#on a positive note i liked the conversation we got between Nikolai and Mal‚ I thought it was so sweet :'))) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rietveldbrothers · 4 years

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Please excuse my brief foray into fandom analysis...

THIS IS A LONG POST. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Alright guys, so given the TV show, a lot of discourse has come back up about Alina and her various suitors and who’s the right choice and was TGT’s ending satisfying etc etc etc and I just wanted to put my two cents out there about what I perceive to be the main difference between those who ship Alina with Mal, and those who ship her with Nikolai, or who like me, would have preferred Alina to not end up with anyone at all.

a few disclaimers before we get into it: Mal is not a character I would characterize myself as being a fan of. I’m largely ambivalent, but given that i found the ending unsatisfying, well, see the below argument, but just so everyone knows I’m not running around as a Mal Fan nor an Anti... he’s just kinda there to me.

Likewise, I would not even categorize myself as someone who is particularly big fan of the Grisha Trilogy in general, I am far more invested in SoC, as you probably already know, and this is partially because of Alina herself also explained below. I enjoyed some of the more minor characters quite a bit (See: Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Zoya, Genya) but I would say my interest in TGT is largely as a foundational work for the Grishaverse, Six of Crows and the Nikolai Duology

(Please note my deliberate exclusion of the Darkling, he’s creepy and the worst. I will recap why he’s not necessary to include in this conversation at the end of this post but it involves the argument so I’m not gonna explain now)

OKAY. HERE WE GO.

The problem essentially, is that Alina herself clearly was not fully fleshed out when Leigh wrote the first book. She’s got inconsistent characterization throughout the series so any reader is gonna pick the characterization they like and relate to and they’re going to subscribe to That Alina, and there are two very distinct Alina’s with VERY different goals. And essentially, what happens in the canon ending and Mal represent one of these sets of goals, and Nikolai/No Relationships represents the other.

Even if you don't dislike Mal as a character, you might not like him and Alina together because her ending up anonymous raising children in an orphanage at peace with a simple life doesn't seem right. That is because for parts of the books... its not at all what she's written as wanting, at times, she pretty clearly is ambitious, she wants to do good and she wants to do it publicly and she wants to lead, and she likes the power, and so then her ending feels unsatisfying. so for me, who finds empowerment in leading and being loud and in charge, and literal power, I project onto those parts of Alina and therefore Mal seemed stifling and the ending disappointing. The alternative (if she has to end up with someone, which is meh) is Nikolai, because he is offering her that type of position.

Now on the opposite side, if you did find the ending satisfying, if you did like her with Mal, you probably focused more on the parts where she longed for family, and simplicity and wanted no part in this larger conflict and solving everyone else’s problems. At parts of the book, Alina very clearly longed for peace and simplicity and the comfort of family and that is what Mal ultimately offered her. If you related more to the parts of Alina that found empowerment through peace and family... then Mal was the obvious choice and you were happy with her and Mal as a couple and on her choices at the end of the trilogy.

The problem is that Alina's characterization is not consistent, so as readers, we all sorta end up deciding for ourselves which Alina we subscribe to, and that dictates who we prefer her with, or how we feel about the ending. To me, since I relate more to the first Alina characterization, and since Mal would never be a choice that I myself made for ME, he becomes a choice that I find disappointing when Alina makes it. If Alina had been consistent then even if it wasn’t what I personally would have done, I could have been satisfied by her choices if I wasn’t in a position where I had to project onto a character (to be clear, I think you always project onto a character a little bit, but the degree depends on how fleshed out the character is and therefore how many actual gaps there are for you to fill in)

Ultimately, you can ship whatever you want, and some people are always going to disagree, and with any ending there will be people who are and are not satisfied. And in the end, this whole argument...doesn’t... really matter?

I suppose, I am hopeful that in the TV series, Alina will have a more consistent characterization and therefore be more satisfying. (and frankly, Archie Renoux is a gift from god so I might just turn into a Mal Stan yet we’ll see)

P.S. the darkling isn’t necessary in the shipping convo because he literally violates Alina on several levels and the power her offers her is also offered in a much less creepy way by Nikolai so you can keep your powerful Alina requires the darkling arguments to yourself

#the grisha trilogy #admin post #long post #not soc #SORRY FOR THE RANDOM FORAY INTO MY BRAIN #If you piss me off and are mean i will block you I literally do not care

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