Six Gets A Psych Eval (...it was my day off:-))

[macgaulyver]

MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW

Like everyone else, I've been wondering how this whole 'Six lost his memory and effectively got a lobotomy' scenario is going to resolve itself. While crude, hypersexual Six is great for some laughs (Okay... really great:-)), I can't say that I want him to stay this way by any means:-) So, I took my day off to have fun with a little Six psychoanalysis:-)

I'm sure Six will not stay as he is now. My guess is that the writers might be using this scenario for a few reasons.

Here's treatise one:

Personally, I'm glad that old mercenary Six was depicted the way he was in "6-6" - now we have continuity. I've been bothered by how Six told Rex in "Divide by Six" that he was well on his way to becoming Number One. When we met the other Numbers, it was clear that Six had the biggest heart (i.e. he was merciful), which is why he was ranked as the least dangerous even though he's clearly the strongest fighter (which was confusing to Rex as well - that's why Six had to clarify the ranking system). BUT, watching Six with the other Numbers, my reaction was, "HOW were YOU well on your way to becoming Number One?!? You're not a psychopath, Six..." When we first saw Six even before he met Rex, Six never struck me as this ruthless, self-serving, malicious person that would warrant the rank of One (But, ironically, neither did One:-) I'll get to that also in a bit).

Pre-nanite event Six lives up to my expectations of what someone with the rank of One, much less Six, should look like. But, he wasn't One, was he? As cold and dog-like as he was, he was still ranked Six. This tells me that One saw something different in him from the start. Yes, Six had the potential to become an incredibly gifted fighter (and obviously he fully realized that potential under One's tutelage) but somewhere, One must have saw something else in that crude, dog-like student of his that caused him to rank Six last.

But, Six didn't want to be last. I think Six was as stubborn, undisciplined, and bratty to One, as Rex has been with Six. I think that Six sees A LOT of himself in Rex. Only, Rex never completely compromised his moral compass the way Six did, and Six recognized this later on.

In short, Six wanted to be just as lethal as 'Daddy One':-) But, One probably much like Rex never really lost his moral compass either. He ranked himself as One because he started and trained the other Numbers - he could take out any one of them at any time if he wanted:-) But, I think One put a little bit of himself into each of his students and they respected him enough to never cross a line with him - he was ONE. Somewhere along the line, however, Six became frustrated with being last (because he was clearly the best, and you know he had to have known it), so he adopts this renegade, self-serving, womanizing persona (facade is a better word, because at this point, I think at the core, it was a front) in a crude effort to come off as far more dangerous than he (and One) knew he really was. Let's face it, if Six honestly was as bad as he comes off in "6-6," why is he not ranked higher? Why isn't he at least four - why isn't he Dos?? Psycho!Six never was the real Six - Psycho!Six was a reaction to being ranked last - it was an 'upping the ante' to prove that he had the capacity to be the most dangerous even though One wouldn't raise his rank. One knew better - he knew Six could be better than he was on a few levels. Blinded by his need to be the deadliest, to be like 'Daddy,' Six just didn't get it. I glean this from One's statement to Six just before he becomes 'One with the island' (har!). It seems that One might have been concerned that Six was losing himself to his quest to be the most dangerous. But, Six found his path with Providence (I'll get to that too), and One was relieved and proud of Six for becoming the person he always knew Six could be. Six is a force to be reckoned with - he just needed direction like so many other brilliant and gifted individuals. For One in that situation, the prodigal son had just returned, and he could be at peace.

But, backing up, Six had to go through a life changing event/crisis to get there, didn't he?:-) The nanite event. AND One going EVO. Suddenly, Six gets a slap of reality across that petulant Psycho!Six face so hard, his world flips upside down. With One turning EVO, and seemingly the whole world turning EVO around him (and you know he's asking himself "When's it going to happen to me?")....now Six is lost. Psycho!Six or not, he knows he needs to save 'Dad' - the only person who ever truly cared about him and gave him guidance. This becomes his consuming purpose now.

In the course of this new quest, he meets Knight. I can infer that Six was still Psycho!Six when he met Knight because Knight wasn't surprised by the Psycho!Six persona re-emerging in "6-6" - he knew exactly what he was seeing.

Knight is clever - and manipulative - all be it with good intentions, though he can be ruthless also; this is why he and Six clicked in the first place. Back in the beginning, he persuaded Six to get on board with Providence because he knew he needed a guy with Six's skills to combat the EVO threat. Six knew he needed a solution - I really believe he thought Knight and Providence would lead him to a cure for One. But as time went on fighting alongside Knight as his partner, Six realized that Knight wasn't interested in a cure. He wanted to obliterate the infectious plague that was the EVO threat, head on - by killing (or containing for the purpose of Fell's scientific study, which he knew was going to result in death for the EVO anyway). In this way, Knight and Six were VERY similar. Wiping out a threat meant killing it.

Eventually though, Six got tired of the killing because it wasn't producing the result that he wanted. After all this time, and all this fighting, he still had no cure for One. I think during this time, Six was also forced to do a lot of soul searching, and he started developing some empathy. He was killing people (in the form of EVOs ) right and left - and it was getting him nowhere. The killing suddenly was becoming tiresome and pointless.

It's true that Knight was, in a sense, Six's bridge from the mercenary he thought he wanted to be, to becoming the warrior he always knew he could be deep down (clearly, Six embodies the Bushido samurai code - samurai's were incredibly lethal, but not without mercy and honor also, and I have to wonder if One planted this in him somewhere early on, or if Six picked this up himself after One went EVO when he was trying to cope with the new world). Knight was Six's first hope, however, Knight and Providence weren't getting him what he wanted. But, who else was there to get him any closer to a cure? It sounded like no one was even talking 'cure.' Only kill, or contain for research to kill some more.

This was why the 'cure' concept came as such a surprise to him when Holiday first mentioned it.

Six mentions that the war had worn him down by the time he'd met Holiday. Then Holiday suddenly re-sparks the hope that he was losing. That rekindled hope resulted in him finding Rex...the actual cure...on Six's birthday. Holiday mentions to Six in "Promises, Promises" that Six should be celebrating too, because in a sense it was his birthday also. Prophetic and deeply philosophical double meaning here:-) I think Six literally was reborn that day - he found hope - he found a new reason for living - he found an appreciation for the fragileness that is the human condition...something up until now, he'd taken for granted as a mercenary. His indestructible teacher was taken down by the epidemic just like everyone else (yeah, he was able to fight it longer, but it still got him) - One wasn't invincible after all. That meant, neither was Six.

Getting a glimpse of Psycho!Six helped me understand just how far Six has come, and just how much Rex, Holiday, White, and Providence have affected him. It clears up some of those 'that feels off' issues that were happening with me in "Divide by Six." One's personality and comments to Six make more sense to me now. I think we're in for a real ride if Six has to rediscover that One is dead (*wants to see this drama SO BADLY*). This could be the vehicle to help Six get closer to that Six we knew:-) What I'm really wondering is if Rex still has some of One's personality imprinted on his nanites when he 'Avatar' channeled him before he died. If so, does Rex have the ability to imprint the memory of that event on Six's nanites? Could that be a way to jumpstart his lost memories? Come on, Rex! Bust out the epic power of that Omega1 nanite:-)

Part 2 to follow below....

[macgaulyver]

Naturally, I have to throw my Holix two cents in there, so here's that:

So what about the memory issue and Holiday? Clearly from other eps., it's apparent that Six has kept Holiday in the dark about his past. Yeah, I'm guessing she knows he was a mercenary, but clearly she had no clue that he used to be such a ruthless dog. I'm guessing that Six probably was ashamed of how he used to be - he's matured quite a bit since the nanite event. I always took Six's keeping his distance from the Numbers as him trying to protect his present from his past. And as far as Holiday is concerned, protecting her from his past self. I wonder if he felt that if she knew, she would become afraid or repulsed by him, and then reject him. The GREAT part about Six losing his memory was that HE STRAIGHT BUSTED HIMSELF OUT about the true degree of his attraction to her!

....I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that. She knows without question that he REALLY has more than just 'a thing' for her:-) Now, we have something excellent to work with here. I believe that one way or another, we'll get back the calm, strong, confident, and very intelligent Six. But, with the added bonus of *gasp* human emotion *end gasp* He'll be stoic to a point, I think - but definitely not the 'stick up his a s s' robot that at times was overboard (e.g. "Gravity" - Geez, I've never wanted to smack that man so hard in my life! ESPECIALLY knowing what I know now about how he's felt for her this whole time!)

So, that means *ahem* that side of Six that had to be there - that one that seemed so OOC for him because of that stoicness - will finally get some legitimate light:-) Some heavenly, long desired light.... I'll say it for the zillionth time - I knew you had in you, Six. Glad we'll finally get to see it. Just get some of those memories back and polish it up a bit for us. Diane from 'Ultimate Exposure' had it all wrong. When Six's mind pulls itself back together after this, then we'll see the full package Six:-)

And it will be good.

So good.

So good, these statements needed separate lines, good.

The other great thing about Holiday seeing Six at his worst is that...it's finally just out there now. It negates any need for that extreme protective stoicness, now. Six doesn't have to try and hide anymore. He's just been liberated from himself, and he never has to worry about Holiday rejecting him. As crude as he was, at no point did Six even remotely present himself as a danger to her - he made it a point, all be it artlessly, to let her know he had no intentions of hurting her. Unsophisticated as he was, he was finally reaching out. Yeah, I know he was reaching out at the end of "A Family Holiday," but look how incredibly long it took him to act on his feelings. He's gets one zap to the head, and within 30 seconds of losing the last six years of his memories.....BAM!! No need to worry about those inhibitions anymore!
WooHoo!

He just needs to tone it down and reign himself respectably back in, which you know he will:-) I'm expecting that he'll be able to continue that openness to a degree with Rex, perhaps even White, which makes for a richer character dynamic.

[Aenrhien]

The only thing I have to point out is that Six had to have known Knight before the Nanite Event happened. He recognized him after the jolt he got, and Holiday said later that six years was pre-Event so he should have forgotten about him if they'd met post-Event.

I agree with the rest of it, especially the part about how this is going to effect his relationship with Doctor Holiday. Seeing him at his worst, even if it's not something he decided to do willingly, means that they can work out any issues she might have with how he was and suddenly is again. And I can't imagine her not having at least some issues with it; Six's crude comments towards her, and then later turning around and making a pass at Five - this should open it's own can of worms really, Five screams "just this side of legal" to me - gave me the impression that he may very well have used the fact he's a nice looking man to get information on his marks, or even to get close enough to his marks to take them out. If that's something that he did, he's regressed to that point now and it could be something that comes up again, even though she's most likely found some way to remind him that they'd been a thing. Not to mention the fact he isn't the Six she fell in love with anymore, and very well might never be again depending on whether or not his amnesia wears off.

There's also the fact that he went back to mercenary work, so his former employer may very well know where he is now and, depending on how useful Six was to him/her/them, might put someone on watching him or send someone to sabotage his life at Providence to force him back to being a full-time mercenary. Whether he knows it or not, contacting his old employer(s?) has put everyone he cares about in a lot of danger, and may very well cost them all their lives if Six refuses to come back to mercing.

Ah, the drama potential. I love it.

[macgaulyver]

Oct 18, 2011 17:59:15 GMT -5 Aenrhien said:

The only thing I have to point out is that Six had to have known Knight before the Nanite Event happened. He recognized him after the jolt he got, and Holiday said later that six years was pre-Event so he should have forgotten about him if they'd met post-Event.

You are exactly right:-) I neglected that part - wow, so how did they meet up - clearly they did a job together - what does that mean about Knight's past, then?

[Aenrhien]

I think White may have been a mercenary like Six, maybe even a student of One's that he didn't think had potential to be one of his elite. The way Six talked to him after he got jolted makes me think they'd been friends before that point, good friends or maybe even best friends. It'd explain why they grew apart before finding Rex - White didn't seem to have matured in the flashback parts of Promises, Promises, and by that point Six had started to realize he couldn't coast through life acting like a child. White obviously got his smack in the face from reality when he got Bleached, since he'd have realized at that point if he'd been a little less childish about the situation, he wouldn't be stuck in a box while life goes on without him.

[Lina Trinch]

Oct 18, 2011 17:59:15 GMT -5 Aenrhien said:

There's also the fact that he went back to mercenary work, so his former employer may very well know where he is now and, depending on how useful Six was to him/her/them, might put someone on watching him or send someone to sabotage his life at Providence to force him back to being a full-time mercenary. Whether he knows it or not, contacting his old employer(s?) has put everyone he cares about in a lot of danger, and may very well cost them all their lives if Six refuses to come back to mercing.

I thought the man he contacted was Dos. Sure, the shadow didn't really look like it, but it sounded like the same voice. If you're right, then freaking kudos. That sounds epic.

Oct 18, 2011 18:23:12 GMT -5 @macgaulyver said:

Oct 18, 2011 17:59:15 GMT -5 Aenrhien said:

The only thing I have to point out is that Six had to have known Knight before the Nanite Event happened. He recognized him after the jolt he got, and Holiday said later that six years was pre-Event so he should have forgotten about him if they'd met post-Event.

You are exactly right:-) I neglected that part - wow, so how did they meet up - clearly they did a job together - what does that mean about Knight's past, then?

Well, I thought it was pretty simple. I just put A and B together to get C.

A- Six and White were partners pre-Event and Six was a mercenary.

B- Holiday calls Six a 'hired gun' when she first meets him, aka. a merc. Which meant Providence was hiring mercenaries for soldiers. (Which is smart against any war. Already trained assassins? Yes. Possibly expensive though.)

And that equals C- White Knight was a mercenary. It makes sense. See, first of all his name is White Knight. Now, I'm pretty sure he doesn't come from the Knight family and his mom decided to name him White cause she was high on pain killers. It's normal, even in this day and age, for a merc to use an alias (i.e. Six). That way, they can't find any information on the person that killed their senator or whatever. Also, Knight doesn't have any rank. So, he wasn't in the military.

NOW. You may ask "why did Providence put him in charge?" The Committee put him in charge b/c (and I quote from Promises) being the only human being that's nanite free, he makes a great poster boy for a cure. And that's all he, and most big leaders, are. Poster boys. Yes, he called a lot of the shots, because he used to do that on the field, too. He had command over his own little sector in Proms. BUT, usually when he's calling something out, he mentions the "committee" somewhere in there. And if I'm wrong and L&L isn't a dream, it means that he really was backed in to a corner by this so called Committee.

NOW, you're asking "where did Black Knight come from if you think White Knight was an alias?" She (IFITSNOTADREAM) is probably just mocking him and his prior authority, coupled with the fact that MoAshe has NO imagination and couldn't come up with a decent name for herself, so she stole the last one.

Sorry, MoA! It was just a joke! Don't beat me!

I think that's all of my ranting/college brained/NERD/fun.


And very good, Mac. I liked this little thing. Really like all the Holixness, of course.

There's one more thing, though.

Do you think Six was acting all NUTS because he's using it as a EF U to the old man for placing him last? I mean, One was proud of the Six that saved the world. I don't know if was too proud of the Six that crawled up women's skirts.

[Lina Trinch]

@aen- Well, nevermind then. You answered it first and it was MUCH shorter than mine. XD

[Aenrhien]

Oct 18, 2011 18:50:44 GMT -5 Lina Trinch said:

Oct 18, 2011 17:59:15 GMT -5 Aenrhien said:

There's also the fact that he went back to mercenary work, so his former employer may very well know where he is now and, depending on how useful Six was to him/her/them, might put someone on watching him or send someone to sabotage his life at Providence to force him back to being a full-time mercenary. Whether he knows it or not, contacting his old employer(s?) has put everyone he cares about in a lot of danger, and may very well cost them all their lives if Six refuses to come back to mercing.

I thought the man he contacted was Dos. Sure, the shadow didn't really look like it, but it sounded like the same voice. If you're right, then freaking kudos. That sounds epic.

The voice in Six Minus Six seems gruffer to me, and the accent doesn't seem to match. But I'm terrible with matching voices, so it might be him. And that doesn't really take a lot of the risk out of it if it is does turn out to be Dos; they don't seem to get along at all, but if he thinks he can bring Six back to mercing, I wouldn't put it past him to try to wreck his thing at Providence to do it. Six did say that Dos' major problem was no mercy after all.

[Solora Goldsun]

Oct 18, 2011 18:50:44 GMT -5 Lina Trinch said:

the Six that crawled up women's skirts.

*snort* The way you put that was just...wow... ROFL!!!

Anyhoo, I think that this could either turn out to be the best or worst thing to happen with Six, Holix, and Father/Son Six/Rex. On one hand, he'll not get his memory back. He'll redevelop his relationship, but it just won't be the same and it'll be totally unsatisfying.

On the OTHER hand... *cracks knuckles and grins* Six will probably feel very bad that he wasn't there for Rex when his need was greatest and lost six months with him. I FIRMLY believe that, when his memories first return, there will be an emotional breakdown. I don't know if I'm a bad person for wanting to see Six cry, but there it is! There will be TEARS and then there will be COMFORT! We'll get the Holy Grail of moments between Six and Rex, maybe even a fatherly hug!

Also, we're FINALLY gonna get that Six we all write about and fantasize about: stoic and awesome while secretly being a total sweetheart and somewhat playful at times. Yeah, he already was that, but I think that six months of not having those self-imposed inhibitions will leave a mark. He won't be able to go COMPLETELY back to his old self, just enough to retain his old awesomeness. But, he'll have the funniness and obvious sweetness (and deviousness) of his other half. Combine the two, and we get THAT Six from our fanfictions in CANON form!!!!

Moving on to Holix... I know I've been freaking out about this on every other forum, but this memory thing is SO FREAKING SIMILAR TO MENDING THE BREACH!!! *spoiler* Rex loses his memories after beginning to develop feelings for Breach. His feelings return anyway. Then, when his other memories come back, his feelings from both experiences combine into a deeper love than ever before. *end spoiler* If that happens with Six... *clamps hand over mouth to muffle squealing*

And...*goes to sit in the sap corner* I'm visualizing a conversation similar to this between Six and Holiday.

Six: There was one plus side to my amnesia.

Holiday: What was that?

Six: *turns away with embarrassed look* I got to fall in love with you twice.

*sticks head out of a pile of fluff bunnies* Where did these guys come from...?

So yeah. I'm excited and nervous. Thankfully, I have a feeling that MOA won't be cruel with this. They're gonna give Six his memories back. I can feel it. Otherwise, him losing them will have no point. It'll just be throwing away a developed character and starting over. The reaction when he gets his memories BACK, however...THAT will be some good PLOT!

[macgaulyver]

Oct 18, 2011 18:50:44 GMT -5 Lina Trinch said:

Do you think Six was acting all NUTS because he's using it as a EF U to the old man for placing him last? I mean, One was proud of the Six that saved the world. I don't know if was too proud of the Six that crawled up women's skirts.

I think One might have been proud of Six for taking a higher road than the mercenary route - One makes a point of highlighting that Six left life as a mercenary - I never took that as just a statement of fact. I was a loaded sentiment. Given the level of Six's immature behavior in "6-6," I now have to entertain feelings of an 'EF U, One' as a legit possibility. We know Rex looks up to Six in a way that is likely similar to how Six looked up to One, and look at all the grief Rex has given him when he doesn't get his way....or he feels Six is holding him back. I'm entertaining the notion that Six felt One was holding him back, and Six didn't understand why.

It's entirely possible a this point.

[Little]

Why does your sig, Mac, freak me out so much. The rape face Six is making is just....so predatorial. I mean...with that face I can so see Six whipping out one of those cheesey pick up lines in a bar. "SO did it hurt?"

""

"When you feel from heaven."

*faceplant*

[macgaulyver]

Oct 19, 2011 8:37:53 GMT -5 Little said:

Why does your sig, Mac, freak me out so much. The rape face Six is making is just....so predatorial. I mean...with that face I can so see Six whipping out one of those cheesey pick up lines in a bar. "SO did it hurt?"

""

"When you feel from heaven."

*faceplant*

LOL - I know, I know - I couldn't help it:-) Six just cracks me up too much during these scenes - I t was just so out of the blue! I'll update it when he tones it down, because you know he'll do something stupid romantic later on:-)

As for the avatar - you have no idea how hard it was to keep the personal statement below it appropriate! THAT face is HYSTERICAL.

[cybra]

Loved your psychoanalysis of Six. It runs along similar lines to my own thoughts.

Another possibility that a friend suggested to me is that Six hitting on women was a way to keep them at bay. Ladies, how many of us reject an over-the-top suitor like regressed!Six because of comments like the ones he made? We hate it.

The entire persona may have been created to keep people back. I see him pulling the "idiot grunt" routine just so people will dismiss him and basically provide him with the rope and noose he'll hang them with. Simultaneously, he keeps non-targets away so he doesn't provide openings for others.

Being ranked last may have been seen as One considering him a failure. One was probably Six's whole world due to the kindness One showed him by taking him in. Letting down One would've been devastating. He has to prove to One that his time hadn't been wasted, so he decides to sacrifice everything that made him unique among The Six so he could win One's approval. Yet he never improves his rank.

Think of that line Mulan sings in "Reflection": "Somehow I cannot hide who I am though I've tried..." Six can mask it all he wants, but that good--if a bit battered--heart of his can't be hidden at all times.

One going EVO was probably the moment when he stopped trying so hard to keep up that mask. It's like what happens when a parent gets sick and the child has to step into the "parent" role. One needs him just like he needed One. He failed to become ranked highest but maybe he can manage this one thing.

What wore him down was probably the blatant hypocrisy of what he was doing: Dehumanizing and condemning EVOs to death when he still saw One as human despite the scales. The dream of finding a cure is dying, and he's failed One again but then here comes Holiday who has the same wishes as him which helps him find what he's looking for.

I honestly don't think Holiday knew that it was actually Six's birthday. I think she meant it metaphorically but, in some ways, it was literally as well.

[Solora Goldsun]

Oct 19, 2011 8:37:53 GMT -5 Little said:

Why does your sig, Mac, freak me out so much. The rape face Six is making is just....so predatorial. I mean...with that face I can so see Six whipping out one of those cheesey pick up lines in a bar. "SO did it hurt?"

""

"When you feel from heaven."

*faceplant*

If Six says that, I may just die. And I'm with you: Mac's siggie freaks me out! *backs away* I don't know if I want to laugh or hide under a rock when I see that...grin...on Six's face... *twitch*

[macgaulyver]

Oct 19, 2011 10:36:18 GMT -5 cybra said:

Letting down One would've been devastating. He has to prove to One that his time hadn't been wasted, so he decides to sacrifice everything that made him unique among The Six so he could win One's approval. Yet he never improves his rank.

Think of that line Mulan sings in "Reflection": "Somehow I cannot hide who I am though I've tried..." Six can mask it all he wants, but that good--if a bit battered--heart of his can't be hidden at all times.

One going EVO was probably the moment when he stopped trying so hard to keep up that mask. It's like what happens when a parent gets sick and the child has to step into the "parent" role. One needs him just like he needed One. He failed to become ranked highest but maybe he can manage this one thing.

What wore him down was probably the blatant hypocrisy of what he was doing: Dehumanizing and condemning EVOs to death when he still saw One as human despite the scales. The dream of finding a cure is dying, and he's failed One again but then here comes Holiday who has the same wishes as him which helps him find what he's looking for.

That's it EXACTLY, cybra! Not enough evidence to call this fact, but it's now a legit running theory:-)

I honestly don't think Holiday knew that it was actually Six's birthday. I think she meant it metaphorically but, in some ways, it was literally as well.

No, she didn't know. I look at this as one of those 'divine message' moments that only Six is privy to. He knows it actually was his birthday when his hope returned, and he experienced a 'rebirth' of sorts. Holiday pointing it out effectively as the day of his own 'rebirth' (well, she's referring to the start of his life at Providence as they currently know it) I think might have helped cement this concept in his mind - that exchange between him and Holiday probably was another one of those 'the Grinch's heart grew 3x's that day' moments for Six:-)