Vila Restal

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Character
Name: Vila Restal
Occupation: Thief, Cracksman
Relationships: Kerril (briefly)
Fandom: Blake's 7
Other:
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front cover by Phoenix: "Look at that face. That is an adorable Vila. He just bought you drinks (with the wallet he stole from you) and is proceeding to charm the pants off of you to boot. You’ll wake up the next day missing all your valuables, and you won’t even care, because he’ll have stolen your heart as well." (2018) -- [1]
Michael Keating (the actor who portrayed Vila) and some fan art by Leah Rosenthal at Scorpio #4 in 1986

Vila Restal is character in Blake's 7. He was portrayed by Michael Keating.

Vila is an unapologetic coward and often the butt of jokes. Vila fans find him appealing because of his (often hidden) cleverness and resourcefulness and his sense of humour, often expressed through asides and pithy one-liners.

Other Blake's 7 fans, focus on his negative aspects, find him to be a lazy, sneaky, and immature.

Many fans seem to be drawn to Vila also via his relationship with Kerr Avon whether in slash as Avon/Vila or in gen fanworks, though appreciation of Vila on his own also exists.

From a fan in 1993:

Coward, hero, hapless victim, shrewd manipulator, master thief, master clown -- all these terms could be accurately applied to the character of Vila Restal, and examples could be found in the series to support each description. And that's what I have always found so fascinating about Vila. Like Blake and Avon, he's a complex puzzle.

We are fed little bits of information here and there about the character as the series progresses, beginning with his rather frightening first appearance in a transit cell in [the episode] The Way Back ("I've had my head adjusted by some of the best in the business - it just won't stay adjusted"), through his manipulation of his crewmates in Star Drive, and right on up to his disarming behavior in [the episode] Blake. While it might be difficult to reconcile all his actions throughout the series, it's a heckuva lot of fun trying. [2]

In Canon

He was portrayed by Michael Keating and is the only character to appear in all episodes of the show (due to the absence of Kerr Avon in the pilot episode).

A professional thief, Vila is the first of the central cast that Roj Blake meets upon his imprisonment in 'The Way Back'. After briefly separated from Blake, Jenna and Avon, Vila ends up on the Liberator after being rescued from Cygnus Alpha by Roj Blake along with Olag Gan. A revolutionary mostly through lack of choice, he quickly becomes responsible for getting the crew into (and out of) anything that is locked and mans the weapons console, though he has an aversion to direct violence and is an unapologetic coward.

Ostensibly a Delta grade (lower class), Vila later claims to have bought that grade classification to avoid conscription ('Volcano').

Later in the course of the show, he passes off an opportunity of a happily-ever-after to return to the crew, because he couldn't be a thief anymore.

Sometimes played solely for comic relief (and suffering from somewhat inconsistent characterisation on this aspect), Vila also has moments of genius, particularly around locks. Fans have argued that some of Vila's apparent buffoonery (and drunkenness) is a facade, which is born out by several instances in the show that display his cleverness, such as when Vila pretends to be drunk to supply the crew with a solution to their problem in 'Stardrive':

Vila is shot on Gauda Prime during the events of 'Blake', though fans have speculated that he survives, as he seems to fall towards rather than away from the shot, making him a player in Post-Gauda Prime stories.

Vila's closest relationships with the regular cast in canon are those with Olag Gan (up until Gan's death) and Kerr Avon (though some fans have argued that their sometimes sharp-edged banter is a sign of mutual or particularly Avon's dislike; see Avon/Vila). He actively dislikes Del Tarrant, at least initially, though he later saves Tarrant's life, and has a brief, one-episode affair with single-appearance character Kerril (see Vila/Kerril).

Popular Vila-centric episodes have him as part of the Avon-Vila (or Avon/Vila) double act ('Killer', 'Gambit') or give him a spot in the limelight ('City at the Edge of the World') or are an unlimited source of angst ('Orbit'), which is the equivalent of 'Blake' for Vila fans.

Expanded Universe

Michael Keating continues to be heavily involved in the Blake's 7 (Big Finish Series), featuring in numerous audio plays (both full-cast and individual). The Big Finish universe also expands on Vila's personal background, introducing, through the course of a primary plotline of 'The Liberator Chronicles', Vila's estranged father.

Fandom

Vila was a popular character in print zine fandom.

Vila continues to play a more minor role in online fandom, though he seemed at times more popular due to a focus on the Avon/Vila pairing, particularly on Tumblr.

Though Vila is third to only Avon and Blake in characters tags for fics archived on AO3, he is a more minor character in many fics, particularly those that feature pairings that do not include Vila, such as Avon/Blake, if he appears at all.

Nonetheless, among the fans of the character he is discussed to a depth that is rivaled only by Avon and Blake.

Pairings

Vila is part of a number of pairings, but by far the most popular (also as it is second only to Blake/Avon in general fandom popularity) is Avon/Vila. Het pairings are less common with Vila, though they do exist, as well - of these, the most frequent seems to be Vila/Kerril, which has a canonical basis, followed by Vila/Soolin.

Other pairings include:

There are also some fics that pair Vila with original characters, both male and female.

Fiction

Some fans of Vila that are/were active as authors and/or artists include:

Fanon and Tropes

Fanon tends to emphasise either the clever or the buffoonish side of Vila, mirroring the inconsistent writing in the show. Most fans who give Vila a more active role, however, tend to portray him as more than the butt of the joke or a useless drunk, tending towards exploring the perceived complexities or towards emphasising either his emotional intelligence or his skill as a thief/cracksman.

The fanon Vila is shown to have nimble fingers, has a lower-class accent, is a good cook, was abused in prison, and needs to sleep with the light on.

While the story is almost universally reviled, Vila starred in possibly the first mpreg in media fanfic, Comfort, a series begun in 1983.

Backstory and Pre-Canon

Vila's background is cause of speculation among fans, as there is very little known about it from the canon. Typical tropes include explorations of Vila's previous criminal career or experience in juvenile detention, past trauma during previous imprisonment or while growing up Delta grade, or meeting crew characters before 'The Way Back' (primarily Kerr Avon, whom Vila introduces to the others, or Gan).

Avon/Vila Pairing

Avon/Vila stories tend to emphasise either Vila's criminal skill or his cleverness in commonality with Avon or cast him as the innocent to Avon's darkness. While these stories are also often heavily concerned with Avon, many also feature explorations of Vila himself or Vila's narration. For a full discussion of the pairing, see Avon/Vila.

Sometimes, possibly due to Vila potentially knowing Avon before the events of 'Space Fall', they have a long-standing professional/romantic/friendly relationship or familial relationship.

See Avon/Vila for examples.

Alcoholism

Vila's drinking and his other vices are either downplayed or exaggerated in fan works. Some works follow the example of 'Stardrive' in making Vila's vices more of a facade than real flaws. Other works seek to explain and/or justify his tendency to drink by various traumas (for instance, Vila is frequently drinking after the events of 'Orbit').

Others (frequently those less generous to Vila's character) use his drinking as a way to portray his character as useless to the rest of the crew or as cause for mistakes.

In 1986, Michael Keating was asked in an interview about what Vila would have done if he'd survived the final episode:

I think he'd probably ended up running a bar somewhere on a planet. He’d have [...] been a very good survivor actually, [...] but you’ll have to ask Tony Attwood that. [3]

The Episode: Orbit

The episode 'Orbit', in which Avon threatens to kill Vila, has generated many stories dealing with the fallout. AUs seen Vila actually dying or flipping the tables and killing Avon.

Typical story lines include: Vila disavowing himself from Avon, sometimes even leaving the crew; Vila reconciling himself with Avon or reaching an uneasy accord or failing to reconcile; Vila taking action prompted by 'Orbit' that do not involve leaving, such as telling other characters off the events or drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Examples:

  • Eccentric Orbit by Marian Mendez ("An alternative universe version of the episode "Orbit," with Tarrant taking Vila's place on the doomed shuttle from Malodaar.") (printed in Southern Seven #11) (1998)

Post-Gauda Prime

As Vila may have survived the shoot-out on Gauda Prime, he frequently features in PGP stories. In some, he is the sole survivor, in others, some or all of the crew survive alongside him. Some survival-Vila fics use the experience of Gauda Prime to have Vila shed his perceived foolish facade to become a more overtly assertive or independent character.

Examples:

AU Fiction

Some fans have taken Vila's hidden cleverness as indication that there is far more to the thief, even to the point of giving him a role as Federation plant, professional agent or even psychomanipulator. This is not to be mistaken for character bashing, as it is generally done out of appreciation of the character rather than to paint him in a bad light.

Examples:

As a Character Avatars in Pro Books

Vila is loosely portrayed in Tanith Lee's book, Kill the Dead (as Myal Lemyal), in P.N. Elrod's book "Art in the Blood" (as Evan Robley), and in Jean Lorrah's book "Empress Unborn" (as Wicket).

See Blake's 7 Avatars in Pro Books.

Fan Comments

1990

I think it's valuable to recognize — sorry, Vila fans — that Vila often is irresponsible. Sometimes, Vila rises above himself ... other times, he huddles in a corner and drinks. For a crewmember depending on his backup, the main problem is that one never knows which course he'll take in any given situation. [4]

Mid-1990s

Poor Vilakins. From the moment we meet him he's one of life's natural losers - all he ever wanted was a quiet life of thievery and simply luxury, and what he got was all the 'joys' of being one of the galaxy's most wanted men among a group of people not exactly noted for their patience and tolerance of others' failings. Most of them treat him badly on occasion, with Dayna, Tarrant and (though it hurts to say it) Avon being chiefly noticeable in this regard; the excuse, both on the show and by defenders of the latter three, seems to be that he asks for it by being inadequate, indolent and irresponsible, and (I guess) fair game. Which is in my opinion very unfair to the man (of course, when did Avon ever pretend to be fair? No one answer that).

So, is Vila a lazy, cowardly, selfish, irresponsible sod?

Without a doubt.

Do the others have a right to resent that?

No.

Vila was *always* lazy, cowardly and selfish, and never made the slightest attempt to pretend otherwise (one of the things I love about him is that utter honesty about himself and his motives - he has no illusions about himself, far less than Avon does). He is in fact, mentally and emotionally, totally unsuited to their line of - errrr - work, or to working in a group at all. He always was, from the minute we met him, a non-soldier who just happened to get swept up in this whole battle and is coping as best he can in his own erratic and very individualistic way. [5]

2011

Poor Vila, he was horribly underrated in the zine era. You’d think a fandom about an anti-facist revolutionary cell wouldn’t uncritically adopt a caste system like it was going out of fashion, but apparently not. I had this whole theory at one point about how he was the moral fulcrum of the show because everyone’s readiness to treat him like garbage is the human face of their total ineptitude as revolutionaries (their tendency to deconstruct the master’s dome using his tools, to use your phrasology) and how B/A PGPs that write him out therefore tend to collapse structurally because they’ve missed the whole point of the show. Except I don’t think the writers realized that was the point of the show, but then, that’s sort of the beauty of Blake’s 7, isn’t it? [6]

Zines With a Vila Focus

Fan Clubs

Communities

Some Vila Fanart Examples

1982

1984

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1990

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2006

Meta

References

  1. ^ bruinhilda.tumblr.com (January 22, 2018)
  2. ^ from the editorial of Delta Blues
  3. ^ from an interview conducted by Rosemary Woodhouse in Chronicles Annual 1986
  4. ^ from On the Wing #1
  5. ^ from In Defence of Vila, or Teamwork is Overrated Anyway by Sally Manton (part of The hermit.org B7 essays series)
  6. ^ Garboil's comment on the discussion of romance novels and slash, January 5, 2011
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