Reasons to Ship Markus & North (Marth/Norkus) 4.2
Markus Reawakened North's Fire (CONT)
The start of the freedom march sees some interesting characterization for North. In this moment it is as if she has swapped roles with Simon. This was clearly not her idea, and she's terrified. She pleads with Markus to not do things this way and drops her head when she understands that he's going to go through with the plan regardless. At first this baffled me. North rarely shows this level of cowardice. Initially it felt out of character, but it actually may not be. I mentioned her just now becoming actualized and owning her feelings. It makes perfect sense that she would be nervous about not only dying herself and losing touch with those emotions, but having her people die too. If we come at the scene from this perspective, then her caution makes a lot of sense. There's logic behind it from the way she wants to handle the situation. She wants to fight, because she saw how effectively it worked (or how ineffective peace was) at Capitol Park. In her mind a peaceful march makes little sense, as it's not a language humans understand. It could lead to everyone getting slaughtered for no reason. We then have God Droid summoning his fellow androids with something as small as a glance, and none of them question him. North and the other advisors witness this firsthand. Suddenly the police show up to assault unarmed, peaceful protestors. Markus is faced with a choice. To either fight, flee, or stand his ground. North urges him to fight. She knows they have greater numbers and can win if they choose to face them. She is quite forward about this. There's an eager, nervous confidence to her as she speaks. She believes this is the best choice. It would mean less death for her people and would teach the humans a vital lesson. Should Markus go through with the more aggressive option there's a huge battle, in which North is a skilled, eager participant. She's kicking the hell out of their rivals, beating them with nightsticks, and firing rifles as well as pistols. She even has a powerful moment where she fights directly alongside Markus. She also helps him up, should he take a bullet for her. I don't believe North needs Markus to be successful in combat (we see her picking up the slack numerous times should you as a player screw up), but I do think she feels much more energized doing so. They're fighting back to back, surrounded by three or four enemies, and together they still win. The odds are against them, but through sheer morale and determination they pull through. Briefly looking back at the situation in Capitol Park we know North loves fighting back, and she loves the validation Markus gives her when he chooses to do the same. Getting the chance to fight directly beside the person who understands you and inspires you would make anyone feel like they could take on the world. This is no doubt what North is experiencing. We can see this after she helps him to his feet. They hold each other's gazes for a moment. From her expression (and relationship meter) she's both touched and surprised that he would risk injury for her. She's in the middle of battle with the opportunity to get back at the humans but stops for several seconds to admire Markus. For someone so focused to do this, one can tell how impactful this man is. When the police flee there's an option to shoot or spare them. If you shoot, North jumps in, following Markus' example. Seeing the humans defeated everyone drops their weapons to examine the battlefield. The androids lost several, but they won. It's just as North predicted. They could take the humans, and they did. Her fiery, soldier spirit has once again been vindicated. As such, she has no reason or desire to back down from her position.
Jericho squad is in the captain's quarters discussing the effects of the march. There are serious repercussions for fighting, and everyone is fearing for their people's lives. Josh is understandably furious with Markus, and once again Simon mediates. North agrees with him, and doesn't want to dwell on the past. She's ready to move forward. In order to do this she encourages Markus to guide them. This is a pivotal moment in the game for North's character. If the player has messed up too many times, North takes control and the three kick Markus out. If the player has done well, you have her support, and everyone has no issues leaving you in charge. North is a fully fledged warrior at this point. She's acknowledged her past, is motivated, and isn't afraid to fight for what she wants. The narrative has told you not to make too many errors, or she will show you what she can do when inspired. All this is due to Markus. Good or bad. If he hadn't have shown up, she wouldn't have been moved to action. Thankfully this strong soldier still more than approves of Markus' leadership and allows him to make the choice. He has done so much good, and made everyone more spirited. She has no reason to doubt him even when things look bleak. If your next move is to talk to the humans North does her old avert gaze maneuver and pleads with Markus not to do this, because she feels that he will get killed. He's her inspiration and everyone's hero. Of course she doesn't want anything to happen to him. He means a lot to her. When Simon and Josh dismiss themselves North affirms this. "Since you've been here you've given us hope. You've given me hope." That quote encompasses this entire post. It's so sweet, open, and loving. Those words hit me right in the heart. It also proves the effect he had on her. Becoming a bit more serious North hands Markus a bomb. She could have kept it for herself, since her judgment is second best in Jericho. She doesn't, however. She gives the detonator to Markus and lets him decide if such measures are necessary. Some people may read this as her being unnecessarily cruel, but it's not. This is a worst case scenario usage only. It is also in order to protect her people. This is a war now, and in order to win a war you have to do what you must to win. Meaning I take the detonator just in case. After that North bears her heart to him. She tells him she's glad they met, and the two share their memories as well as a kiss. Shortly after North also departs . She pauses to let him know she doesn't want to lose him then is gone. Her body language and tone of voice in this scene are so telling. We know emotions have been something that she's kept deep within her. The fact that she steps closer to him before speaking emphasizes how much she trusts him and how much she's changed. She looks down again but not out of fear or in an attempt to close herself off. She's preparing to talk, to open herself up about not just how she feels but what her fears are as well. She doesn't want to lose this man. It would tear her apart to witness the death of the one who gave her the courage to be who she truly is. She lets him share memories with her once more, knowing the heavy impact it had on her the last time. What made her run away before now keeps her there. She has accepted the strength of feelings he brings out in her, and is willing to let him know her in the most intimate manner. When she's leaving she does it in such a slow, almost pained way. She stops to look at him once more. She doesn't want to be apart from him. She knows this could be one of the last times they're together, and the thought is killing her. If Markus dies she loses a friend, a supporter, a source of hope, and a lover. She's not ready to let go of someone who motivated her so intensely.
Jericho is attacked, and while fleeing Marth/Norkus run into each other. North is understandably panicked. From the way she speaks, it's clear she has her own plan, but she puts her trust in Markus by letting him make the choice. She doesn't like the idea of him risking his life to blow up the ship. From the alarmed tone of voice as well as the look in her eyes, she wants him to reconsider. Her ideal is to have him flee with her and Connor. We have to remember this is a chance to save some of the other androids from being killed. North knows this, but doesn't think it's worth it for Markus to risk his life. This means she could potentially end up losing Simon and Josh as well. I wouldn't say this is an honorable moment for her, but it is one that shows how deeply she cares for Markus. He's done a lot for her and everyone else that the thought of him dying is more painful than the thought of losing some of her people. The team regroups, and North is the first to notice Markus' return. She gives him a small, relieved smile before turning and running with the others. For some reason North pauses then gets shot. North doesn’t cry or plead for her life even with Simon encouraging Markus to leave her behind. She may not want to die, but she knows that if nothing else Markus needs to be protected. If she has to lose her life for him to continue helping others so be it. Luckily for her I don’t believe the android leader is the type to ever abandon a friend, so he rushes in to save her. They fight in tandem once again, harkening back to the freedom march and Capitol Park. Injured or not, North still gives it all she has. She is feeling well supported by Markus, and the extra assistance enables her to keep up the battle until their enemies are defeated. Connor covers them, and the five manage to escape safely. This is another one of those scenes that had me scratching my head in regards to North’s characterization. I’m not surprised that she would value Markus over everyone else. He is the soul of the revolution after all, but fact that she wouldn’t insist to go with him when this was a chance to save their people and provide him backup is just odd. It’s not like her her. Based on everything we’ve seen it doesn’t make sense. We know she’s more than capable of a fighter and puts her people’s safety way over hers. Then for some reason she stops running when bullets are flying. I could try to logic it out and say she was waiting for Markus, but I don’t really think that’s the case. Aside from the writers wanting an excuse to have North be rescued by Markus I can’t see why they’d have her behave this way. She’s not a damsel in distress, and it’s too far along in the story for her to be a coward due to emotional sensitivity based on how they’ve developed her so far. This was character regression for the sake of drama, and I’m disappointed with it.
In the aftermath of the destruction the remaining androids take shelter in an abandoned church. North is sitting alone. Silently pondering the events that have transpired over the past few hours. She's pensive but not defeated. She's alive, Markus is alive, and not everyone is dead. This woman has every reason to feel confident. More so when you consider that what her leader did was not in line with a pacifist regime. When we examine their discussion we get several, very telling verbal and non-verbal cues that confirm North's state of mind. From the moment Markus decides to sit beside her, North's eyes are on him. She's no longer deep in thought. In fact, North appears almost relieved that he asked how she was. She gives him a little smile as she affirms that she's fine overall. She gently scolds him about going back for her. She's happy to be alive, but he very well could have died. In an ironic twist, he actually breaks eye contact with her. This alone tells me how deeply North's words resonated with him. This is a serious, impactful thing to mention, but North doesn't turn away. She's now okay with facing the risks that having deep, emotional conversations entail. It's a little extra special that she gets to share this development with Markus as he's the one that gave her the strength to fight in the first place. Maybe him being beside her is affording her the confidence to have this discussion as well. This is supported by her telling him to prioritize the many over her. North truly is okay dying for the greater good, because at least her death would've helped change something. It's slightly different to how she was in earlier chapters. She has always been a proponent of her people, but facing her own death was slightly harder. Now we know she's absolutely unafraid of passing on. She also attributes the survival of the remaining androids to Markus' quick thinking with the explosives. To her the cause is still alive and well. Markus' actions have given her not only the numbers but the morale to keep their fight for equality going. This is very late in the game, but he can still be an inspiration to his actualized girlfriend. They mention the androids being rounded up in camps. North looks down for a moment, seemingly sad for those who were captured. She doesn't even flinch as she talks about the potential of every android dying. Her head is high and, she's staring her leader directly in the eye. She's okay with meeting her end, so long as she goes down trying to make a change. She tells Markus that he has to make a choice, and that she will support him regardless. For someone who also has the qualities of being a leader to allow someone else to make the decision on her fate - and the fate of everyone else like her - requires trust, respect, and humility. Markus has yet to steer them wrong, and she believes he won't anytime soon. With him at her side she is ready and willing to do whatever she must. He just needs to give the order. In a very tender moment she tells him she loves him, they do their precious hand connection, and Markus gets up to rally his people. This whole time North is watching him. She's waiting for his words as much as everyone else. The other androids may have survived, but they need guidance now. What happened was no doubt frightening. At this point only Markus' words can give them the comfort and motivation they need to carry on. Markus is truly something special. When I first watched this scene I wondered my Markus didn't tell North he loved her back, but I thought about it more as time passed. He doesn't need to say words to do this. He reaches for her hand to express his emotion in a physical way that only androids can. The other reason, is to make this moment bigger for North. We've seen her run from such intimacy in the past and suppress her feelings. The fact that she is able to admit this so calmly and with such certainty emphasizes the Markus affect even more. He really helped bring out so much of this woman. It's incredible.
Long live the revolution! Our heroes charge the camp, taking out all who stand in their way. Markus slams their flag into a barrier. As the four Jericho leaders step forward they stare down the opposition. With guns drawn and an unwavering gaze North speaks first. "Freedom or death." She’s ready to fight until the very last android is dead. Or until her people are freed. There is no hesitance or fear in her now. Only raw determination. When Markus echoes her words it is as if he is seeking assurance from her now. This is a small but important role reversal. Markus not only confirms that her stance is right, but it’s a sign that North has elevated to the point of being able to uplift the one who gave her the inspiration to be standing there now. When Markus gives the command they rush into battle under a barrage of gunfire and explosions. The Jericho quartet goes for cover immediately. North is reasonably shaken. She is aware of the odds, but Markus' plan of overwhelming their rivals gives her the push she needs to keep believing. "We're gonna do this. We're gonna get to that fucking camp, and free our people." She's assuring herself as much as Markus is. It’s very nice how they seem to be feeding off each other and keeping the morale up. If someone feels unconfident the other says or does something to erase the doubts. They are very much on even terms now. With his orders promising a success North jumps back into the fray. Simon and Josh eat lead, but she continues on bravely. Her group takes out the people operating the machine gun, and she announces that they're nearly there. She's much calmer than she was before. Clearly with each, little step her confidence grows. Justice is only a few feet away. Markus does some cool stunt with a rocket launcher, destroys a tank, and sends the humans fleeing. With their enemies in retreat, North turns to Markus in awe and announces that they won. She may have had hopes, but the reality causes her to simply stare in admiration.
They did it. What remains of team Jericho have liberated their people from an extermination camp, and Connor has summoned an army. With such a victory the humans must accept the changing times or perish for their defiance. The era of android equality has just begun. North is flanking Markus as he examines his new charges. She breathes and utters a line that embodies everything she is as a character. "We're free." Then she looks at him, wanting Markus to encourage the newly rescued androids. She wants him to speak to them in the same way he spoke to those broken, defeated souls inside Jericho. She wants him to ignite their spirits as well. He will, and she knows this. First, however he wants to take North in his arms, kiss her, share memories, and never let go. He has a job to do and professionalism to uphold as a leader, but he seeks solace and relief in her instead. A gesture North more than appreciates. She's looking deeply into his eyes, grinning almost the entirety of this scene, and basks in his love. When Markus does make his final, grand speech, North doesn't just smile. She beams. It's the happiest she's been in the whole game, and probably in her entire existence. Yes indeed, she's free. Free to fight, free to feel, free to love, and free to live. She is a person in every sense of the word. This woman opened her heart, confronted her past, fought hard for her rights, and is ready to begin her life. North would never have become actualized, never have become inspired, never have become human if this stranger with a wild imagination hadn't fallen into her life. If he hadn't spoken with charismatic, uplifting words that ignited the once quelled fire inside her. If he didn't take actions that shook her to her very soul. Without Markus she would still be sitting stone-faced on a crate, throwing a tennis ball between scavenging for spare parts. He gave her the motivation to be the dedicated, noble, courageous warrior that she kept buried deep within her.
If you’re interested in seeing 1-4.1 of my Marth/Norkus analyses click the link below:
http://themasterofcider.tumblr.com/tagged/reasons-to-ship-marth
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