Say Nothing Recap: Don’t Blink

As a seasoned observer of human resilience and determination, I find myself utterly spellbound by the unyielding spirit of the Maguire sisters, as portrayed in this poignant narrative. Their story is a testament to the indomitable human will, a beacon of hope that shines through even the darkest of times.

After episode six, titled “Do No Harm,” in the series Say Nothing, the narrative significantly shifts. This episode delves into the Price sisters’ 208-day hunger strike at Brixton Prison in England. Having been apprehended for planting four bombs in London, the Prices found themselves detained in a male prison. They refused all food, drinking only water until they were moved to a women’s facility in Ireland, where many of their relatives had previously served time. As Patrick Radden Keefe wrote in his book, this form of protest by the Price sisters was a continuation of a long-standing Irish tradition of resistance. Since the Middle Ages, the Irish have used hunger strikes as a means to voice dissent or criticism. In 1920, Terence MacSwiney died while in British custody after refusing food for 74 days. This selfless act, as described by Patrick Radden Keefe in his 2018 book Say Nothing, expressed a philosophy that would become a defining aspect of Irish republican martyrdom. ‘It is not those who inflict the most but those who suffer the most who will conquer,’ MacSwiney declared.

In Television’s ‘Do No Harm,’ the most impactful moment is a challenging hour. This scene offers a raw portrayal of the consequences of dedication on two young girls, one of whom, Marian, was barely twenty when they began their strike. However, if this episode strikes a chord, it’s also due to the thought-provoking questions that lead up to it. Who is the conflict benefiting? And at what human and personal cost?

Partially at the expense of the McConville children, it’s clear. In episode four, titled “Tout,” we find Helen McConville preparing to go out as her mother asks her to fetch dinner for the family. Upon her return, Jean is missing, and no one can provide any information or comfort. IRA sympathizers advise Helen and her brother Archie to let it go, while social workers who arrive to take the children away display no empathy or sensitivity in their actions. The indifference towards these innocent, orphaned children is appalling, yet so was the act of informing for those controlling their destinies. There’s a feeling of predetermination as everyone discusses touts, as if their demise were as unavoidable as waking up with a hangover after excessive drinking. Jimmy Doyle tells Seamus Wright’s wife Kathleen that the man has brought about his own fate when she informs him that he is a British informant.

After taking Seamus outside the wake, the British convinced him by promising a better life in London for him and his wife. Desperate that Brendan might spare her husband’s fate, and aware that the IRA would soon uncover his dual identity, Kathleen revealed this secret to Brendan. As the infrastructure supporting IRA activities in West Belfast started to crumble, Brendan shared with Mackers that he had lost trust in Belfast. When Kathleen approached him, he was already disillusioned following a raid on one of his hidden weapon caches. Alongside Seamus, the Brits also seized Kevin “Beaky” McKee, a 17-year-old who was passionate about guns.

The man behind the double-agenting is, of course, the villainous General Kitson. Kathleen was right to go to Brendan, who knew Seamus since they were kids and took a fraternal liking to the cheeky Kevin. Gerry is determined to punish their crimes with death, but Brendan sees an opportunity to keep them alive: they can employ the boys as triple agents, sussing out Kitson’s intelligence from the inside. On his Belfast Project tape, Brendan reflects that despite the “culture of self-sacrifice” promoted by the IRA, “when you’re staring down the barrel of a 20-year prison sentence, it’s human to be selfish.” Brendan’s instinct is to honor, rather than punish, that humanity, and ultimately his plan reaps good rewards: through Kevin’s spying, they uncover a massive surveillance operation disguised as a mobile laundry service that had managed to identify almost every call house in West Belfast.

Brendan’s devotion to his men is inextricable from his purpose in the army, but the lofty Gerry sees it as a weakness. After ordering Kevin and Seamus’s execution behind Brendan’s back, he advises his friend not to put his men before the cause. But for Brendan, “the men are the fucking cause.” This internal discord is music to Kitson’s ears, whose goal is to have Irish Republicans murder each other. Like Joe Lynskey, Seamus knew what was happening as soon as they were put in the car with Dolours; unlike Joe, he considers making a run for it, though Dolours, a little hardened, stops him from trying. Poor young Kevin never saw reason to doubt Brendan’s word. The execution of the two boys, Keefe wrote, “would trouble [Brendan] for the rest of his life.”

In light of witnessing the tragic deaths of her friends, Dolours starts to question Gerry’s strict leadership. She expresses her discomfort by saying, “I never imagined my role in this conflict would be taking Catholic lives.” This uneasiness leads to the idea of bombing London: if the enemy is so close and the Irish people are suffering, why not target them instead? With this argument, Dolours and Marian receive approval from their leaders for their plan. Although the Prices oversee the mission, the differences in behavior between Brendan and Gerry become more pronounced. While Brendan believes Dolours, as the operation leader, should participate actively by driving one of the cars carrying the explosives into London to boost morale, Gerry advises her to fly and minimize risk. Brendan emphasizes the Irish Republican tradition of self-sacrifice, while Gerry seems to embody a new approach prioritizing self-preservation.

In the end, Dolours adheres to Gerry’s guidance, and it falls upon Marian to intervene when one of their associates, a young woman named Róisín, becomes distressed on the ferry. The entire operation maintains an unconventional atmosphere reminiscent of an Ocean’s Eleven film: they engage in playful banter, the men overindulge in alcohol, and during their free time, they attend a drama about the Troubles featuring Stephen Rea. For them, the explosion serves as a symbolic act – to minimize harm to civilians, they notify authorities an hour prior to the bombs detonating, revealing the cars’ locations along with their license plates. By the time the British, alerted both by the IRA and the Palace Barracks who tipped off Scotland Yard following a leak of the plan via an informant, reach the explosives, the team is already at Heathrow.

It’s clear to Marian that departing London immediately is a poor decision. The bomb’s fuse was set long enough for the authorities to realize the bombers had ample time to escape, causing them to secure all exits. While the Prices are held at the airport, the explosion occurs. During interrogation, the sisters might recall their father’s strategy: fixate on a spot in the wall and disengage. Though Dolours feels accountable for her sister’s detainment, they both remain resolute. A lawyer advises them not to plead guilty as they “don’t acknowledge the court.” Encouraging her sister not to feel remorseful, Marian looks at the swarm of reporters covering their arrest and says, “That’s mission accomplished.

In her conversation with Mackers, Dolours poses a question when one joins the IRA: “How far are you prepared to go?” In the Price family, being imprisoned was considered a symbol of honor or a rate of passage; however, the actual experience doesn’t hold nearly as much nobility as the concept. The girls share cells with male inmates who take pleasure in bullying and intimidating them. They find solace only in their unity, leaning on each other to endure each day. Just as getting arrested was a family tradition in the Price household, so too was the bond of sisterhood: Dolours recalls her mother’s lifelong loyalty towards Aunt Bridie.

Instead of the Prices devising the hunger strike plan before their incarceration, they appear prepared to initiate it upon being confined in their individual cells. In a defiant tone, Dolours tells the nurse delivering her breakfast, “Inform [the Governor] that we will unleash wrath upon him.” She further threatens, “Let him know we will humiliate him before his people.” However, the Governor seems indifferent to such threats, as he previously told Dolours, “If I had my way, Miss Price, I would bury you in a grave.

Instead of the rapid, energetic tempo of earlier episodes, the days of the hunger strike seem endless and indistinguishable — it’s Day 2 today, then tomorrow it’s Day 17. The girls appear progressively weaker. “It feels like a game of staring contest,” Dolours communicates to Marian. “We’ll just have to make them blink first.” Their mother, Chrissie, visits them at Brixton and informs them that Brendan and Gerry have also been detained. Despite the alarming state of her daughters, Chrissie refrains from attempting to dissuade them from the strike — instead, she expresses admiration for their resilience. In a radio interview, she asserts that she “admires her daughters’ desire to die” for their cause. Moreover, she reminds the interviewer that her daughters’ deaths are not yet inevitable: the British government still holds the power to save them by sending them back to Ireland.

Following Chrissie’s visit, the coerced feeding commences, which proves to be the most distressing scenes to bear witness to amidst all the emotional turmoil. On one fateful morning, a team of guards and nurses forcibly restrain Dolours, strap a mouthpiece onto her head, and thrust a tube down her throat, filling it with a concoction of eggs, flour, juice, and protein powder. The British government chose this brutal method to ensure the girls would eat –– if granting their request would tarnish their image, allowing them to die would reflect poorly. The ordeal is so harrowing that Dolours contemplates whether she can withstand it again. Marian urges her to break the strike, assuring her that everyone will comprehend the new circumstances. However, Marian insists on persisting, and Dolours resolves they’ll either end the strike together or not at all. As a movie enthusiast, witnessing these events leaves me both appalled and emotionally drained.

The next day, Dolours tries to barricade the door, but if she was already skinny and petite before, now she has no chance against the burly guards. By the 67th day of the strike, the sisters have figured out they can communicate through the sink drain in the bathroom. The first time Dolours is tied to the chair, we see the whole gruesome process, but as the days go by, the steps are jumpcutted together. We become used to the sound of blender whirring and the straps on the mouthpiece tightening. The feeding is banalized into autopilot, coming to seem as familiar as brushing your teeth. Even then, we have to face Dolours’s eyes as the tube is slid down her throat. The reality of what the girls had to go through sinks in; this went on for more than a hundred days.

In this rewritten passage, we maintain the original’s essence but strive for a more conversational and accessible tone:

After enduring more than six months of the ordeal, the doctor can no longer bear it and resigns due to ethical dilemmas, effectively halting the forced feedings. On Day 202, the girls’ health has deteriorated significantly, leading them to be moved to a ward referred to as “the terminal ward” by the nurses. Marian believes her time is near and feels ready to depart. With insufficient strength even to sit up, she struggles to comply with Dolours’ request to stand. On Day 205, they recite the rosary together. By Day 208, when Dolours awakens, Marian appears lifeless, prompting her to plead for Marian to regain consciousness and end the hunger strike. At that moment, a medical team enters with intravenous fluids. Miraculously, Marian revives. The British authorities have relented: the girls are being returned to Ireland.

2024-11-14 20:54

Say Nothing Recap: Don’t Blink

Read More

Minority Mindset