Were Steed and Emma friends or lovers? I can't tell from the few episodes I've seen. Also, why did they call her Mrs. Peel? She didn't seem to have a husband anywhere.
By the way, I think her style of martial arts was Kung Fu. Although, she could really throw a classic right cross...
Diana Rigg, definitely one of the prettiest actresses ever!
SPOILER
Mrs Peel thinks she's a widow-but her hubby turns up alive in her last episode-and he's got a familiar face .
I'd say Steed and Peel are just flirty friends.
Ecclescake and Tennant Whos-in a charity shop near you soon.
"Steed and Peel - friends or lovers?"
That is the question. And a question which can never be conclusively answered.
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"Steed and Peel - friends or lovers?"
That is the question. And a question which can never be conclusively answered.
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Unless we unearth the long since lost and forgotten un-broadcast episode which was a 18 rated version of the Bond film "The Spy who loved me"
"STEED & PEEL : The spy who got me pregnant
P.S. If anyone can come with a more amusing title PM me and I will update the post
AMERICANS A people that pride themselves on virility and put on body armour to play rugby
BRITS A people who need Yanks to save them from Germany, you pompous twat.
shareI think Steed loved her, but whether or not she returned the feelings I don't know. But at the same time I like the fact they left it ambiguous.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
I think Steed loved her, I think she did him as well but nothing ever happened cos of the memory of her husband... but that's just my opinion
You never know when you might need a pink flamingo in your pocket!
Actually she does seem to get jealous of other girls at times, so maybe she did love him. But at the same time I think it just wasn't meant to be.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
I think the two COULD have been lovers, but didn't take it past the flirty friends stage because they worked together -- it can be iffy to do that on a regular person-situation basis, but for two agents, it could turn deadly. I did read somewhere that when the actors were asked, Patrick Macnee said "lovers" and Diana Rigg said "good friends." (But I don't think it was any memories of her husband keeping them apart -- she never even mentions him by name -- just a good idea.)
shareDefinitely lovers. On viewing the Emma episodes 40 years later, I can't believe I ever found the relationship ambiguous. A lady simply doesn't behave like that, so relaxed and intimate, around a co-worker or a boss.
The series is much better than I remembered, with dialog much more witty than anything on television today.
In a later episode Steed says something that definitely bolsters the lover position. It was something like "you know I have got to have my young ladies for ..." I actually forget the last word but it was something like sport or pleasure.
I practiced and taught martial arts for years. Mrs. Peel practices TVfu. Most of her moves were to grab or strike a stunt man and let him do the work. Many of the moves were faux strength and weight moves and would not have worked for her vs. large men.
Regarding the OP the series obviously intended to make the answer to the question appear ambiguous.
There is certainly nothing that would make clear they were not lovers, however. That is by the nature of things since what is shown does not contradict that they were - they were intimte, flirty, together at odd hours, socialized together as well. They had that comfortable banter that lovers who like each other have.
But on the other hand there was very little in the series to suggest they were lovers. They still kept separate apartments. Steed was openly interested in other women to an extent that was not merely attributable to the times (Austin Powers!) or the fact that they may have been lovers but not steady ones. Their being together at odd hours was a function of their work. In addition, Mrs. Peel occasionally would receive rather forward attention from other men, and I don't think Steed ever appeared visibly jealous (perhaps it was more "Lot's of luck to you, bud!").
The one show when their bodies were taken over by a married couple must have been a hoot for them, and they played it to the hilt. I think you might see something in the way the two characters felt, and the body langauge they showed, in considering how differently the "invading" characters behaved. It's hard to say, though.
One small point goes to the show that tansitioned to the King era, when Mr. Peel shows up. If Steed and Emma were just good friends, why would she not introduce her husband to him? WHy would it be goodbye, and not how about some couples night out, in fact in effect never see you again?
I don't know if that last bit is enough to answer the question with yes, lovers, but it is a factor, imo.
In the end, I think the answer goes to the nature of Mrs. Peel's character. As a man myself, and all men being dogs essentially, one could hardly imagine Steed saying no if he had the chance. I mean really... So if you want to come down on saying they were not lovers, it has to be attributable to the nature of Mrs. Peel's character and situation. Her husband was missing, but not known to be dead. She was always referred to as Mrs. Yet as years go by it is also clear she enjoys Steed's company, and friendship. Could she be flirty and extremely friendly, but hold back because she did not know her husband was not coming back? It almost sounds sexist to think a woman would be expected to "keep her honor" in such a situation, but there is something to it.
So, on balance, keeping in mind there is no proof they were not lovers, I still tend to think they were not, out of the impediment that her husband's status is up in the air. Difficulties that adhere due to their working relationship may also have been a factor. But there are several factors on the other side. It is a close question in any event, and credit goes to the show for adhering to this treatment of the issue so consistently.
Definitely lovers. On viewing the Emma episodes 40 years later, I can't believe I ever found the relationship ambiguous. A lady simply doesn't behave like that, so relaxed and intimate, around a co-worker or a boss.
I think their scenes together were written, and Macnee and Rigg played it, as if they WERE lovers, but the exact nature of their relationship was left to the audience's imagination. There was perfect chemistry between the characters -- sometimes they literally finished each other's sentences. And two such attractive, intelligent, charming people, social and intellectual equals, repeatedly thrown together into the most precarious of situations -- well, how could they NOT fall in love?
They may have addressed one another as "Steed" and "Mrs. Peel," but we all knew they were sleeping together.
Weren't they?
In any case, that question has been answered by thousands of "slash" fanfic stories!
All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?
I've just watched the episode where Emma's husband turns up. It's the first episode in Season 7 entitled ' The Forget Me Knot.' She speeds away in a car driven by her husband, looking back at Steed and then her husband. As though to say "I love you Steed but I've already got a carbon copy for a hubby."
shareI never thought and still don't that Steed is supposed to be gay. That's a hoot.
He clearly is shown pursuing other women, and never exhibits any homosexual behavior. That is ridiculous.
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Steed wasn't gay! Give me a break, his eye was only for the ladies.
And Mrs. Peel was a widow, not married when she and Steed worked together. They only brought her husband back when Diana Rigg wanted out of the show. (Actually I read on an Avengers board that she thought that it would have been more dramatic if she had been killed instead.)
Also when their bodies were taken over by Basil and Lola -- those enemy agents weren't married either.
Was there a place where Emma was actually referred to as a widow? I really don't recall that.
shareIt's vague but it's there -- one of the articles in the House That Jack Built, I believe. Also it is clear she lived ALONE in her flat -- Steed shows up at all hours -- there are several men along the way who express interest in her (The bad guy in the second cybernauts episode for one thing) And doesn't Emma laugh at Steed a bit when it is clear that he is worried about the character's attention to Emma? She would hardly be spending so much time with either man if she was married.
In the published books about the series, it is very clear that she is 27, a 'widow' and that her husband's plane went down somewhere over an Amazonian jungle. I also have a good TV book on the subject and she was definitely stated as a widow in the show -- just like Cathy Gale was. They just didn't see the sense in bogging down the adventure to explain it all. Most of Emma's history (what there is) comes out in The House That Jack Built.
Add to that, I believe there is a line in The Murder Market when Steed wants Emma to go and sign up as a potential client, where he says Don't you think it is time you thought about marrying AGAIN, my dear That would certainly indicate that whe was widowed and free to have a relationship or marry again any time she wanted to.
Three years later... I read somewhere...perhaps on theavengers.tv...that the writers assumed that they had slept together and this was the morning after. I rather liked that idea.
share
I am open to and basically okay with either possibility -- or with some combination of the two. One theory that used to go around was that they had once had some brief sexual fling but then broke it off and settled into a close friendship/partnership.
Besides that, not all close, intimate relationships are necessarily of a sexual nature. They do often go into deadly, close quarters combat together, and have saved each other's lives many times. I am reminded of something from _All Quiet On the Western Front_:
"I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and the same life; we are *nearer* than lovers, in a simpler, a harder way; I could bury my face in them, in these voices, these words that have saved me and will stand by me."
Ozy
And I stood where I did be; for there was no more use to run; And again I lookt with my hope gone.
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Absolute rubbish. Steed was never a lover to any of his female sidekicks.
They WORKED together, as agents. YOU FOOLS.
Why is it the modern belief that two people of opposite sex cannot work and be friends together without thinking of sex.
You idiots!
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Cathy Gale always clashed with Steed over moral issues, and Tara King idolized him, so there's apparently little ambiguity about those relationships. Ah, then there's Emma Peel! This is the one that will continue to be discussed, because the two stars produced a kind of unmatched magic together on screen. Cathy never granted Steed his ego, but Emma usually indulged him, since his manners with her were always impeccable (a roguish Steed often flirted to no avail with the unresponsive Cathy but was always rebuffed). Patrick Macnee admitted that his comedic style was present but dormant, and that Diana Rigg helped bring it to the surface, aided by the more lighthearted approach just coming into vogue as Honor Blackman bid farewell to Cathy. The black and white episodes often outfitted Rigg in all her scandalous eye catching glory (the camera unashamedly ogling her every costume, especially the scanty ones), while the color shows delved deeper into the relationship between the two characters. One moment in "The Winged Avenger" has her tenderly resting her chin on Steed's shoulder ("EEE URP!"), while "The Hidden Tiger" features perhaps the most risque dialogue in the entire series (and that's REALLY saying something!) Ronnie Barker's Cheshire, head of a cat fancying organization, asks Steed about his pet- Cheshire: "the name of your beloved pussy?" Steed: "oh, uh, Emma!" Cheshire: "a cuddly bronze tabby, and what a joy for you it must be when she's curled up in your lap!" Steed: "uh, well I never thought of it THAT way!" Emma also discusses her missing 'Little John' with Cheshire- "well, he's very bad tempered first thing in the morning, until he's had his first glass of champagne!" In "The Cybernauts," he tells Emma that if he's not back by 11:30 he'll stay for breakfast- Emma: "you don't eat breakfast!" In "The Positive Negative Man," it ends with both attached to a car, with Steed getting the last word- "face it Mrs. Peel...we're inseparable!" In Rigg's last episode "The Forget-Me-Knot," she whispers something to Steed to prove her amnesia is gone, and her inaudible ad lib has been lip read as "are you the man who dallies with me?" (the tearful goodbye truly tugs at the heartstrings). When Cathy said goodbye, she was quickly out the door without a backward glance (her holiday card, simply saying 'best wishes for the future' in "Too Many Christmas Trees," displayed far more warmth than the actual on screen parting). In conclusion, I assume that Steed and Emma were definitely lovers before they teamed up, and continued to enjoy each other's company working together in harmony. After all, when Cathy unceremoniously walks out on him, an unfazed Steed immediately picks up the phone to dial a mysterious someone he knows quite well...
"I take pleasure in great beauty" - James Bond
Cathy Gale always clashed with Steed over moral issues, and Tara King idolized him, so there's apparently little ambiguity about those relationships.
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I recall reading an interview with one of them (forget which) stating that they decided between themselves that the characters had a casual sexual relationship, but "didn't dwell on it."
I guess the argument could be made that weren't as much lovers as friends with benefits.
"Value your education. It's something nobody can ever take away from you." My mom.
On one of the Avenger web sites there is a quoted interview: to the question "Were Steed and Mrs. Peel lovers?" Macnee answered "Of course they were." and Rigg answered "Of course they weren't!"
And that settles that!
L
The greatest goverment agent partners in the history of television.
And just very good friends