#duel 17

[tournoi-des-femmes-de-vos-vies]

Gullia (Gulli) vs Cléopâtre (Astérix et Obélix : Mission Cléopâtre)

Gullia

Cléopâtre

Voting ended onApr 19

[docpiplup]

Emdt Historical Tournament

Duel 17

Federico García Lorca (s1)

Benito Pérez Galdós

Voting ended onAug 12, 2023

Character 1

Complete name: Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, Granada, June 5, 1898-road from Víznar to Alfacar, Granada, August 18, 1936)

Status/Proffesion/Charge: Writer, poet and playwright, co-director of the theater group La Barraca

Actor: Ángel Ruiz

Episodes: 1×08, La leyenda del tiempo 4×01, Perdido en el tiempo

4×02 El laberinto del tiempo

4×03, Bloody Mary Hour

Character 2

Complete name: Benito Pérez Galdós (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, May 10, 1843-Madrid, January 4, 1920)

Status/Proffesion/Charge: Novelist, playwright, chronicler and politician, deputy in the Parliament for Guayama in the Progressive Party, member of the Republican Party, co-founder and president of the Republican-Socialist Conjunction, deputy in the Parliament for Madrid in the Republican-Socialist Conjunction, deputy in the Parliament for Las Palmas, Academic of the Royal Spanish Academy, Knight of the Order of Alfonso XII

Actor: Jorge Basanta (3×11), Manolo Cal (4x00)

Episodes: 3×11, Tiempo de verbena 4×00, Antes de no haya tiempo

[cleave-and-plough]

"knowing my friend's secret makes me so happy i can't stand it"

juri, juri, juri

i'm honestly having a hard time starting this post - i feel like the episode said it all. a lot of the subtext entered the main text here, especially around the idea of secrets, not to mention nanami not-so-subtly acknowledging the metaphorical significance of the black rose sword. and through it all, juri continues to wrestle with herself, unsure of how to feel.

as souji and mamiya discuss, juri is too strong to be defeated head-on and needs to be dealt with more insidiously through shiori's parasitism. utena's noble, pure heart prevents her from seeing through shiori's act, but anthy, all too familiar with the cruelty of others, recognizes the truth. juri, too, jaded by her past experiences, seems aware of the trap being set for her, but she can't resist her own feelings now that shiori has returned. her journey this episode veers from one extreme to another - at first, she feels comfortable saying she hates shiori, even as an orange rose petal falls, and this sense of strength manifests in her elevated fencing capabilities. once shiori appears, however, she begins to see herself as weak, as evidenced by her reluctance to part with the locket, which she desperately throws into the pond, releasing it into the world and sealing her own fate. of the student council, juri's story seems the most tragic in the classic sense - fated to inevitable sorrow, bereft of the miracle that could free her.

"believe in miracles." it's a line that i puzzle over, knowing shiori's own internal war between her admiration for and jealousy toward juri. like the bird hitting the window, shiori cannot see that which is hidden right before her eyes, unaware of juri's feelings and hurting herself in trying to harm juri. what was the miracle shiori hoped for? equality to, or superiority over juri? the revelation of the locket should bring her satisfaction, knowing that she finally truly has power over juri, but it doesn't. whatever part of her still respects and maybe even wants to love juri cannot take pleasure in her suffering, no matter how much she tells herself she can't endure juri's pity - after all, there's no way juri could genuinely be kind to her, is there? only the black rose can offer shiori such stark clarity of purpose, coagulating her feelings into pure hatred.

in a sequence akin to kozue's encounter with miki, shiori affects intimacy with juri, caressing her and confessing her own disdain. juri arches back as the sword of her heart emerges. nanami's insinuative question to miki, "what did it feel like?" hangs over the scene. i've made this connection before, but the influence on steven universe feels particularly evident here: like fusion, the pulling of the sword is a metaphor for different kinds of intimacy, though it isn't one-to-one for anything in particular (as much as some su fans want it to be explicitly and consistently sexual). of course, it's not not sexual, especially here, though like the other black rose encounters there's a clear atmosphere of violation - kanae is unwillingly penetrated by the rose, while miki and juri are vaguely seduced before being painfully laid bare. this all of course begs the question of what is happening when utena pulls the sword from anthy. while the black rose duelists scream in pain, anthy gently closes her eyes and lies back peacefully, suggesting that this process isn't painful for her, but is this merely a matter of how used to it she is? for the black rose duelists, this is their first time, a moment of great emotional anguish and weight - for anthy, it's just another day at work. what was it like for her, the first time? as nanami wonders, did it hurt? does it still?

utena arrives at the arena, shocked to learn that shiori has bad blood with juri, while anthy stands there, unsurprised. the duel proves less challenging than the one against kozue, and shiori falls swiftly. afterward, utena struggles to make sense of it. how could shiori, juri's childhood friend, seem so sweet while harboring such malicious feelings? anthy tries to explain: shiori hasn't changed, and she isn't contradicting herself. the part of her that is loving and the part of her that is hateful are inextricable pieces of herself, and she still hasn't figured out how to make peace with that.

neither has juri.

stray thoughts:

utena's therapy sessions with akio have become more regular. maybe anthy's continued secrecy makes her feel like she can't fully open up to her yet? at least akio is there to provide advice via astrological metaphors.

nanami continues to hold court in her brother's absence, even seizing control of miki's stopwatch. although miki doesn't answer her question, i like these windows into how differently nanami governs the council as compared to her brother: she's curious and wants to involve the others.

souji's comments after shiori's defeat imply that she'll return, and i look forward to it - as much as i enjoyed the focus on juri, this episode felt like it left plenty more to say.

blood play? in my shoujo anime? quite a potent illustration of "sucking out the poison," lol

[sailormoonsub]

Utena: Well, after the duel Shiori seems to be having fun!

Anthy: Here's a hot tip: sometimes the way people feel on the inside is different from the way they present on the outside.

Utena: Anthy, my wife, I love you but I never have any idea what the FUCK you are talking about

[sailormoonsub]

Juri's eyes are completely glazed over because is trying so hard to imagine a hypothetical universe where she is attracted to a man

[sailormoonsub]

apparently someone dredged Jury's locket out of the lake to deliver it to Shiori's room anonymously, and yes I AM willing to bet it was Anthy with a fishing rod, a tackle box and a pair of waders

[sailormoonsub]

Utena: Ah, this sucks. I liked it better when the arena was full of milkshakes. You can't drink a parakeet.

Anthy: Not with that attitude, you can't.

[sailormoonsub]

Me, glancing nervously at the butterfly: Oh shit? This is just the surface level of her emotions? You mean there’s at least 3 more layers of convoluted feelings AFTER “I hate my best friend”?