Legend of the Seeker review: Confession
Jul. 12th, 2012 02:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseReview of "Confession" for the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
legendland challenge.
2460 words approx
Please note that some of the observations I make are rather personal, especially in the latter half of the review and I may f-lock this post after the points for the challenge have been awarded.
I wasn't looking forward to rewatching this episode but I really enjoyed doing so!
There are two stories here, one about Kahlan and her powers, and the other about Zedd and his family. I'll discuss them separately.
Kahlan: Not Infalliable
Kahlan has some friends in the Resistance. The husband, Conor, is killed – and he's the third member of the Resistance to die. Richard plays CSI and finds some mysterious seeds that can only have come from one place. Declan, who is the authority figure in the village, finds a suspect. I didn't like Declan here and feel I didn't like him the first time around, ie I found him suspicious.
The suspect, Niles is quickly apprehended and found to have an object stolen from the crime scene. His sister protests that he is innocent. Kahlan wants to Confess him. Richard doesn't want her to – in the Midlands they have what seems to mirror 'due process', where people have the right to a trial in front of a judge and a council.
Now I know that Richard's 'you're doing it wrong' pissed me off in "Sacrifice" but here I think he has a more valid point. We're not talking about a proven fact that every male Confessor has turned evil, we're talking about a system of justice that affects every man and woman in the Midlands on a personal level. And while every justice system has flaws, the trial by a single Confessor is a pretty huge flaw.
The system only works if the Confessor can be sure she's getting the right 'reading' on someone, ie they are lying to her. On this basis alone she can Confess someone to make sure they're telling the truth – and hey, sucks to be the Confessed if it turns out they were innocent after all. And since all humans have flaws, all Confessors have the potential to make mistakes. In better days, at least, shouldn't there have been a panel of three or more Confessors, lest one of them want to register a 'minority report'?
Lie detectors are not considered reliable enough to be used as concrete evidence of guilt or innocence. I see no reason that a Confessor should be treated as one hundred per cent accurate either. Popular culture gives us numerous examples of how lie detectors can fail, such as the person not fully understanding or misunderstanding the question, or the person giving a false statement which they beelive to be true (two plus two equals five won't show up as a lie if you can't count). And it's that latter scenario that plays out here.
Also, Declan says that Councils make mistakes but Confessors don't. Remember that for later. He's relying on Kahlan believing her own good press at this point.
For the moment however, Kahlan gets her wish. She Confesses Niles and he admits his crime. Kahlan's probably a bit smug and Richard seems disappointed that another one of his Not How We Do Things Back Home speeches has failed. Kahlan watches as Niles hangs.
Then a man who has been robbed and beaten is escorted to the village and identifies Niles as his attacker – impossible if Niles was killing Conor at the time. Kahlan is so certain she's Always Right that she badgers and harasses the man in an interrogation, insisting he must be mistaken and suggesting he's lying. The man is adamant he is not.
Richard wonders if Niles just told Kahlan he was guilty to please her. Kahlan says that The Confessed can’t lie to a Confessor, ever, for any reason. Except the one she's still forgetting: that Niles thought he was telling the truth!
The man describes what was taken from him and Richard recognises the description of a bracelet being worn by Luna. They confront Luna, who admits that Niles was a thief and gave her the stolen bracelet. We can feel a little less bad about Niles being killed now he's not completely innocent, but still. Kahlan realises she's just had the wrong man executed. Richard is now presumably a little smug but he's mostly horrified.
Richard thinks magic must be behind this. Declan suggests a local sorcerer might be able to help. Richard and Kahlan go wandering off at night time to find the sorcerer, but Kahlan takes an arrow in her thigh. Instead of catching who shot at her, Richard hovers over her and lets them get away or the episode would be over too quickly. Then he pulls out the arrow which is terrible first aid! You don't pull out a projectile without a healer present or at least something like a hot implement to cauterise the wound in case arterial spray comes out of the resulting hole. Bad Richard!
Kahlan limps off to find Declan while Richard finally gives chase and finds himself at Niles's house – where he finds the crossbow discarded.
Meanwhile Declan treats Kahlan's wound and tells her all about how Luna knows how to use a crossbow. They go to the house where they find Luna dead and Richard claiming he killed her. Kahlan won't believe it. Because it's different when it's Richard. Sigh.
They go to see the sorcerer Declan mentioned. He is a low level magical worker – and I enjoyed seeing him. I can identify with someone who studies hard at the craft, despite having low levels of natural magical ability. He suggests Azzallel’s Orb could cause the false memories.
Declan gives him a scorched paper that was conveniently found in Luna's fireplace. The sorcerer restores the paper – it is a love letter that suggests Conor was having an affair with Luna. This gives Nella motive.
Kahlan confronts Nella and it seems I was wrong about Declan because Nella confesses to everything. Another execution is arranged. The village's population is in rapid decline.
As Nella is about to be hanged, Kahlan remembers that Richard claimed Luna scratched him when he was attacking her. But Richard has no scratches on his face or neck. But Declan does. Okay, I was right the first time! Bad Declan!
Kahlan tries to stop the hanging, Declan orders the hangman to proceed, and as Nella drops to her death, Richard manages to cut the rope holding her so that she tumbles to the ground, bruised but alive. Kahlan Confesses Declan. It's over.
Declan admits he was loyal to Darken Rahl and so had been killing the Resistance members. The magical orb was something he'd inherited. Everything was going well until Kahlan kept investigating and so he tried to kill her and to frame Nella by faking the love letter (he knew the sorcerer could easily restore the paper). He might have been evil, but props to Declan for such a cunning plan.
Later, when Zedd rejoins them, he offers to take away the false memories so Richard doesn't have to bear their burden. He also offers to take away Kahlan's guilty memories but she declines, having learnt a harsh lesson: she is not infallible. Something I'm sure they'll all forget about soon enough.
Thaddicus: the other brother
Zedd needs to go and get a key from his home. The key will open a crypt where he's sure the box of Orden will be safe.
When he gets home, his brother, Thaddicus is gardening and not pleased to see him. Zedd disappeared over twenty years ago without a word.
"I’m sure you had magical business of earth-shattering importance," Thadicus snipes, which suggests that Zedd has often neglected his family in favour of his own business.
Zedd asks after their mother and Thaddicus takes him to her – only what he takes Zedd to is her grave. Zedd is grief-stricken. It's a low blow, perhaps, but had Zedd stopped to think, surely it must have occurred to him that his mother might not have survived this long? And it's Thaddicus who stayed behind, who took care of her until her death, who maybe had to put aside his own ambitions to be a good son – and yet he tells Zedd that their mother died asking after Zedd, the son who abandoned her. Is it any wonder that Thaddicus feels hurt?
Let's look at the relationship a bit more here. Zedd and Thaddicus are another pair of brothers with Issues. Michael felt slighted because the Cyphers seemed to favour Richard, Panis sired Richard specifically to kill Darken, and Thaddicus was the lesser brother because their father doted on the magically gifted Zedd. I wonder at people who can't appreciate Michael and Thaddicus's positions at all – are they only children? Or the more favoured (the oldest/youngest/only girl/only boy or some other characteristic that their parents seem to cherish more) compared to any siblings? Have they never felt that they're not as valued in some way?
To be personal for a moment, my mother spent a lot of time taking care of my grandmother in her declining years. But it was the rarely around son, my mother's brother, that my grandmother would praise and favour. She took my mother's sacrifices for granted. I've seen this scenario play out in real life, as well as in many instances of popular media. And when the Hero shows up, having abandoned their family years before*, and the left behind sibling expresses discontent, fandom hates the person who's been left behind. Maybe the Hero did have important business, but if both children had left, who would have taken care of the parents/the business/the farm/ etc? Is it fair that the parents adore the child who left more than the one who's stayed close?
(*Stargate: Atlantis's John Sheppard has a similar run-in with his brother when he goes home to his father's funeral in the episode "Outcast". When John enlisted in the military against his father's wishes, his brother Dave stayed behind, took over the business, made sure the family was provided for. Their father was angry at John for leaving, but in later years regretted their estrangement – and it's likely he talked often about John, though this is stated explicitly, as least as far as I remember. Dave was concerned that John had only come home to change the will and usurp him from the position he'd gladly accepted after John's rejection. Ultimately, the brothers reconciled.)
To be even more personal, I'm currently struggling with issues around sibling rivalry in terms of parental affection. For instance last year my sister got married –it's something I can never compete with in terms of "accomplishments". I'm not interested in marriage and children, and so in many ways I am the Bad Daughter who isn't following the life script, isn't giving my parents these Hallmark moments. On the other hand I still need them in my life, and so in some ways I'm the Good, left behind, child. My mother assures me she doesn't play favourites, and most of the time, I believe it. Yet there's such societal pressure to be more proud of your daughter's marriage or pregnancy over accomplishments like publishing a book or getting a PhD. I could get published tomorrow and there wouldn't be the societal heapings of praise, the need to have a ceremony and a party, and to immortalize the moment. Weddings? Yay. Books? Pff, whatever.
Anyway. Back to Zedd.
There's a lighter moment when the brothers eat dinner and Zedd tries to praise Thaddicus's cooking skills and they laugh about old times. Things quickly sour again when Zedd says he's come for the key and not to see his brother. Nice, Zedd, the only reason you've come home is for more magical business of the sort that drove a wedge between you in the first place, and you wonder why Thaddicus is upset?
Enraged, Thaddicus says he sold all the treasures, the key first and foremost.
Zedd can't help being a wizard any more than Thaddicus can help not being gifted. However we're seeing glimpses of the arrogance of young Zedd here, a persona we see again in 'Wizard' and 'Vengeance':
Zedd is saying his life wasn't easy either, but he doesn't seem to realise that Thaddicus would have tolerated some abuse in order to have their father's attention. And had Zedd given Thaddicus some more affection, their relationship might have been much better. My own situation diverges wildly here, because I've always had a close relationship with my sister. I can only imagine how isolated Thaddicus must have felt growing up.
Zedd accuses Thaddicus of lacking forethought and gambling all his money away. He leaves in a huff.
Later, someone comes to collect on Thaddicus's debts. Zedd was right that Thaddicus is a gambler. The man starts beating Thaddicus, but Zedd arrives and throws the man across the room and gives him a warning:
He tells Thaddicus he came back because:
This is a nice moment for the brothers, that Zedd finally puts his brother at the forefront of his concerns. Zedd heals Thaddicus's bruised face in a scene that mirrors the one in 'Puppeeteer' when he healed Rachel – another episode that gave us glimpses of Zedd's past and his gentle side.
Thaddicus gives Zedd some food to take on his journey – and the key.
And they hug. It's a lovely moment :D
Then Zedd goes to find Richard and Kahlan, where he tries to fix the mess they've gotten themselves into while he's been away. They need Zedd around too, more than they think!
Sources
I was grateful to be able to use this transcript for quoting from. The episode itself I watched at Youtube. The Stargate Wiki helped refresh my memory on essential details for my aside about a particular episode.
legendland challenge.2460 words approx
Please note that some of the observations I make are rather personal, especially in the latter half of the review and I may f-lock this post after the points for the challenge have been awarded.
I wasn't looking forward to rewatching this episode but I really enjoyed doing so!
There are two stories here, one about Kahlan and her powers, and the other about Zedd and his family. I'll discuss them separately.
Kahlan: Not Infalliable
Kahlan has some friends in the Resistance. The husband, Conor, is killed – and he's the third member of the Resistance to die. Richard plays CSI and finds some mysterious seeds that can only have come from one place. Declan, who is the authority figure in the village, finds a suspect. I didn't like Declan here and feel I didn't like him the first time around, ie I found him suspicious.
The suspect, Niles is quickly apprehended and found to have an object stolen from the crime scene. His sister protests that he is innocent. Kahlan wants to Confess him. Richard doesn't want her to – in the Midlands they have what seems to mirror 'due process', where people have the right to a trial in front of a judge and a council.
Now I know that Richard's 'you're doing it wrong' pissed me off in "Sacrifice" but here I think he has a more valid point. We're not talking about a proven fact that every male Confessor has turned evil, we're talking about a system of justice that affects every man and woman in the Midlands on a personal level. And while every justice system has flaws, the trial by a single Confessor is a pretty huge flaw.
The system only works if the Confessor can be sure she's getting the right 'reading' on someone, ie they are lying to her. On this basis alone she can Confess someone to make sure they're telling the truth – and hey, sucks to be the Confessed if it turns out they were innocent after all. And since all humans have flaws, all Confessors have the potential to make mistakes. In better days, at least, shouldn't there have been a panel of three or more Confessors, lest one of them want to register a 'minority report'?
Lie detectors are not considered reliable enough to be used as concrete evidence of guilt or innocence. I see no reason that a Confessor should be treated as one hundred per cent accurate either. Popular culture gives us numerous examples of how lie detectors can fail, such as the person not fully understanding or misunderstanding the question, or the person giving a false statement which they beelive to be true (two plus two equals five won't show up as a lie if you can't count). And it's that latter scenario that plays out here.
Also, Declan says that Councils make mistakes but Confessors don't. Remember that for later. He's relying on Kahlan believing her own good press at this point.
For the moment however, Kahlan gets her wish. She Confesses Niles and he admits his crime. Kahlan's probably a bit smug and Richard seems disappointed that another one of his Not How We Do Things Back Home speeches has failed. Kahlan watches as Niles hangs.
Then a man who has been robbed and beaten is escorted to the village and identifies Niles as his attacker – impossible if Niles was killing Conor at the time. Kahlan is so certain she's Always Right that she badgers and harasses the man in an interrogation, insisting he must be mistaken and suggesting he's lying. The man is adamant he is not.
Richard wonders if Niles just told Kahlan he was guilty to please her. Kahlan says that The Confessed can’t lie to a Confessor, ever, for any reason. Except the one she's still forgetting: that Niles thought he was telling the truth!
The man describes what was taken from him and Richard recognises the description of a bracelet being worn by Luna. They confront Luna, who admits that Niles was a thief and gave her the stolen bracelet. We can feel a little less bad about Niles being killed now he's not completely innocent, but still. Kahlan realises she's just had the wrong man executed. Richard is now presumably a little smug but he's mostly horrified.
Richard thinks magic must be behind this. Declan suggests a local sorcerer might be able to help. Richard and Kahlan go wandering off at night time to find the sorcerer, but Kahlan takes an arrow in her thigh. Instead of catching who shot at her, Richard hovers over her and lets them get away or the episode would be over too quickly. Then he pulls out the arrow which is terrible first aid! You don't pull out a projectile without a healer present or at least something like a hot implement to cauterise the wound in case arterial spray comes out of the resulting hole. Bad Richard!
Kahlan limps off to find Declan while Richard finally gives chase and finds himself at Niles's house – where he finds the crossbow discarded.
Meanwhile Declan treats Kahlan's wound and tells her all about how Luna knows how to use a crossbow. They go to the house where they find Luna dead and Richard claiming he killed her. Kahlan won't believe it. Because it's different when it's Richard. Sigh.
They go to see the sorcerer Declan mentioned. He is a low level magical worker – and I enjoyed seeing him. I can identify with someone who studies hard at the craft, despite having low levels of natural magical ability. He suggests Azzallel’s Orb could cause the false memories.
Declan gives him a scorched paper that was conveniently found in Luna's fireplace. The sorcerer restores the paper – it is a love letter that suggests Conor was having an affair with Luna. This gives Nella motive.
Kahlan confronts Nella and it seems I was wrong about Declan because Nella confesses to everything. Another execution is arranged. The village's population is in rapid decline.
As Nella is about to be hanged, Kahlan remembers that Richard claimed Luna scratched him when he was attacking her. But Richard has no scratches on his face or neck. But Declan does. Okay, I was right the first time! Bad Declan!
Kahlan tries to stop the hanging, Declan orders the hangman to proceed, and as Nella drops to her death, Richard manages to cut the rope holding her so that she tumbles to the ground, bruised but alive. Kahlan Confesses Declan. It's over.
Declan admits he was loyal to Darken Rahl and so had been killing the Resistance members. The magical orb was something he'd inherited. Everything was going well until Kahlan kept investigating and so he tried to kill her and to frame Nella by faking the love letter (he knew the sorcerer could easily restore the paper). He might have been evil, but props to Declan for such a cunning plan.
Later, when Zedd rejoins them, he offers to take away the false memories so Richard doesn't have to bear their burden. He also offers to take away Kahlan's guilty memories but she declines, having learnt a harsh lesson: she is not infallible. Something I'm sure they'll all forget about soon enough.
Thaddicus: the other brother
Zedd needs to go and get a key from his home. The key will open a crypt where he's sure the box of Orden will be safe.
When he gets home, his brother, Thaddicus is gardening and not pleased to see him. Zedd disappeared over twenty years ago without a word.
"I’m sure you had magical business of earth-shattering importance," Thadicus snipes, which suggests that Zedd has often neglected his family in favour of his own business.
Zedd asks after their mother and Thaddicus takes him to her – only what he takes Zedd to is her grave. Zedd is grief-stricken. It's a low blow, perhaps, but had Zedd stopped to think, surely it must have occurred to him that his mother might not have survived this long? And it's Thaddicus who stayed behind, who took care of her until her death, who maybe had to put aside his own ambitions to be a good son – and yet he tells Zedd that their mother died asking after Zedd, the son who abandoned her. Is it any wonder that Thaddicus feels hurt?
Let's look at the relationship a bit more here. Zedd and Thaddicus are another pair of brothers with Issues. Michael felt slighted because the Cyphers seemed to favour Richard, Panis sired Richard specifically to kill Darken, and Thaddicus was the lesser brother because their father doted on the magically gifted Zedd. I wonder at people who can't appreciate Michael and Thaddicus's positions at all – are they only children? Or the more favoured (the oldest/youngest/only girl/only boy or some other characteristic that their parents seem to cherish more) compared to any siblings? Have they never felt that they're not as valued in some way?
To be personal for a moment, my mother spent a lot of time taking care of my grandmother in her declining years. But it was the rarely around son, my mother's brother, that my grandmother would praise and favour. She took my mother's sacrifices for granted. I've seen this scenario play out in real life, as well as in many instances of popular media. And when the Hero shows up, having abandoned their family years before*, and the left behind sibling expresses discontent, fandom hates the person who's been left behind. Maybe the Hero did have important business, but if both children had left, who would have taken care of the parents/the business/the farm/ etc? Is it fair that the parents adore the child who left more than the one who's stayed close?
(*Stargate: Atlantis's John Sheppard has a similar run-in with his brother when he goes home to his father's funeral in the episode "Outcast". When John enlisted in the military against his father's wishes, his brother Dave stayed behind, took over the business, made sure the family was provided for. Their father was angry at John for leaving, but in later years regretted their estrangement – and it's likely he talked often about John, though this is stated explicitly, as least as far as I remember. Dave was concerned that John had only come home to change the will and usurp him from the position he'd gladly accepted after John's rejection. Ultimately, the brothers reconciled.)
To be even more personal, I'm currently struggling with issues around sibling rivalry in terms of parental affection. For instance last year my sister got married –it's something I can never compete with in terms of "accomplishments". I'm not interested in marriage and children, and so in many ways I am the Bad Daughter who isn't following the life script, isn't giving my parents these Hallmark moments. On the other hand I still need them in my life, and so in some ways I'm the Good, left behind, child. My mother assures me she doesn't play favourites, and most of the time, I believe it. Yet there's such societal pressure to be more proud of your daughter's marriage or pregnancy over accomplishments like publishing a book or getting a PhD. I could get published tomorrow and there wouldn't be the societal heapings of praise, the need to have a ceremony and a party, and to immortalize the moment. Weddings? Yay. Books? Pff, whatever.
Anyway. Back to Zedd.
There's a lighter moment when the brothers eat dinner and Zedd tries to praise Thaddicus's cooking skills and they laugh about old times. Things quickly sour again when Zedd says he's come for the key and not to see his brother. Nice, Zedd, the only reason you've come home is for more magical business of the sort that drove a wedge between you in the first place, and you wonder why Thaddicus is upset?
Enraged, Thaddicus says he sold all the treasures, the key first and foremost.
Thaddicus: Here’s the truth of the situation, brother: I’m not a Wizard. As you never for one second let me forget.
Zedd: You know as well as I do that not every child inherits the power. I am not going to apologize for the ways of fate.
Zedd can't help being a wizard any more than Thaddicus can help not being gifted. However we're seeing glimpses of the arrogance of young Zedd here, a persona we see again in 'Wizard' and 'Vengeance':
Thaddicus: So the way you lorded it over me that - That was fate? The way you left me to do the kitchen chores because you were meant for greater things? The way it was always “run off and play Thaddicus” while Father gave his precious time to the training of the great Zeddicus?
Zedd: Memories are slippery things but the crack of Father’s stick across my knuckles is hard to forget.
Zedd is saying his life wasn't easy either, but he doesn't seem to realise that Thaddicus would have tolerated some abuse in order to have their father's attention. And had Zedd given Thaddicus some more affection, their relationship might have been much better. My own situation diverges wildly here, because I've always had a close relationship with my sister. I can only imagine how isolated Thaddicus must have felt growing up.
Zedd accuses Thaddicus of lacking forethought and gambling all his money away. He leaves in a huff.
Later, someone comes to collect on Thaddicus's debts. Zedd was right that Thaddicus is a gambler. The man starts beating Thaddicus, but Zedd arrives and throws the man across the room and gives him a warning:
Zedd: If you ever dare to show your face to my brother, ever, you’ll wish I had burned you to cinders. Now get out.
He tells Thaddicus he came back because:
Zedd: I don’t want to go to the Shadows knowing that my last words to the only brother I have in all the world were unkind and unfair.
This is a nice moment for the brothers, that Zedd finally puts his brother at the forefront of his concerns. Zedd heals Thaddicus's bruised face in a scene that mirrors the one in 'Puppeeteer' when he healed Rachel – another episode that gave us glimpses of Zedd's past and his gentle side.
Thaddicus gives Zedd some food to take on his journey – and the key.
Zedd: You had it all along?
Thaddicus: Of course. Mother would’ve come back from the grave swinging that iron skillet if I’d let it out of my sight for a second.
Zedd: How could you put me through such a thing?
Thaddicus: I was angry that you came home for something you needed…and not to see me.
Zedd: I needed to see you too.
And they hug. It's a lovely moment :D
Then Zedd goes to find Richard and Kahlan, where he tries to fix the mess they've gotten themselves into while he's been away. They need Zedd around too, more than they think!
Sources
I was grateful to be able to use this transcript for quoting from. The episode itself I watched at Youtube. The Stargate Wiki helped refresh my memory on essential details for my aside about a particular episode.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-12 01:40 pm (UTC)Absolutely LOVE it!!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-12 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 12:29 pm (UTC)Instead, it feels like back to back episodes of the writers pushing Kahlan to trust Richard's instincts above her own. If I were supreme dictator of the universe and I wanted to show Richard as a likable hero, I'd have had him spend more time watching how Kahlan did things and asking questions about what she's doing and how it's worked in the past, etc. This is such a good point. Richard is always right, it seems, and if he says Kahlan is wrong about something, then she is. And yes, if he wanted to be a good leader rather than a dictator-hero, he ought to have spent more time trying to understand these people and their current systems/structures.
That's an interesting point about acting choices; how much is in the writing, how much is the actor, and how much is the director? Here, I agree with you because Richard becomes, to me, more likeable by season two; which suggests not only the writers but Horner, had really got to grips with Richard which gave him more depth and - confidence? I feel he's less raw and more considerate and laid back somehow in later episodes but I don't quite know how to explain it!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 08:49 pm (UTC)On Kahlan not being infallible:
We're not talking about a proven fact that every male Confessor has turned evil, we're talking about a system of justice that affects every man and woman in the Midlands on a personal level.
While I'm still caring about the male Confessor issue (and I think it might have rather a widespread effect, depending on circumstances), this is a good point. The system lends credence to Kahlan's attitude that she is the law of the Midlands, but doesn't do much to justify that.
Also, in Agatha Christie mysteries everyone is always lying about something. It doesn't seem fair to assume that a person is guilty of the most epic crime ever just if they don't happen to want Kahlan to know every detail of their personal life.
The scene where Declan treats Kahlan's wound: this bothers me so much. I already thought he was sketchy the first time I watched the episode, and now that I know he's evil I just keep wondering why on earth he wouldn't poison Kahlan's wound. It's the perfect opportunity, and he seemed like someone who could get a hold of poison somehow. I know he's using her to cover his tracks, but Confessors are dangerous. Wouldn't it make more sense to kill her? It might even look like an accident - infected wound, easy since as you pointed out, they're not using quality first aid here.
He also offers to take away Kahlan's guilty memories but she declines, having learnt a harsh lesson: she is not infallible. Something I'm sure they'll all forget about soon enough. Not necessarily...I hold out hope, even if that's unrealistic of me ;)
On Thaddicus:
I agree that he has every right to be upset. I can't help feeling that the sibling issues started way before Zedd left 'on business crucial to the fate of the world' etc. I see this as more a result of bad parenting (on Carracticus's part, easy to believe) than young!Zedd being an arrogant jerk, although I'm sure that was also a factor.
Birth order sometimes makes a difference in how kids are treated and how they behave: I've read articles about how the eldest child empathizes more with the parents and also gets more attention, while the youngest may be babied and treasured, and the middle child (if there're more than two) might feel, or be, more neglected.
One thing that could also be a factor with your mother and grandmother and uncle is sexism: I know that my mother's brother has always been favored by their parents, and my grandmother felt very oppressed because even though she was older, my great-grandparents thought only her brother needed to or should attend college. My hope is that this is less of an issue now, of course, but it does seem to come up more than I'd like.
I would think getting a book published would be a huge deal! Anyway, marriage and babies aren't the only milestones in life. You know what you want, and that's already a major achievement, it seems to me :D
Wow, very long comment. Sorry to go on and on!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 09:55 pm (UTC)Poisoning the wound is something I hadn't considered. You could keep it in mind for an AU darkfic :D It does seem like something Declan would do.
Yes, I think sexism did play a part here - daughters are expected to take care of parents, while the sun shines out of son's behinds. I think I've mentioned my grandmother before and how we never got along because our personalities and values were too different. She needed to be the centre of attention all the time, and could never understand why I wasn't desperate to pin down a man to pay that sort of attention to me!
I always love long comments :D I commented on your fic at AO3 instead because, ugh, every single update glitches LJ. I had no notifications until a couple of hours ago, when they all showed up together, and all morning my pages kept timing out or loading with the html borked so menus were all out position. That seems fixed now, at least. (if you notice your userpics being odd, that's something that's broken again, and until it's fixed you might get the wrong icon - ie not what you picked - display)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-16 02:57 am (UTC)It's frightening the amount of unquestioned power Confessors are given on the show, and it's nice to see at least one episode that causes Kahlan to have a few second thoughts. I've always wondered how Confessors can always be relied on to know the truth:
1. They are human and subject to prejudices and pre-conceptions just like anyone else - despite their training.
2. Just as you stated, the person accused may believe they are telling the truth at the time they are being questioned.
3. Emotions can cloud the person's reasoning. Maybe the accused 'feels' guilty of the act even though they didn't actually do anything. They feel a sense of responsibility that could be construed as actual guilt.
It's a very troubling topic for me, and the show never really addresses it adequately.
I agree with you that the Zedd/Thaddicus story is the best part of the episode and very well played. It's also so true to life: the over-achieving child leaves home for years, while the other child stays home and takes care of the farm and family - only to hear the other child constantly praised. It's almost a Prodigal Son parallel - with the absent son being successful instead of a wastrel.
The conversations between Zedd and Thaddicus were very moving, and I couldn't help but side with Thaddicus most of the time. It doesn't surprise me that Carracticus would favor Zedd (I really dislike that old guy), but it's sad that their mother didn't appreciate what Thaddicus did for them. Or maybe she did, but felt it unecessary to tell him.
I'm sorry about your mother and grandmother. That sounds like a hard situation. It's usually the daughter who's expected to care for her aging parents on a day to day basis, often with no thanks, while the son who comes to visit once a month is showered with attention.
Perhaps a lot of that is just the longing to see the child who's never there, versus the unspoken gratitude for the child who is always there. People often tend to take their day to day caretaker for granted, which doesn't always mean that they love them any less.
As to your home situation, Lisa, I know it's painful and hard, But is it possible that your mother means what she says to you? Are you positive she wouldn't value other accomplishments that you can achieve? I can't imagine a mother who wouldn't be bragging to everyone she sees about a daughter who published a book. But then, I'm not in your situation.
I know there are a lot of societal expectations for women to marry and have children, and parents can be major forces in bringing those pressures to bear. If you parents really don't feel that anything else you will ever do will come up to the mark, then I think that's where friends and a strong sense of self come in. Find another support network - and maybe, just maybe - your parents will come around at some point.
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Date: 2012-07-24 10:40 am (UTC)And it's society as a whole that's such an issue - that OMG U HAZ A GRANDBABY is such cause for celebration when it's really nothing that special or unusual compared to OMG UR DAUGHTER WON A MEDAL or some other accomplishment that most people will never achieve. Society tends to reward the status quo, hence why gay rights are still years behind where I think they should be.
I guess I just have to do my best to take pride in what I do, accept praise from those who offer it, and ignore those who consider me in some way 'less'.