Duke Crocker

[Wheels08]

Here's a topic thread for Duke

[BlackberryJam]

As far as character development, Duke has had the clearest road. He's the smuggler with a heart, so much so that he becomes too much heart which overwhelms him and he runs. 

 

I actually would have liked it if they had given us more post-Evie Duke. I loved loved loved him infiltrating the Rev's group in order to find out what was going on. That was fabulous. I think one of the biggest mistakes the show made was having Audrey kill the Rev. 

[pcta]

What the hell did Eric Balfour do to TPTB to so totally screw the character and under utilize him in 5B? If he did nothing, then what the hell were the writers thinking to remove one of the 3 best characters they have (Dave and Vince being the other 2) from the main story line.

[TimetoShine]

They probably figured by now we'd be glad the show is being cancelled.

[Maelstrom]

Since this is Haven's last (half)season, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite moments for the main three characters. Duke, Duke, Duke. This was a tough one to narrow down for me, because EB's charisma is the only reason I've continued watching this show. I haven’t rewatched any past seasons so I’m working off memory, and thus have probably forgotten to include some of the best Duke moments, but hopefully I’ve remembered the important ones.

 

-- 3.3 “The Farmer” Hands down, this one tops the list. The final scene at the Gull when Audrey comes to apologize for guilt-tripping Duke into murder. The play of emotions on EB's face as he wordlessly stares Audrey down is, IMO, one of the finest moments of the entire show, and does more to show the hard choices the Troubles bring than most of the actual writing has. Bravo to EB.

 

-- 1.12 “Resurfacing” I enjoyed Duke and Nathan’s interactions in this ep, as it’s one of the rare moments when no Troubles are involved - as close to a normal situation as we ever get in Haven. And without the specter of the Troubles (not to mention the competitive chest-beating that Audrey’s presence seems to bring out in these two in the early season), we get an honest glimpse of Duke and Nathan’s relationship. Plus, Duke trying to coach Nathan on how to look relaxed always makes me chuckle.

 

-- 2.11 “Business as Usual” Remember the Box of Mystery that everyone wanted in late season two? Neither do I, but it did manage to give us the excellent scenes between Duke and Dwight bonding over bad fathers and Troubled pasts (after beating the crap out of each other, natch). Not only did this provide us with some much needed backstory on Dwight, but once again showed that Duke, for as much as other characters like to paint him as the villain, has a stronger moral compass than most of the supposed heroes of the show (how many noble sacrifices has he made in five and half seasons, anyway? Too many to remember them all)

 

-- 3.5 “Double Jeopardy”  Lots of great one-liners from Duke, but his honest acknowledgement of his own not-so-sterling past at the end makes this one of my favorite Duke episodes.

 

-- 3.7 “The Magic Hour (Pt 1)” The hotel scene in Colorado. Yowza. I never shipped Duke and Audrey (or anyone on this show, for that matter) but they definitely showed they can steam up the screen when necessary. And on a shallow note, I really like his hair longer as it is here.

 

-- 4.1 “Fallout” I’ve said elsewhere that season four is actually one of my favorites because Duke is effectively the hero of the show. He’s the one who consistently saves the day, and negotiates (in a noble but futile attempt) between Haven’s many factions to get them to act like adults. This season has so many (IMO) great Duke moments, such as realizing his brother is dangerous and must be stopped, to realizing Lexie is Audrey long before Nathan, that I just can’t list them all here (especially since it’s been two years since I saw it). So I’ll just content myself by naming 4.1, which is chock full of great one-liners from Duke, and also introduces my favorite of his love interests, Jennifer (who I wasn’t sure about at first but ended up really liking).

 

-- 5.5 and 5.6 “The Old Switcheroo” OK, so not technically a Duke moment, but I had to mention this somewhere as body swaps are one of my favorite sci-fi tropes, and Haven (for once) did not disappoint. This was probably made better by waiting until late in the show's run to do, as the actors had several years to get to know each other and pick up on each other's quirks and foibles. LB impressed me with his hilariously dead-on impersonation of EB, showing that Duke is a far more interesting character to act (and watch) than Nathan ever could be. And AC as Gloria was just too damn funny ("I could punch through ceilings with these things!")

[BlackberryJam]

Love those except the Switcheroo, because I hate body swap episodes. It's fun for the actors, sure, but boring for me as a viewer.

 

I'd add 'Sins of the Father' which is my favorite episode ever. Duke dealing with his own father, then having the guy commit suicide by Duke, it's so, so good. That starts our trio on the path towards The Farmer, which is an incredible episode. EB, who I remember first as the douche hitting on Zoe Bartlett in West Wing, just nails it in that episode. He really began distinguishing himself for me there.

[Maelstrom]

I'd forgotten about Sins of the Father. Actually, my memories of it mostly consist of, "Yay, the Chief is back!" and "why are they wasting him on listening to Nathan's schmoopy-eyed manpain?!" Good points though about it setting up the heart of Duke's struggles for season 3 and onward. I'll have to see if I can track it down for a rewatch.

 

(Assuming the remaining few episodes don't completely sour me on the entire show, that is).

[BlackberryJam]

On re-watch, I fastforward through Nathan's manpain. And repeat anything with Simon Crocker.

[MisterGlass]

I binged this series after it aired, and Duke was consistently my favorite character.  He hit the right balance of charm and sincerity, and complemented the more grounded Audrey and Nathan.  I liked the bond he developed with Nathan even while they were romantic rivals.  I thought Eric Balfour played both the silly and serious parts of the character well.

Compared to Audrey and Nathan, Duke managed to remain the most interesting after the series lost its way in Season 4.  However, they seemed determined to keep him miserable by fridging three love interests and his brother, and manipulating his trouble again and again.

I was saddened by his ending.  I thought he had a wonderful death scene, and I can embrace the willingness to sacrifice himself, but that scene and sacrifice would have worked better in a better context.  Especially given Nathan's overly sweet finale, Duke deserved a little joy.

[Avatar19]

I don't get how Nathan was the love of Audrey's life and not Duke...  Nathan was the one who wanted Audrey the most, but when the chips were down and it counted, Duke was the one who could get through to her.