RELATIONSHIPS

Fastow and the Market-to-Market Party

The Ignorant Crowd (Ensemble) - Here Fastow's invisible to the ensemble, he doesn't pose a threat to anyone, he isn't attractive or particularly important therefore the crowd leaves him alone. Fastow however idolises this crowd, he falls for it's veneer of fake charm and longs to be a part of this seemingly exciting movement. He has this high intellectual status but wants to fit in with the ignorant. His sense is over-ridden by the basic human need for belonging and/or Fastows super objective of eventually being accepted, respected and revered. He's quite clearly irritated by their stupidity and looks down on them intellectually but he needs them.

Employees (Frank and Alfie) - The relationship displayed here only cements my thoughts expressed on the ignorant crowd. They're split between wanting to ruin him and not wanting to talk to him at all, it's a lot like a school environment where no one wants to be seen with the nerd and sacrifice their street cred. Their attempts to mock Fastow are only misinterpreted, received as conversational offerings and met with enthusiasm in response.

"Fastow: Maybe he's not a big fan of parties

Employee 1: Maybe you'd get on(!)"

Claudia Roe (Olivia) - Roe always keeps a distance from Fastow like a pungent turd in the middle of the pavement. She acknowledges his existence because she sees right through him even in this initial scene, she sees the underlying spite and potential for destruction. She keeps an eye on him from afar. Fastow knows everything about Lay, he's done his homework. He's jealous of her position next to Skilling and Lay and knows that he's more intelligent than she is. Fastow almost wants to take her position and takes the opening scene as an opportunity to establish his intellectual dominance only to be cut off by Jeff ("Claudia: But we are a gas and oil company" - "Fastow: No, no, you see -") . Social status overrules intellectual status here, she's in her element, it's the fucking Claudia Roe show.

"Fastow: it's like (Claudia is Lays) carer"

"Oh and you know the guy in finance with the suit and the hair... He's had a baby, Little boy. Called him Jeffrey" (judgemental rather than endearing)

Kendra Lay (Tatenda) - Lay knows generally who Fastow is but probably just saw his name and photograph on a file somewhere. She makes him special as she does to each and everyone of her employees to keep up the workplace morale. Each time we did the scene i got a kind of "i'm a mother who has no favourites" kind of energy in her smile. It's a smile that is warm but not special, she can put it on when needs be, she's essentially a politician in this scenario, keeping the people happy. For Fastow however this event is probably life changing. This is the equivalent of a child meeting their hero, he falls for her charm as i feel almost everyone else does.

"Lay: Andy, Andy Fastow. I make a point of knowing people son"

(no need to watch past the first 30 seconds)

Jefferey Skilling (THE Samuel William Johnson) - This scene marks the beginning of their relationship officially but i definitely feel like it started a while ago for Fastow. He was hired by Jeff but unlike Lay he doesn't know his name and overlooks him, Fastow is a nuisance to Skilling here like an obsessive fan at an oscars party. He's just one of the crowd to Skilling and he's yet to learn how Fastow can make Skilling's vision for Enron work. Fastow not only lets Skilling walk all over him  here but he might as well say thank you. He's starstruck, he would amen anything that Jeff says like it's gospel. When Skilling says "this guy gets it" at the end of his speech in a passing comment he probably made Andys day/month/year, it's a moment he's not likely to forget.

Fastow and The Orgy of Speculation

Traders and other colleagues (Ensemble) - By now people have begun to notice him and subsequently how weird he is. They don't just find him strange but they see that he's strange and doing okay so by logic they hate him for it. Fastow doesn't intend to offend anyone but his superior intellect shows and he doesn't make much of an effort to hide it. The hatred for Fastow is fuelled by jealousy, Fastow being a bit of a dick and a lot of a kiss ass. Fastow doesn't like or necessary want to be a part of the traders floor but he simply needs them for his work, he sees them as inferior in the grand scheme of the company and useless in achieving his super objective but he just needs some help getting numbers.

"Traders: Lapdog motherfucker... double breasted douchebag"

Fastow and Jeff Trimming the Fat

Jeffrey Skilling - This scene is where Jeffrey begins to see Fastows potential and tests him to see if it's true. Fastow goes into the office like a dog who's bitten his owners show. He's let his hero down.
Jeff's reaction to his mistake doesn't make sense, he should be angry yet he's all calm and philosophical. This is the first test Andys taken and isn't prepared for, he's totally out of his comfort.  Andy still respects Skilling but here he fears him and it's almost like a confessional situation. Jeff still feels no obligations toward Fastow and doesn't necessarily respect him as of yet but he sees how he could be valuable.

"I like guys with spikes and i didn't know you had any till i heard you taking on a bunch of traders. Now that takes a special kind of stupid. But also balls."

Fastow and the Unholy Partnership

The Raptors - The Raptors are Andys creations like a kid with a new dog excepts theres an extra layer of connection where the raptors reflect Andy himself. I noticed when Will, Raz and Charlie walked up to me in the final scene that we both had hunched shoulders and our arms/hands in this claw meerkat position.

Arthur Anderson - Arthur Anderson brings out the second half Fastow in first half Fastow when he threatens to oppose LJM, this is a reflection of the harsh media depiction saying how Andy threatened anyone opposing his idea. Arthur threatens to kill Andys newborn baby and the malicious instinct kicks in. Arthur doesn't really know Andy or have an opinion on him but now he's the CFO Arthur knows that he'd rather keep his job and thus approves LJM.

"Fastow: Maybe we need a more sympathetic accountant"

Lay - Lay doesn't directly speak to Fastow but this moment is important to me because she gave him this false affection earlier and seems to not really know him any better at this point. It's simply a "huh, fastow CFO, yeah cool whatever Jeff" transaction but it doesn't matter to Fastow at all. He got what he wanted, he's arrived and now he's just concerned with keeping it.

Jeffrey Skilling - This is the big scene where everything changes, the events of the play all stem  back to this exchange. Jeff's a little creeped out by Andys advances at first but as the scene progresses he mellows out and the obsession moves off of Skilling and into work allowing conversation and common ground (budum tss). Jeff knows Andy's methods are a little unorthodox but he trusts him little by little getting over the superior and inferior establishing a more level and equal relationship. There's definitely sexual tension at points (Titanic moment), more on Fastow's part probably but Skilling's hyper-masculinity shuts it down almost instantly. I feel as though Fastow starts this scene off all nervily with a million thoughts flying through his head. He tries too hard to impress Jeff as always but as soon as he stops actively thinking about it, Jeff suddenly falls in love with him, (or more accurately his ideas) Andy's left not quite knowing what he did but he's certainly okay with it.

"Skilling: You with me?

Fastow: Always."

Fastow on the Phone

Voices on the other end (Rex the fuck, Lou the bbz, unknown person that loves fastow) - This is an eclectic moment of mixed emotions ups and downs in the space of a minute, maybe less. He starts off talking to Rex "the Fuck", here we see Fastows attempt at workplace banter and now that he's important, no one can step up to him if he takes it too far. Lou "the bbz" i think is an attempt at replicating some good old common, casual, workplace sexual harassment. He has a wife and kids at home, i don't think he's genuinely interested in Lou but Fastow works by scanning his surroundings and replicating what he sees. The last conversation is a hint at the validation he's been looking for but like your classic tragic hero, he wants more and this will lead to his imminent downfall.