Music dulls the pain- A look at May

May is the very first person Kai meets on the planet Water in the second episode of the third season of Lexx. She is beautiful and forlorn, bodies tragically strewn around her feet after a battle, holding an ocarina to her mouth in lieu of tears, and tells Kai, "Music dulls the pain."

We have no idea what anything about her means- her tattoo, her jewelry, her clothing, her hairstyle. Notice the tattoo and jewelry kind of style match, though. A few episodes later we find out she is really from the planet Fire. Could those be flames? 

Here is a better image of her tattoo. Note the two planets are semi framed in an arc that separates them from... two universes? And a single point. Are Water and Fire inside their own spacetime? Are they a result of previous happenings? We're not sure from the tattoo, but if the artist is using left to right progression, as seen on cultures in the hemisphere in which this show was created, then it seems to tell a story, hieroglyph style. Note the darker circle eclipses the lighter one, perhaps a clue marking May's loyalty, possibly even what owns her.

A fan post by Dreamer pulls in a close up on her body art and asks other fans if they might know what it means, although I see no comments there. Click this next pic to see the post. After viewing more of season three, we know those are flames licking her body.

The fact that her dress is blue and that her decor could also look like water waves and drops is very subtly suggesting throughout the times that we see her that she is a double agent. We really have no idea until she kisses Prince in front of Stanley, revealing her loyalty.

Later in the season we see her die in flames. She actually seems a bit used to this when you really watch Duke having her prepped for her execution. Even the flammable tar being smeared onto her body looks pre-flame in the brush strokes.

Looking again at May's ocarina (click that for a vid demo), Dreamer comments on the creators' music method to enhance the scene, making another subtle suggestion about May's presence impacting the Lexx crew.

May says music dulls the pain. We really don't know what kind of pain she is talking about. The pain of being a traitor? The pain of remorse? Of memories? Certainly not the fire itself, nothing can dull that, and she doesn't play the ocarina as she burns. She is obviously someone who plays a betrayal role for another person pulling strings. Did she do that in her real life before she came to be on Fire? Let's look at her story and see if we can find more clues about her. Who is May, really? Which face is the real face? 

More screenshots coming in part 2

May stands out so uniquely in the Lexx series as supporting character, plot catalyst, and tragedy queen that it's impossible for me to move past her without deeply questioning what's really going on.

You can see more Lexx on the fansite I linked for May at dreamsofghostsandstars.net

May was played by Anna Kathrin Bleuler