Robin Is The Name Of A Bird :) - Blog Posts
Your analysis-style posts make me sooooo happy!!! I'd love to hear if you have any opinions about a few of the voicelines at the beginning of the 'hope' conversation. Specifically when Robin talks about a hypothetical where the Architects have gone through a 'system update' which is why Al-An can't hear them.
Al-Ans responding voiceline just feels/sounds so hopeless? I know its probably because Robin threw out wildly differing numbers but it still gets me a little bit. Even the fact Al-An doesn't outright refute the idea, like he could actually have gotten left behind in his 1000 year isolation, that thats a real issue he might have to face..
Thank you! Analyzing media is something I very much enjoy, and I’m glad that others are getting something out of it! Here are my thoughts on the hope dialogue.
The Hope Poem dialogue between Robin and AL-AN is one of my favorite parts of Below Zero. Not only is it an absolutely classic poem, but it is also a clear show of Robin's empathy towards AL-AN. It’s part of her realizing that he isn't just an unthinking alien; it’s part of him realizing that she isn't a lesser being. It’s what ultimately drives them to emotionally connect.
Robin, as she further explores and finds artifacts, comes to learn bits and pieces about AL-AN and Architects. Understandably frustrated with him at first, but as more details emerge, she sees that this isn't just a one-dimensional being of logic but instead a person who is isolated and in an unfamiliar situation. Someone dealing with the implications of potentially being the last of their kind.
He is part of a race so technologically advanced that death is an unusual circumstance, and even in death their memories and contributions are uploaded to the network. Their ideas live on ad infinitum. It makes sense that he wouldn't understand how to deal with being disconnected from the collective.
Robin picks up on notes of AL-AN’s unsaid distress. His expressions are subtle, but humans thrive with subtlety. He has lost the life he knew and is thrust into this completely foreign situation. Understandably, he is pessimistic about this, so when he begins to voice these complicated feelings that come with being isolated from the network for so long, she comforts him. Trying to broaden his perspective and promote optimism even if it might be illogical. To encourage him to keep looking despite the dim situation. Her stubbornness is more so perseverance above all things. The drive to keep going even if it's hard—even if it hurts.
“Call it whatever you want if it keeps you from lying down and giving up!”
The whole conversation about hope sparked because AL-AN mentioned his feelings about being unable to discern remnants of the network. Not knowing if his species is alive or dead: Not knowing how to cope with a situation so alien to him. That feeling of emptiness he experiences when not being connected to his network. Of course, in a situation so improbable, he would be hyper-focused on everything that could go wrong. Preparing for the worst outcome.
AL-AN is used to seeing things as purely logical. Relying on statistics and probability to conduct his actions. It's drilled into him through his own experiences that it is inefficient to do anything else. After all, let’s think about what happened last time he did something impulsive.
AL-AN doesn’t have a definitive answer to the fate of the collective. He has no idea what happened and is searching for any traces. Paralleling Robin’s situation with Sam. They are so entirely different but they're both looking for answers and dealing with loss. Robin, despite everything she is already going through, chooses to console AL-AN. Goes out of her way to scan artifacts and build a new vessel he can inhabit.
Existence as an individual is complicated for him. It’s stressful having to fully rely on such an unfamiliar being, one so argumentative at times. A member of a species he does not understand due to their vast differences, but one who nonetheless is comforting in a moment of vulnerability. One that absolutely does not have to, yet because their circumstances are similar, expresses empathy.
I think this sticks with him.
Hope is human. Robin sharing the poem with AL-AN is sharing herself with AL-AN—her empathy—an integral part of who she is. It is her expressing herself in a very human way. She mentioned that Sam loved that poem. She is offering to share this raw part of herself. It’s her attempt at confiding in AL-AN’s loss with her own. To express and be vulnerable with her own grief to comfort him. A small reminder to AL-AN that he is not alone in this situation. It is an unfortunate aspect of life, but what pushes one to continue on.
He may not fully understand humanity, but ultimately he tries to connect and communicate with the only person he has left. Robin is the only other sapient being he has talked to in a millennium. AL-AN adding hope to the databank is a genuine attempt at understanding her for who she is instead of just a means to an end.
Hope may just be a survival instinct, but Al-AN realizes the impact it has on him. These emotions are real; they are important. Mimicking Robin finishing Sam's work, AL-AN seeks to get closure of his own by abiding by Robin's direction to not give up. Going to his homeworld despite all the improbabilities. To see for himself the fate of his people. Because now he has someone. Even if his species did not survive, he still has a reason to keep going.
AL-AN has found hope. Robin is a string no louder than his own. Her story is now intertwined with his. She doesn’t ask of him and provides reassurance even when things seem bleakest. Throughout everything that happens, Robin certainly never gave up on Sam, and she never gives up on him either, so he won't give up on himself. It'd be illogical. He managed to survive after so much. While the future is uncertain, AL-AN chooses to continue on that path forward with her. Robin is the personification of hope for AL-AN.
“With you, I am ready to face whatever awaits.”