Verappo
2018-07-18, 09:56 PM
I am not sure if this was discussed beforehand, so I thought I would weigh in on a recurring narrative thread I picked up on while rereading the current story arc.
I was rereading #1087 and got struck by its handling of the theme of subjugation.
In that strip we see a flashback of Thirden's approach to her apprentice Janna as a positive example of tutorship. He doesn't demand complete respect ("I've asked you not to call me "master", Janna, it's creepy") and has a constructive approach to her less than stellar handling of rhyme schemes.
This is directly and immediately contrasted to *Durkon's relationship with the Exarch, which is all about subjugation. The Exarch feels he needs a master and *Durkon is more than happy to oblige, to the two of them this is the natural state of things.
This misunderstanding of how a leader should treat his subordinates is further evidenced in that same strip when *Durkon repeats Thirden's advice with an evil spin, showing to us that he's absorbed the knowledge (subconsciously, it seems, given what we know of his inability to make such connections), despite not internalizing its more positive takeaways.
This could mean anything based on how the big memory Durkon is currently showing strip by strip is going to end up, but I am willing to bet it's something that will teach *Durkon a crucial lesson about subjection, maybe shaping the relationship to his own mistress, Hel?
It's not a fully formed theory, more like analysis that might help understand what's going on.
And these are not the only instances of the theme in this book alone!
As the book went on I always wondered the reason for that little foray with Crystal and Bozzok, as it seemed completely detached from the current setting, not to mention how early in the book this climatic end to Haley's subplot seemed to arrive.
But it does start to make sense when you see it as a piece of the same theme of subjugation.
Haley makes Crystal understand that Bozzok is using her like an object and prompts her to revolt against her "master" (in inverted commas because it IS creepy).
This could kind of act as a microcosm for where the book is headed, if *Durkon is made to learn something about Hel that would make him rethink his loyalties.
Bonus points for Crystal being undead and how that fits into the whole idea of undeads as tools that Redcloak espouses.
Just like Bozzok, Redcloak thinks he can control Xykon, whether this assumption is correct remains to be seen.
And how could we forget the specter of noogie hanging over us?
Even what little we saw of Greyview and Oona's relationship is taylor made to reinforce this theme.
If the last book was all about family and sand, this one is shaping up to centre on leadership and subjection, and I for one am so excited to see how it'll all play out now that we're approaching a climax!
I was rereading #1087 and got struck by its handling of the theme of subjugation.
In that strip we see a flashback of Thirden's approach to her apprentice Janna as a positive example of tutorship. He doesn't demand complete respect ("I've asked you not to call me "master", Janna, it's creepy") and has a constructive approach to her less than stellar handling of rhyme schemes.
This is directly and immediately contrasted to *Durkon's relationship with the Exarch, which is all about subjugation. The Exarch feels he needs a master and *Durkon is more than happy to oblige, to the two of them this is the natural state of things.
This misunderstanding of how a leader should treat his subordinates is further evidenced in that same strip when *Durkon repeats Thirden's advice with an evil spin, showing to us that he's absorbed the knowledge (subconsciously, it seems, given what we know of his inability to make such connections), despite not internalizing its more positive takeaways.
This could mean anything based on how the big memory Durkon is currently showing strip by strip is going to end up, but I am willing to bet it's something that will teach *Durkon a crucial lesson about subjection, maybe shaping the relationship to his own mistress, Hel?
It's not a fully formed theory, more like analysis that might help understand what's going on.
And these are not the only instances of the theme in this book alone!
As the book went on I always wondered the reason for that little foray with Crystal and Bozzok, as it seemed completely detached from the current setting, not to mention how early in the book this climatic end to Haley's subplot seemed to arrive.
But it does start to make sense when you see it as a piece of the same theme of subjugation.
Haley makes Crystal understand that Bozzok is using her like an object and prompts her to revolt against her "master" (in inverted commas because it IS creepy).
This could kind of act as a microcosm for where the book is headed, if *Durkon is made to learn something about Hel that would make him rethink his loyalties.
Bonus points for Crystal being undead and how that fits into the whole idea of undeads as tools that Redcloak espouses.
Just like Bozzok, Redcloak thinks he can control Xykon, whether this assumption is correct remains to be seen.
And how could we forget the specter of noogie hanging over us?
Even what little we saw of Greyview and Oona's relationship is taylor made to reinforce this theme.
If the last book was all about family and sand, this one is shaping up to centre on leadership and subjection, and I for one am so excited to see how it'll all play out now that we're approaching a climax!