It has waited long enough for the opportunity, so I guess we can’t begrudge Latho the fact that it kind of glories in being listened to and getting to deliver all kinds of lessons and platitudes. Latho can’t be sure when it will ever be listened to again, if ever, so it must make sure to get the message out, as well as all ancillary messages. With just a pinch of righteousness thrown in, because it has earned that.
The core of the message is simple: love is the answer, not violence. Given Latho’s color and the hear symbol on his tummy, it’s not terribly surprising that that would be its message. But notice the qualification: Violence can be part of the answer, but not extreme violence. Latho is trying its best not to be the typical guardian/mentor character who completely condemns violence and then sends his charges out to commit some in the very next moment. Instead, Latho gives a modest amount of leeway, resting assured that it will be wildly abused – but it’s still a lot less hypocritical that way. By B-movie standards, that’s already some really subtle writing!
And then he whips out the scepter, and Mopey flashes back wildly to the last time she was forced to fight with the power of love as her only weapon. Needless to say, those weren’t halcyon days for her. Her new position as faculty head have forced her to rein in her preference for somber-colored fashion (white is pretty much obligatory for a labcoat, and a labcoat is pretty much obligatory for a B-movie professor) – but pink is going a step too far. And not just a little step, more like a step that every respectable cryptid researcher* would readily accept as proof for the existence of Bigfoot. Inevitably, her flashback features glimpses of the battle of Ia Drang**… which Mopey didn’t really take part in. But given the choice between Ia Drang and Pink Princess, she’d surely go for the first in a heartbeat. Olive drab isn’t black, but it’s kind of somber and, most importantly, it isn’t pink.
More on Thursday.
* Of course, respectable cryptozoologist are pretty much like cryptids themselves, measured by how rarely they’re sighted.
** We’ve already discussed the halo effect the Vietnam War has in connection with this sort of trauma-induced flashback…