Yknow I really like this series. The way they capture emotion is rather top-notch. Other series often have a forced or over-the-top feel to them.
Strangely, this series feels rather down-to-earth in a way. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it has to do with the well-done visual portrayal of emotions and the lack of pervasive drama or angst from scene to scene.
Which leads me to my next point:
The drama is really getting to be troublesome to me. Simply because of how it's entirely driven by Yvonne's ineptitude.
Surely, there is SOME way to communicate to Elsa about ANY of this. Yvonne, could, perhaps make a fitting analogy utilizing the idea of curses or some other substitution in order to tip-toe around the true reality of it. You cannot tell me that in a FANTASY world, full of MAGIC, that it would be entirely unbelievable. I doubt the rules of magic to be so strict that some unknown or bizarre quality or permutation of it is completely unthinkable. NOR would I think that Elsa - poor, love-struck Elsa - would be incapable of believing her even if it were so inconceivable. Barring all such critique along those lines, at the very LEAST, Yvonne should at least be able to give breadcrumbs or clues as to her lack of will or want in the matter. Worse comes to shove, they could, although morally dubious, blame it on an 'ailment of the mind' or something similar.
Instead, Elsa, with her love-addled brain, has come to the foolish conclusion that this is some form of 'nice bullying' that Yvonne undertakes for literally no reason whatsoever (Remember: Elsa still thinks her obvious infatuation isn't getting through to Yvonne properly. Which means in her mind, this isn't intentionally romantic and/or kinky). Furthermore, since Yvonne's reputation has been utterly obliterated due to her banishment, this, analyzed by any rational mind, cannot be explained by the classic I-bully-to-uphold-my-reputation trope.
Clearly, of course, Elsa isn't in her rational state of mind. Worse still, Yvonne hasn't done anything to correct or at the very least deny this conclusion of bullying without a cause or 'I bully you to show I care'.
Unsurprisingly, the main conflict is driven by a lack of proper communication. Typical.
And, under normal fluff or light drama circumstances, this wouldn't really matter.
.. Except the system has asked her to let Elsa commit suicide or even PUSH HER OFF THE DAMN BUILDING and has now spurred Yvonne into wounding Elsa.
The full extent to which and the circumstances that surround it we are not privy to.. for... I dunno, dramatic tension? Regardless, the implication is clear.
Elsa thinks this injury should be filed under the rest of Yvonne's 'bullying'.
What. W h a t. What the fuck?
Yvonne's response?: "Ooooohh I'm a horrible person Elsa! Etc etc." - sounding uncannily like stereotypical overblown negative self-image rhetoric. The kind most associated with people who have some sort of unsubstantiated insecurity with themselves. Which is clearly not the case here, since the Yvonne is NOT handling this well and has plenty of evidence for them to draw upon.
This takes the bite out of Yvonne's plead to Elsa for me. If I were trying to get someone to avoid me, or even just show caution, I would at least try to employ SOME kind of reasoning for it that didn't sound like it were simply some extension of a spiraling negative thought-pattern I was stuck in. Then again, maybe I'm just a weirdo in that way. And, certainly, Yvonne's mental state at that time didn't help.
Regardless, much more attention should've been put on how horrifyingly ok Elsa seemed to be with the possibility of this being a recurring event. Like, NO. That's NOT ok. And you should never think that your well-being is disposable and is ok being at the mercy of somebody's whims? Love-interest or not?
In that way, at least, I felt like the transition from the angst back into the wholesome was rather jarring and unnatural. There was no real change made, which should have been necessary for this to be put behind them. They both kinda just.. defaulted back to their original dispositions by the end of chapter 34.
Quite disappointing since it makes the conflict here feel pointless - like it served no real purpose other than solidifying the threat of the system and affirming it was still active.
I still really like this series, but this drama is really tiring for me. I should be used to this sort of thing by now, given how stereotypical the drive behind the conflict being miscommunication is. But, for the same reasons I like this story - the capture of emotion and down-to-earth vibes -, my aggravation has been made anew.
last edited at Jun 23, 2022 4:31PM
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