#alt.truth

First, the love confession adds to Astrid’s character. Till that point, she was an awesome flawless German spy woman, contrasting with our fucked-up heroes. She helped to propel the story forward, either by naming Carrie Quinn's girlfriend, by having access to handy spy-tools or by helping Quinn out of Islamabad. The fact that she harbored unrequited love for years (that is known to be an unhealthy thing) makes her less perfect, but more human.

Second, we know that Quinn was loved, truly loved, despite all his shit, despite being damaged and changed, despite the fact that he never loved Astrid back. It is soothing, in a way, to know that he had love in his life, which otherwise seems to be just war, pain and struggle for survival.

Third point... Astrid’s confession creates another perspective on unrequited love. We - Quinn’s fans - tend to idealize him, especially because of how he treats Carrie. And some of us were annoyed that Carrie did not reciprocate his affections (the most stubborn still are ;)) - and conclude that not loving Quinn back makes Carrie a bad person. Well, here the situation is reversed. Quinn is using Astrid, trying to get what he wants, he even attacks her physically when she blocks his way, he hardly apologizes, yet he knows what buttons to push to persuade her to stay… So much for Quinn being a knight in shining armor? When Astrid asks him to say something nice, and Quinn just doesn’t have anything for her except the pretty lame “you’re my friend”... That heartbreaking moment speaks volume. It's hard to watch Quinn struggling when he realizes that despite what he's said and done, he still needs her.

So once again, it's Astrid's role to drive the story forward by helping Quinn to realize that he needs help, and to force him to say it aloud (anyone remembers "I can't do it on my own"?) It's Astrid’s parting gift to Quinn, who never loved her but probably would give everything to recant his "we fucked each other because we were lonely, it doesn't make us friends" - because Astrid was the best friend he could have asked for, and he knows it.