Incredibly violent take of mine but I actually don’t think you need to relate to a story in any way to enjoy it. You can enjoy a story even if you can’t point at a character and insert some aspect of your personality or identity into them. In fact I would argue the need for a character like that to be present in every single story you experience is a sign of stunted growth.
“I heard some news too. Big news. West Ravka has declared for Nikolai.”
That got our attention.
“They’re blocking off the western shore of the Fold,” she continued. “So if the Darkling wants weapons or ammunition—”
“He’ll have to go through Fjerda,” finished Zoya.
But it was bigger than that. This meant the Darkling had lost West Ravka’s coastline, its navy, the already tenuous access Ravka had to trade.
“West Ravka now,” Tolya said. “Maybe the Shu Han next.”
“Or Kerch,” put in Zoya.
“Or both!” crowed Adrik.
I could almost see the tendril of hope twisting its way through our ranks.
Yay! More slow and painful deaths of civilians from starvation! After all, we don't like the member of a persecuted minority on the throne who tears his ass off to lead the people of this country through all the obstacles that WE arrange! We want another Lantsov leech on the throne!
She whisked Alina away just in time to save her precious virginity thwart Aleksander's chance to get his dick wet, AND gain the equal he always longed for. It doesn't matter if the Darkling intended to use the Collar since the beginning, claiming such an amplifier would guarantee Alina's immortality in case she doesn't have it already (or her wasting somehow damaged it). It would mean Aleksander doesn't need Baghra anymore.
That's why book!Baghra waited so long to reveal his true identity and confirm Alina's belief the Darkling is evil incarnate. If she truly wanted to warn the girl, she could've done it immediately, and train her to be able to stand up to the Darkling. Instead she was relying on Aleksander's stubbornness to give Alina this particular amplifier, and the Stag being impossible to find. Once the later assumption proved to be wrong, Alina had to disappear. Armed with a shoddy backstory and half-baked "escape plan".
Here? I can't quite figure out Baghra's character motivation. Or more precisely what she believes she'll gain.
She doesn't care about other people. She has no issue beating, drugging, belittling her students, she has no empathy to spare for her own son, when he's grieving fresh death of a loved one, she plays no active role to achieve some higher purpose, hiding her powers just like her book counterpart. I don't buy her sudden concern for Alina's well-being.
Her influence on Aleksander is already looser.
He reclaimed his name, he's openly closer to his people, he isn't nearly as emotionally numb as Bookling, he doesn't hesitate to remind Baghra of her non-existent importance once he finds Alina. Unlike Bookling he does make the time to interact with Alina outside of his duties that one time. There's a chance some genuine connection might develop between him and Alina, so what is this? Some last-ditch effort to burn it all down? "If you keep pushing me away, I'll take everything from you even without a hope to get you back."?!
To Olga, Baghra says "We cannot let him obtain that kind of power." as if the amplifier did more than just amplify what's already there. And it doesn't exactly sound as if Alina's well-being were her concern here, does it? Now what else would the Stag's bones guarantee, aside from the increase of our light bulb's shining? Let's ask Luda, shall we?
I could live a long life. With training, with an amplifier. I could see another hundred years, maybe more.
Baghra's already in charge of Alina's training. She got her to "unlock" her powers through widom of I don't neeeeed anyyyooo-oone!, I have no doubt she'd be able to keep Alina mid at best. Share more of her teachings, and create more blocks to give Alina years instead of centuries. What Ol' Bags cannot fight is addition of more raw life force. An amplifier. Extremely rare, special by default. One that would grant the Sun Summoner immortality if she didn't have it already.
And just when that threat appears, Baghra catches Alina seemingly in middle of creating a connection to another human being, THE one she wants her to stay away from?! Of couse she's gonna "save" the girl "from" Aleksander! What did she say?!
Needing anyone else is weak.
Besides, you're not to touch this cookie! Mommy's about to teach him a lesson!
You know, over time, I have an aversion to Christianity, to which I technically belong, according to which my loved ones and most likely myself are buried and will be buried. But I'm increasingly thinking about how violent its adoption was, that we still celebrate pagan holidays that they never managed to eradicate and had to come up with their own justification. And how little we really know about the customs (which is partly due, of course, to the fact that each area had its own small and not so small differences). It makes me cringe.
I really liked it when Bardugo went out of her way to establish that Shu Han's scientists tried very hard to find a real, empirical source of Grisha powers, and failed spectaculary, which combined with the fact that Grisha comes in every shape and every colour was supposed to show how there is literally no difference between them and otkazatsya, and that both those groups are just people, because there's no biological differences between them, and so any kind of predjudice towards Grisha is sensless
Only for the books to promptly establish that Grisha are more prone to corruption than otkazatsya, that Grisha have the greed, and the hunger for power embedded in their bones together with their talents.
The narrative never says the Grisha are evil, but "Small Science has always been about keeping power in check", amplifiers "have something to do with a check on Grisha powers", and the "greed of men" can be shoved up your ass when it's only Grisha who can fall for it, since otkazatsya cannot reach the making, and therefore are free from the danger of losing themselves in their powers. Grisha, even though anatomically are identical with otazatsya, have that magical, untraceable element to them, that makes them more dangerous.
You don't need to worry that since Grisha are biologically the same as otkazatsya, come from the same enviornments, practice the same religions, and celebrate the same holidays as otkazatsya it might be harder to find a justifiable reason to hate them. Grisha and otkazatsya differ on spiritual level, that's where Grisha's wrongness is, which you aren't able to deny, not really, not ever.
You don't need any actual signs of "otherness" from people you decide to hate, feeling very strongly that they're somehow wrong is more than enough.
Kapela má 50 minut zpoždění ale kdo je v pohodě? Kdo neposlouchal když rodina říkala že nemám tahat knihu všude??? Kdo je geniální a vždy připraven a dal dvěma dámám bublifuky??????