What do you think about people comparing catra to Caitlyn from arcane
ah, i had a feeling i'd be asked about something along these lines.
okay, so, just to get this out of the way:
i'm aware that Arcane s2 has very polarizing opinions, points of views, and thoughts from the community, and, provided it's nothing extreme, they're all valid. though my words are largely subjective, i want to apply as much objectivity as possible to create a better picture, rather than complete bias with no desire for discussion.
s2, in my opinion, wasn't as well-written as it could've been. i don't hate it, but i would've made different writing choices for the characters, their arcs, etc., and i feel the ending was lackluster as a result of lack of closure. this includes Jinx's own ending, Isha, Vi's cycle of self-destruct and complicated family, and how i feel there was not enough screentime for the plots and characters given, especially Ekko, Mel, Kino, and Ambessa. and i do feel like the writing choices negatively affected Caitlyn's character, as well, even if i do understand and sympathize with her as a person.
objectively speaking, Caitlyn's dictatorship ( i believe that's what it is, iirc ) was more on-screen than Catra's, but Catra's crimes was heavier, quantity wise, including universal genocide.
because of SPOP's disregard for "show, don't tell", amongst several other factors ( Catra being a creator's pet being the main one ), there is little to no actual weight to her actions, even with the main cast. if there is consequences, it's either more personal than it should be, her mental breakdowns or Horde Prime chipping her, or fleeting, the destruction of Salineas. this is likely why people don't care much for Catra's actions, because there's no legitimate consequences that aren't just her being sad // distressed.
but, while not the best, Arcane writers take into consideration the impact of and to the people. Caitlyn's decisions did have consequences, and it affected more than just her. it changed Zaun, and with Silco and Jinx's absence, the people were anxious and needing a beacon in order to feel safe and empowered.
however, i don't think it's as simple as comparing Caitlyn to Catra.
in the eyes of the people, it wouldn't matter, obviously. as a result of taking her grief and thirst for vengeance out on them, the people of Zaun felt even more unsafe when they were already suffering.
but to us, as the audience, we can empathize with grief blinding us and leading us to making poor decisions that end up being detrimental to our and everyone else's health. keyword: empathize.
Caitlyn still hurt people. there is no denying that. i am simply saying that we can understand where she was coming from and that her grief was taken advantage of by Ambessa.
to their world, it's black and white. people suffer and // or die at the hands of someone in power.
to us, it's more or less than that.
still wanting to remain as objective i can be, i will say Caitlyn's are far easier to remember and hold against her, and rightfully so. but i believe that Catra's are worse and should've been displayed as worse, rather than stated or turned around to be a way for us to feel bad for her own downfalls.
now, let's move onto Caitlyn and Vi // Catra and Adora.
like with the season, i prefer s1 CaitVi over s2.
for me, the divide and conflict felt too similar to how their relationship originally started out and was too repetitive. it felt like the writers wanted another reason for them to break apart, when there was a lot of time spent to them forming together.
but i think CaitVi has more room to grow than C // A ever really did.
for one, Caitlyn and Vi have cared for each other more than they've hurt each other. even when they were at odds in s1, there was no point in the story where they left one or the other to die. if something bad happened, it was by circumstance, not by choice.
but Catra had always hurt Adora more than she cared for her. from physically harming her to degrading her, engaging in extreme sadism, and nearly killing her, purposefully, on multiple occasions, there's no actual evidence that Catra deeply cares for Adora, or that she cared to begin with.
for another, Caitlyn had more reason than Catra. Catra was given multiple chances to make better choices, but she never did and it was intentional and out of spite.
what was Caitlyn going to do with the fact her mother was killed, that her girlfriend's sister was the murderer, and that her girlfriend stopped her from doing from killing the culprit because she thought she'd kill a kid instead?
of course, it was highly likely that she would've killed Isha. again, blinded by grief. but Caitlyn didn't think that way. in her mind, she has more evidence of being an excellent shot than not, so, obviously, the possibility of her killing the child was 0, right?
( and i don't think Caitlyn cheated on Vi with Maddie. i read the end of their argument as a break-up, especially because Vi disappeared. )
and, for one last thing, even when she knew Vi didn't trust her and kept fighting with her, Caitlyn still tried to help.
overall, i think CaitVi did have a... meh(?) ending, but i still prefer them over C // A. if nothing else, for the foundation.
i don't think Caitlyn and Catra are the same. i just think the Arcane writers had more respect for their audience than SPOP did.
