The Stand - The Betrayal

This is the third half of my ‘Stand Posts.’

The Plague can be read here.

The Dreams can be read here.

The third act in this quadrilogy is entitled The Betrayal and it’s rightfully named since the highlight of this part is when Harold and Nadine blow up a house in which several committee members were in. This has to be one of the most powerful acts in the entire miniseries and it really touches base on the relationship that each character has with one another. The second act focused on the two polar ends of the spectrum… good and bad, and this one focused on the characters and what drives them.

THE BETRAYAL

As I stated before, this part of the story is a lot more emotional and it really taps into the characters personalities and relationships. One of the most haunting yet sad moments, and one of my personal favorite scenes, is when the group hypnotizes Tom and tells him to infiltrate Flagg’s base to see what he can find out. What made this scene so sad is that in order to properly pass off that fact that he is not a spy, he must insult himself and call himself stupid and retarded and that his ‘friends’ kicked him out because they don’t want retarded babies. The length at which the people must go to achieve their goals. What made it spooky was how nerving it was for Tom to go through hypnosis.

Relationship wise, there are only two that I really enjoyed only because of how uncomfortable each was and how sad they really were. Let’s look at the relationship the Trashcan Man has with Flagg: here is a guy that is mentally ill and really has no control of himself and he was tormented as a kid, he is poor man, looking for his way in the world until Flagg persuades him into being evil. It’ sad that this guy got steered into the wrong direction. Now let’s look at Nadine and Harold: it’s a bittersweet relationship because you kind of feel sorry for both of them. They both were swung into evil unwillingly and unknowingly and both of them could have been heroes. Harold lost the love of his life and Nadine only wanted to be loved but they both couldn’t have it. It’s tragic.

Another thing that I really liked about this part was the location. Boulder City, Colorado is the perfect location for good people because it’s easy, it’s nice, it’s simple and it represents the American Dram that people strive for. Las Vegas is Sin City and it has gambling, prostitution, sin, cheating and greed… a perfect place for evil men to conglomerate.

I would like to end this post with the last couple of scenes from the show. The end of this act is probably one of the most emotional and heartbreaking of moments because these four brave men are leaving their newfound family and friends to confront Flagg and his army with and they know that they may not make it out. They leave, kissing and hugging their friends/family promising them they will be back when it’s all a life… it’s one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever. But, funnily enough, it’s one of the most inspiring moments in the movie. They are standing up for what they believe in and they are taking a stand against Flagg… against evil… even if it means certain death.

NOTE: Stick around for my next post on The Stand.