his actual dictatorship...ahem, rule.

[faustus]

Originally Posted by bubblez

But couldn't the act of cutting Durka's head off simply illustrate that Rygel is psychotic?

um yes, is there anybody on moya that isn't a little psychotic? You can just tell the way he just loves carrying that head around.

[gliadrachan]

Rygel is the oldest, judging by the time he'd spent in captivity with Durka.

And as the saying goes, "age and treachery will always beat youth and skill".

[Darth Buddha]

Hmmm... I don't know. Was there any other reasonable way to deal with Durka rather than killing him?

Couldn't the act of carrying Durka's head around be a means of impressing the pirates he was there to negotiate with?

Besides, there have been plenty of cultures where human heads have been used as a means of intimidation (Celts, Headhunters, etc.) as a matter of course, and not by those who were psychotic. Judging somebody FROM and IN a 21st Century Western Society, yeah, a head on a stick is nuts.

Rygel isn't FROM or IN such a lame society!