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Noah and Jesse Kilmartin
Jesse Kilmartin is depicted as an intelligent, yet naďve soul who places his faith in people without adequate proof. Throughout the 3 seasons of Mutant X, there are several examples of his lack of discerning judgment. He continues to defend his lover and fellow hacker Toni in “In the Presence of Mine Enemies,” even after learning that the provocative picture file she sent him was an attempt to gain access to Sanctuary's computer system. In “Into the Moonless Night,” as Shalimar and Brennan agonize over the new stranger Lexa Pierce's alliances and motives, Jesse accepts her, telling her that she could be an asset to the team. His confidence in his ex-fiancee Alisha Keary in “Wasteland” despite evidence that she was involved in a conspiracy caused him to confide sensitive information about the ongoing mission, thereby endangering the lives of his teammates. During this episode, Lexa, herself the benefactor of Jesse's unwarranted trust, points out that he is “too trusting.” Of all of these instances in which Jesse blindly believes in someone without reason, the most plausible is his acceptance of his father, Noah Kilmartin, in “Blood Ties.” As is the case with some victims of emotional child abuse, Jesse's desire for a caring father is so strong that he blinds himself to Noah's true nature.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalytic theory, writes that denial and repression are two of the most primitive defense mechanisms, formed in early childhood. Their purpose is to shield an individual's ego from a facet of reality that the individual cannot handle at the time. It can last moments or decades, extend a short distance or very deeply. The potential for denial lies in every person all the time, regardless of age, education level, maturity, or strength of character. Reality can be harsh, the psyche is vulnerable, and everyone gets overloaded sometimes. The ego will do what it has to do to survive intact. In order to function smoothly, the ego has a set of automatic operations to deal with competing memories/perceptions/drives/anxieties that it faces. These are defense mechanisms. The defense mechanism can only be dropped when the individual is ready to cope with the precipitating situation. Defenses not only ward off unacceptable mental content, but also are themselves mental content with accompanying fantasies. It is important to remember that each defense mechanism employs capacities of the mind to alter mental content. Otto Kernberg (1976) wrote that defenses are carried as internal automatic workings of the ego that reveal the style with which individual copes with anxiety and unwelcome mental content.
Repression is the defense mechanism that keeps from consciousness unwanted affect/memories/drives. Repression requires permanent energy against emergence of unwelcome mental content into awareness. When something is successfully repressed, it is barred from access and no longer amenable to further modification by the ego. Repressed memories can take on a life of their own and cause physical symptoms or change character structure.
Denial is the invalidation of unpleasant or unwanted information, allowing the individual to live as though it did not exist. This is a more severe form of repression because it not only ignores reality, it actually invalidates it. A mild example of denial would be referring to a deceased family member in the present tense. More serious forms exist in substance abuse cases, where the individual denies that they have a problem, because “I only drink a little.”
If ever there was a bond that could cause enough angst to precipitate a denial reaction, an emotionally abusive parent-child relationship is that bond. The parent-child bond is forged very early in childhood, and the ego grows as a result of layers of indentifications and internal mental representations of important figures (parents and immedicate family members) who are transformed from organized memory files to aspects of the ego itself. A child's longing for a nurturing relationship with a parent is one of the most powerful motivators we know of in psychology. Victims of sexual, physical, and emotional parental abuse can block out or manipulate memories in order to cope with past trauma.
As Jesse becomes an adult, Noah is missing in action. By the time of “Blood Ties,” Jesse is 28, and has not seen his father for at least 10 years. Noah's long absence allows Jesse to build up a fantasy father without constantly being confronted with the contradictions that might have been presented by frequent contact with the real thing. This father-construct is made up of some truly good memories, some shady half-truths, and some outright lies. The times Jesse had with his father were not all bad. While inhaling poison gas in “No Exit,” Jesse wishes he could return to Giorgio's, the restaurant his father took his family for thin crust pizza. Jesse also keeps a picture of the annual father-son martial arts tournaments. The fact that this is the memento he keeps of his father ensures that whenever Jesse does think of Noah over the years, the memories will be good ones. Jesse selectively recalls good times he and his father shared, like the father-son martial arts tournaments, and uses these to create an image of the father that he desperately wants to believe he has. When Adam confronts him, Jesse says "This is my dad we're talking about. I think I know him better than you do." Of course, he really doesn't; he hasn't seen his father in years. In truth, he only knows the father-construct in his own mind. And that father would never betray him.
The half-truths and untruths in the father-construct are the direct result of Noah's deceptions. Noah may not be the most skilled of manipulators, but he is certainly a practiced one who is aware of the kind of father Jesse wants, as he admits at the end of the episode. If the lies that we watch Noah tell Jesse in this episode are any indication of his past behavior, I am sure that Noah is more than a match for his teenaged son who already wants to believe his lies. In short, Noah is preaching to the choir. Jesse has a suspiciously fuzzy idea of what his father does for a living. He tells Shalimar that his father is a decorated hero, and tells Emma that Noah leads an interesting life. He does not question further about his father's job, choosing to see him as the dashing spy of a 13-year-old's dream. He seems to equate “hero” with “good father.” Interestingly, in the episode “Age of Innocence,” Jesse will make the same mistake with his grandfather, assuming that because he was a war hero, he must have been a good parent to Noah. Jesse also tells Shalimar “He's always been there for me.” Now, unless Jesse has information that he is not sharing, this is an outright lie. Jesse has been in danger repeatedly during his years in Mutant X, and Noah has been nowhere to be found. We get a glimpse of the source of this misguided notion during his conversation with Noah at the mutant safehouse, when Noah tells him, “I know what's going on, especially when it comes to my son.” Noah implies that he has always been watching over Jesse, even though he cannot be physically present.
Over the years of his early life, Jesse received contradictory evidence to his notions. Jesse's mother probably had some choice words to say about Noah both before and after the divorce; their marriage was not a happy one. Jesse reveals in “Age of Innocence” that his parents disagreed about whether his grandfather should be a part of his life. Jesse also tells Noah that his mother was always comparing Jesse's behavior to his father's “always screwing up.” Yet unpredictable things happen to the minds of children while watching their parents' marriage fall apart. Filled with resentment, guilt, confusion and anger, they may be unsure of how much faith to place in the words of either parent. It is not unusual for a child to side with one parent, and not choose the "right" one. Some children simply refuse to choose sides, insisting upon remaining faithful to both parents regardless of the flying arrows. He never talks about her, but since Jesse left his mother to join Mutant X, his relationship with her might not be the best.
Jesse's surrogate father, Adam, constantly praises and encourages Brennan over Jesse, despite Jesse's loyalty, intelligence, and talents. When Noah finally shows up, he acts as though he cares for Jesse and utters the four magic words: "I'm proud of you." With this key, Noah successfully fits himself into the mold of "perfect father" Jesse has held in his mind throughout the years he and his father have been apart. When his adoptive family tries to shake this faith, Jesse predictably resists them. Unfortunately, as Adam tells Shalimar, there is not enough time for Jesse to reconcile this new information with the father-construct that he has been clinging to for so long.
People who are truly in denial react badly when presented with the truth. They lash out, they become deaf and blind, they avoid every situation where they might be forced to glimpse reality. Having witnessed this behavior, I actually have to give Jesse credit, first for placing himself in a situation that had the potential for shattering his ideal, especially in defiance of orders from Noah, and second for believing and acting on the proof once he saw it for himself. In the end, it is not avoidance in the guise of time apart from Noah, or substitution in the form of replacing Noah with Adam that ends Jesse's denial, but direct confrontation of the real Noah with a 28-year-old's eyes and a mind that has been given a fresh reason to doubt. Suddenly there is more at stake than winning his father's love. Believing in his father puts Jesse in direct conflict with his ideals, hard evidence, and his surrogate family. As Jesse tells Lexa in “Into the Moonless Night,” he believes that the ideas Adam has taught him are worth fighting for. He tells her in “Conspiracy Theory” that he feels that, as a member of Mutant X, he is part of something that matters. If he gives his father the disc in error, he puts the lives of new mutants in danger. The struggle is no longer limited to a personal conflict, but now risks the lives of others. For the first time in his life, Jesse is forced to choose between his father-construct and surrogate family and his ideals. Because of this, Jesse disobeys his father's orders and brings him the disc in person to learn the truth.
First Mutant
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