Dae-ho fans thinking they were gonna get an exploration of ptsd flashbacks only for Dae-ho to have a complete personality transplant and admit he lied about being in the marines
Hyun-ju fans thinking they were gonna get a bunch more badass scenes with her only for her to get killed off in episode 2 by the worst character ever
Jun-ho fans thinking he was actually going to be allowed to shine and impact the plot in a tangible way this time only for the writers to pull yet another "you could take him out of the show and the plot wouldn't really change"
Hwang brothers fans thinking they were going to get the reunion they were all waiting for only for Jun-ho to shout a few words at In-ho from a considerable distance away and then nothing more
Inhun / 457 fans anticipating the big reveal of who In-ho really is to Gi-hun only for it to last two minutes, with Gi-hun never finding out In-ho's true identity as Jun-ho's brother, no exploration into why In-ho became the front man, etc
Gi-hun fans thinking he would survive because surely after all he's been through he'll be allowed to live only for... yeah
-puts a mirror under your nose to check ur breathing-
hey man it's been a while since you've talked about harrenhal
You know what? you're fucking right. I don't talk much about my obsession with harrenhal on my tumblr. i should do that more often.
[dreamily]
If I could marry Harrenhal I would.
Harrenhal’s story is literally just hubris and the inevitable decay of overreaching ambition—fables that we see told time and time again in real-world history. There is nothing the Geyrg writes that isn't derivative of other art before his. but soooooo many rulers, empires, and civilizations have undertaken whack ass projects meant to immortalize their power, only to see their visions trickle down their legs like a wet fart
We got the tower of babel
Which like-- man I don't know shit about the bible and I will preface anything I say that is anywhere NEAR adjacent to religion with that. but. If there is one thing I do know, it's human arrogance in fiction.
it was meant to be a monument to human greatness, defying natural order and even divine power. (womp womp)
It was never completed NOR served its intended purpose, as divine intervention (ayo brynden rivers wasgood) ensured its failure.
Just as Harrenhal became an empty ruin, Babel became a symbol of the dangers of overreaching ambition by desecrating [the] god[s]
Ozymandias (ramses II)
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Ozymandias describes a ruined statue of a long-dead king whose mighty empire has vanished into dust.
Like Harrenhal, Ozymandias’ works were meant to last forever, but time, war, and decay ensured their ruin.
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' fucks so hard and reads as if Harren the Black was gloating himself from the Tower of Dread. what was supposed to be a symbol of unbreakable power instead became an empty, cursed shell that barely resembles what it used to be.
Both remind us that nothing built by mortal hands can really challenge the devastation time and what may come of fate.
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Versaille
King Louis XIV of France built the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of absolute monarchy and divine rule. have i ever mentioned that I love monarchy history?
It was [is?] extravagantly expensive, draining the kingdom’s resources—just as Harrenhal’s construction bled the Riverlands dry. evil rulers gonna be evil i GUESS
Its grandeur could not protect its rulers. By the time of the French Revolution, the monarchy that built it was toppled and executed (bring back the guillotine) much like House Hoare’s yeeting at the maw of Balerion the Black Dread.
Like Harrenhal, Versailles became a symbol of excess and very few people coould hold it successfully (everyone died)
and my absolute FAVORITE.
harrenhal. but it's actually Chernobyl.
HEAR ME OUT.
Harrenhal: Built to be the grandest castle in Westeros, a testament to Harren the Booty's dominion over the Riverlands!!!
Chernobyl: Constructed as part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious nuclear energy program, Chernobyl was meant to be a symbol of Soviet technological superiority.
Harrenhal’s Doom: The castle was still newly built when Aegon the Conqueror came with his baddies in tow and turned it into a Spicy Meatball. Harrenhal was designed to withstand any land-based siege, but it never stood a chance against dragonfire. BECAUSE HE DIDN'T THINK TO BUILD FOR DRAGONFIRE.
Chernobyl’s Doom: The Chernobyl Reactor 4 explosion in 1986 was a firestorm that could not be contained, much like Balerion’s flames. The reactor burned for days, spewing deadly radiation into the air. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT RADIATION POISONING.
Harrenhal's fate: Since Harren’s yeeting, every single House that has claimed Harrenhal has met disaster. The castle is believed to be cursed (it is) its halls filled with ghosts (it is), and no one has held it for long. The only smart thing petyr has ever done is refuse to stake claim over his hold. he should tho. he totally should.
Chernobyl's fate: The area around the ruined reactor became the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where radiation levels are still dangerous and will CONTINUE to be dangerous. Most of the surrounding towns, including Pripyat, remain abandoned, decayed, and overgrown, much like Harrenhal.
Both places have survivors and witnesses who tell and retell haunting tales and rumors and legends—Harrenhal’s curse manifests in tragedy after tragedy, while Chernobyl’s “curse” is literal: those who stayed too long suffered from radiation sickness.
and finally:
both are fucked up horror stories in themselves
Harrenhal:
There are rumors of ghosts—Lady Shella Whent’s weeping specter, the burned souls of Harren and his sons, and wait! There's more! If you call now--
The castle’s YUGE size and GAPING corridors (like ur mom) create an oppressive presence that can be felt all over the Riverlands
No matter who holds it, death follows. (im sorry i have said this so much but it's so fuckin metal)
Chernobyl in Popular Culture:
The real-life horror of radiation poisoning is alarming enough, but Chernobyl has become a breeding ground for horror films, video games, and urban legends. (no one talks about how Tarkovsky's Stalker in 1979 p much predicted the event but ALRIGHT)
There are true stories of mutated animals, less true stories of ghosts of workers, and really real eerie abandoned homes and workplaces that are literally disastrous to the earth's health.
The “Elephant’s Foot,” the mass of nuclear lava inside Reactor 4, is lethal to anyone who stands near it. That shit is so metal. Again. Sorry.
Some Rhaenyra studies I did for my warm up today! My new years resolution has been to post more sketches and learn to be less precious about presenting only super polished pieces.
“I like that Arcane doesn’t spoon feed us everything.” “Show don’t tell”. Whenever I see comments like this in response to critiques about this season, I get confused. How much has to happen offscreen or be completely glossed over via music video montage before we call a spade a spade and say certain things were underwritten?
“Show don’t tell” they did neither!!! We weren’t shown any meaningful scenes of Vi’s pit fighter era. We weren’t shown Ekko and Jinx working together to rebuild Jinx’s weapons and make their new outfits. We weren’t shown any hints as to Maddie having been a Noxian spy(no, the fact that y’all hated her from jump means nothing). We weren’t shown Caitlyn showing genuine remorse for her actions and ever growing distrust of Ambessa(micro expressions can only account for so much). We weren’t shown Ekko meaningfully interacting with the Firelights. We weren’t shown Vi and Jinx having a genuine conversation (and they have a LOT of shit to talk about) and I could keep going.
I love the show, I swear I do, but there’s a big difference between subtlety and things happening out of nowhere. It’s not “spoon feeding” for the show to let us SEE characters develop organically, and not via montage. We are watching a television SHOW after all, so yes, I expect certain things to be shown to us rather than told. “Show don’t tell” but they did a hell of a whole lot more telling than they did showing this time around. This is just my opinion of course
- After his devastating attack on Marley and the battle in Liberio, Eren suddenly ditches his desire for revenge. He adopts Falco and the two live in a hideout together. His friends ask him why he has suddenly become so passive after committing that huge attack. "Eren is dead" he says, and continues playing with bugs with Falco.
- In Season 4, Hange is revealed as the true villain of the show after she goes too far experimenting with Titans. Since mad scientist Hange loves Titans so much, she now thinks that everyone should turn into Titans. She plans to steal the Founding Titan to ascend to godhood and forcefully turn everyone into a hivemind Titan army. Eldians and Marleyans forgive each other and join forces to take down Hange.
- Two episodes before the finale, School Castes AU is made canon and given an entire episode's worth of screentime within the actual show. Mikasa travels to the alternate universe by quantum leaping into the body of her alternate self where she has a romance with Normie Eren.
- Grisha Jaeger's remains were found in the woods after Eren ate him. From his remains, he is revived into a werewolf-Titan hybrid monster. Eren and Zeke join forces to look for him. He attacks them but luckily recognizes them at the last minute. They have a family group hug which Falco joins (Falco is there). Later they take him to Hange to be cured but things go south and Grisha goes crazy again. Falco blows himself up to kill Grisha and save Eren. Unfortunately, Grisha survives. No one mentions Falco again. Eren sacrifices himself by killing Grisha to save Zeke.
- Gabi never has an onscreen arc of realizing she is being used as an indoctrinated tool against her own people. She fights Hange's Titan army while wearing the Warrior Unit uniform. Many Eldian civilians are also convinced to help Marley defeat Hange and they are all given Marleyan soldier uniforms during the final battle. At the end of the show, Gabi is still happily a Warrior soldier. "Are you still in this fight, Gabi?" asks a Marleyan elite. "I am the dirt under your nails," she replies. "Nothing's gonna clean me out."
You'd think Jayce, Mel and Heimer's disappearance for months on end would have a little more impact and attention than just two lines of dialogue from Ambessa...
Ambessa only reacted to Mel's death when she came back with a you are alive but for such a family oriented woman we don't get even one scene of her grieving Mel.
It is one of the few things that made the season feel very rushed over all.
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