This is my pimp cane II
Feb. 24th, 2010 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatAs promised, the illustrated f/f edition for certain people in the flist. (No, I haven't abandoned my other fandoms, I promise.)
Why I Think You—Yes, You, Dear Reader—Should Watch Legend of the Seeker II (Illustrated F/F Edition)
You know how in Buffy you went into the third season completely, utterly in love with Buffy and her general awesomeness, merrily shipping her with Angel and celebrating their True Love, and then Faith happened? And episodes like Bad Girls, and all the love and hate and stabbing and forehead kissing and a new OTP you were head over heels in love with? Or, alternately, if you were me—happily watching Angel S4 when suddenly Faith happened, with her magnificent redemption arc; you fell for her like a ton of bricks and followed her into Buffy S7 and Dirty Girls, and suddenly, suddenly you knew what these femslashers were on about when they were talking about Buffy/Faith (HP fandom at that time had taught me to appreciate my m/m, but f/f was a completely new thing). Something similar happened to people in the beginning of LoTS S2.
Now, if I haven't already made myself sufficiently clear in my previous post, LoTS is not what you would call Quality Television—if you're looking for something like that, try elsewhere (maybe Mad Men). It's COMPLETE AND UTTER CRACK. It will begin as a guilty pleasure and then sneak up on you and make you its love slave. At least, that's what happened to me.
So anyway. About six episodes into the first reason of LoTS, I realised that Kahlan Amnell was my narrative kinks bundled into a gorgeous Bridget Regan-shaped package. By the time season one ended, I was her confessed love-slave, begging for more. And then they made Cara—the Mord'Sith who we first met in 1.22—a regular. And gave her a backstory (in an aptly titled episode called 'Broken'). Which again somehow managed to hit my bulletproof kinks and left me hopelessly in love. What do you do in situation like that, I ask you? What can you do?
Reader, I shipped them. LIKE FEDEX.
Kahlan is a Confessor. Cara is a Mord'Sith. Kahlan is noble and righteous, the highest moral authority in the Midlands—when she talks, people obey. Cara tortures people for a living, and takes great pride in doing so. Kahlan was trained to help people. Cara to destroy them. Kahlan has a squishy heart. Cara doesn't believe in feelings. Kahlan is chaste. Cara is not. You might put Kahlan in the Good Girl bracket and Cara in the Bad Girl and think you've done a good job. And yet. Kahlan's kiss can destroy people. Cara's can bring people back to life. Somewhere inside Kahlan is a woman of steel who will frak you up and throw you out of the airlock if necessary. Somewhere inside Cara is a (psychotic) puppy in need of a hug (but don't try, she'll poke you with her Agiels and kill you). Kahlan is not as well-adjusted as you think she is. Cara is the unwoobiest woobie ever. Kahlan might be a Good Girl, but she's not that good. Cara's season 2 arc is a classic redemption arc.
Their origin stories serve as parallels—fathers, sisters, sisterhoods and things I cannot tell you about without spoiling you. Brought together out of sheer necessity—their utter devotion to Richard (there is no love triangle; Richard/Cara = Angel/Faith) and their promise to protect him with their lives—Cara and Kahlan also have more in common than you might think: their strong exteriors, their hidden uncertainties, their need to stay in control, their utter badassery. And what begins with distrust and outright hate slowly blossoms into an unlikely friendship(ish thing) that is pretty much the highlight of S2 and a delight to watch. Or in other words, Cara decides that she wants to be Kahlan when she grows up and Kahlan is reminded of the injured bird she nursed back to health when she was small and sort of takes Cara under her wing. They bicker, they tease, they bond over Agiels, learn to trust to each other and together, they fight evil and protect Richard's arse. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Exhibit A, or the Greatest Fight Scene Ever:
This contains minor spoilers for 2.08. But you have to see them in motion to truly appreciate them.
Exhibit B, or Bonding Over Agiels:
This is slightly more spoiler-y for 2.08, but it has no bearing on the larger plot of the episode (are there people who watch this show for the plot?).
Do you still need convincing?
You might be tempted to skip S1 and start straight with S2. Don't. Because the full beauty of Cara/Kahlan and Cara's character arc can't be appreciated unless you have a grasp of the show's mythology, of the Mord'Sith and what they do, of Kahlan's character and how she came to be who she is in the beginning of S2.
I expect fic after you catch up.
Why I Think You—Yes, You, Dear Reader—Should Watch Legend of the Seeker II (Illustrated F/F Edition)
You know how in Buffy you went into the third season completely, utterly in love with Buffy and her general awesomeness, merrily shipping her with Angel and celebrating their True Love, and then Faith happened? And episodes like Bad Girls, and all the love and hate and stabbing and forehead kissing and a new OTP you were head over heels in love with? Or, alternately, if you were me—happily watching Angel S4 when suddenly Faith happened, with her magnificent redemption arc; you fell for her like a ton of bricks and followed her into Buffy S7 and Dirty Girls, and suddenly, suddenly you knew what these femslashers were on about when they were talking about Buffy/Faith (HP fandom at that time had taught me to appreciate my m/m, but f/f was a completely new thing). Something similar happened to people in the beginning of LoTS S2.
Now, if I haven't already made myself sufficiently clear in my previous post, LoTS is not what you would call Quality Television—if you're looking for something like that, try elsewhere (maybe Mad Men). It's COMPLETE AND UTTER CRACK. It will begin as a guilty pleasure and then sneak up on you and make you its love slave. At least, that's what happened to me.
So anyway. About six episodes into the first reason of LoTS, I realised that Kahlan Amnell was my narrative kinks bundled into a gorgeous Bridget Regan-shaped package. By the time season one ended, I was her confessed love-slave, begging for more. And then they made Cara—the Mord'Sith who we first met in 1.22—a regular. And gave her a backstory (in an aptly titled episode called 'Broken'). Which again somehow managed to hit my bulletproof kinks and left me hopelessly in love. What do you do in situation like that, I ask you? What can you do?
Reader, I shipped them. LIKE FEDEX.
Kahlan is a Confessor. Cara is a Mord'Sith. Kahlan is noble and righteous, the highest moral authority in the Midlands—when she talks, people obey. Cara tortures people for a living, and takes great pride in doing so. Kahlan was trained to help people. Cara to destroy them. Kahlan has a squishy heart. Cara doesn't believe in feelings. Kahlan is chaste. Cara is not. You might put Kahlan in the Good Girl bracket and Cara in the Bad Girl and think you've done a good job. And yet. Kahlan's kiss can destroy people. Cara's can bring people back to life. Somewhere inside Kahlan is a woman of steel who will frak you up and throw you out of the airlock if necessary. Somewhere inside Cara is a (psychotic) puppy in need of a hug (but don't try, she'll poke you with her Agiels and kill you). Kahlan is not as well-adjusted as you think she is. Cara is the unwoobiest woobie ever. Kahlan might be a Good Girl, but she's not that good. Cara's season 2 arc is a classic redemption arc.
Their origin stories serve as parallels—fathers, sisters, sisterhoods and things I cannot tell you about without spoiling you. Brought together out of sheer necessity—their utter devotion to Richard (there is no love triangle; Richard/Cara = Angel/Faith) and their promise to protect him with their lives—Cara and Kahlan also have more in common than you might think: their strong exteriors, their hidden uncertainties, their need to stay in control, their utter badassery. And what begins with distrust and outright hate slowly blossoms into an unlikely friendship(ish thing) that is pretty much the highlight of S2 and a delight to watch. Or in other words, Cara decides that she wants to be Kahlan when she grows up and Kahlan is reminded of the injured bird she nursed back to health when she was small and sort of takes Cara under her wing. They bicker, they tease, they bond over Agiels, learn to trust to each other and together, they fight evil and protect Richard's arse. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Exhibit A, or the Greatest Fight Scene Ever:
This contains minor spoilers for 2.08. But you have to see them in motion to truly appreciate them.
Exhibit B, or Bonding Over Agiels:
This is slightly more spoiler-y for 2.08, but it has no bearing on the larger plot of the episode (are there people who watch this show for the plot?).
Do you still need convincing?
You might be tempted to skip S1 and start straight with S2. Don't. Because the full beauty of Cara/Kahlan and Cara's character arc can't be appreciated unless you have a grasp of the show's mythology, of the Mord'Sith and what they do, of Kahlan's character and how she came to be who she is in the beginning of S2.
I expect fic after you catch up.
:-D
Date: 2010-02-24 07:08 am (UTC)