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#i didn't even mean to only gif the similarly directed shots
animehouse-moe · 10 months
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The Ancient Magus' Bride S2 Episode 9: Conscience Does Make Coward Of Us All I.
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This episode frustrated me so much, because I was just completely ignoring any set up and foreshadowing from the earlier episodes this season. It snuck up on me, and I hate how much sense it makes when you can put it all together. Of course, that frustration means it's a good episode, if that wasn't clear. Alongside the story though, it's probably one of the prettiest ones to date, so certainly a lot to talk about!
What a massive blunder on my part. Elias wants to cure Chise of her curse/ailments, that was well established. I just didn't connect the dots with him going to the college and reading that book at the start of the season. Nor did I connect the fact that it was a book that appeared before Lucy while on the camping trip in the prior episode. Never did I think they would be one in the same, and I feel like I failed. I looked right past all the obvious information just to have it sprung on me in this episode when Elias reveals what's in the book.
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It's so plain to see. Elias was looking through that book to search for a cure for Chise, but he didn't find what he was looking for. Even without the information of the book, it should have been easy to put two and two together from Lucy's interaction with it but I looked right past it. Similarly, the book also speaks to Elias' desire to rid Chise of Joseph, which I thought was interesting.
Anyways, humor me on presenting a certain theory. We know Philomela and the Sargent family is up to no good, and that Philomela has been tailing someone. I won't go as far as saying Lucy since we have no way to confirm, but I also know it's not Chise because she's the only one that can "find" Philomela. Anyways, Philomela has been tailing someone, and her ability to hide her presence is awfully convenient. A spider's thread was found in the box containing the codex. Now, it could have been part of the codex, or it could have been involved in the theft of it. If it's the latter, it means the people that killed the Webster family and stole their spiders are the same people after that codex. If there's spider's being used, taking the only (real) member of the Webster family out of the equation makes the most sense so that they can't interfere in any way.
So, we arrive at the notion that Philomela and the Sargent family are who murdered the Webster family and stole their spiders, and that Philomela (or perhaps Lizbeth) is in possession of the codex, which they used to sap Lucy of her magic so that she would not pose a risk when stealing the codex. What follows though, is why they went as far as using the codex on Simeon, and why Seth is being hunted. The former, it's possible that it's because they didn't want Elias anywhere near the situation due to his power, but the latter is a bit more odd. We know Seth can't really control magic well, so you'd think he's not a real part of the equation, but the setup with making it seem like those Lycanthropes are paying Seth back for his previous job has me second guessing his significance.
Alright! Crackpot theorycrafting over, here's some cool and fun shots from the episode to break up the monotony. I'll explain the direction and what piques my interest later on.
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Okay, onto actual episode stuff now. We'll start with Chise. I really like how we're beginning to address the Dragon's curse and Joseph swirling around inside her. It's very nice to see it treated as a threat that has integrated with Chise, rather than a beast that exists within her. Because of that, the fear and issues surrounding it feel far more reasonable. Also, because of that outburst in the prior episode, she went to visit Joseph, and I really like seeing how she continues to mirror him more and more, whether in jest or in actuality.
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Similarly, I really love the use of first person perspective in this cut, alongside the dialogue. We're using Chise's eye that resides in Joseph to look at Chise. Sort of a "in the mirror" moment as we're looking at Chise through her own eye, which adds a certain value to Joseph's words. He doesn't say "something within you", but just "within you", explicitly stating that the piece of him and the curse of the Dragon are Chise. That her fears and aggression and aversion are all one homogenous aspect of herself that she can't simply isolate because she doesn't like it.
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Alongside Chise though there's Elias, who I really enjoyed once more this episode. I quite love how well his struggle with grasping emotions is depicted. He doesn't get them at the drop of a hat, but neither is he completely clueless forever. He's shown to have the very basics down, and can apply that to the more complex feelings, but is unable to really take that next step forward just yet. And I think that's really well shown through his questioning of what 'worrying' is. He correctly gets the piece about being scared, but is unsure/incorrect in how to apply it.
Also, with this first image I really like the head tilt. It addresses the innocence with how Elias approaches and questions emotions while also showing his understanding of how expressions shape said emotions. So it effectively doubles down as him expressing his curiosity as well.
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And now, just doubling back to Chise one last time. I really liked this piece in how she's effectively absorbed some of the ability of the dragons. She's able to enter Lucy's inner world through contact with her dragon hand, which I thought was very interesting.
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With that, the story of the episode is about finished. It's a very methodic and slow pace, as is usual for MahoYome, and I do quite enjoy it.
But I'm not done yet! There's still the direction to talk about, but I can make it quick.
Terasawa's penchant for overhead, long, and skewed layouts stays strong through the episode and remains enjoyable. It feels more constrained now that we're back indoors, and I feel like because of that they do a better job overall with delivering on it.
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There's a lot more I'd love to share, but I think the point is made. The storyboarding and execution on space in this episode is far better than the prior thanks to its constraints.
Though I'd absolutely say the highlight of the episode is how they play with that evening sun as lighting. You can see it in that last image of Simeon there, but it's just so beautiful throughout that latter half of the episode with how detailed the light shafts are, and how they exist in a 3-dimensional space. It's really impressive, you get the feel of depth throughout the episode in general, but the lighting just adds a whole different degree to it.
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So, there you have it. Bringing the episode back towards a confined space has brought out the best in the production, and they've woven together a violent mystery from pieces they've been casually dropping throughout the season. I'm very excited to see what we get shown next episode, seeing as there's so many questions and potential roads for the story to take.
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fakeikemen · 4 years
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The "Cave of Two Lovers" foreshadows the Zutara interactions in "Crossroads of Destiny"
[And maybe after that too; (yeah this part will be purely based on speculation)]
(See also: A meta that everybody has already written but I haven't because I was living under a rock and watched Avatar very recently)
Like seriously, it is so obvious? I see people try to interpret "The Legend Of Oma and Shu" in so many other ways; like yeah, you're free to interpret it however you want but— most people try to make sense of it while thinking that the tale is just a random occurrence? But it's not.
And here's why:
(I'm so sorry, I tried to add the "keep reading" link here because this gets kinda long but it just won't work) (Also click on the pictures if you want better resolution).
The tale of Oma and Shu is about two lovers who belonged to villages that were at war against each other. To continue meeting each other, they learnt earthbending to create caves in the mountain that divides the two villages. But one day Shu didn't come to the caves. He'd died in the war. So Oma unleashed a terrifying display of her power. And then when people were willing to listen to her, she called off the war and strived for peace between both the villages. As a result the city of Omashu was created— as a monument in remembrance of their love.
So in comparison:
1. Two people belonging to the opposite sides of the war
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(Other than the 100 year old war that has been going on, Zuko and Katara are involved in a very fundamental conflict: Capture the Avatar Vs. Protect the Avatar.)
2. With the same colour scheme:
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3. Share intimate moments in a cave lit by green crystals:
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A popular argument for this comparison is that; Oma and Shu had a positive impressions of each other when they first met. Unlike Zuko and Katara where Katara's first impression of Zuko was pretty negative because he invaded her village.
Zuko and Katara's first proper conversation happens in "Crossroads of Destiny" i.e.; the scene I'm talking about here. After this interaction that they have, I think it's safe to say that they did have positive impressions of each other. (Until Zuko made the wrong choice.)
Other than that, about the colour scheme being a coincidence: Here and here are posts by @marsreds about how the colours are definitely not a coincidence.
But seriously guys? Oma and Shu were the FIRST EARTHBENDERS and yet, instead of greens and yellows they were designed with RED and BLUE?!? (I'll take about Oma's green dress below.)
And on that note, why were Zuko and Katara the only ones who were thrown into the catacombs when everybody else was being held at the dungeons? The dungeons wouldn't have been easy to escape, neither for Zuko nor for Katara.
It's because Zuko and Katara were meant to share an intimate moment in a cave that was supposed to jog our visual memory to remind us of the caves built by Oma and Shu.
(Seriously though, I wasn't really paying attention during CoTL and thought that the Omashu legend was just put in to consume screen time, so I missed the red/blue thing. But then I watched CoD and saw the catacombs and I was like: "Isn't this like that cave made by the lovers?" And then I proceeded to have an oh shit moment because, I knew that Zutara was not canon so I never even considered the possibility of the narrative hinting at anything between them but then this happened. I mean, it's pretty darn obvious).
The colour of the crystals being the same in both caves is no coincidence either— if they just wanted two random caves with crystals, then they could've used a different colour because crystals of different colours exist:
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Moving on,
The Visual Cues:
According to the colour coding Zuko = Oma (red) and Katara = Shu (blue).
So,
EXHIBIT A:
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I feel like this one speaks for itself.
(I personally think that in this parallel Oma is in red because Katara at this point still sees Zuko as the face of the Fire Nation.)
EXHIBIT B:
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This sequence of frames show Oma (dressed in green, like Zuko was in the catacombs) and Shu (dressed in his usual blue), standing on neutral territory and reaching out to each other and then being torn apart by the war.
Pretty much like:
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The first time they are in each other's presence without the cause of their conflict (i.e. the Avatar), Zuko and Katara reach out to each other empathetically and attain bone deep understanding of each other within a matter of minutes. This whole encounter is in Ba Sing Se, which counts for the neutral territory because it hadn't been completely taken over by Fire Nation at that point.
And honestly? The raw vulnerability and intimacy of this scene and the high emotional energy of their powerful dynamic is just— wow. (I put off my binging spree for a whole day because I didn't have the heart to see Zutara not become canon after all of this.)
And soon after, Zuko and Katara face each other in battle, their tentative friendship torn apart, as they fight from their respective sides of the war.
EXHIBIT C:
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Whenever Oma and Shu appear in the same frame during the visualization of the legend, Oma is always on the left half of the frame and Shu is on the right.
Similarly, throughout all their interactions in the Catacombs, whenever the frame exclusively includes Zuko and Katara, Zuko (like Oma) is on the left half of the frame and Katara (like Shu) is on the right.
The parallels (or foils rather):
#1
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In CoTL, we see Song who is a healer (cures Iroh of his poisoning). She mentions that she hasn't seen her father since a Fire Nation raid took place in her village. Zuko empathises with her and says that he too hasn't seen his father in a long while. But then he refuses to say anything else about it.
Later Song tries to reach out to Zuko and tries to touch his scar— which Zuko prevents her from. She shows Zuko her own scars to show that she understood him.
And yet, Zuko doesn't open up to her.
After a while of life-changing and eye-opening experiences, in CoD, when Katara has her meltdown and cries while saying that her mother was snatched away from her by the Fire Nation; Zuko sees an opening to offer an olive branch and he takes it, he empathises with her and tells her that how his mother was snatched away by the Fire Nation as well.
Then Zuko opens up to Katara in a show of complete vulnerability. He openly talks about his scar and what he feels about it. In response, Katara offers to heal his scar and then Zuko lets her touch his scar.
It was nothing but a deliberate choice to make Song slightly parallel Katara (a healer, lost a parent because of the war) and then making Zuko not open up to her and not let her touch the scar, only for Katara to be the one he opened up to and allowed to touch the scar.
#2
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After being trapped with Aang in the cave in CoTL and sharing an intimate moment with him, as soon as they find their way out, Katara runs straight ahead without looking back.
But after her time with Zuko, trapped in the Catacombs in CoD, while leaving she turns back to look at Zuko.
Judging by the amount of time the animation puts into showing us Aang's disappointment at Katara running off and into making it clear that Katara did look back at Zuko and that Zuko looked right back at her, to me, it feels like the choice to show this was pretty deliberate.
(Turning back to look at a person while leaving is a romantic trope that has been overused to death? Or is it just bollywood?)
Also I wouldn't have paid this much attention to this small detail if not for the fact that just a hint of the Omashu legend theme is played here?
No, I swear I'm not making it up.
The Omashu legend theme is used in CoD:
The Omashu legend theme is largely dominated by the music of a stringed instrument (forgive me, I don't know what it's called) alongwith a steady melody playing in the background.
In CoD, when Katara and Zuko start conversing for real, (i.e.; when Katara says: "I'm sorry I yelled at you.") what sounds like a variation of the background melody in the Omashu legend theme, starts its subtle ascent as the background score, but sans the music of the stringed instrument.
It is when Katara says: "Maybe you could be free of it." [About Zuko's scar], when then first hint of the stringed instrument is heard. It is only a single note of the strings but it's there. And this "single note" sound keeps on repeating at regular intervals with the melody building up until Aang and Iroh burst into the catacombs.
But then, when Katara is leaving with Aang and she turns back to look at Zuko, this time the music that plays for a few seconds at best, is dominated by the stringed instrument again and this time it's unmistakable.
Also I don't think this music is used anywhere else in the course of the whole show? So it can't really be a coincidence? But I don't really know. I'm saying this on the basis of as far as my memory can reach.
And this is as far as canon stands testimony to what I am trying to say here.
But what about the second half of the story yk, the dying thing, you say?
Well this is where the speculations come in.
Speculation Time:
#1
As a thumb rule, a romance foreshadowed by a tragic tale is meant to have a happy ending.
So this time when Katara's (Shu) life is in danger (Azula's lightning bolt), Zuko (Oma) steps in at the nick of time to save her life (by jumping infront of Katara to intercept the lightning).
(Since I have crossed the limit of images in a post, here is a post by @araeph which illustrates this point.)
Yes, I am completely aware that Zuko taking the lightning bolt for Katara is not his declaration of love for her. What I mean to say is that the whole scene was so very painfully obviously romantically framed (the immediate change in music when Zuko realises where the lightning bolt was headed, both of their expressions, Zuko's agonized "Nooooo", the slow-mo throughout the shot).
I am also aware that Zuko would've taken the lightning bolt for anyone. But it is the narrative that demands that Zuko take the lightning bolt for Katara and Katara only. Because this has atleast 10 different payoffs (a direct callback to the Book 2 finale where Azula had shot Aang with the lightning; the grief of which was for Katara to bear but this time Zuko himself stands between the lightning and Katara instead of being the silent spectator, the culmination of both Zuko and Katara's personal character arcs, Zuko's scar would parallel Aang's: Aang got it because he chose Katara over the world and Zuko got it because he was willing to give up the world to save Katara, etc, etc).
Tl;dr: The lightning scene wouldn't hold all that much weight if it wasn't Zuko taking the hit for Katara because the narrative literally demands it.
#2
This is where we start wading into really murky waters.
From mucking around on Tumblr due to Zutara feels™, I came across this post where some of the ideas for Book 4 were written:
• The Southern Water Tribe experienced the longest series of attacks from the Fire Nation. Zuko and Katara become political partners and work together to help end the animosity and repair relations between their two nations.
• Just like how Zuko learned to appreciate the Earth Kingdom, he would learn to appreciate the Water Tribes. Katara also learns to respect the complexity of Fire Nation culture. There is no such thing as an “evil” nation.
And that basically means that Zuko and Katara would've been working together to de-escalate the hostility between their respective nations and improve the relations between the two nations, while learning about each other's cultures simultaneously as the world would be in the process of being rebuilt after the war and they would be major role-players in shaping the new world.
Which is quite similar to how Oma strived for peace between the two villages and then as a result of the improved relations between the villages, the city of Omashu was built as a monument to the love story of Oma and Shu; which might just be symbolic of building a new world where both the villages could live in peace due to the initiative taken by Oma on behalf of herself and Shu.
The story would've come a full circle; that's all I'm saying.
If you've stuck around for this long, thank you for taking the time to read this long ass post with points that you may already have read ♥️
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