The Closer - Serving the King
During the season finale of the second season of The Closer, Brenda recited pieces of a speech she had heard while at the CIA. I found this dialog really interesting and captured it here.
SGT Gabriel says: "You know something is bothering me a little. This whole CIA thing. I don't know how much I trust them. You know how I feel about the people that work there."
Brenda responds: "I know, it is a 'gray area'. I remember once hearing a speech about what it meant to be an officer of the CIA. And the man who gave this speech talked about the struggle to control civilization and how we are always fighting the same fight. And he used the dark ages as an example.
He talked about how one side you had the pragmatic King who was greedy and power hungry and basically took advatange of people whenever he could. On the other side you had the idealistic church forcing everyone to follow the same rules and believe the same things.
Neither the King nor the Church was ever completely right. Both sides ended up doing terrible things to get what they wanted. Really terrible things.
The point of the story was this, that this struggle from the dark ages had been going on forever. That the church and the King might take on different forms and philosophies, but they would always fight each other. Pragmatists and Idealists. And that most times, you are better off standing on the sidelines and letting them duke it out.
But every once and a while, one side or the other decides it might be better to just blow up the whole world just to get its own way. And when that happens, you can't stand on the sidelines anymore. You have to pick a team.
And so for tonight, anyway, we are serving the King.
posted by Jim McBee @ 10:15 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Yes, Yes, Yes, I was wondering if anybody else in the country saw this and heard it the way I did. It is some the best writing done in television in the last ten years.
I thought to myself "right on the money thats it I have never heard in my life such a clear mission statement of the purpose of the CIA (read US intelligence services) in my life...
Sorry, but allow to digress just a bit, In the latest Batman film Alfred tells an anecdote about a man they (British Military) hunted in India that at the end of the story he clearly makes his point when he says "some men just want to watch the world burn." This line struck me dumb, I hadn't heard such a crystal reasoning in a film about "why we fight the evil men do" since watching classic B&W movies as a child. Of course you ruin, crush or kill the bad guy whenever possible. His actions tell you and the world, he doesn't want rob your house in the end he wants to see it as rubble at his feet. I think both stories spoke to central truth about those who protect us overtly and covertly in the end here in America the point is doing what must be done so "the people" (read average productive citzen) their lives, their hopes, and their child move forward to "a better tomorrow" The King and the Zealous Orthodox (secular or religious) be damned!
But back to the Closer... since the "Church commission" our intelligence services have been adrift. I always laugh when I hear conspiracy theories about CIA this or NSA that. Really? How afraid should anyone be of the guys who missed the Berlin wall coming down, India and Pakistan going nuclear, the first WTC bombing and then 9/11! The institutions are incompetent at best and laughable to the pettiest of totatarian regimes sharpening their knives wating for the the great lady to stumble.They spend way to much time and energy trying to humiliate elected presidents than to discredit and destroy those who everyday and in everyway announce their deepest desire to see America on her knees watching our house burn down.
Look I wish the above 'Closer' speech was given to every rookie coming in the door at the CIA with a brief addition; "On 9/11 'the church' (read Muslim Idealists) had clearly lost their minds and chose an all or nothing strategy and as I speak down the street 'The King' (read the ultimate pragmatist a U.S. congressman) is willingly have chosing to step aside and let the people squirm under a falling dollar, triple inflated oil, and free moving terrorist if that will get them just one more vote every election cycle. A "winner take all or the rest of us be damned strategy" if you will. Our job is to remind both groups that America will 'out live' there petty schemes and become stronger than ever, long after they 'slipped this mortal coil'. More to the point ladies and gentlemen the timeline between them leaving this earth America moving forward and is totally up to them.
This will never happen but one can dream... I would be happy if they just heard the closer specch once in their career.
In closing iI pretty sure by now you have dubbed me a reactionary this or extremist that but please allow me to suggest a substantive tome by the writer Tim Weiner, Pulitzer prize winner reporter for the New York Times. His new book is Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. The man is hardly a implacable right wing ideologue and see for your self, just how the alphabet soup of intelligence agencies mostly CIA have lost their way. I think if the above "Closer' speech was posted at the top of every document classified and unclassified it would could serve as a loadstone to help them find their way back to 'true north.'
Thanks for this posting! I've been looking for a transcript of this.
My wife and I are currently watching The Closer on DVD and we just wrapped-up this season. When I heard this monologue by Brenda I thought, "That's perfect!" What a way to sum up the civilizations' struggle.
Thanks a million for posting this dialog....came up as first hit when I googled it. I thought I would have to find the video on You Tube and type this up myself but you did it for me. Great shows are made by great writers and this monologue by Brenda was the best I've heard of any of the Closer series.
The Closer is Very Good Show.And You Blog is Too.This is My Favorite Show. I Always Download Closer Episodes And See on the PC.i have Huge Collection of Closer Episodes.
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