>>Nemesis characters are often projections of a Protagonist ‘shadow,’ their darkest impulses. And their darkest states and conditions. Micahel, for all his flaws and mistakes, still has some connections to others, to family. We see scenes of him with his kid and with his family -- father, sister, brothers. (And he needs his brothers to take down Karen Crowder.) In contrast, we never see Karen Crowder in any relationship to anyone other than her corporate family. This is underlined in the scene on p. 73-74 when she is exercising alone in a hotel gym, running on a stationary treadmill like a rat in a cage. She's trapped in the rat race -- going nowhere, running as fast as she can just to stay where she is. Arthur isn't just a trickster, he's the personified projection of the madness of the corporate law firm's logic and values. Arthur's epiphany in his voice over on p.3-4: "I realized...that I had emerged...from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the poison...necessary for even larger and more dangerous organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity..."

>>Horses. This bizarre moment with Michael standing in front of three horses. How about p 73: Arthur to Michael: "I have no criminal record in the State of New York and the crucial determining criteria for involuntary commitment is danger: 'Is the defendant a danger to himself or others.' You think you've got the horses for that?" At that point, Michael doesn't "have the horses". Maybe the recall of that conversation with Arthur is one reason (but not the only) that he stops to view the horses. Then the explosion. After which Michael "gets the horses" --the courage and determination within and the human resources without -- to go after Karen Crowder.

Nothing terribly deep here but, if symbolism is in the mix, just a thought about horses. Certainly, they're symbolic of power, and freedom, and the wild, but, that's not the only imagery nagging me. In my part of the world, downeast Canada, horses are commonly held to be foreshadowers of death. If daydreaming of horses, or having a vision of horses, the death of someone else. If literally dreaming of horses, then your own imminent death. The whole time watching this film I was waiting for Michael to die - and, of course, Arthur does - and I was sort of pleasantly surprised that he made it out the other side! Just reminds me that when writing visual motifs into scripts, they may not have the same effect for all audiences.

Great observations. Hey Scott, what was the third horse language besides "saddle up" and "have the horses"? Interestingly enough, when Barry tell Michael to "saddle up", Michael responds with "saddle up?" as if to reinforce it.

Thanks for a great 30 days of non-stop script reading. A new habit has been established, the critical eye sharpened, and an unexpected range of options for storytelling has been discovered. It's been a guided tour we might not have taken, sticking with only those script with stories we enjoy watching or writing. It felt good to stretch.