Tachibana



The sand in the hourglass of Fernand Mondego's friendship with Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) began to run out quickly once Mondego (Guy Pierce) set his sights on Dantes' beautiful fiance, Mercedes. One convincing setup later, Dantes was being carted off to his new permanent residence: the hallowed Chateau D'If. Mondego slid into place and whisked the distraught Mercedes off to be married and start a new life devoid of the memory of Edmond Dantes.

And once he has "the prize" of his deception as his bride, what does he do? Mondego engages in affairs with multiple mistresses and ignores Mercedes, leaving her to raise their son. This slimy and unsavory "gentleman" gets his though when Dantes miraculously returns to exact his revenge. This is easy to get too because Mondego is pretty pathetic when the pressure is applied. His riches, power, and influence evaporate quickly, revealing the shallow, uncaring man he really is. Two things cannot be taken away so easily, however: his power of deception and skill with the sword. He uses both in the end to try to win the day, but his passion was not nearly as great as Edmond Dantes.