Round Table - Super Spy Solo

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Last night I watched the movie version of the Alexander the Greater Affair, One Spy Too Many.  Now, I don't know why they chose that title because I don't see any correlation between it and the story.  I have to surmise that they just three darts at a board full of titles for the movies and wherever it hit was what they went with.  None of them make much sense except for the first one.
Anyway, Napoleon has some stellar moments of keen deduction, not the least of which is in the temple where he answers Tracy's questions so brilliantly that Illya replies "I'm glad I didn't have to ask that question".  In other words, he did not deduce with the same brilliance as his partner.
How often do we see this side of Solo?  He's a strategist, a charmer and obviously very good at his job.  But in this episode he's really brilliant at figuring things out; very obtuse details that range from intent to mineral content in the stone numbers left by the nefarious Alexander.
So, any fic out there detailing Mr. Solo's brilliance, or other episodes that center on that aspect of his skills?

Comments

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

It's because the villain is obsessed with Alexander the Great in history and wants to 'best' him by breaking every one of the 7 deadly sins. There's some Greek history floating around in the story, too.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that is the premise we see unfolding. I think it's interesting that Napoleon makes such brilliant observations and conclusions about the situation, astounding even the Russian. it's a moment that solidifies the image of Solo's genius concerning how the enemy operates.

Alexander: "Mr. Kavon has a gun pointed at your back.

"Napoleon: "I'm sure he has, but when he triggered the mechanism in the corridor, I took the opportunity to jam the firing pin in the revolver. Also, I noticed Kavon walked with a shuffle. I had our office check with the state prison security system, and he does have a record. "

He's very efficient, our Mr. Solo.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Solo does this a lot throughout the series. He's very good at reading people and picking up clues. Remember the moment in Strigas in which Illya waits patiently as Solo rethinks and reformulates their strategy.

It used to annoy me when fanfic witers made him seem dumb. He is not. It's just that his intelligence is different than Illya's. They compliment one another that way.

Illya is a systematizer but Solo is more intuitive. He is a games player, charming and manipulative, a seducer in all senses of the word, and probably more apt to his profession than Illya. He also seems to enjoy it more.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

and probably more apt to his profession than Illya. He also seems to enjoy it more.

I agree. There's a reason that Illya quotes from philosophers and the bible, refers to himself as someone who was 'once a gentleman'. All of that seems to indicate the mystery we all cling to regarding his character.
Solo, on the other hand, is the re-imagined Bond; less mercenary but equally lethal, with a well-timed knack for coming up with just the right thing when it's needed.
The Strigas 'moment' is exactly right, Illya defers to his partner for the answers they seek.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

I think it's fair to say that Solo specializes in understanding people; Illya understands things. And they are both aware of this and defer to each other when necessary.

Like Solo's 'smart Russian' compliment in Never Never Aff.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Another thing about this episode was the obvious reference to Illya's interest in academics. When he goes to see Kavon the first time, we watch as he peruses the large wall of books; this was the first time I noticed the nod to an intellectual Kuryakin. I might have missed it in the first season, but I don't recall anything.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

That's how I see them. IK reads the files and briefing papers. He studies the maps and knows the routes in and out, and the secondary routes in case the primary routes are closed. He knows whats believed about their opponents. And then he can give NS as much as he actually needs of it.

NS studies the site as they enter, he reads the moods and intentions of their opponents. And he can manipulate them and bamboozle them using what IK has told him in advance.

They both know their stengths and play to them.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

http://st-crispins.livejournal.com/201680.html

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Well yes, that does have some of the Solo brilliance embedded ;)

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Wow a great discussion on Napoleon. I'm in complete agreement with the assessment of Solo being intuitive, and his intelligence being different from his partner's. Illya is book smart, but Solo is clever and resourceful, not that Illya isn't but Napoleon is more so. His optimism fuels him, while Illya at times let's his fatalism side track himself.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

"I think it's fair to say that Solo specializes in understanding people; Illya understands things."

This hits the nail on the head. To use another iconic TV team to illustrate, Spock and Kirk are very similar. Spock's logic and Kirk's intuition make them unbeatable, also. They complement each other; neither one would be as successful on his own.

It would be way too easy to say the intuitive half of the team is weaker, but it simply is not true. Some may think that though Napoleon is not dumb, he IS dumb compared to his partner. Also not true. They are different, but equally intelligent.