My Montage Of Lost Things…

A solitary maiden, whose only friends are birds and flowers and her companions - books.

 ~ Lorna Doone (1922)

My obsession with Catherine Cookson miniseries has evolved to its next logical phase: Catherine Cookson books.

Could this cover (carbon dated 1970) be any more amazing?

Since it was released, cover design isn't the only thing that has changed about books. Check out this marketing copy: "Catherine cookson transforms the simple plot of riches-to-rags and back again into a vivid, textured, and highly romantic novel that is not altogether unlike Jane Eyre in its impact."

"Not all together unlike Jane Eyre in its impact." Does praise get any more backhanded than that?

Movie Reflections: Swept Away

This reflection is about the 1974 film, Swept Away, directed by Lina Wertmüller. It is not about the 2002 remake of this movie, which stars Madonna.    

The volatile, isolated relationship between Gennarino and Raffaella made me very uncomfortable as I witnessed the two individuals bicker about a variety of issues from democracy to taxes. Then, they eventually start to enjoy each other’s companies, or it at least appears that they are starting to become fond of each other. Gennarino and Raffaella even start to have sex. They communicated by surviving on an ideal island void of yachts, champagne, and spouses. After suffering an extended period with no luxuries, the hostility between Gennarino and Raffaella evolves into a negotiation of lifestyles. Gennarino quickly roasts meals and lives in shelters as Raffaella eventually gives in to his order and command. I did not know how to respond to their acceptance of each other after witnessing the two characters cuss at each other and viciously fight on a desert shore. I was even more stunned by the brooding power of class or economic status that controlled Raffaella. Her power is inevitable once Gennarino and Raffaella leave their twisted form of paradise. She returns to her bourgeois lifestyle leaving Gennarino stuck with his struggling third-world culture. I was anticipating that Raffaella would have a change of heart towards her servant. Then, it dawned on me why Wertmüller would build up and tear down Gennarino.

There is the sense that Wertmüller wants her audience to feel shocked, disturbed or even frustrated with how distant the servant and the socialite truly are. Their class controls a specific character. It is as if power and selfishness manipulates every move that Raffaella makes once she is back home. It makes more sense now why Wertmüller mentioned Caligula while talking with Ernest Ferlita since he was consumed with the same ideals revealed in Raffaella. She never felt true, intimate concern for Gennarino. She thinks according to her husband and their democratic principles. Her adamant contradiction towards third-world classes is why I was so shocked by the heartless ending. She never had a heart in the first place. She personifies the materialism associated with the bourgeois class. Wertmüller paints her as a victim privileged by her class. Yet, I only recognize her as a victim on the island, not on the dock. She receives back her identity once they are rescued. A scene that was pivotal in the relationship between Gennarino and Raffaella was when Gennarino skinned and roasted the rabbit. Raffaella realized that she was nothing without her democracy and wealth. She even cried to Gennarino that she felt like that rabbit. She is metaphorically being stripped of customs that spoil her. I even felt sympathy for Raffaella as the medium shot unflinchingly focused on her desperate, hurt expression. Then, the tension between the two main characters adheres to how Wertmüller thinks. She feels that men and women should not be separated, according to an interview with Ferlita.

As Gennarino and Raffaella are stranded, the island is representative of  society, but the isolated desert also does not have the luxuries that allow Raffaella to feel like that she is above everyone else. The dominance of each role becomes reversed once they are stranded on the island. It is also through the freedom of the isolation that Gennarino and Raffaella confront their difference. Although they start helping each other, there is always some distance between the characters. Bird’s eye angle showed Gennarino and Raffaella fighting with each other. There are no close-ups or sudden cutting. It is just an abandoned atmosphere stained by a ridiculous feud. I do not feel a part of the feud, for it is their problem or circumstances. They are fighting, but there is no one to help Raffaella from her impoverished conditions. The extreme long shot amidst the desert only makes the bird’s eye angle more effective according to the mood of the ridiculous argument. No one is listening or paying attention to them. They have to deal with each other. The camera follows each individual around with the presence of classical cutting in order to develop his or her search for identity. It ranges from Gennarino reminding himself of his masculine traits or Raffaella helplessly wandering around the island. I think the island also symbolizes people who are built by the power of disorder because Gennarino and Raffaella are still the same people dictated by their class and country. They think everything is fine once they get to make love or make a necklace of flowers. The impending doom of betrayal only awaits them once they leave their illusion of harmony. I feel that Wertmüller made us uncomfortable as a means to think more critically about society.

Even though we didn’t get to see Sansa and Arya’s reactions to Jon’s parentage reveal, their next scenes subtly show how they process this information.

Arya, who previously worked so hard to return to her family and went out of her way to call Jon her brother (not her half-brother), now wants to go to Kings Landing to finish her hit list. 

Inconsistent character development? You might say that, but I have another theory. Arya only came home because she heard Jon had helped retake Winterfell, but when she arrives home he’s not there, Sansa and Bran are two very different people, and the loving family reunion she expected from Jon is ruined by the arrival of his new girlfriend and the impending war against the Night King. 

When we first see Arya this season she is standing with the commoners outside Winterfell watching Jon and Daenerys arrive. She smiles when she sees Jon, only to be disappointed when he rides right by her without recognizing her. This could be why she isn’t there when Jon walks into Winterfell--she’s sulking. Her reunion with Jon doesn’t go as planned because she has to defend Sansa and remind him that he needs to keep his family’s interests in mind. 

She reawakens her humanity (and dormant sexuality) with Gendry. After sleeping with him she looks...calm, disappointed? Maybe the experience wasn’t what she expected. Maybe she expected having sex would make her feel powerful and whole, maybe she thought it’d make her feel fully connected with someone for the first time in many years. Instead she stares off into space, probably thinking of the upcoming battle.

Then in 8x03 she saves the day by killing the Night King...only to not show up at the feast a few days later, where she SHOULD be the guest of honor, but is instead only thanked by Daenerys once in a toast which she doesn’t even see. Instead of joining her family and the other survivors, she training by herself all alone in the dark until Gendry arrives. 

Gendry proposes, but she declines because “that’s not me.” She doesn’t know how to do anything but fight. Revenge and hate have become a part of her, more than anyone else in her family, even Sansa. She doesn’t know the first thing about being a “lady” or a wife or anything but a nameless, faceless girl that used to be Arya Stark. 

She finally learns about Jon’s true parents off screen after calling Daenerys out and reminding Jon about the importance of family and protecting his own. The next time we see her she’s on her way to King’s Landing, back on the path to revenge. Why not stay home and let the others take care of Cersei? She previously said that she doesn’t trust Daenerys and now that she knows Jon isn’t completely a Stark, maybe she feels she can’t fully trust Jon either? Sure he’s still the man she grew up with and called brother, but Jon isn’t Jon anymore in the larger scheme of things. Arya might even think Jon going south and siding with a Targaryen (and maybe one day accepting that he is one too) is a betrayal of his Stark heritage and his Stark family.

Arya doesn’t expect to come back from her final mission. She doesn’t know how to live in her old home anymore. She doesn’t know how to be the Arya Stark she used to be and the Arya Stark everyone else wants her to be. She thinks she has no place in Westeros after Cersei’s death. But I hope the next two episodes prove her wrong. 

We are approaching the end of Game of Thrones, so at this point in any good story all of the major characters must feel a sense of hopelessness and darkness before the light at the end of the tunnel. Daenerys is loosing all of her allies, Jon suddenly realizes he’s not who he thought he was, and, likewise, Arya is questioning her identity and her own place in the world. 

I think she’ll find it, one way or another, by the time the show ends. 

My Favorite Evelina Quotes + Marie Antoinette Screencaps

Pamela Andrews: [is a teenage servant girl who is continually sexually harassed by her boss, escalating into flat-out kidnapping, and is subject to repeated rape attempts which she only (and somewhat implausibly) escapes by repeated fainting fits]

Pamela Andrews: [ends up agreeing to marry this creep once he sees the error of his ways and “reforms”, whereupon Mr. Creep gives her patronizing marital advice and graciously forgives the hapless servants, clergymen, etc. who pissed him off by trying to help her]

Me in college reading Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded: Hmm, so this early novel not only had a raving fandom, but a raving hatedom. I can see why - 

Antipamelists: I’ll say! He actually married a servant! How obscene!

Me: Hang on - 

Antipamelists, Henry Fielding front and center: Okay but what if Pamela was actually a gold-digging conniving hussy who was playing the victim all along - 

Me: Oh, fuck you too. 

Emma (2020), dir. Autumn de Wilde

I would dye my dog like this

I’ve been reading a lot of posts about the field of fire recently. I don’t ship Jonsa and though you do, yours definitely seems like the voice of reason, mainly because you still appreciate and like Dany’s character even if you think her arc is going dark. What did you feel when you saw that scene? Because though it was dark and destructive I don’t think she was acting like a mad queen. Not yet...

Hello there! It doesn’t matter if you ship Jonsa or not. Any ask is welcome in my ask box as long as it is devoid of hate, lol. Also though I ship Jonsa, I am more a fan of the story, which is why I began watching the show in the first place. 

SO, interesting question about the field of fire, because according to me, the black part of the grey in Dany’s character reached it’s pinnacle in that episode, before they redeemed her a bit with the white part of the grey of her character. 

To begin with, Let’s take a look at this from Dany’s POV. 

When season six ended, Dany was like this…

She had the unsullied, the dothraki - close to a hundred thousand men and a massive fleet of ships at her back, not to mention three dragons. I wondered, tbh if Cersei was even going to be a problem. No foreign invader had the might or the clout that Dany had when she was coming to westeros - Not even Aegon the conqueror. And if this was not enough, Tyrion Lannister - the man who has the best political acumen in all of Westeros and Lord Varys who is in all probability the best spy in the country is with her, at her side. I am sure, a lot of us asked this question…

What could possibly go wrong?

And then, she happened…

In three episodes Cersei, who was looking like the underdog all of a sudden with Dany coming to Westeros and Jon being declared the King in the north, showed us all why she is still sitting on the iron throne, didn’t she? Love her, hate her but you can’t deny that she upped her game by a million points. 

You know how frustrating this was for Dany? She has bloody dragons, an army of savages and she ‘believes’ that she’s the rightful heir to throne and Cersei outsmarted her - not once, but twice. Though she was sorely tempted to take over King’s landing as soon as she entered Westeros, Tyrion’s counsel kept her from doing it. And now she’d lost allies, she’d lost strongholds and in general the Westerosi populace was not taking her too seriously. If she had to be queen, she had to do something. 

Here’s where everything begins to go spiraling down. Her arc changes, almost visibly and we begin to notice the cracks in her ‘I am here to break the wheel’ agenda. Mind you, she truly believes in it. 

Mistake no. 1 - Her unnecessary tirade at Tyrion, in front of Jon and Ser Davos

She’s angry and rightfully so. But then she says this…

 She says this to the man who is plotting his family’s defeat, going against his blood, his beloved brother because he believes in her cause. So here arises an important question. What does this tell about her leadership? 

1. She’s more upset about the death/capture of her allies - in relation to HER quest for the iron throne. She doesn’t mourn Olena nor asks even once after Yara. 

2. She questions the loyalty of a man who’s not just bent the knee but is also serving as her hand for crying out loud in front of Jon - who has neither bent the knee and is a perfect stranger to her. 

The she goes on to do this. 

She asks Jon what she should do, completely/ purposefully ignoring Tyrion. Would you just look at Tyrion’s expression. 

We know for a fact that Jon and Davos are visibly uncomfortable with this whole scene. One can most definitely argue that her planning to attack the Lannister army, was necessary for her to maintain power in Westeros. I’ll come to the how and why of that later on. But imho, her behaviour with Tyrion is what shows her darker side more than anything else. 

It is in moments, when you’re the weakest, that your true personality shines through. In Dany’s case she resorted to suspicion, blame and harsh words meant to inflict hurt -  fueled by her insecurity, at the very man who had dedicated himself to her service. This is not how a good leader behaves. 

And so Dany decides… 

Enough with the clever plans. 

To be fair to Daenerys, nothing was working in her favour. She had to act and act fast, and I believe herein lies all the difference. 

Dany is restless; she wants to sit on the iron throne as soon as possible. There is an urgency in her quest for the throne. Her attention however is not focussed on the people of Westeros or the troubles that concern them. She is more occupied/obsessed with the person occupying the chair that she thinks belongs to her by birthright. 

She merely assumes that by occupying the iron throne she will be able to solve all the problems in Westeros. She doesn’t wait for earning the people’s love and respect, before laying claim over them. She doesn’t know anything about their problems nor does she take an active interest in finding out. 

In fact, her behaviour is the exact opposite of that which made her so loved in Essos. She broke the chains ‘before’ she came to be called Mhysa. She freed the unsullied ‘before’ they decided to serve her. She offered Missandei her freedom ‘before’ Missandei decided to dedicate her life to her. She does something selfless before she rises in power in Essos. She ‘earns’ the love of the people who choose to follow her as is informed to us and Jon by Tyrion and Missandei. 

Unfortunately, she doesn’t use the same approach once she enters Westeros. 

Look at this scene again…

This is the first time the people of Westeros get a glimpse of her - 

What do you think they would’ve felt when they saw her clad in all black riding a monstrous black drogon?  

One word - Fear

Now a lot has already been talked about why her burning spree was not such a good idea, so I am not going to talk about that aspect. I am just going to talk about what ‘the show’ was trying to tell us. 

Fear, destruction by fire was the central theme around which this entire scene was shot. I know i cant capture the music but there is a point of time after Dany yells dracarys, as drogon swoops down on the Lannister soldiers… 

After this moment ….

During this moment… 

Go back to the scene and listen to the music/drogon’s sound carefully - It sounds exactly like the prelude to the launch of a weapon of mass destruction. Which is exactly what it was supposed to look like. Also, we see the soldiers quivering before this scene (Again, fear) 

Then the music changes. It’s not a good music. In the entire field of fire the camera angle is always shown from the POV of the Lannister Army, Jamie, Bronn and Tyrion. There are a few shots from Dany’s angle but it’s mostly to show the burning happening from an ariel view. We are viewing Dany like the people of Westeros, i.e the people on the other side are viewing her. Unlike in the BotB where the camera is placed behind the Stark side making the Bolton army the opponents or the Fight beyond the wall, where the camera is panning from behind Dany, Jon and Co - making the others - the opposite side.  

So where was I? After the initial dracarys, we are shown an extended cut of the burning and screaming of the soldiers as a horrified Dickon Tarly looks on. 

After that the dothraki attack. They are clearly at an advantage with their horses but the lannister soldiers also manage to kill a few of the dothraki. 

Then we are shown the food wagons stationed behind the army and Dany looking at it. 

And then this happens… 

And this…

And this…

We’re shown not once, but twice and thrice how dany specifically targets the food wagons. 

I tried to come up with an explanation for what was her logic behind this and failed miserably at coming up with one. What exactly was she trying to achieve by doing this??

1. Was it scare tactics? She needn’t have bothered. The Lannister soldiers were already pissing in their pants. 

2. Was she scared that some of them would try and smuggle some food back to king’s landing? Back to Cersei? 

Possible but un-bloody-likely. Come on, if that’s your argument, she had an Ariel view. Even if one wagon tried to escape, she could’ve more than easily burnt one to scare the others from doing the same. 

3. Did she think if she lost the battle, the Lannisters would manage to smuggle the food out of the Reach into King’s landing??

I am laughing at this suggestion. It mine, I know. But it’s hilarious. If Dany thought even for a moment that she was going to lose this battle, then she doesn’t know the first thing about battles. The Lannister army was outnumbered, outsmarted and outweighed by the very presence of Drogon. The battle was lost, the second Dany yelled Dracarys and she must’ve known that. 

So if she knew that she and her army was going to come out on top, why would she waste tonnes and tonnes of food which she could have easily procured for her own army? Which also goes to indicate one more thing. She knows nothing (pun intended)  about Westeros or the winter that has come.

We see Jamie watching in horror as his men burn to death. He shouts ‘take cover’ as drogon breaths a fresh round of fire, turning to dust many of his men. He asks Bronn to fetch the weapon Qyburn has made. 

Then as more destruction occurs, Tyrion enters the scene. I think this was a very important aspect of the whole battle. What was the purpose of making Tyrion a spectator to the battle? What are we as audiences supposed to see from Tyrion’s POV?

The music turns silent to give way for us to hear the cries of suffering and the destruction that Tyrion (and us) can see from where he is standing. Then the rude Dothraki comments “Your people can’t fight”

And the Tyrion gets a sad look on his face. And if his expression wasn’t enough, a sad violin music plays in the background with the cries of terror and suffering. 

Also the next scene is Tyrion looking at a single burning food wagon. It is a summary of the destruction we’ve witnessed and also a reminder. 

Now Jamie looks at the same burning food wagon from a different angle

He watches as some of his soldiers run towards the water to douse their burning bodies. He sees the pain and suffering he’d wanted to stop - a cause for which he sacrifised his honour. He’s motivated enough to do it again. 

I asked myself a simple question. If it had been Jon in Tyrion’s place, how would he have reacted, if Jamie felt the above was justified? But anyway, that’s a question for another time, another season. 

Which now brings us to a very important aspect of the field of fire - The next episode or the one with Dany’s justice. 

Look at the way this scene has been shot. We don’t see Dany first. We see her dragon. And then when she comes on screen, note how similar the colour of her clothes are to Drogon’s scales. In my opinion, this shot is very telling. I think there is a scene somewhere in the finale when she says - We’re ordinary without our dragons or something of that sort. 

Dragon first, Dany second implying in no uncertain terms that she is a dragon and the dragons are the very source of her power. And if this shot alone was not enough to explain this, the dialogue that follows clarifies this a little more. 

I know what Cersei has told you. That I have come to destroy your cities, burn down your homes, murder you and orphan your children. (Tyrion looks uncomfortable)

That’s Cersei Lannister, not me. I am not here to murder. And all I want to destroy is the wheel that is rolled over rich and poor. To the benefit of no one but the Cersei Lannisters of the world. I offer you a choice. Bend the knee and join me. Together, we will leave the world a better place than we found it. 

Again the angle of the camera shifts from Dany to Tyrion. We’re forced to look at her from Tyrion’s POV once again as she says the following words

Or Refuse and Die

Now Tyrion is positively squirming, frustrated even

PAY ATTENTION - This is the magic of this scene. 

In spite of Dany’s speech - Only ‘10′ or less soldiers bend the knee. 

Do we realise how significant this scene is? 

I would remind you that these are the soldiers who have witnessed fear and destruction like they’ve never ever seen before. Hell, most of them have never heard of a dragon before, leave alone seen one!!! Yet, the very woman who had wrought havoc upon them, killed their friends offers to spare their lives if they bend the knee - and YET their first instinct - IS TO DEFY HER. 

Imo, this was the most significant moment of the entire show, with regards to Dany’s changing arc. Her speech which has before today inspired millions of people, has absolutely no effect on the Westerosi soldiers. They put their chest out and stand their ground unyielding.  

Seeing their defiant stance … Drogon screams, advancing menacingly towards them. 

Almost all of them bend the knee instantly. And just like that, once again we’re reminded of the theme of the field of fire. 

FEAR

They don’t bend the knee because they believe in her, they’re inspired by her or because they love her. They bend the knee because they fear her power - and the source of it - her dragons. 

But Lo and Behold! Even the dragon’s fear cannot scare the Tarlys and some other brave soldiers. I don’t think many of us see the underlying contempt for Dany that these people seem to have, to defy her in this fashion, even if it means their death. 

And then we have this beautiful boy step forward. I don’t think it was a coincidence that they went out of their way to let us know that Dickon was a nice chap. Again, Randall Tarly, you can argue about what a dick he was and that he probably deserved to die - I mean he spoke about flogging as a means to get the men to walk faster for heaven’s sake. 

He probably didn’t bend the knee to Dany, because he was a proud, arrogant man. But Dickon? Why did he offer himself up for slaughter? 

‘You’d have to kill me too.’ He tells Daenerys. He’s not an egotistic fool. He is brave, gentle and strong (Sorry, fellow shippers). He’s just a lad. He defies Dany because he wants to stand up to her. Tell her that he doesn’t believe in her. He decides to give his life because he wants the world to know, that he was in open rebellion to Daenerys Targaryen. He’s making a statement, mind you. A silent one, but a strong one. 

“I will not” says Dickon Tarly, when asked to bend the knee. 

Of course, Tyrion Panics. BIG TIME. By now, he understands Daenerys better. 

He starts thinking on his feet. He is distressed. He wants to avoid more bloodshed. Of course, at this point he foolishly assumes that she’s going to behead them. 

She has other plans. 

Dickon dies a hero’s death. He scarifies himself, the future of his house for letting Westeros know that he stood up to Daenerys and refused to bend the knee. He chooses to reject fear. So if he’s the hero of this part of the narrative, who is the villain?

Tyrion actually looks away. Unable to bear it. I don’t even have to say how dark the music sounds at this point. And the music is very important - it’s supposed to make us feel something. 

I also thinks this was a significant call back to the burning of a father and son in past, but I won’t dwell on it. 

Also it is important to note here, that Jon sees Daenerys doing the exact opposite of what Dickon sees her doing. She risks herself to save their lives (Ok Ok I know they are there beyond the wall because her obsession with cersei, but still), she single handedly destroys the wights and loses her dragon in the bargain. You also don’t see her say ‘dracarys’ in that scene for a reason. 

I know this got a little too long, but this is what I read from the whole field of fire scene. We were being shown in the prelude to it and post it, in no uncertain terms, all the Dark shades in dany’s arc. Emilia of course, plays this beautifully. You can see the lack of remorse or attachment in her eyes when she executes the Tarlys. You can see the panic in Tyrion’s eyes and you can see the defiance in Dickon’s. 

This is what I concluded from the whole scene. Thanks for the ask!!

Jon Snow....King Beyond the Wall.

Sansa Stark.....Queen of the North.

Bran Stark....King of Westeros (um okay)

Arya Stark....Queen of this ship.

Maybe Arya will one day be the Queen of a fantasy version of America?