Application for Luceti
Mun
Name: Lynn
Livejournal Username: classicspector
E-mail: drowsyaldolpho@yahoo.com
AIM/MSN: celia0sword
Current Characters at Luceti: Horatio Hornblower, Stephen Maturin
Character
Name: Anthony Blunt
Fandom: Cambridge Spies
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Time Period: after episode 3
Wing Color: light gray, faded
History:
"This is the story of the most notorious double agents in the history of spying.
Four very British traitors."
So begins the first installment of Cambridge Spies.
We are introduced first to Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, two members of the Apostles at Trinity College in Cambridge. The Apostles are an influential secret society within the school, whose members have reputations of being rather left-leaning. "All the top men," Donald Maclean, an Apostle hopeful and anti-Facist, says, "are in the Apostles." While Guy is merely a student, Anthony is a Fellow of Trinty, a graduate student. While still studying, he also teaches, which means he eats with the academic staff at High Table come meal times.
Anthony and Guy are also, by the time the films begin, already working as Soviet agents for Moscow. Guy describes their job as "talent-spotting."
Guy and Anthony have taken notice of Donald Maclean and Kim Philby. As Guy tries to convince Donald to go against the wishes of his dying father (a Cabinet minister), Anthony invites Kim to join him at High Table.
While dining, conversation turns to the left-wing views of Philby. Blunt defends Kim when his views are dismissed, asking if the school will continue to ignore Hitler if he progresses. Before the conversation can continue, the waiters strike, protesting their lack of pay while the college is out of session for three months. When the workers show no signs of returning, Kim rises from the table, fetches his own supper, and begins to eat after a toast. "To the revolution!" Anthony, though he does not leave the table, raises his glass and drinks.
After the strike, Guy is caught having sex with one of the waiters and taken to the dean's office. Kim brings Anthony word that the waiter was bribed into giving up his fellows (who suffered a beating at the hands of several students) and to having sex with Guy for the purpose of being caught. Anthony tells Kim that Guy is not to know that it was a set-up. When Guy returns, free from punishment, Anthony and Guy recruit Kim, telling him where to find instructions-- instructions for joining their ranks as Soviet agents.
The Russian handler, Otto, expresses some wariness toward Kim's recruitment, worried that his spirit and dedication is too loud to be sincere. Anthony puts forth his opinion that Kim can be trusted.
As the decision hovers in the air, Julian Bell (another Apostle) arrives with news-- Donald Maclean's father has died. Anthony and Guy realize that this is the moment, the turning point at which Donald will either join them or fall away from the cause. Anthony makes it clear to Guy that it must be Kim who brings Donald in, as Moscow will not turn away Kim if he can bring them Donald.
Donald and Kim are accepted by Moscow, and the four begin their long career together. Kim's first assignment takes him out of England, to Vienna. When he returns, Communist bride (Litzi Friedman) in tow, Anthony and Guy have found a house for the four of them to occupy. Anthony points out to Kim that his wife is well known as being a Communist, and if they are to hide themselves, she is a danger to all they want to achieve.
When Kim returns to the house, he has left Litzi.
Otto tells Anthony that he and the others "must become everything you hate." To be useful to Moscow, they must bury their past, hide their Communist leanings, and carve themselves places in the very establishment they seek to topple.
The first "demonstration" of their "break" from Communism comes when the four attend a nightclub together. Julian is there, collecting money to help the Spanish, who are fighting their Facist leader, Franco. England has declared it illegal for British men to go and fight for Spain, and all four Cambridge men make sure it is known they are not giving money to the cause because they no longer believe in fighting Facism.
Kim and Guy join an Anglo-Germanic "alliance," little more than a pro-Hitler movement in England. One of the members is His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. He tells Guy and Kim to send Anthony to the royal family.
Julian leaves for Spain, determined to do something to help the cause, but not before quietly berating Guy for giving up his ideals.
With Guy's connections, having joined MI5 as well as working for the BBC, he and Anthony secure Donald a place in the Foreign Office. Anthony is called away, into the hall, where Kim waits with news that Julian was killed, news that must be told to Guy.
Anthony visits the royal family, talking idly about family politics with the queen. He reports to Otto that she had three gins (doubles). Before six.
When Kim returns from work in Spain, he is broken by the experience and demands that they stop burying the past, working to hide themselves within British society and start to fight. The four are in agreement.
Just when they settle on this idea, the pact between Hitler and Stalin is announced, and Kim and Tony must tell Guy and Donald, who do not handle the news well. England is at war with Germany and, by alliance, with Russia. Traitors at war time can be executed, and all three are aware of the fate that now may greet them if they are found out.
After being stationed in Paris just before the Nazi invasion, Donald returns with Melinda, an American woman whom he has married.
Anthony, now working for MI5, is summoned for vetting. He worries that someone has found a trace, some kind of his Communist past. He tells Kim alone of his fears, and Kim offers him what comforting words he can, assuring him that if they were sure, they'd have offered no warning. Just before the vetting, Kim catches Tony in the hall and warns him that his hands will be watched for signs of shaking. Tony remembers this and keeps himself steady while struggling to light a cigarette with a bad lighter.
He is asked about his Communist leanings in school, and he does not deny them. He also admits that his art criticism (a subject dear to his heart) is perhaps "the last to stop leaning."
Anthony returns home from his vetting to a party Guy is hosting. He reminds Guy that it is, in fact, his birthday. He opens a present from the queen, which contains a note revealing that he was questioned by MI5 because the royal family wishes to hire him for some job.
When Anthony meets with the royal family again, it is with the king. The king speaks easily to him, chatting. He requests that Anthony catalogue the pictures in the royal collection and says that if it takes up too much of his time, he can arrange for Anthony's "hush hush work" to cease getting in the way.
Kim returns to the house shortly after with news he has learned from MI5-- Hitler plans to invade Russia, which means Russia will declare war on Germany and make England allies with Russia. Only Anthony seems less than overjoyed at this news, strained from years of spying that have begun to take their toll on him. When Donald tells him later that he has told Melinda he works for Moscow and she has left him, Anthony snaps, breaking glasses, before he regains composure and tells Donald not to tell anyone else.
Anthony meets with their Russian handler, Henri, to discuss getting out of work for MI5, explaining that he is well-placed if he accepts the job with the royal family and is able to chat with them, as part of the family. Anthony is told that another agent, a man named Carincross, has gone quiet. If he can convince him to go back to work for Moscow, then Moscow will look favorably on Anthony's request to leave MI5.
While looking to go to Carincross, Anthony notices a tail on him and sets Kim alone to follow him and find out who is tailing him. It is the Soviets, doubtful of information the group of friends have been giving over.
Anthony goes to Carincross and threatens him with exposure (meaning he would be executed by the British government) if he does not resume work for Moscow.
On D-Day, which should have been a celebration, Kim brings troubling word-- a Soviet man from their Embassy in Washington is defecting, willing to give the Americans and British the name of a mole inside MI5. A mole who matches the description of Donald Maclean. Kim is hesitant to tell Moscow, but Anthony reminds him that if one of the four of them falls, they will all fall in turn. To protect one is to protect the whole.
The king calls Anthony for a particular assignment. The king's brother, the Duke of Windsor, wrote to a German relative, very pro-Hitler. The letters are still in Germany and, for the sake of the name of the royal family, they are to be discreetly retrieved. If Anthony can manage this, the king promises, it will be the last "hush hush" assignment he ever has. Anthony accepts and leaves for Germany.
Though blocked by the American forces occupying the castle in which the letters are kept, Anthony convinces the woman in charge to ask her commanding officer. While she is away, he sends his men to the attic, explaining that "noble families are the same the world over-- the secrets are kept at the top of the house." Anthony talks to the annoyed woman while his men remove the letters behind her back. In exchange, Anthony is made "Surveyour of the King's Paintints."
Anthony returns home with news that he has made copies of the letters, effective insurance against any threat of accusations of treason. The royal family will not want the letters made public and, therefore, will not prosecute any of the spies as long as they have the letters. Only Kim is not happy with this turn of events. While the others celebrate, he accuses Anthony of backing out, losing his nerve, and betraying him. His final words to Anthony, before the close of the third episode, are:
"You bloody, bloody fool."
Personality:
Anthony Blunt is a reserved man. He has a genuine heart, but it is buried under many, many layers. His conviction is strong, perhaps the strongest of the four Cambridge Spies, but he lacks the loud displays seen in Kim Philby and Guy Burgess. He is a quiet, steady man, determined and single-minded but discreet.
Where Burgess is the actor, draped in colourful costumes and known at once wherever he goes, Blunt is the man behind the stage, making sure everything is in order. People know his name, but he does not have the reputation that Guy has made for himself. He supplies Guy his script, such as when he tells Guy that Donald's father is very ill and that Donald may need some encouragement to break away from the man's beliefs. Guy is the open display of emotion, Anthony the quiet bastion of strength.
Anthony keeps his life, as one lover puts it, "in compartments." He isolates aspects of his life-- his job, his work with Russia, his painting, sex, and so on-- and can choose not to be affected by any one compartment at any time. He is a man of control, in both deeds and action.
Yet he is a man deeply moved by his friends. He believes in the cause he is fighting for, but his friends are at least as dear to him. While Kim rages about the Hitler-Stalin Pact, furious that the Communists would ally with the Facists, Anthony refocuses Kim's thoughts. They, together, must keep the four strong. They must be the pillars and support the other two. He is ready with explanations for Moscow's actions, but it his friends he worries about most. While he is direct with bad news that must be told to his friends, such as Julian's death, he also goes out of his way to protect them, especially Guy. He and Kim often agree that there are things Guy does not need to know, as it would hurt Guy to know the truth.
Anthony has few qualms about manipulating people. When Donald's father dies, he is the first to say that it is the perfect moment to recruit them. He feels guilt over things, such as his affair with Julian-- with whom Guy was in love. However, that guilt does not stop him from taking Julian to bed. He is also unafraid to threaten people, such as Carincross. He makes it clear that he will see Carincross outed as a spy, a death sentence easily, if Carincross does not return to work for Moscow.
It takes much to make Blunt angry. When he becomes angry, however, the result is a sudden burst of temper (he sweeps two glasses off a table hard enough to shatter them against the nearby wall when Donald reveals he told Melinda what he did) followed by calm (he tells Donald that the others are not to know).
Anthony is very trusting when he allows someone in. He tells Otto he would take Kim's word about whether he was devoted to Russia or not, not long after having properly met Kim. He also allows Jack (Guy's lover, whom Anthony also has an affair with) to go through his bag, which is filled with documents from MI5. However, he does not trust easily. He is immediately suspicious of James Jesus Angleton, an American CIA agent meant to shadow Kim and learn from MI5. He seems to have an intuition for who can be trusted and who cannot.
Blunt also is very unparticular in his choice of partners. He genuinely cares for Julian (though not to the extent Guy obviously does) and for Jack, but other partners are as casual as a fling could be. After only a few words, he agrees to sex with an off-duty guard at the palace. His casual approach to such a thing hints that it is hardly the first time he's had sex with a stranger.
He is an art lover, having published criticism on art as well as being a painter himself. He has a very critical eye and is not shy about sharing his opinions on particular pieces-- if asked for that opinion.
Strengths:
Physical:
Anthony is not a small man. He is the largest of the four Cambridge Spies, and that size can be a deterrent from confrontation.
Mental:
Anthony worked as a code-breaker for MI5, meaning he has a logical mind that can analyze and pick apart complex problems.
Anthony is the mastermind, always gathering information. When Donald's father dies and Moscow is uncertain about Kim, Anthony makes the position clear to Guy. "If Kim Philby brings Donald to the comrades, they will find it very hard to say no to Kim Philby."
Anthony can analyze a situation and know just how bold he must be to pass off a rocky topic. When the queen asks him, due to a lack of mustache (which she has said she feels means one is either homosexual or a spy), "So which are you, Anthony: ponce or spy?" Anthony takes a sip of his drink and replies, "A little of both. Aren't we all?"
Anthony is very good (especially with Kim, but it is also seen at times with Guy) at silent conversations, "winks and nods." Guy accuses him of it with Kim, shortly after the Pact. "You looked at him. He looked at you. And there was a whole fucking conversation."
Anthony can act very calm under pressure. No matter how shaky he feels (as when trying to light a cigarette with a busted lighter while being vetted by MI5), he keeps the appearance of total calm, only breaking down later.
Emotional:
Anthony bears much of the weight of his friends' burdens on his shoulders. While he confides to Kim, there is much that he does not say, not wanting to burden any of them.
Anthony cares deeply for his friends. He tells Kim ealy on "friendship is everything," and he holds to that, focused on keeping the four friends together and safe. He is particularly protective of Guy, telling Kim once, "Don't tell Guy. It would hurt him to know. I don't want him hurt."
Anthony is loyal. Even when Stalin allies with Hitler, Anthony is the first to assure the others (and himself) that it must be because Stalin is not yet ready to fight Hitler and is only buying himself time. He is also the first man in the water when Guy dives in during the May Ball at Cambridge and does not resurface.
Weaknesses:
Physical:
Anthony is not trained to fight and only moderately skilled with a gun. He knows how to use one, but he is by no means any sort of expert.
Anthony drinks, though nowhere near the excess that Guy does. He is in the habit of stopping after two, more on special occassions.
Mental:
Anthony tends to take on more burdens than he should, leaving him stretched thin and stressed, though never actually distracted.
Emotional:
Anthony does not share his troubles with his friends. He finally describes himself to Jack as being "more tired than it is possible to be."
Anthony does not think highly of love. He mocks Guy, telling him that "even when you are silent, the noise is deafening, your heart beating away on your sleeve."
Guilt does not stop Anthony. While he feels it, he still does the things that make him feel guilty, such as sleeping with the man Guy is in love with, aware that Guy knows.
When Anthony does not wish to talk about something, he deflects the conversation, rather than go into the matter. When Guy questions him about Julian, he changes the topic to Donald's father.
Anthony is very reliant on Kim to remain strong. When the Pact is announced, he makes it plain to Kim. "I need your help to keep the four of us together." It is Kim whom he tells when he is uncertain or worried, and only Kim.
Anthony is cynical. He does not seem to believe strongly in love, and he is wary when Donald is happy with Melinda. As he tells Kim, "Happiness is so unreliable."
Anthony puts most of his life into compartments that he can shut down at will. However, as Jack points out, his friends defy this system he has lived by. "They're your heart," Jack tells him, "and closing down your heart-- that's the end of life."
Samples
First Person:
"What sort do you like?"
Someone asked me that today. It's a valid question, something I suppose I ought to have expected. Yet, strange enough, I do not think it was ever asked once while I was in England.
I don't give a damn about their volume-- loud or quiet, it's all the same to me. I care about what's behind the volume. Not that I believe in complete sincerity. I'm hardly a boy anymore. There are always lies involved, false promises. Still, it ought to be mixed with the truth every now and then. Truth and genuine passion. To keep one from becoming entirely bitter.
Endurance. Now there's a quality. A flash in the pan is all well and good, rather exciting at the time, but they're everywhere. Someone who can last. That's what I like.
Then there's taste. Rich or poor, I don't think it ought to matter. Of course, there's a certain amount of money required, but beyond that, I don't give it much thought. Not that I don't know the difference between a cheap suit and a finely tailored one. I certainly do. But I don't place as much importance on it as some. I do care about taste. Taste in company, particularly. "Like attracts like." "You may know a man by his friends." That sort of thing.
I don't think I ask for much from my politicians.
Third Person:
Bit by bit, they'd stripped: first their coats, then their ties. Next, their waistcoats came off. Finally, their shirts had been thrown into the pile.
Anthony Blunt watched Guy Burgess drink deeply-- water, for once. Though his eye would go to the bottles they'd collected for this "room" of theirs soon. Kim Philby was struggling to breathe. For his own part, Anthony was sweating hard. Their muscles were strained, their hands raw. Yet they could regard one another with a kind of satisfaction.
Every inch of the small room had been inspected. The wallpaper had been stripped. Kim had spent the better part of an hour sounding every inch of the walls, listening for any off sound, any hint of a bug. Guy had taken a knife to every cushion and lining of the furniture already in the place, searching for the same. Searching for anything that should not be there. The floor had been left to Anthony. He'd tested all of it, pried up boards where he'd not liked the sound. One he'd left intentionally loose, near the vent by the window. A place to store things, just in case they ever had cause to.
Finally, they sat together on the floor, exhausted but satisfied.
Anthony looked at the door, closed and locked and ignored after too many curious neighbors came by to ask what the noise was about. They'd promised to be done before dark, and they'd kept their word. He looked at his friends, managing a slight smile. Wings and tattoos and journals... The place had many things that unsettled him. Yet they three were here together. He willed himself not to think about Donald, not to imagine what horrors he might be undergoing. He wanted to believe the people here, that Donald might well be back where they came from, with his wife, completely unawares of their absence.
He raised his cup of ice water and tried to speak, but the words caught. He'd wanted to make light of the thing, to welcome them home. Anthony cleared his throat and tried again, eyes solemn and glass lower than it had been.
"We stand or fall together."
Name: Lynn
Livejournal Username: classicspector
E-mail: drowsyaldolpho@yahoo.com
AIM/MSN: celia0sword
Current Characters at Luceti: Horatio Hornblower, Stephen Maturin
Character
Name: Anthony Blunt
Fandom: Cambridge Spies
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Time Period: after episode 3
Wing Color: light gray, faded
History:
"This is the story of the most notorious double agents in the history of spying.
Four very British traitors."
So begins the first installment of Cambridge Spies.
We are introduced first to Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, two members of the Apostles at Trinity College in Cambridge. The Apostles are an influential secret society within the school, whose members have reputations of being rather left-leaning. "All the top men," Donald Maclean, an Apostle hopeful and anti-Facist, says, "are in the Apostles." While Guy is merely a student, Anthony is a Fellow of Trinty, a graduate student. While still studying, he also teaches, which means he eats with the academic staff at High Table come meal times.
Anthony and Guy are also, by the time the films begin, already working as Soviet agents for Moscow. Guy describes their job as "talent-spotting."
Guy and Anthony have taken notice of Donald Maclean and Kim Philby. As Guy tries to convince Donald to go against the wishes of his dying father (a Cabinet minister), Anthony invites Kim to join him at High Table.
While dining, conversation turns to the left-wing views of Philby. Blunt defends Kim when his views are dismissed, asking if the school will continue to ignore Hitler if he progresses. Before the conversation can continue, the waiters strike, protesting their lack of pay while the college is out of session for three months. When the workers show no signs of returning, Kim rises from the table, fetches his own supper, and begins to eat after a toast. "To the revolution!" Anthony, though he does not leave the table, raises his glass and drinks.
After the strike, Guy is caught having sex with one of the waiters and taken to the dean's office. Kim brings Anthony word that the waiter was bribed into giving up his fellows (who suffered a beating at the hands of several students) and to having sex with Guy for the purpose of being caught. Anthony tells Kim that Guy is not to know that it was a set-up. When Guy returns, free from punishment, Anthony and Guy recruit Kim, telling him where to find instructions-- instructions for joining their ranks as Soviet agents.
The Russian handler, Otto, expresses some wariness toward Kim's recruitment, worried that his spirit and dedication is too loud to be sincere. Anthony puts forth his opinion that Kim can be trusted.
As the decision hovers in the air, Julian Bell (another Apostle) arrives with news-- Donald Maclean's father has died. Anthony and Guy realize that this is the moment, the turning point at which Donald will either join them or fall away from the cause. Anthony makes it clear to Guy that it must be Kim who brings Donald in, as Moscow will not turn away Kim if he can bring them Donald.
Donald and Kim are accepted by Moscow, and the four begin their long career together. Kim's first assignment takes him out of England, to Vienna. When he returns, Communist bride (Litzi Friedman) in tow, Anthony and Guy have found a house for the four of them to occupy. Anthony points out to Kim that his wife is well known as being a Communist, and if they are to hide themselves, she is a danger to all they want to achieve.
When Kim returns to the house, he has left Litzi.
Otto tells Anthony that he and the others "must become everything you hate." To be useful to Moscow, they must bury their past, hide their Communist leanings, and carve themselves places in the very establishment they seek to topple.
The first "demonstration" of their "break" from Communism comes when the four attend a nightclub together. Julian is there, collecting money to help the Spanish, who are fighting their Facist leader, Franco. England has declared it illegal for British men to go and fight for Spain, and all four Cambridge men make sure it is known they are not giving money to the cause because they no longer believe in fighting Facism.
Kim and Guy join an Anglo-Germanic "alliance," little more than a pro-Hitler movement in England. One of the members is His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. He tells Guy and Kim to send Anthony to the royal family.
Julian leaves for Spain, determined to do something to help the cause, but not before quietly berating Guy for giving up his ideals.
With Guy's connections, having joined MI5 as well as working for the BBC, he and Anthony secure Donald a place in the Foreign Office. Anthony is called away, into the hall, where Kim waits with news that Julian was killed, news that must be told to Guy.
Anthony visits the royal family, talking idly about family politics with the queen. He reports to Otto that she had three gins (doubles). Before six.
When Kim returns from work in Spain, he is broken by the experience and demands that they stop burying the past, working to hide themselves within British society and start to fight. The four are in agreement.
Just when they settle on this idea, the pact between Hitler and Stalin is announced, and Kim and Tony must tell Guy and Donald, who do not handle the news well. England is at war with Germany and, by alliance, with Russia. Traitors at war time can be executed, and all three are aware of the fate that now may greet them if they are found out.
After being stationed in Paris just before the Nazi invasion, Donald returns with Melinda, an American woman whom he has married.
Anthony, now working for MI5, is summoned for vetting. He worries that someone has found a trace, some kind of his Communist past. He tells Kim alone of his fears, and Kim offers him what comforting words he can, assuring him that if they were sure, they'd have offered no warning. Just before the vetting, Kim catches Tony in the hall and warns him that his hands will be watched for signs of shaking. Tony remembers this and keeps himself steady while struggling to light a cigarette with a bad lighter.
He is asked about his Communist leanings in school, and he does not deny them. He also admits that his art criticism (a subject dear to his heart) is perhaps "the last to stop leaning."
Anthony returns home from his vetting to a party Guy is hosting. He reminds Guy that it is, in fact, his birthday. He opens a present from the queen, which contains a note revealing that he was questioned by MI5 because the royal family wishes to hire him for some job.
When Anthony meets with the royal family again, it is with the king. The king speaks easily to him, chatting. He requests that Anthony catalogue the pictures in the royal collection and says that if it takes up too much of his time, he can arrange for Anthony's "hush hush work" to cease getting in the way.
Kim returns to the house shortly after with news he has learned from MI5-- Hitler plans to invade Russia, which means Russia will declare war on Germany and make England allies with Russia. Only Anthony seems less than overjoyed at this news, strained from years of spying that have begun to take their toll on him. When Donald tells him later that he has told Melinda he works for Moscow and she has left him, Anthony snaps, breaking glasses, before he regains composure and tells Donald not to tell anyone else.
Anthony meets with their Russian handler, Henri, to discuss getting out of work for MI5, explaining that he is well-placed if he accepts the job with the royal family and is able to chat with them, as part of the family. Anthony is told that another agent, a man named Carincross, has gone quiet. If he can convince him to go back to work for Moscow, then Moscow will look favorably on Anthony's request to leave MI5.
While looking to go to Carincross, Anthony notices a tail on him and sets Kim alone to follow him and find out who is tailing him. It is the Soviets, doubtful of information the group of friends have been giving over.
Anthony goes to Carincross and threatens him with exposure (meaning he would be executed by the British government) if he does not resume work for Moscow.
On D-Day, which should have been a celebration, Kim brings troubling word-- a Soviet man from their Embassy in Washington is defecting, willing to give the Americans and British the name of a mole inside MI5. A mole who matches the description of Donald Maclean. Kim is hesitant to tell Moscow, but Anthony reminds him that if one of the four of them falls, they will all fall in turn. To protect one is to protect the whole.
The king calls Anthony for a particular assignment. The king's brother, the Duke of Windsor, wrote to a German relative, very pro-Hitler. The letters are still in Germany and, for the sake of the name of the royal family, they are to be discreetly retrieved. If Anthony can manage this, the king promises, it will be the last "hush hush" assignment he ever has. Anthony accepts and leaves for Germany.
Though blocked by the American forces occupying the castle in which the letters are kept, Anthony convinces the woman in charge to ask her commanding officer. While she is away, he sends his men to the attic, explaining that "noble families are the same the world over-- the secrets are kept at the top of the house." Anthony talks to the annoyed woman while his men remove the letters behind her back. In exchange, Anthony is made "Surveyour of the King's Paintints."
Anthony returns home with news that he has made copies of the letters, effective insurance against any threat of accusations of treason. The royal family will not want the letters made public and, therefore, will not prosecute any of the spies as long as they have the letters. Only Kim is not happy with this turn of events. While the others celebrate, he accuses Anthony of backing out, losing his nerve, and betraying him. His final words to Anthony, before the close of the third episode, are:
"You bloody, bloody fool."
Personality:
Anthony Blunt is a reserved man. He has a genuine heart, but it is buried under many, many layers. His conviction is strong, perhaps the strongest of the four Cambridge Spies, but he lacks the loud displays seen in Kim Philby and Guy Burgess. He is a quiet, steady man, determined and single-minded but discreet.
Where Burgess is the actor, draped in colourful costumes and known at once wherever he goes, Blunt is the man behind the stage, making sure everything is in order. People know his name, but he does not have the reputation that Guy has made for himself. He supplies Guy his script, such as when he tells Guy that Donald's father is very ill and that Donald may need some encouragement to break away from the man's beliefs. Guy is the open display of emotion, Anthony the quiet bastion of strength.
Anthony keeps his life, as one lover puts it, "in compartments." He isolates aspects of his life-- his job, his work with Russia, his painting, sex, and so on-- and can choose not to be affected by any one compartment at any time. He is a man of control, in both deeds and action.
Yet he is a man deeply moved by his friends. He believes in the cause he is fighting for, but his friends are at least as dear to him. While Kim rages about the Hitler-Stalin Pact, furious that the Communists would ally with the Facists, Anthony refocuses Kim's thoughts. They, together, must keep the four strong. They must be the pillars and support the other two. He is ready with explanations for Moscow's actions, but it his friends he worries about most. While he is direct with bad news that must be told to his friends, such as Julian's death, he also goes out of his way to protect them, especially Guy. He and Kim often agree that there are things Guy does not need to know, as it would hurt Guy to know the truth.
Anthony has few qualms about manipulating people. When Donald's father dies, he is the first to say that it is the perfect moment to recruit them. He feels guilt over things, such as his affair with Julian-- with whom Guy was in love. However, that guilt does not stop him from taking Julian to bed. He is also unafraid to threaten people, such as Carincross. He makes it clear that he will see Carincross outed as a spy, a death sentence easily, if Carincross does not return to work for Moscow.
It takes much to make Blunt angry. When he becomes angry, however, the result is a sudden burst of temper (he sweeps two glasses off a table hard enough to shatter them against the nearby wall when Donald reveals he told Melinda what he did) followed by calm (he tells Donald that the others are not to know).
Anthony is very trusting when he allows someone in. He tells Otto he would take Kim's word about whether he was devoted to Russia or not, not long after having properly met Kim. He also allows Jack (Guy's lover, whom Anthony also has an affair with) to go through his bag, which is filled with documents from MI5. However, he does not trust easily. He is immediately suspicious of James Jesus Angleton, an American CIA agent meant to shadow Kim and learn from MI5. He seems to have an intuition for who can be trusted and who cannot.
Blunt also is very unparticular in his choice of partners. He genuinely cares for Julian (though not to the extent Guy obviously does) and for Jack, but other partners are as casual as a fling could be. After only a few words, he agrees to sex with an off-duty guard at the palace. His casual approach to such a thing hints that it is hardly the first time he's had sex with a stranger.
He is an art lover, having published criticism on art as well as being a painter himself. He has a very critical eye and is not shy about sharing his opinions on particular pieces-- if asked for that opinion.
Strengths:
Physical:
Anthony is not a small man. He is the largest of the four Cambridge Spies, and that size can be a deterrent from confrontation.
Mental:
Anthony worked as a code-breaker for MI5, meaning he has a logical mind that can analyze and pick apart complex problems.
Anthony is the mastermind, always gathering information. When Donald's father dies and Moscow is uncertain about Kim, Anthony makes the position clear to Guy. "If Kim Philby brings Donald to the comrades, they will find it very hard to say no to Kim Philby."
Anthony can analyze a situation and know just how bold he must be to pass off a rocky topic. When the queen asks him, due to a lack of mustache (which she has said she feels means one is either homosexual or a spy), "So which are you, Anthony: ponce or spy?" Anthony takes a sip of his drink and replies, "A little of both. Aren't we all?"
Anthony is very good (especially with Kim, but it is also seen at times with Guy) at silent conversations, "winks and nods." Guy accuses him of it with Kim, shortly after the Pact. "You looked at him. He looked at you. And there was a whole fucking conversation."
Anthony can act very calm under pressure. No matter how shaky he feels (as when trying to light a cigarette with a busted lighter while being vetted by MI5), he keeps the appearance of total calm, only breaking down later.
Emotional:
Anthony bears much of the weight of his friends' burdens on his shoulders. While he confides to Kim, there is much that he does not say, not wanting to burden any of them.
Anthony cares deeply for his friends. He tells Kim ealy on "friendship is everything," and he holds to that, focused on keeping the four friends together and safe. He is particularly protective of Guy, telling Kim once, "Don't tell Guy. It would hurt him to know. I don't want him hurt."
Anthony is loyal. Even when Stalin allies with Hitler, Anthony is the first to assure the others (and himself) that it must be because Stalin is not yet ready to fight Hitler and is only buying himself time. He is also the first man in the water when Guy dives in during the May Ball at Cambridge and does not resurface.
Weaknesses:
Physical:
Anthony is not trained to fight and only moderately skilled with a gun. He knows how to use one, but he is by no means any sort of expert.
Anthony drinks, though nowhere near the excess that Guy does. He is in the habit of stopping after two, more on special occassions.
Mental:
Anthony tends to take on more burdens than he should, leaving him stretched thin and stressed, though never actually distracted.
Emotional:
Anthony does not share his troubles with his friends. He finally describes himself to Jack as being "more tired than it is possible to be."
Anthony does not think highly of love. He mocks Guy, telling him that "even when you are silent, the noise is deafening, your heart beating away on your sleeve."
Guilt does not stop Anthony. While he feels it, he still does the things that make him feel guilty, such as sleeping with the man Guy is in love with, aware that Guy knows.
When Anthony does not wish to talk about something, he deflects the conversation, rather than go into the matter. When Guy questions him about Julian, he changes the topic to Donald's father.
Anthony is very reliant on Kim to remain strong. When the Pact is announced, he makes it plain to Kim. "I need your help to keep the four of us together." It is Kim whom he tells when he is uncertain or worried, and only Kim.
Anthony is cynical. He does not seem to believe strongly in love, and he is wary when Donald is happy with Melinda. As he tells Kim, "Happiness is so unreliable."
Anthony puts most of his life into compartments that he can shut down at will. However, as Jack points out, his friends defy this system he has lived by. "They're your heart," Jack tells him, "and closing down your heart-- that's the end of life."
Samples
First Person:
"What sort do you like?"
Someone asked me that today. It's a valid question, something I suppose I ought to have expected. Yet, strange enough, I do not think it was ever asked once while I was in England.
I don't give a damn about their volume-- loud or quiet, it's all the same to me. I care about what's behind the volume. Not that I believe in complete sincerity. I'm hardly a boy anymore. There are always lies involved, false promises. Still, it ought to be mixed with the truth every now and then. Truth and genuine passion. To keep one from becoming entirely bitter.
Endurance. Now there's a quality. A flash in the pan is all well and good, rather exciting at the time, but they're everywhere. Someone who can last. That's what I like.
Then there's taste. Rich or poor, I don't think it ought to matter. Of course, there's a certain amount of money required, but beyond that, I don't give it much thought. Not that I don't know the difference between a cheap suit and a finely tailored one. I certainly do. But I don't place as much importance on it as some. I do care about taste. Taste in company, particularly. "Like attracts like." "You may know a man by his friends." That sort of thing.
I don't think I ask for much from my politicians.
Third Person:
Bit by bit, they'd stripped: first their coats, then their ties. Next, their waistcoats came off. Finally, their shirts had been thrown into the pile.
Anthony Blunt watched Guy Burgess drink deeply-- water, for once. Though his eye would go to the bottles they'd collected for this "room" of theirs soon. Kim Philby was struggling to breathe. For his own part, Anthony was sweating hard. Their muscles were strained, their hands raw. Yet they could regard one another with a kind of satisfaction.
Every inch of the small room had been inspected. The wallpaper had been stripped. Kim had spent the better part of an hour sounding every inch of the walls, listening for any off sound, any hint of a bug. Guy had taken a knife to every cushion and lining of the furniture already in the place, searching for the same. Searching for anything that should not be there. The floor had been left to Anthony. He'd tested all of it, pried up boards where he'd not liked the sound. One he'd left intentionally loose, near the vent by the window. A place to store things, just in case they ever had cause to.
Finally, they sat together on the floor, exhausted but satisfied.
Anthony looked at the door, closed and locked and ignored after too many curious neighbors came by to ask what the noise was about. They'd promised to be done before dark, and they'd kept their word. He looked at his friends, managing a slight smile. Wings and tattoos and journals... The place had many things that unsettled him. Yet they three were here together. He willed himself not to think about Donald, not to imagine what horrors he might be undergoing. He wanted to believe the people here, that Donald might well be back where they came from, with his wife, completely unawares of their absence.
He raised his cup of ice water and tried to speak, but the words caught. He'd wanted to make light of the thing, to welcome them home. Anthony cleared his throat and tried again, eyes solemn and glass lower than it had been.
"We stand or fall together."