Vila is not a coward, he is just very, very careful. Indeed he is occaisionally seen to do do extremely brave things -for instance in "Rescue", he tries to save Cally from the damaged base complex on Terminal just as it is about to explode. In "City At The Edge Of The world" he doesn't run away from the clearly insane Bayban, and is rewarded by finding the secret of the city (and by Kerril). Unfortunately bravery is his undoing, after killing the Federation spy Arlen he is himself killed during the climactic shoot out.

Vila and Avon became a kind of double act, from exchanging insults: Vila:"I've got this shocking pain right behind the eyes!" Avon:"Have you considered amputation?", to sharing a scam in "Gambit" where they use a minimised Orac to break the bank at the casino in Freedom City. This relationship is changed in "Orbit" when Avon realises that his survival depends on throwing Vila out of an airlock, fortunately Vila realises this too and hides, after this there is no trust any more and Vila begins to look more and more miserable.

Vila's survival instinct clearly serves him well, he is the only character to appear in every episode of Blake's 7.

Goodie

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