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desequilibre) wrote2016-07-01 10:58 am
desequilibre) wrote2016-07-01 10:58 am
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OUT OF CHARACTER:
Name/Handle: Sarah
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athosing
Reference:
Other characters: n/a.
IN-CHARACTER:
Character name: Athos
Character journal:desequilibre
Series name: The Musketeers.
Canon notes: Series 2 | Episode 10: Trial and Punishment.
Species: Human
History: The Wikipedia Summaries.
Athos is from seventeenth century France ( more specifically, the year 1631 ). His is a world without electricity, without running water, without the kind of machinery he will see in game. It is a country that has been previously shaken by revolt ( the King's mother rising up against her son ), by the death of a much loved public figure ( Cardinal Richelieu ) and had a coup taken place against the King. It's also one on the brink of war.
Personality: In season one Athos is very much a man torn between love and loyalty. Those are his two defining factors, he would be nothing without them nor without the struggle they put him through. To Athos, there isn't anything that should move him more than his honour. Because he is a Musketeer, he has a duty to the King and to France and it's one he is always trying to uphold.
He is a moral compass, when other's honour and duty is questioned Athos is the one to hold them to high regard ( "I don't believe Treville is guilty, and I never will. but we won't stand in your way." ) but he is also one that constantly doubts himself in every way possible. Because to have honour means to be absolute in his actions, to never regret them, and yet as we see throughout the show that is exactly what he does. Athos is torn by the war between his head and his heart and that encapsulates everything that he is, the cold logical thinker and the devastated lover.
When we meet him for the first time we get a sense of the juxtaposition he embodies. He is a man who has a clear alcohol dependency but still goes through the motions to become the man he’s needed to be.. Put together, armed, clever and quick. He has an incredible sense of pride in doing what he does, to be a Musketeer means everything and it is literally all he has. Because being a Musketeer means there is a code and you stand to it. His relationships, his whole life is built around this one role. It's through his actions as a Musketeer that we learn more and more about him. We also see that he's a natural leader, he is the centre of the three of his friends. He brings them together when their captain needs to see them, rallying the troops as it were. He's the glue between them, the thing that stops them from going completely off the rails at many points. He's obviously clever and a man of some learning, but seems naturally suited to life as a soldier. Athos is a man who gives up money and safety to become who he is, to defend those who need defending. He is the rational thought to the other's fiery tempers or to their passions, the one who chooses to think instead of feel. This is his public image, this is what he shows the world that he is. He needs to be strong and contained. He commands respect from everyone he meets. And yet he is also someone who is sharp and witty, whose humour can and does get him into trouble. Athos is more than a little sarcastic ( "Let me think ... No, because that would be illegal" ) but he knows when and where there's a place for it. Arrogant and sharp, Athos could easily be someone disliked. Add his black moods and his drunkenness, it would be easy to hate the kind of man he is. But he takes to friendships, he is kind when people are deserving of it, and when he decides to trust a person they have that always and regardless of how things may seem.
"I thought I'd finally shaken you two off."
One of the main impacts on Athos' life is his friendship with the other Musketeers, Porthos and Aramis. They are his friends, the only two who he seems genuinely attached to even when he's trying to be aloof. He becomes a wholly different person around them, one who smiles and jokes and teases. It's a brotherhood. Theirs is a friendship based on mutual faults and the acknowledgement of that. He would lay down his life for them and vice versa. The Musketeers are a family, one united by something more than blood. When Porthos is charged with murder, Athos is the one to enter the Court of Miracles to try and find him. This is important because as we saw a few episodes before, he put his own pain before his friend's life. That behaviour was not his usual, he was wrapped up in his own hurt enough to act out of character. He couldn't even bear to be near the place where his life was so utterly changed. Enough that even Aramis notices it, enough to question exactly what is wrong with him. He needs to atone for that in any way he can. Because he believes in Porthos, he's willing to go under the radar to prove that and move outside of the law. Porthos and Aramis' loyalty to Athos also allows us to see that he's a man that allows himself to be loved so deeply. If he were as unkind or cruel as he thought himself then surely there would not be two willing to go out of their way to save him too. In the very first episode he is being framed for murder, has been put to trial and is to be executed. Yet Captain Treville and the others instinctively know that this isn't the case. Because Athos is not a murderer, nor is he anyone who would act so dishonourably. They know him too well to be tricked. This instinctive understanding of each of the Musketeers runs deep through all of them and shows they are quite a unit.
That they have found a way under his skin and a home in his heart shows he is more than capable of human relationships. But their friendship also lets us see just how tightly locked up Athos is too. D'Artagnan is the one who usually notices how low in spirits Athos is, is the one to comment on it more often than not. Because he is not as used to his moods as the others, it is most definitely something he picks up on. It's fairly obvious that Athos has spent his time fobbing the other’s concerns off, that they have learnt to accept his ill humour. He doesn't let them in. It's almost as if there is a maze to unlocking the true Athos and he's very clever about cutting people off.
"There was someone special once, she died. That's all he ever said."
His broken heart is practically written right across his face and yet he's somehow managed to not let anyone dig deeper than that. He's evasive, but it's not a devious trait. It's more a way to protect himself. Once you let someone see your heart it makes it easier for them to strike at it. And yet d'Artagnan somehow manages it, finds out more about Athos than any of his friends. He is the one to break through Athos’ walls It cements their friendship and gives the other an understanding of the man he is. It is through d'Artagnan that Athos begins to change. Though we don't see it on screen, we do find out that he eventually opens up to the others.. It's here he becomes something more of a brother, and here that we see the first mention of "All for one and one for all". With good emotional support, Athos is better suited to personal honesty.
"He's a Gascon farm boy, promising but raw."
D'Artagnan is one of, if not the most, important factors in understanding Athos as a character. It is through d'Artagnan that we learn more and more about him, that the truth of the man he was and who he has come to be is revealed. When they first meet, we as an audience are supposed to believe along with d'Artagnan that Athos is a murderer. But even when he is being challenged, he follows a strict code. Were he the man we expect of him, he'd have no qualms in slitting d'Artagnan's throat. And yet he sees all that anger and pain and tries to reason with him.
"That could have been your throat, don't make me kill you over a mistake. I didn't kill your father and I don't want to kill you."
He doesn't fight to kill, only to disarm. He sees the fire in d'Artagnan and I think that he also understands how grief moves a person. D'Artagnan is hurt, he's wounded, he's lost his family. He needs someone to strike out against and Athos is a willing target. He is very much like Athos himself. And so he allows it up until a point. And yet he knows very little of the other man by the time he has become part of their company. There's an instinctive trust however, he doesn't rally against someone younger and more capable joining his ranks. Instead he's almost concerned, protective.It's not because he doesn't think he's capable, no, it's more that he's worried about him getting caught up in his own business. That he worries so soon about him also shows his deep affinity for love and affection. Here is a man who has tried to kill him, and yet he did everything he could to also clear Athos' name. That has sealed the deal for Athos. He is now one of them and therefore under his protection. Later in the series this becomes more and more obvious, Athos becomes something of a mentor to him. We see him training with d'Artagnan, being the one who guides him. He knows him quite well, provoking him often to try and teach him to use his head over his heart. He sees the things that d'Artagnan can achieve and wants only the greatest for him. ( "All I know is that d'Artagnan has it in him to be a fine Musketeer. Perhaps the greatest of us all." )
D'Artagnan highlights this part of Athos' personality. He becomes the pivot of Athos' desire for every person to have their chance. He feels like all men and women should be allowed the same opportunities as others. He meets people who are downtrodden and offers advice, when he had his own wealth and home he refused to have more servants because they make him uncomfortable, he wants d'Artagnan to be given as many opportunities as he can because he deserves it. Athos is encouraging under all of his brusqueness. It's important at this point to know that Athos' sense of honour is to people first and foremost. Like the other Musketeers, he does not think twice in working outside of the law when other people's lives are being threatened. How they react to the Cardinal is a fine example of this. He is a member of France's state and yet the Musketeers are often thwarting his plans. Their duty is to the people they’re sworn to protect. When others benefit off the pain of the people then they are the ones to lift up their swords and fight back ( eg sending Bonnaire back to Spain and protecting Ninon against the Red Guards ). Athos and the others have a deep sense of what is right and what is wrong and they stick to that.
"There was a woman ... she died by my hand."
"You murdered her?"
"I loved her."
If you take a look at Athos as a character then there is one thing that runs right through the core of him. He was once a man who had everything, a home, a family, a wife who loved him. That has all been ripped from him. And in a way that accounts for the vast majority of his personality. His wife Anne ( now Milady de Winter ) was a criminal and a liar and someone who he sees as having wormed her way into his life and struck at the very heart of him. He feels conned and tricked and foolish enough to have fallen for it and now he does everything in his power not to let that happen again. He has closed himself off from love. He tells Ninon that he will never have that again, romance and marriage are not something he craves nor does he think he deserves. He also, incidentally, has trouble trusting women. He acts uncomfortably around any that show an interest in him and often believes that they are somehow out to get him. Romance does not stop him from showing someone the harsh reality of life. The fact that Ninon seems so romantic in her views themselves, and thus forgets to see what it would inspire young women to do, offends him because he is constantly thinking of how his actions affect people.
That Milady has broken him so thoroughly has caused such a disconnect between who he shows and who he is. For his life has become one eternal struggle through her actions, that of love versus loyalty. We see him as someone with such a strong moral backbone. That is what he is built on. The law is to be upheld when it is law that protects the basic human rights of people. We get a sense that this is who he's always been, a man with honour and beliefs. But with love his ground is shaken. That he loved Milady is not in question, that he still loves her is more than obvious. She has taken so much from him, she killed his brother, she turned his heart to stone. And yet his anger is more at himself than anything else. That he chose honour over keeping her safe. The guilt that he's felt over how he 'killed' her has eaten him up for the past five years. His house is basically a tomb for his failed love, a place where he keeps the portraits and the belongings covered in dust and dark nothingness. He doesn't feel as though he deserves forgiveness. He upheld the law, yes, but he's also the one who ordered the woman he loved to be put to death. To Athos that is as bad as murdering someone in cold blood. ( "Find some poor soul who deserves forgiveness Father, don't waste your time with me." ) He doesn't deserve to be saved, he has accepted his fate and flounders in it. When he finds out she has survived he is equally as devastated. He doesn't know how to carry on without his guilt for killing her. He's spent five years thinking that he took her life, that the love he could have had died at his hand, and now he knows she's still alive, that she's spent those years continuing in her ways. The fact that he wears her locket for so much of the season also tells us of our guilt. I think it's a deliberate mirroring of the noose he had placed around her neck. He can't lose it, he can't stop wearing it, it will always be a part of him. So it's important to note that in episode 10, when he takes it off and drops it, it is a shrugging off of what she has done to him. It's a deliberate action.
Milady's actions have also caused something of a temper in him. It's a private temper, something that is rarely seen but is in fact all consuming. Athos is the calm one, the one who rarely reacts to taunts, but there are moments when this blackness consumes him. The minute he's pushed, Athos finds it hard to rear back ( best seen with his duel against the Duke of Savoy and his reaction to hearing Milady's voice at the court ). When Athos snaps, he snaps and there is very little beyond his friends that can bring him back. That they are surprised by his rage says a lot. He has kept it so tightly hidden within himself but has no hope in holding on to it always. He's a fuse that has been lit, that is always a part of him. He pushes his friends away when he because he doesn't wish for them to see what he is underneath his calm and unflappable exterior, he needs to be the person they trust and admire. With this we also discover a latent suicidal streak within him. Athos would never take his own life, there's nothing honourable about that, but he is more than quick to allow someone else to kill him - roaring at the firing line and then begging Milady to slit his throat -. Athos seeks death, he begs for it. When Milady leaves him inside of his burning house he hasn't moved before d'Artagnan arrives to pull him from the flames. For Athos, death would be a relief from all of the guilt that he has been drowning himself in. He could give up when the situation called for it, but if anyone were to see him do so he would fight.
That is, as mentioned earlier, until Athos begins to trust his fellow companions. At the very end of the series he seems much more capable of smothering that temper. While it still rages within him ( let's face it, that kind of anger doesn't diminish straight away ) he is able to be more clear headed. Milady threatens them all, she works for the Cardinal, and therefore it is not just his life on the line. Gone is the man dying at her feet, he is now someone who fights back.
Season two, as a whole, confirms many of Athos' previous personality traits. He is a man of dignity and honour who is still often plagued by the demons of his past. He depends on his role as a Musketeer and his adopted family and does everything he can to protect that. He is still too secretive at times and he continues to shy away from the responsibilities that might have shackled him down once upon a time. Athos is also very much the same quick to judge, righteous man that he was before. What this season brings about is more introspection in regards to how he has become the man he is today. We've seen more of his past through his own memories, but also heard a lot from other characters about how he changed from Comte to Musketeer.
Athos' relationship with Milady de Winter is one big piece of evidence. Theirs is one that never really settles on any one emotion. We see a whole range of them throughout season two. Athos would like to pretend all there is left is hate between them, but like she says in episode 3 - "whatever I am, you love me and you always will" -, his silence when she is in the King's court, his offer of aid and assistance to her after she falls out of favour, his continued acceptance of her existence in his life shows that. Where Athos threatened to kill her if he saw her again in season one, he makes no such move to in season two. He even goes as far as to tell her she's won his respect when she comes to the Garrison to save the King and Queen. So this season is not one that shows him getting over her exactly, but accepting his own part to play in her downfall.
We see that he knows of her accusations towards Thomas and might actually be coming round to the idea that he should have done something more to help her. He asks her for the truth but seems to accept her silence for what it is. In this it also shows a weakness that is in him. We see the flashback to the moment he found his brother. Instead of asking her the questions that any man upholding the law should, he asks "Was any of it real? Did you ever love me?" which perhaps shows that his slight was more personal. Even Catherine brings it up later, asking if Milady's greatest crime was murdering his brother or lying to Athos himself. His belief in the truth is something that holds out for many years but it also shows something of his pride being wounded, his hurts more personal, and therefore his guilt in what she has become more profound.
He had his part in her becoming what she is. While he cannot reconcile himself to her crimes - he still accuses her of being a liar and a cheat - he goes some ways in trying to protect her. He's allowing her a new life, when all it would really take is a word about her crimes. In some ways this rings back to season one where he says "perhaps I was saving myself". He just continues to do so throughout the months that pass, and by letting Milady walk around as bold as brass is letting himself heal a little too. Eventually by the end of the season we see him almost falling for her again. The chemistry they have together is undeniable and he is like a reed in the wind, constantly bending towards her. When she asks him to go to England with her he doesn't say anything, but at the last moment he takes his horse and flees after her. Whether that was to stop her from going or to join her we don't know, as he never made it on time.
One place we don't see this acceptance of the past however is when he is drugged and taken back to Pinon by the local villagers. This is the place he grew up, the town he was Comte over, and he reacts to it as violently as we ever see. They are being threatened by a Baron Renard who is intent on claiming Athos' lands for himself. It's clear he has no care for this and would probably accept were it not for the violence that Renard treats the villagers with. Athos only starts to fight back as one man is whipped. In Pinon, Athos becomes snarling and undignified, physically weaker looking, and haunted. He is beaten and clearly close to giving up. It's through the other Musketeers that the real change in Athos is shown. They all approach him about giving up his title and abandoning Pinon. It's not the Comte and all the trappings that they care about, they know Athos doesn't need any of that. But the fact that he is willing to abandon innocent people is something they never see. He says "I have nothing to offer them" but he is thinking about who he was, not who he is now.
The turning point comes half way through the episode. His conversations with Catherine are important factors in showing what makes Athos Athos. That he married for love, that he was betrayed, that he finds nothing wrong in not being a Comte, but being a soldier instead. He has the support of his friends around him and they remind him that he can get beyond the darker times, that he cannot let all of those ill feelings eat him up. We see him slowly start to regain some of his colour and life when he goes to find weapons, when he helps the villagers learn to defend themselves. And ultimately, Athos is kind. He gives the ownership of the village to them. He doesn't want to be tied down to the place where he lost his brother and his wife but he seems to realise he cannot abandon them to a life without anything set in place. And so he hands over his estate to the people. This ties in neatly to how he was in season one, he was never one who enjoyed the life of a nobleman ( "servants make me uncomfortable" ) and he sought for equality where it was reasonable. Women weren't any less capable than men, people of colour didn't have any less worth. He doesn't enjoy the system of putting oneself above others. It leads to greedy men and those are the kind he fights against. His joy at that shows that beneath the gruff exterior he actually wants people to be happy and he wants to give up some of his past.
While it doesn't seem to get worse, season two throws a lot of light on Athos' issue of addiction. Several characters remark on his drunkenness, and Aramis even goes as far as to tell a woman who is detoxing that Athos has experience in those matters. While we've never seen this happen we can assume it had something to do with how heavily he drank in season one. There are fewer scenes with him and a bottle in hand this time round but it's commented on enough to be obvious. The thing that has changed is that he is less likely to want to be alone. Athos' reliance on his friendships has grown stronger with time. In season one, episode one they imply that he prefers to drink alone, but in season two, episode two he chooses not to, instead he accepts d'Artagnan's company. He allows him to see Athos in a certain light whereas before it was pretty obvious he didn't want any of them to see him as weak.
Other things to note about season two is that Athos becomes more relaxed in his friendships. By being honest with them about Milady and about where he's come from, he's lost a lot of the weight of guilt that was wearing him down. He's more friendly and caring to them, more keen to be included in their camaraderie. He doesn't hold himself as something other and is more likely to be found smiling at their jokes were before that was a rarity. He even allows playful taunting about his past, something which would have never stuck before.
His inner turmoil over responsibility is also particularly telling in season two. Originally Treville makes a small joke about Athos taking his place when he is no longer Captain. Athos shrugs it off but it clearly perplexes him. As with his earlier comment to Pinon about having nothing to offer, he doesn't seem sure of himself and his abilities. This comes to a head when it is revealed that France is going to war with Spain. With Treville now a Minister there is literally no one else who can take the Captaincy. Athos still tries to argue with it, shrug it off. He doesn't believe in himself. But once his sense of honour is appealed to he has no choice but to accept.
The thing about season two is that Athos doesn't change exactly, he just allows himself more fluidity of feeling. He's no longer as contained inside of himself. It means he's quick to smile but he's also quick to anger. He's less of a man wearing a mask and more of a fleshed out person. He's learning to be different, and although he's not quite there yet, it's still something.
Abilities: Athos is proficient with any number of weapons ( swords, knives, pistols, muskets ). Captain Treville goes as far as saying he's the most gifted swordsman in the regiment. He's a remarkable fighter and an educated man who should speak more than one language. He's a man who used to have money so he's obviously well able to run an estate and keep his affairs in order so we can assume he has a good grasp of numbers etc.
Augment Skillset: Security.
Sample: mask or menace network post.
Name/Handle: Sarah
Contact:
Reference:
Other characters: n/a.
IN-CHARACTER:
Character name: Athos
Character journal:
desequilibreSeries name: The Musketeers.
Canon notes: Series 2 | Episode 10: Trial and Punishment.
Species: Human
History: The Wikipedia Summaries.
Athos is from seventeenth century France ( more specifically, the year 1631 ). His is a world without electricity, without running water, without the kind of machinery he will see in game. It is a country that has been previously shaken by revolt ( the King's mother rising up against her son ), by the death of a much loved public figure ( Cardinal Richelieu ) and had a coup taken place against the King. It's also one on the brink of war.
Personality: In season one Athos is very much a man torn between love and loyalty. Those are his two defining factors, he would be nothing without them nor without the struggle they put him through. To Athos, there isn't anything that should move him more than his honour. Because he is a Musketeer, he has a duty to the King and to France and it's one he is always trying to uphold.
He is a moral compass, when other's honour and duty is questioned Athos is the one to hold them to high regard ( "I don't believe Treville is guilty, and I never will. but we won't stand in your way." ) but he is also one that constantly doubts himself in every way possible. Because to have honour means to be absolute in his actions, to never regret them, and yet as we see throughout the show that is exactly what he does. Athos is torn by the war between his head and his heart and that encapsulates everything that he is, the cold logical thinker and the devastated lover.
When we meet him for the first time we get a sense of the juxtaposition he embodies. He is a man who has a clear alcohol dependency but still goes through the motions to become the man he’s needed to be.. Put together, armed, clever and quick. He has an incredible sense of pride in doing what he does, to be a Musketeer means everything and it is literally all he has. Because being a Musketeer means there is a code and you stand to it. His relationships, his whole life is built around this one role. It's through his actions as a Musketeer that we learn more and more about him. We also see that he's a natural leader, he is the centre of the three of his friends. He brings them together when their captain needs to see them, rallying the troops as it were. He's the glue between them, the thing that stops them from going completely off the rails at many points. He's obviously clever and a man of some learning, but seems naturally suited to life as a soldier. Athos is a man who gives up money and safety to become who he is, to defend those who need defending. He is the rational thought to the other's fiery tempers or to their passions, the one who chooses to think instead of feel. This is his public image, this is what he shows the world that he is. He needs to be strong and contained. He commands respect from everyone he meets. And yet he is also someone who is sharp and witty, whose humour can and does get him into trouble. Athos is more than a little sarcastic ( "Let me think ... No, because that would be illegal" ) but he knows when and where there's a place for it. Arrogant and sharp, Athos could easily be someone disliked. Add his black moods and his drunkenness, it would be easy to hate the kind of man he is. But he takes to friendships, he is kind when people are deserving of it, and when he decides to trust a person they have that always and regardless of how things may seem.
One of the main impacts on Athos' life is his friendship with the other Musketeers, Porthos and Aramis. They are his friends, the only two who he seems genuinely attached to even when he's trying to be aloof. He becomes a wholly different person around them, one who smiles and jokes and teases. It's a brotherhood. Theirs is a friendship based on mutual faults and the acknowledgement of that. He would lay down his life for them and vice versa. The Musketeers are a family, one united by something more than blood. When Porthos is charged with murder, Athos is the one to enter the Court of Miracles to try and find him. This is important because as we saw a few episodes before, he put his own pain before his friend's life. That behaviour was not his usual, he was wrapped up in his own hurt enough to act out of character. He couldn't even bear to be near the place where his life was so utterly changed. Enough that even Aramis notices it, enough to question exactly what is wrong with him. He needs to atone for that in any way he can. Because he believes in Porthos, he's willing to go under the radar to prove that and move outside of the law. Porthos and Aramis' loyalty to Athos also allows us to see that he's a man that allows himself to be loved so deeply. If he were as unkind or cruel as he thought himself then surely there would not be two willing to go out of their way to save him too. In the very first episode he is being framed for murder, has been put to trial and is to be executed. Yet Captain Treville and the others instinctively know that this isn't the case. Because Athos is not a murderer, nor is he anyone who would act so dishonourably. They know him too well to be tricked. This instinctive understanding of each of the Musketeers runs deep through all of them and shows they are quite a unit.
That they have found a way under his skin and a home in his heart shows he is more than capable of human relationships. But their friendship also lets us see just how tightly locked up Athos is too. D'Artagnan is the one who usually notices how low in spirits Athos is, is the one to comment on it more often than not. Because he is not as used to his moods as the others, it is most definitely something he picks up on. It's fairly obvious that Athos has spent his time fobbing the other’s concerns off, that they have learnt to accept his ill humour. He doesn't let them in. It's almost as if there is a maze to unlocking the true Athos and he's very clever about cutting people off.
His broken heart is practically written right across his face and yet he's somehow managed to not let anyone dig deeper than that. He's evasive, but it's not a devious trait. It's more a way to protect himself. Once you let someone see your heart it makes it easier for them to strike at it. And yet d'Artagnan somehow manages it, finds out more about Athos than any of his friends. He is the one to break through Athos’ walls It cements their friendship and gives the other an understanding of the man he is. It is through d'Artagnan that Athos begins to change. Though we don't see it on screen, we do find out that he eventually opens up to the others.. It's here he becomes something more of a brother, and here that we see the first mention of "All for one and one for all". With good emotional support, Athos is better suited to personal honesty.
D'Artagnan is one of, if not the most, important factors in understanding Athos as a character. It is through d'Artagnan that we learn more and more about him, that the truth of the man he was and who he has come to be is revealed. When they first meet, we as an audience are supposed to believe along with d'Artagnan that Athos is a murderer. But even when he is being challenged, he follows a strict code. Were he the man we expect of him, he'd have no qualms in slitting d'Artagnan's throat. And yet he sees all that anger and pain and tries to reason with him.
He doesn't fight to kill, only to disarm. He sees the fire in d'Artagnan and I think that he also understands how grief moves a person. D'Artagnan is hurt, he's wounded, he's lost his family. He needs someone to strike out against and Athos is a willing target. He is very much like Athos himself. And so he allows it up until a point. And yet he knows very little of the other man by the time he has become part of their company. There's an instinctive trust however, he doesn't rally against someone younger and more capable joining his ranks. Instead he's almost concerned, protective.It's not because he doesn't think he's capable, no, it's more that he's worried about him getting caught up in his own business. That he worries so soon about him also shows his deep affinity for love and affection. Here is a man who has tried to kill him, and yet he did everything he could to also clear Athos' name. That has sealed the deal for Athos. He is now one of them and therefore under his protection. Later in the series this becomes more and more obvious, Athos becomes something of a mentor to him. We see him training with d'Artagnan, being the one who guides him. He knows him quite well, provoking him often to try and teach him to use his head over his heart. He sees the things that d'Artagnan can achieve and wants only the greatest for him. ( "All I know is that d'Artagnan has it in him to be a fine Musketeer. Perhaps the greatest of us all." )
D'Artagnan highlights this part of Athos' personality. He becomes the pivot of Athos' desire for every person to have their chance. He feels like all men and women should be allowed the same opportunities as others. He meets people who are downtrodden and offers advice, when he had his own wealth and home he refused to have more servants because they make him uncomfortable, he wants d'Artagnan to be given as many opportunities as he can because he deserves it. Athos is encouraging under all of his brusqueness. It's important at this point to know that Athos' sense of honour is to people first and foremost. Like the other Musketeers, he does not think twice in working outside of the law when other people's lives are being threatened. How they react to the Cardinal is a fine example of this. He is a member of France's state and yet the Musketeers are often thwarting his plans. Their duty is to the people they’re sworn to protect. When others benefit off the pain of the people then they are the ones to lift up their swords and fight back ( eg sending Bonnaire back to Spain and protecting Ninon against the Red Guards ). Athos and the others have a deep sense of what is right and what is wrong and they stick to that.
"You murdered her?"
"I loved her."
If you take a look at Athos as a character then there is one thing that runs right through the core of him. He was once a man who had everything, a home, a family, a wife who loved him. That has all been ripped from him. And in a way that accounts for the vast majority of his personality. His wife Anne ( now Milady de Winter ) was a criminal and a liar and someone who he sees as having wormed her way into his life and struck at the very heart of him. He feels conned and tricked and foolish enough to have fallen for it and now he does everything in his power not to let that happen again. He has closed himself off from love. He tells Ninon that he will never have that again, romance and marriage are not something he craves nor does he think he deserves. He also, incidentally, has trouble trusting women. He acts uncomfortably around any that show an interest in him and often believes that they are somehow out to get him. Romance does not stop him from showing someone the harsh reality of life. The fact that Ninon seems so romantic in her views themselves, and thus forgets to see what it would inspire young women to do, offends him because he is constantly thinking of how his actions affect people.
That Milady has broken him so thoroughly has caused such a disconnect between who he shows and who he is. For his life has become one eternal struggle through her actions, that of love versus loyalty. We see him as someone with such a strong moral backbone. That is what he is built on. The law is to be upheld when it is law that protects the basic human rights of people. We get a sense that this is who he's always been, a man with honour and beliefs. But with love his ground is shaken. That he loved Milady is not in question, that he still loves her is more than obvious. She has taken so much from him, she killed his brother, she turned his heart to stone. And yet his anger is more at himself than anything else. That he chose honour over keeping her safe. The guilt that he's felt over how he 'killed' her has eaten him up for the past five years. His house is basically a tomb for his failed love, a place where he keeps the portraits and the belongings covered in dust and dark nothingness. He doesn't feel as though he deserves forgiveness. He upheld the law, yes, but he's also the one who ordered the woman he loved to be put to death. To Athos that is as bad as murdering someone in cold blood. ( "Find some poor soul who deserves forgiveness Father, don't waste your time with me." ) He doesn't deserve to be saved, he has accepted his fate and flounders in it. When he finds out she has survived he is equally as devastated. He doesn't know how to carry on without his guilt for killing her. He's spent five years thinking that he took her life, that the love he could have had died at his hand, and now he knows she's still alive, that she's spent those years continuing in her ways. The fact that he wears her locket for so much of the season also tells us of our guilt. I think it's a deliberate mirroring of the noose he had placed around her neck. He can't lose it, he can't stop wearing it, it will always be a part of him. So it's important to note that in episode 10, when he takes it off and drops it, it is a shrugging off of what she has done to him. It's a deliberate action.
Milady's actions have also caused something of a temper in him. It's a private temper, something that is rarely seen but is in fact all consuming. Athos is the calm one, the one who rarely reacts to taunts, but there are moments when this blackness consumes him. The minute he's pushed, Athos finds it hard to rear back ( best seen with his duel against the Duke of Savoy and his reaction to hearing Milady's voice at the court ). When Athos snaps, he snaps and there is very little beyond his friends that can bring him back. That they are surprised by his rage says a lot. He has kept it so tightly hidden within himself but has no hope in holding on to it always. He's a fuse that has been lit, that is always a part of him. He pushes his friends away when he because he doesn't wish for them to see what he is underneath his calm and unflappable exterior, he needs to be the person they trust and admire. With this we also discover a latent suicidal streak within him. Athos would never take his own life, there's nothing honourable about that, but he is more than quick to allow someone else to kill him - roaring at the firing line and then begging Milady to slit his throat -. Athos seeks death, he begs for it. When Milady leaves him inside of his burning house he hasn't moved before d'Artagnan arrives to pull him from the flames. For Athos, death would be a relief from all of the guilt that he has been drowning himself in. He could give up when the situation called for it, but if anyone were to see him do so he would fight.
That is, as mentioned earlier, until Athos begins to trust his fellow companions. At the very end of the series he seems much more capable of smothering that temper. While it still rages within him ( let's face it, that kind of anger doesn't diminish straight away ) he is able to be more clear headed. Milady threatens them all, she works for the Cardinal, and therefore it is not just his life on the line. Gone is the man dying at her feet, he is now someone who fights back.
Season two, as a whole, confirms many of Athos' previous personality traits. He is a man of dignity and honour who is still often plagued by the demons of his past. He depends on his role as a Musketeer and his adopted family and does everything he can to protect that. He is still too secretive at times and he continues to shy away from the responsibilities that might have shackled him down once upon a time. Athos is also very much the same quick to judge, righteous man that he was before. What this season brings about is more introspection in regards to how he has become the man he is today. We've seen more of his past through his own memories, but also heard a lot from other characters about how he changed from Comte to Musketeer.
Athos' relationship with Milady de Winter is one big piece of evidence. Theirs is one that never really settles on any one emotion. We see a whole range of them throughout season two. Athos would like to pretend all there is left is hate between them, but like she says in episode 3 - "whatever I am, you love me and you always will" -, his silence when she is in the King's court, his offer of aid and assistance to her after she falls out of favour, his continued acceptance of her existence in his life shows that. Where Athos threatened to kill her if he saw her again in season one, he makes no such move to in season two. He even goes as far as to tell her she's won his respect when she comes to the Garrison to save the King and Queen. So this season is not one that shows him getting over her exactly, but accepting his own part to play in her downfall.
We see that he knows of her accusations towards Thomas and might actually be coming round to the idea that he should have done something more to help her. He asks her for the truth but seems to accept her silence for what it is. In this it also shows a weakness that is in him. We see the flashback to the moment he found his brother. Instead of asking her the questions that any man upholding the law should, he asks "Was any of it real? Did you ever love me?" which perhaps shows that his slight was more personal. Even Catherine brings it up later, asking if Milady's greatest crime was murdering his brother or lying to Athos himself. His belief in the truth is something that holds out for many years but it also shows something of his pride being wounded, his hurts more personal, and therefore his guilt in what she has become more profound.
He had his part in her becoming what she is. While he cannot reconcile himself to her crimes - he still accuses her of being a liar and a cheat - he goes some ways in trying to protect her. He's allowing her a new life, when all it would really take is a word about her crimes. In some ways this rings back to season one where he says "perhaps I was saving myself". He just continues to do so throughout the months that pass, and by letting Milady walk around as bold as brass is letting himself heal a little too. Eventually by the end of the season we see him almost falling for her again. The chemistry they have together is undeniable and he is like a reed in the wind, constantly bending towards her. When she asks him to go to England with her he doesn't say anything, but at the last moment he takes his horse and flees after her. Whether that was to stop her from going or to join her we don't know, as he never made it on time.
One place we don't see this acceptance of the past however is when he is drugged and taken back to Pinon by the local villagers. This is the place he grew up, the town he was Comte over, and he reacts to it as violently as we ever see. They are being threatened by a Baron Renard who is intent on claiming Athos' lands for himself. It's clear he has no care for this and would probably accept were it not for the violence that Renard treats the villagers with. Athos only starts to fight back as one man is whipped. In Pinon, Athos becomes snarling and undignified, physically weaker looking, and haunted. He is beaten and clearly close to giving up. It's through the other Musketeers that the real change in Athos is shown. They all approach him about giving up his title and abandoning Pinon. It's not the Comte and all the trappings that they care about, they know Athos doesn't need any of that. But the fact that he is willing to abandon innocent people is something they never see. He says "I have nothing to offer them" but he is thinking about who he was, not who he is now.
The turning point comes half way through the episode. His conversations with Catherine are important factors in showing what makes Athos Athos. That he married for love, that he was betrayed, that he finds nothing wrong in not being a Comte, but being a soldier instead. He has the support of his friends around him and they remind him that he can get beyond the darker times, that he cannot let all of those ill feelings eat him up. We see him slowly start to regain some of his colour and life when he goes to find weapons, when he helps the villagers learn to defend themselves. And ultimately, Athos is kind. He gives the ownership of the village to them. He doesn't want to be tied down to the place where he lost his brother and his wife but he seems to realise he cannot abandon them to a life without anything set in place. And so he hands over his estate to the people. This ties in neatly to how he was in season one, he was never one who enjoyed the life of a nobleman ( "servants make me uncomfortable" ) and he sought for equality where it was reasonable. Women weren't any less capable than men, people of colour didn't have any less worth. He doesn't enjoy the system of putting oneself above others. It leads to greedy men and those are the kind he fights against. His joy at that shows that beneath the gruff exterior he actually wants people to be happy and he wants to give up some of his past.
While it doesn't seem to get worse, season two throws a lot of light on Athos' issue of addiction. Several characters remark on his drunkenness, and Aramis even goes as far as to tell a woman who is detoxing that Athos has experience in those matters. While we've never seen this happen we can assume it had something to do with how heavily he drank in season one. There are fewer scenes with him and a bottle in hand this time round but it's commented on enough to be obvious. The thing that has changed is that he is less likely to want to be alone. Athos' reliance on his friendships has grown stronger with time. In season one, episode one they imply that he prefers to drink alone, but in season two, episode two he chooses not to, instead he accepts d'Artagnan's company. He allows him to see Athos in a certain light whereas before it was pretty obvious he didn't want any of them to see him as weak.
Other things to note about season two is that Athos becomes more relaxed in his friendships. By being honest with them about Milady and about where he's come from, he's lost a lot of the weight of guilt that was wearing him down. He's more friendly and caring to them, more keen to be included in their camaraderie. He doesn't hold himself as something other and is more likely to be found smiling at their jokes were before that was a rarity. He even allows playful taunting about his past, something which would have never stuck before.
His inner turmoil over responsibility is also particularly telling in season two. Originally Treville makes a small joke about Athos taking his place when he is no longer Captain. Athos shrugs it off but it clearly perplexes him. As with his earlier comment to Pinon about having nothing to offer, he doesn't seem sure of himself and his abilities. This comes to a head when it is revealed that France is going to war with Spain. With Treville now a Minister there is literally no one else who can take the Captaincy. Athos still tries to argue with it, shrug it off. He doesn't believe in himself. But once his sense of honour is appealed to he has no choice but to accept.
The thing about season two is that Athos doesn't change exactly, he just allows himself more fluidity of feeling. He's no longer as contained inside of himself. It means he's quick to smile but he's also quick to anger. He's less of a man wearing a mask and more of a fleshed out person. He's learning to be different, and although he's not quite there yet, it's still something.
Abilities: Athos is proficient with any number of weapons ( swords, knives, pistols, muskets ). Captain Treville goes as far as saying he's the most gifted swordsman in the regiment. He's a remarkable fighter and an educated man who should speak more than one language. He's a man who used to have money so he's obviously well able to run an estate and keep his affairs in order so we can assume he has a good grasp of numbers etc.
Augment Skillset: Security.
Sample: mask or menace network post.