Mark Collins / Joshua Leonard Appreciation Thread #1 - Because he's the Wack-a-Mole of the Series
 

</ Mark Collins / Josh Leonard Appreciation Thread >

<E/>pisode Appearances

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(Gif made by Katasstrophee)

1x05 Plutonium is Forever
2x21 Chernobyl Intentions
2x22 Toby or not Toby
3x04 Little Boy Lost

TFTNT! Very nice job on the OP. Can you add me to the list please? Joshua does a great job with a very difficult character.

Actors tend to like to play bad guys cause they say they are more fun to play

Thank you,Heidi. :blush: your name has been added, and yes, I agree. Joshua plays Collins perfectly. :]

I've also heard that actors like playing bad guys because they are more fun, but I do think it is difficult to play a bad guy in a way that doesn't make the character more of a caricature of evil. It's something that is very easy to go overboard on. Joshua does a great job of keeping the balance between a character who is distressingly vile, yet still believably human.

One of the great things about the character of Mark Collins is that the others are genuinely scared of him and what he's capable of. They know he can outsmart all of them, even Walter. Walter still feels guilty for what he did to Collins (and he probably should, it wasn't the best way to deal with the situation!), but at the same time he knows he had to do something because he was terrified of what Collins would have ended up doing if he hadn't.

Cyclone139, would you like to be added to the supporter list as well?

Also, I feel like, in a way, I can relate to Collins. Maybe not on the crazy level, but it seems like Mark craves interaction - especially with Walter. Like he wants to be a part of a group, to feel important, to feel like his life matters. But at the same time, he likes solidarity. He's not great with people (much like Walter used to be), and even when he's in a group, he seems like he's a bit of a loner for the most part, but he still values connection.

Scorpion is probably the first group of people Mark has been able to relate with. He's obviously a bit more on the crazy side than the others, but before Scorpion, it makes me wonder if he would be far worse than he is now. Or if he would be locked inside his mind, inside the rabbit hole, never wanting to leave since he probably didn't have great interaction with Normals. Based on the way he scoffed about Normals, like the others, he obviously hasn't had too many great experiences with "normal" people. Which is why I think he keeps wanting to help Scorpion (in his own sadistic way) when his expertise is needed.

I'm not excusing him for what he did and tried to do to Toby, but I really do wonder how Mark could have turned out had Walter visited him at the psych ward. Being one of the smartest guys in the world must be tough if he has hardly any human interaction while in prison because he wouldn't be able to communicate the way he wants with his inmates. So I'm not surprised to see him dancing the day Toby visited him to get intel on who Happy's husband could be. And I'm also not surprised he would go to great lengths to get Scorpion's attention (mainly Walter's) in order to speak with them.

Yes please. :)

I hadn't thought about the reason for his dancing when Toby came to see him in that way before, but you could be right. I thought he was expressing his delight at getting another chance to press Toby's buttons, but was he actually just happy to have a visitor with whom he could interact on the same (genius) level? I don't imagine any of his fellow inmates, or the guards, are anywhere near that level and that leaves Collins unable to even attempt any kind of meaningful interaction.

The more we talk about him the more sorry I feel for him... except he tried to kill Toby so I don't have that much sympathy really!

Mark's actions may be similar to neglected children who act out in an effort to get the attention they crave. Like most of the geniuses, Mark's inability to connect socially probably resulted in him being ostracized in schools, and maybe even within his family. He may have learned that doing nasty things at least got him some attention - and the worse the act, the more attention he got. Think of the reasons he gave when he kidnapped Toby. He resented that Walter favored Happy and Toby over him. He resented that Walter brought in Paige. If he cannot be a part of the "in" crowd as he sees it, he'll torment them to at least get their attention.

Just wanted to say that Joshua Leonard did a fantastic job in the season opener. He really has perfected the duplicitous nature of the character. Can't wait to see how his story continues in the next episode.

He did do an excellent job. The paradox of that is that, if anything, he's made me like the character even less. :lol:

It's certainly harder to feel any kind of pity for Collins now. So the team are starting to think that maybe he has changed, maybe he is sorry for the things he's done, maybe he can be trusted...and we're all yelling at the screen - "Come on, you're geniuses, surely you can see what his game is?!"

Exactly! At least Happy wasn't fooled.

Joshua Leonard did do a fantastic job in the premiere! ♥

I'm kind of betwixt and between about how I feel about Collins:lol: because while I know he's playing mind games with Waige and "tried" with Quintis, I felt sorry for him when all of the team members didn't wish him good luck before he and Cabe left to drive that vehicle into the crevasse. It's clear he wants to be a part of the team again, and I can understand him on that regard, but his methods are a little skewed. Also, Collins had a lot of "accidents" in the premiere. Now unless he was having a bad day altogether, no one has that many accidents.

My guess is he purposely hooked his monitor to the vehicle. Maybe it was a way for the monitor to be destroyed since it was overheated. Accidentally almost getting himself cooked would be a great guise for him to hide under, and while the team was focused on saving him (and after Cabe was close enough for him to not be juiced anymore), Collins unhooked his cuff from where it was stuck. Because I didn't see Cabe helping him with his cuff, did you? He just crawled out of the vehicle as if nothing happened. And because of the rescue, I'm betting Cabe wasn't thinking about that in the process.

Thoughts?

I hadn't thought about that before, but you're right, he was exceptionally unlucky/clumsy so it's entirely possible that he was doing it all on purpose. He 'accidentally' pushed Toby into the water and then somehow managed to save him - it could all have been a calculated set-up on Collins' part, he knew there was a very high probability of being able to rescue Toby which would make him the hero (and make even Toby start to believe he genuinely had changed) that he took the chance. And he knew there was a very high probability that Cabe would not just let him die (and he already had Toby on side at that stage) so, again, he took a calculated risk that the team would save him if he was 'accidentally' unable to escape from the vehicle.
Sneaky. :mad: