I've been nervous about sharing this but here tumblr...have my love death and robot rambles about Jibaro
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this episode is without a doubt one of the best of the whole show, in my opinion. the many layered parts and themes paired, with the beautifully done animation and soundtrack, send it straight into masterpiece territory. at this point it has not won any awards but whatever ones it does win, will have been justly awarded.
the details in even the very first 2 minutes are amazing. from the way that Jibaro, our main character, is introduced as deaf to the sounds in the background. i really love Albert Mieglo’s portrayal of the stark contrast between Jibaro’s soundless world, and the sounds around him.
i especially find it beautiful how the lake of the story is loosely shaped like a human heart, as if calling it the heart of the forest. which in turn portrays the siren as it’s protector in a way. Alberto Mieglo described this story as a toxic romance but from the way the soldiers are dressed and our view of the surrounding area, we also get the idea that it’s a story of conquistadors and the horror that followed them.
the chaos in the sirens first appearance is extremely well done. it’s one of my favorite scenes, to be honest. the movement, angles, and once again Mieglo’s contrast of a soundless world is insanely beautiful. i’m a sucker for siren stories, women with the most beautiful singing voices you’ve ever heard; but instead this siren screams. she lures these men in with her seductive dancing and deafening voice. it’s extremely different and unique.
after all the men are dead, the kindess she shows by allowing the horses return to land really drives home that she’s a protector. they didn’t do anything, they were merely a pawn in a game; and she knows this, the land knows this.
a sirens voice has never been ignored, so it’s only natural that she becomes intrigued with our remaining survivor who cannot hear her, for a reason unknown to her. i know sirens stories never end in a happy ending for a women who’s used to getting what she wants. in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ it’s said a siren will die if you able to escape her song, we already know how this will end; yet we cannot stop it. even after what seems to a million rewatches my heart still tightens after this scene, knowing i cannot change her fate.
i love the way that although we never hear a word when the siren finally finds Jibaro again, or even a word throughout the entire 17 minutes, we are never lost to what is going on. this scene brings us back to our toxic relationship. she is fascinated by this man whom she cannot control and he by this inhuman woman covered in gold. we’ve already seen his started want for the gold in the lake but now that changes into full blown obsession.
now begins our fatal attraction. she doesn’t know he will follow when she takes off, but to her joy he does. she’s excited, she’s never been this close to a living human. at this point all reservations she’s had towards these men is cast aside when he finally meets her at the top of the waterfall. she thinks she’s in love, yet he doesn’t waste a second in hurting her. even after that she still kisses him, what’s a small jewel to her ignited passion towards him? she’s never aware that that kiss means her death.
she gave him her everything and he murdered her. in many ways this feels like a soft touch back on how the conquistadors would often rape the women in villages they come upon. she is violated in unspeakable ways and thrown away carelessly when he’s gotten what he wanted. which makes the river flowing red with blood, when she makes it back to her heart, more powerful. she’s the spirit of the forest and she is angry, the water rushes backwards in crashing waves; tainting everything she touches.
in a final act of anger, she gives Jibaro the gift of hearing. he thinks he’s won, he’s gotten everything he has ever dreamed of unaware that the forest isn’t done with him yet.
this last scene is, extremely powerful. it’s also the most beautiful scene of the episode. the way her screams rip from her throat is heartbreaking, she doesn’t dance now, there is no more seduction. her screams come from a place of hurt, his death is not one of survival but of revenge. she tears her throat raw to make him feel her pain. her screams which were once enchanting are now haunting and as the music reaches crescendos we watch as she never truly looks at him through her tears. she doesn’t fully open her eyes until he is dead, safely nestled at the bottom of the lake. this siren was doomed from the very moment she laid eyes on Jibaro, she was never going to get a happy ending; yet we still feel her agony just the same. at the end we don’t know what will become of her, she may live but she is no longer alive.
