An Ode To Briana Matthews Part Deux
*Oathbound Spoilers Afoot!*
One of the many things I have enjoyed about this series is Tracy’s centering of Bree. She is allowed to be complicated, powerful, and flawed. She is shown being loved on furiously, being desired fiercely, and she is written in a way that makes you ache for her. She calls something forward in me that challenges the notion of who Black girls are supposed to be in the eyes of those who deem us as too much. Bree makes me proud because she makes mistakes, takes risks, and does not play about the people she loves.
We have come a long way from the girl in Legendborn.
Her Magic (The Consequences of The Choice)
“I push myself to my feet and walk toward him, a satisfied smile curving my lips. As I get closer, I widen my hands again, and the thuds grow quieter and quieter as I thicken the barrier. He can’t see me, but I can just make out the glow of his eyes. His irises are green with fury, and I imagine what I would look like to him if he could see me…”
“A young brown-skinned girl in a long formal gown, striding toward him with her palms out wide. A girl with deep purple magic flowing from her hand to feed the structure encasing him. A girl raising that sphere into the air, levitating him from the ground. A girl trained by the deepest Shadow himself, her teeth bared in an electric grin.”
Bree has come a long way from the Gala and the choice she made with the Shadow King back at the lodge. In this scene, her confidence is on full display. She looks strong, she flexes her prowess, and she is not holding back. All of this came from the choice she made to go with Erebus and to burn her ancestral stream. As I said in my first ode, I loved her choice. I knew it would be messy, I knew it would hurt. I also knew it would be necessary. We know Bree is a fighter, and there is little that would keep her from it. Choosing herself meant breaking herself down to the studs to become more. More physically, more mentally, more strategically. Like any king worth their salt, she makes the difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions. She is finding her balance and pushing her limits until she ultimately finds the formula that works for her. At the end of Oathbound, we see her more in control. To say that the order, Erebus, and Tor's funky ass will hate to see her coming, is an understatement.
“Then I remember the sizzling sensation when I touch the Pendragon coin, and I wonder if he’s the one who stamped that memory onto my skin. Boys, I say quietly. I know that much…”
“I think…,” I say, watching the crowd with new eyes, "I’m into people people.”
One of the other aspects of Bree in which she became more sure of was her desires and sexuality. We got a glimpse of it with Sel in the woods. It was she who took the lead and kissed him, leaning into how much he wanted her, and showing him she wanted the same. I am of the age that I remember girls being labeled as “fast” for doing something as mundane as wearing red lipstick. In the Black community, there tends to be (at least there was when I was this age) a looking down upon of Black girls for owning their sexuality. You get the, “Don’t bring no babies home” talk, but there is little discussion of the real world, practical shit. Even into adulthood, if you enjoy sex and are open about it (like the men dem), you are labeled a HOE (304s as they said back in the day). This scene was so dope because we get a glimpse of her thought process in her own words. I love that Zoe questions her, essentially prompting her to give voice to what she likes. There is freedom even in the thought of exploration.
So Drown and The Roof is On Fire
“I’m drowning in you, Bree. I shouldn’t want to. I should fight it. But I can’t”
“My eyes flutter closed, then open. I inhale a ragged breath. Exhale an answer. So drown.”
The challenge she levels at Nick made me squeal. The way he obliged made me gasp. Every moment where Bree is free to be a teenager exploring her sexuality is top tier. Tracy makes these moments count, doesn’t she? When I first started reading this series, I heard rumblings regarding the two white boys and their desire for Bree. Some conversations turned their dynamic into something dirty, and something that was happening to Bree instead of realizing she is a willing participant. There are some interesting takes out there. I love that she is being loved on by two love interests who would set the world ablaze for her. The fact that Bree disrupts their trajectory AND the trajectory in what Black girls deserve (love, respect, care, softness, a lil Selly Sazon) warms my soul.
“And if I want…?” My breath turns shallow, my skin burning beneath the winter coat. His brows lift in question. “If you want…?”
“Actually, I murmur, that might be the end of the sentence.”
Clever hands aside, the conversation between these two was endearing. The fact that she felt safe enough to express the longing she had been housing was nothing less than poetic. Too often in media, Black girls are the sidekick, the funny one, the token, never to be chosen in a real way. We are the wisdom or the sacrifice that helps the non-Black characters have amazing epiphanies, that moves their stories forward, making the Black character disposable. I know Tracy said, “Fuck all that!” at some point as Bree’s story progressed. In my younger years, I had NEVER seen a Black girl exploring in this way. Being wanted and revered in this way. Taking up space and challenging the status quo in this way. Don’t get me started on her wanting BOFFUM. Can’t a girl have her spicy black cat and equally as spicy Golden Retriever in peace?
“Rootcrafters are Black. Rootcrafter girls, specifically, make a good target, because a missing Black girl won’t raise alarm bells the way a missing white girl would.”
“I may not know the people in my life, but I know myself. I won’t be able to let this go.”
When I read Valec’s birth scene, I had suspected that demons had been ingratiating themselves in the rootcraft community (especially Erebus), and for the very reason quoted above. When Bree sees one of the girls being assaulted in the bathroom of the Rat, she springs into action. When the warlock escapes with her, a new mission is born. Bree understands what is at stake at that moment. She is not that far removed from the torture she experienced in the Institute. She would not let anyone forget about the rootcrafter girls despite all of the other plates she was spinning. My girl said, “We gon do both!” In Legendborn, Nick and Sel spoke of things kings must do. The sacrifice that lives under that banner. Bree’s growth has demonstrated that she is a far superior king than Arthur and the Shadow King combined. Her heart is what makes her more powerful than any magic she can wield. Her intentions are pure, and she makes room for her care to wrap around the people and communities she cares about. Bree makes hard decisions and faces the consequences head-on, plans be damned.
I love this character and have found her reach to touch a multitude of ages for various reasons. For me, she is the niece, the daughter, the sister. She is also me. Her fire and determination. Her refusal to accept the unacceptable and willingness to join a fight, because those being fought for are worthy. As Nick says, she is worthy.
Oathbound’s dedication says:
For the girls who face the unknown…and leap anyway. Bree has literally and figuratively taken the leap, and she challenges all of us in times of peril to do the same.
I am so glad to be alive in the timeline where Bree Matthews exists.
Rumble Black Girl, Rumble.
I hope you enjoyed part deux! Find part one here!
dededos
blakekathryn
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