The 'Gambit/Purdey' and 'Steed/Purdey' dynamic

[Timeless A-Peel]

Purdey, like Tara before her, had a crush on Steed. Steed, in my opinion, had nothing more than a father like affection for either Tara or Purdey, though I would venture to say that there is a very slight chance Steed and Tara may have slept together once or twice. But Steed and Purdey? NO! NO! NO! I can't see it happening.

Now about the relationship between Purdey and Gambit. No brother/sister relationship here. He's flirting with her, she's flirting with him. No doubt about it. The problem lies within the fact that Purdey had been deeply hurt prior and isn't quite prepared to trust Gambit. That much there is cannon. As for the fantasy, well all I can say is read Timeless's fics. She has the characters down to a science and her fics are not only believable, but highly probable as well since she has created a very extensive timeline.

Why, thank you, Kim. Your kind words have reminded me I have some editing I need to do. I haven't updated a certain fic in a very long time.

I think one of the clinchers for me, aside from all the other reasons mentioned above, is Purdey's possessive streak when it comes to Gambit's love life. She more or less ignores the women drifting in and out of Steed's, but she bristles at the mention of Gambit's dates. There's also the matter of where her eyes keep going in a certain scene in The Three-Handed Game...

[kim]

Purdey, like Tara before her, had a crush on Steed. Steed, in my opinion, had nothing more than a father like affection for either Tara or Purdey, though I would venture to say that there is a very slight chance Steed and Tara may have slept together once or twice. But Steed and Purdey? NO! NO! NO! I can't see it happening.

Now about the relationship between Purdey and Gambit. No brother/sister relationship here. He's flirting with her, she's flirting with him. No doubt about it. The problem lies within the fact that Purdey had been deeply hurt prior and isn't quite prepared to trust Gambit. That much there is cannon. As for the fantasy, well all I can say is read Timeless's fics. She has the characters down to a science and her fics are not only believable, but highly probable as well since she has created a very extensive timeline.

Why, thank you, Kim. Your kind words have reminded me I have some editing I need to do. I haven't updated a certain fic in a very long time.

I think one of the clinchers for me, aside from all the other reasons mentioned above, is Purdey's possessive streak when it comes to Gambit's love life. She more or less ignores the women drifting in and out of Steed's, but she bristles at the mention of Gambit's dates. There's also the matter of where her eyes keep going in a certain scene in The Three-Handed Game...

And doesn't Steed ask her at one time to help him smooth things over with one of his girlfriends? And I won't even mention Purdey's reaction to Gambit's little black book.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

I think Mona is suggesting that the Steed/Purdey/Gambit dynamic changes in the second New Avengers season, Kim.

I know the French were dissatisfied with season one TNA and they wanted a sexier Purdey and more violence so they could have also have suggested Purdey was more Steed-focused than Gambit.

I'm not blind to the tag/endscene of Angels of Death where Purdey has something to confess to Steed as they face being crushed together, but I prefer to put that down to a blip.

There is a 25 year age gap between Steed and Purdey and, like that of Steed and Tara, it is an issue for me.

[VA_Avenger]

Dandy,

I've notice your concern with age differences, and many people hold that opinion. However, it doesn't really bother me. To each his own.

I do remember several episodes where Purdey gave every impression of being strongly attracted to Steed - and not just as a fellow agent.

I wish I could remember the episode name, but Purdy and Steed were driving back to his apartment late at night, and she gave every indication of coming in for the night. However, they were interrupted by a call to duty.

It looked like she had more than a schoolgirl crush on Steed. I'm with Mona - there are different interpretations.

[Timeless A-Peel]

I think Mona is suggesting that the Steed/Purdey/Gambit dynamic changes in the second New Avengers season, Kim.

I know the French were dissatisfied with season one TNA and they wanted a sexier Purdey and more violence so they could have also have suggested Purdey was more Steed-focused than Gambit.

I'm not blind to the tag/endscene of Angels of Death where Purdey has something to confess to Steed as they face being crushed together, but I prefer to put that down to a blip.

There is a 25 year age gap between Steed and Purdey and, like that of Steed and Tara, it is an issue for me.

I tend to think it was more a response to Patrick's complaints about "being put out to pasture" in season one (which I still think were unfounded. When I watched TNA the first time around my focus was mostly on Steed--he was the only character I "knew" after all--and I kept waiting for him to sort of disappear for most of the episode. It never happened), and the Steed/Purdey dynamic was put in the forefront as a way for Brian Clemens to placate him. As it is, I always feel that, objectively, it leads to a sense of discontinuity in the series--you can feel things are out of balance because the trio isn't being given equal time--and it also makes Purdey's character look a bit fickle, to be honest. Season 2 is unsettled in a lot of ways, and the fiddling with the dynamic is one of them. If you watch them in production order, you'll notice that following the heavy Steed/Purdey emphasis in stories like Angels of Death and Dead Men are Dangerous, things start to even out a bit more in the mid-to-late episodes, as though Clemens could feel things were off. By the time we get to stories Forward Base, Purdey's back with Gambit again, and there's more of a sense of them as a team. I think a third season would have gone on in that vein.

I should make it clear that I don't deny that Purdey was attracted to Steed at all. It's just that I see it as more of a schoolgirl crush that would be transitory--she'd "grow out" of it fairly quickly, if you know what I mean, whereas there always seemed to be more substance to her relationship with Gambit, just lurking under the surface, waiting for an outlet. Both Purdey and Gambit were always going to be friendly with Steed, but I just never sense the spark between Purdey and Steed that I got from Purdey and Gambit, or Steed and Emma. It's much the same way I never saw it with Tara, either--I always supposed she sort of grew out of her Steed infatuation as well.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

Dandy,

I've notice your concern with age differences, and many people hold that opinion. However, it doesn't really bother me. To each his own.

I could have put it better, but for me it's a status issue. Tara was a newbie agent - Purdey also seemed 'new' (for a 29 year old she was often less assured than Emma Peel who was younger than Purdey by the time she was Avengering with Steed - I'm basing this on the characters being the same age as the actresses that played them of course).

Their ages, plus the fact that Steed was the boss and Gambit and Purdey were the next generation, if you like, makes me feel uneasy that Steed would ever have a relationship with Purdey.

Like Timeless, I think Purdey was attracted to Steed - all the women in the show were - but I think it was based on hero-worship (another pointer towards Purdey being less mature than Cathy and Emma). I think Steed recognised that and kept his distance. And I would think less of him if he didn't.

And after the 'Will they/Won't they' with Gambit, I would think less of Purdey too. Steed was the headmaster to Purdey's head girl (to borrow and twist Joanna's acceptance speech at the Baftas).

That's how I see it, even if again I've put it awkwardly.

[Col Mustard]

Actually, Joanna Lumley had a sort of hero worship of Pat. That is mentioned in Blind in One Ear. In the commentary by Brian Clemens in Dead Men are Dangerous, Brian stated that Pat was very much Joanna's type of man. This may have carried on in her portrayal on TNA. (Joanna also had a thing for Prince Philip.) Pat did look wonderful in DMAD. Lost the weight and all. A very fine figure of a man. IMHO.

I think she and Gareth were more mates.


Sandi

[Mona]

Well, Dandy, if Purdey's near confession of love to Steed in "Angels of Death" when they decided to position their bodies facing each other to be crushed to death, (instead of the more logical side by side, giving themselves a few more seconds before feeling the crush), can be--as you wrote--considered a "blip", then we can certainly consider Purdey's concern for Gambit's date book a "blip" as well. I also enjoy Steed and Purdey dashing off together after being saved, leaving Gambit alone in the maze. But, that could be a "blip" as well. There are so many Steed/Purdey blips!

It is the fan's right to decide on any whim what she wishes to ignore that the writers so obviously put up there for her to watch. It is also the fan's right to see into any scene what she wishes to see into. That is the fun of being a fan!

I've heard it said that Steed, Purdey and Gambit were "equals" but they weren't equal in any way shape or form. Steed was in charge. Purdey and Gambit worked with him, but also, for him, and he directed how their investigation went and he had the influence and authority to make command decisions. Forward Base, at the near end of the series, is the epitome of their relationship in that regard. It's clear Steed is running the show, and Gambit and Purdey are following his directions, and even being nervous about reporting to him. On the other hand, both Gambit and Purdey are good, solid agents, capable and talented and we are righteously supposed to respect them as such.

So, I find it somewhat insulting to Purdey to state she had a "crush" on Steed--is Purdey really a character similar to Tara? Tara is young, fresh out of spy school, where Steed was highly studied and acknowledged to be, very likely, the best spy Britain ever produced, and her first partner is that John Steed. No wonder she was in a bit of a crush--I can guarantee that every time I've met Patrick Macnee, I was dizzy due to my having a crush on him!

However, that is a far different from Purdey, an older woman, a self-made ballet star, a woman who has experienced both the joys of love and the agony of its implosion, who had the resolve and fortitude to become a spy, and excel as one. I respect Purdey highly, and also do not mind any age difference between lovers. Steed did not chase after her like some perverted old lewd guy--he was the recipient of Purdey's gentle persistence. And, he was handsome, charming, noble, wise, experienced, generous, cultured, highly respected, rich, athletic, a perfect gentleman, can cook, has horses to ride, loves to travel...--yeah, it makes sense Purdey would be attracted to him!

On the other hand, Gambit is the one openly trying to get into her trousers all the time; is that okay because he is her age?

I can see how Timeless thought Purdey and Gambit were "back together" (although of course I never see them together in the first place), in Forward Base, which is not, overall, a very pro-Gambit episode. We have Gambit being fairly stupid in that moment when Steed tells him to "lean" on the Russian, and Gambit doesn't get what that means at first. I thought that was odd, making Gambit seem somewhat slow. It was awkward, if nothing else, and I'm not sure why the dialogue was there. We then have Gambit having no idea what is going on in Canada, while Steed has, through the mental ingestion of multiple disparate clues, figured everything out in his head. If Gambit had not been directly told by the fellow Steed beat in the shop, he would not know the Russian submarine type vessel was acting as a coastline now and then. Meanwhile, Steed is arresting all the Russians. So, not the best Gambit episode, overall. On the other hand, yeah, Gambit does force Purdey into his armpit on the bridge, which she resists, but then seems okay with for a few seconds. I see that point of view, but find it to be very minor.

So, we are back where we started--fans coming at The Avengers from all different attitudes, beliefs and biases, and seeing what they wish to see in the episodes, and disregarding what they don't wish to acknowledge.

Such is life in general on planet Earth! And it certainly makes this Forum a lively place to visit!

Mona

[VA_Avenger]

Mona,

You read my mind, and posited it more eloquently than I. I may have to take you on retainer.

I saw a serious connection between Steed and Purdy that was beyond crush, beyond mentor and student, beyond collegial.

Perhaps it was there, or perhaps it was me thinking: "Blimey, Steed! You've danced around four pretty women. For goodness sake, take the hint and grab one!"

It is obvious to me that positivism does not apply in Avenger World. Therefore, perception is reality, and this is my reality.

In other words . . . you rock!

[oneknightsteed]

Need I say it? Why not! You are sooooo right, Mona!