Space: Above and Beyond Episode Guide

S11
Who Monitors the Birds?

Hawkes: Who monitors you?
Plot
Hawkes accepts a high-risk, top secret mission behind enemy lines to gain his discharge from the US Marine Corps. Hawkes recalls aspects of his earlier life in an In Vitro training facility, which ultimately lead him on the path to where he is now.

Personal Comments
One of my favourite episodes, which gives real insights into Hawkes, the inhuman treatment of In Vitros, and a real blurring of good and evil.
It's interesting to note the appearance of Vansen as the semi-ghoulish apparition or guardian angel - obviously a delusion brought about by the stress of battle, the head wound and Hawkes use of painkillers to keep him comfortable, and ultimately alive, until extraction. We all know Hawkes has strong feelings for Vansen by now.
More hints at Chigs being more 'human' (whatever that is), as Hawkes watches a Chig soldier pause to look up at a bird in the sky - something we see Hawkes doing at the training facility. An action which certainly brought Hawkes into trying evaluate the reality of his situation - not an unthinking automaton, but a living, breathing, thinking organism. Are the Chigs really the unthinking creatures they're made out to be?
It's ironic that Hawkes' Monitor should die at the hands of the training supplied to In Vitros. As shown by the almost '1984' styled propaganda, information slides and brainwashing/programming In Vitros are subjected to, IVs are bred for war, perfect killing machines devoid of emotion, thought, choice. They are programmed to believe this is a blessing, a wonderful gift - something that only requires a small offering from them in return. Any In Vitro going against this 'benevolence' is considered 'defective' and terminated. Yet, all the IVs we've encountered in Space: Above and Beyond don't conform to the ideals the training aims at - they feel, they think. You can't remove their 'human' instinct.
Even though Hawkes is considered 'defective', isn't it interesting to note he's considered the best shot on the Saratoga? Not exactly a throwaway comment considering the apparent reputation of the Saratoga for having the best of the best.
The training, the development of In Vitros purely as the perfect weapon has flaws for the In Vitros themselves. Hawkes, no matter how hard he tries, is effectively a killing machine. A seen here, anyone he encounters seems to end up dead at his hands - perhaps this was why he felt able, initially, to give up his friends in the 58th? The officer who gave him the mission, and the chance of freedom, dies.
Hawkes kills his Monitor, someone he is programmed to consider his 'friends' - yet this was purely a self-defence mechanism. He's a trained killer, trained to react not think - his life was at risk and he reacted according to all he knew. It's obvious he hadn't really killed before as the discovery of feeling something for what he had done suddenly became apparent - you can't remove 'human' nature!
On the other side, we notice that one of the Chigs, sworn enemies of the Earth, expresses fear - fear of being killed by Hawkes. After an exchange of gifts, Hawkes and the Chig part company. The enemy has acted like a friend, in contrast to the Monitor. This must put some serious conflicts on the black and white training process which labels you either Friend or Enemy. Hawkes reacted with restraint, effectively breaking free a little more from his programming. Yet, in the heat of combat, Hawkes ends up killing this very same Chig - the cycle of killing those around him continues.
Is he scared of this happening to Vansen? The apparation guiding him through the lonely Chig territory points out danger and guides him to safety. Yet at the moment this apparition begins to almost act out a fantasy, Hawkes begins to intepret this as an act of attack - or maybe fears acting aggressively? Hawkes clearly has some way to come before he breaks free of the mind control of the training facilities - the act of tearing up his discharge papers signals his commitment to the 58th, and the commitment to his own struggle to cope with what his creators have made him out to be.
In short, a very powerful episode! The In Vitro training facility was really quite shocking, particularly for the alleged "land of the free". Makes you wonder who the real enemy really are...
Production Goofs
None as far as I could see, though I'm not sure why Hawkes was carrying his discharge papers with him. In particular, those discharge papers looked surprisingly free of crinkles and folds - did he roll it up and bring it in a tube?

[metaljoe@oocities.com]

S11	Who Monitors the Birds?

Hawkes: Who monitors you?		Plot Hawkes accepts a high-risk, top secret mission behind enemy lines to gain his discharge from the US Marine Corps. Hawkes recalls aspects of his earlier life in an In Vitro training facility, which ultimately lead him on the path to where he is now.

	Personal Comments One of my favourite episodes, which gives real insights into Hawkes, the inhuman treatment of In Vitros, and a real blurring of good and evil. It's interesting to note the appearance of Vansen as the semi-ghoulish apparition or guardian angel - obviously a delusion brought about by the stress of battle, the head wound and Hawkes use of painkillers to keep him comfortable, and ultimately alive, until extraction. We all know Hawkes has strong feelings for Vansen by now. More hints at Chigs being more 'human' (whatever that is), as Hawkes watches a Chig soldier pause to look up at a bird in the sky - something we see Hawkes doing at the training facility. An action which certainly brought Hawkes into trying evaluate the reality of his situation - not an unthinking automaton, but a living, breathing, thinking organism. Are the Chigs really the unthinking creatures they're made out to be? It's ironic that Hawkes' Monitor should die at the hands of the training supplied to In Vitros. As shown by the almost '1984' styled propaganda, information slides and brainwashing/programming In Vitros are subjected to, IVs are bred for war, perfect killing machines devoid of emotion, thought, choice. They are programmed to believe this is a blessing, a wonderful gift - something that only requires a small offering from them in return. Any In Vitro going against this 'benevolence' is considered 'defective' and terminated. Yet, all the IVs we've encountered in Space: Above and Beyond don't conform to the ideals the training aims at - they feel, they think. You can't remove their 'human' instinct. Even though Hawkes is considered 'defective', isn't it interesting to note he's considered the best shot on the Saratoga? Not exactly a throwaway comment considering the apparent reputation of the Saratoga for having the best of the best. The training, the development of In Vitros purely as the perfect weapon has flaws for the In Vitros themselves. Hawkes, no matter how hard he tries, is effectively a killing machine. A seen here, anyone he encounters seems to end up dead at his hands - perhaps this was why he felt able, initially, to give up his friends in the 58th? The officer who gave him the mission, and the chance of freedom, dies. Hawkes kills his Monitor, someone he is programmed to consider his 'friends' - yet this was purely a self-defence mechanism. He's a trained killer, trained to react not think - his life was at risk and he reacted according to all he knew. It's obvious he hadn't really killed before as the discovery of feeling something for what he had done suddenly became apparent - you can't remove 'human' nature! On the other side, we notice that one of the Chigs, sworn enemies of the Earth, expresses fear - fear of being killed by Hawkes. After an exchange of gifts, Hawkes and the Chig part company. The enemy has acted like a friend, in contrast to the Monitor. This must put some serious conflicts on the black and white training process which labels you either Friend or Enemy. Hawkes reacted with restraint, effectively breaking free a little more from his programming. Yet, in the heat of combat, Hawkes ends up killing this very same Chig - the cycle of killing those around him continues. Is he scared of this happening to Vansen? The apparation guiding him through the lonely Chig territory points out danger and guides him to safety. Yet at the moment this apparition begins to almost act out a fantasy, Hawkes begins to intepret this as an act of attack - or maybe fears acting aggressively? Hawkes clearly has some way to come before he breaks free of the mind control of the training facilities - the act of tearing up his discharge papers signals his commitment to the 58th, and the commitment to his own struggle to cope with what his creators have made him out to be. In short, a very powerful episode! The In Vitro training facility was really quite shocking, particularly for the alleged "land of the free". Makes you wonder who the real enemy really are... Production Goofs None as far as I could see, though I'm not sure why Hawkes was carrying his discharge papers with him. In particular, those discharge papers looked surprisingly free of crinkles and folds - did he roll it up and bring it in a tube?