I’ve been thinking about Lute’s (nonexistent) arc in s2 way too thoroughly for someone with an office job, and there are five core aspects that either I get out of my mind or they’ll blow me up.
This first part is about subtlety.
I was absolutely astounded with Lute’s writing in s2e2. The first time I watched it, I skipped any scene that wasn’t Lute-related, so it struck me as such a sombre episode. I considered it the best in the series immediately, and, after watching the entire episode, I still do, but in comparison. The first thought I had was that Lute is a case of a character too good for her own show. Then I wondered if this writing is accidental, or if the overall writing quality of the show leveled up. Spoiler: it’s the former. But Lute remains the reason s2e2 is phenomenal in a way no other is. S1 once made me think that Guitarsword is too good for their own show, but s2 proved that both Adam and Lute also are.
@liz-likes-stuff 's post on them being physically comfortable with each other is one of, if not my most favourite Guitarsword-related analysis post. I reblogged it just so I can reread it when I’m feeling down or uninspired. Works like a clock. And it’s a great showcase of the nuances I’ll be speaking about further.
It’s a relatively widespread opinion post-Gravity that Lute’s affection for Adam is her having low standards, and the most frequent argument I’ve met is that he’s mid (he’s the first man, the first soul in Heaven, an archangel, an army leader and her direct superior, mind you; in-universe, he’s definitely not mid; and it he’s mid as a person, it all comes down to personal preferences, whether people find him charismatic or a basic jerk; Lute is apparently the former) or that he treats her poorly. Which is funny, because Adam is the one to treat her best out of the entire cast. I’ve also seen an opinion that Lute’s feelings for Adam don’t work narratively because they’re baseless – we’ve only had a couple of scenes of them talking to each other. Liz’s post is a gallery of them interacting with each other anytime they’re on screen, and those interactions are incredibly telling. They form a chemistry just as, if not more (I’d say – more) successfully than other characters dialoguing for both seasons.
The beauty of Guitarsword (both as a ship and separately) is subtlety. They are the cleverest usage of the visual, and not verbal, language in the show (a primary one for an animated media). Their relationship, in all its variety, is shown and never told. Not only that, but the display of their relationship is never the focus in any of their scenes. It never feels like any scene exists just for the purpose of proving that they are close. It doesn’t have to be stated out-loud nor reassured. It’s just naturally so.
Adam’s final smile in s1e8 is the best characterisation and an instant depth addition, unprecedented for this show. And it’s also subtle enough, because, while being the focus of the shot, it’s arguably not the focus of the scene. I’d also argue that the same scene is an instant depth addition for Lute, too. She’s called him “sir” thrice while already crying (“Sir, sir, stay with me, sir”). But then Adam gives her that smile, and she has a short stumble and tries a desperate “Adam!”. It’s a personal smile which allows her to put down her inner restrictions that she held on to even in such an emotional moment – and finally call him by a personal name, which, at the same time, is a foolish idea that, if you say something emotional to the person dying in your arms, maybe it’ll be enough to save them, somehow. And whether I’m reading too deep into it or it's actually there, Adam’s smile is still there, and this moment is an electrocution with what they are as characters, actually. It’s a very sudden their -moment, after an entire season of their closeness displayed silently. That smile and that “Adam!” serve a crazy narrative purpose only lasting a couple of seconds.
It’s not that this is a universal portrayal of relationship, obviously. The kind of method used with other characters’ relationship could also work, but it’s just somehow not as effective. Maybe because every other couple gets practically the same treatment as another, all of them treated the way a main couples should be, and it just loses the weight and peculiarity which makes Guitarsword stand out. And the lack of talking about the feelings doesn’t make Guitarsword any less wholesome, because we get enough evidence that it’s two people enjoying each other.
In s1, there’s no instance of Adam actually being dismissive of Lute. One of my favourite moments they have, and I’d call it their softest, is in s1e1, when they discuss the Exorcist’s corpse. It’s the only time we see them completely alone together (alive), in a rather cozy surrounding. The dark room gives the vibe of staying in the office after working hours, to talk or finish a project. And when Lute expresses her anger about the situation and offers to strike immediately, Adam’s response isn’t “Shut up, I’m thinking” or even “Great plan, you stupid cunt, try taking it to Sera”. It’s a “No-no, we can’t let them catching on, but don’t worry…”. It’s the only scene where he’s quiet and soft-spoken in a conversation. Him crushing down a projector isn’t an exception to the statement, because his physical anger is aimed at the situation; it’s when he says “there won’t be a demon left alive to pull a stunt like this again”. So, his softer tone while responding directly to Lute and commenting on her offer, followed by his angry outburst at the situation, is actually him holding his irritation down long enough to finish responding to her. And there’s something about how he lets her finish her line (even after the idea is evident, just as to not interrupt her), responds consolingly and only then lets his frustration show. Something so incredibly wholesome.
S1e1 is generally great for them. The whole meeting with Charlie where Adam is constantly checking in with Lute (for self-validation, one might argue; but looking at your friend behind the curtain while you perform on stage is also self-validation, is it wrong, now?) and lets her have her part of conversation, not for him (not like “Ugh I’m bored Lute you do the talking”), but with him. He shares the speaking with her – when she says she knows angels don’t make mistakes and he says he sure never has made one. And her being his subordinate, he really didn’t need her to be anything but an imposing decoration. Even if it’s just to pressure Charlie with two-against-one, Lute is still not a mindless tool. It’s more likely that Adam brought her because he expected the meeting with a princess of Hell to be boring and thus didn’t want to do it alone (besides the fact that he just seems to be taking Lute everywhere with him).
There’s also “Their love is vile and blasphemous” – “Hot as fuck tho” bit, where he had no business adding to Lute’s words, but he did. And how he lets her stop him physically from following Charlie and Vaggie in Heaven, without pushing her away (she’s literally the size of his wing, it’d be like punching off a cat) or walking over her (cough-cough Abel in s2e5 cough-cough you didn’t need to walk over her cough-cough you could walk the chair around cough-cough).
The worst he does to her is calling her a bitch a few times. In “Don’t fucking shush me, bitch” and the more famous “You dumb bitch, no shit”. I don’t remember who made the point and where, but someone said that the swearwords are just pet-names in this universe and it’s a great way to put it. Calling someone a bitch in this show is equal to calling them honey pejoratively. And “but that’s in Hell and they’re in Heaven” isn’t an argument, because 1) it’s the general writing of the show; 2) they’re the military, so they are expected to be harsher than average civil Heaven residents; 3) Adam swears all the time anyway, and even if he was the single swearing character in the show, Lute constantly being around him means she knows his swearing is just his commas. And the way he played along to her “What did they teach you in kindergarten” prompt, took his slurpy and only then said not to shush him, really is unserious and more of a nagging than a verbal slap. As for the “You dumb bitch, no shit”, many other people already made a great point that 1) she really did say something stupidly obvious 2) it was certainly not a situation to be tender for a character who never is, even in the best of situations.
But then we have Adam’s hallucination. And Adam’s hallucinations is definitely not a realistic portrayal of Adam, because 100% of time he is dismissive of Lute. Lute having an anxiety attack and screaming her heart out? Joked off. “Wow, someone’s menstruating”. Lute being hopeful he might actually be alive somehow? Joked off. “Guess you really missed me that much, you crazy bitch?”. Lute angrily stating nobody’s listening to her? Joked off. “What? Lame! Do they know I, uh, died?”. Lute admitting they don’t care, evidently hurt by it? He pushes her to action. “Guess it’s up to you, then”.
The Gravity-room is all the same. Lute calling Abel weak after she’s just lashed out onto him? Joked off. “Major pussy, not the good kind” (best line of the episode, to be honest). Lute saying he’s nothing like Adam and now she has to answer to him? The blandest “Yeah, that fucking sucks” (he didn’t even try this time). Lute regretting not telling him about her sentiment? He interrupts her, scoffing. Lute’s softest, most gut-wrenching “Did you?” is also joked off, and then he pushes her to action. The reasons I thought the transition to Gravity was abrupt. Yet (unlike a transition to Easy), it works, but more on that in part 2.
There isn’t a single moment in s2 where he takes Lute seriously, and that’s the black to the white of his attitude in s1. And that’s considering he’s seemingly more supportive of her in s2. All this also subtle; it’s also never stated or discussed, Lute never has a “hey you’re weird” moment, but I’ve seen people say he just feels off when he’s a hallucination. Which he does, because he is off, he acts off; and it’s the subtlety that makes it a “I feel something’s off but I cannot put a finger on it” situation. It’s not until you connect all the dots that you can put a finger on it. It’s actually skillful writing.
A very plausible explanation is that they forgot how to write Adam. The fans liked him for being a joking-swearing-jerk? He is all that in s2. And the context of him being more than that in s1 is lost. But let’s take the writing in good faith until we have an actual proof that this is a writing flop, because so far, we don’t.
I also love how it’s said (I believe by Vivienne? but I could be wrong) that hallucination-Adam is supposed to be Lute’s idealised version of him, but it feels like the fandom’s. Where he seems supportive but is actually a jerk to Lute, and not the other way around like he originally is in s1.
An idea that I find interesting (aside from the one I’m sticking to in part 2) is that Lute never had an opportunity to get sentimental and personal with Adam. So, in making him her hallucination and having to talk about sentimental and personal, she just really doesn’t know how he would react properly, so she’s just “I guess he’d either giggle it away or tell me to break another wall or something”. Or, because they’ve never had the sentimental and personal before, now that they do, it’s simultaneously her being awkward and making him, a product of her imagination, awkward, and her believing Adam just would really be awkward about it.
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