Now that you've finished.
1. Thoughts on Eugene's new backstory and everything that goes with it?
2. Thoughts on the tics and habits she gave to Eugene? And the traumas of both Eugene and Rapunzel?
3. What do you think Cressien looks like, like how did you picture him with what we were given? I couldn't pin down age very well.
4. Did you notice the times the book almost made jabs at the series, what did you think of that?
5. Going with 4, what'd you think of it going from Chris's 'father's can do no wrong,' to the complete opposite?
6. Did you get any inspiration for art or story, like specific scenes you just want to put to paper?
Once again (possibly for the last time), this post contains spoilers for Rootbound. If you don't want to see spoilers, DO NOT READ THIS POST! I am tagging all my spoiler posts with "Rootbound spoilers" until August 28, 2026. If you don't want to risk seeing them, please blacklist that tag.
I'm a fan! Like, I'm such an old school fan of Tangled that I was around for the heyday of "Eugene is the bastard son of nobility" theory that came around based entirely on his name ("Eugene" means "well born" and "Fitzherbert" means "bastard son of Herbert," so the implication there is that he is the illegitimate child of a nobleman named Herbert), and it felt like the series kind of honored that theory (while also paying homage to the original fairytale by making him a prince), but then they did nothing with it, so it was kind of a waste? And I got convinced by the side who said that his growth as a character was so anchored in him being an orphan that making him a secret prince undermines it. I mean, I see both sides, I like both points. But I do definitely like him being the child of (and heir to the royalties for) the authors of The Tales of Flynnigan Rider. It's very sweet to have his personal story circle back to that. As for him being the son of rebels, I like that, too. It's so much less ACAB than him becoming the Captain of the Guard, which is a position he wasn't even considering, let alone vying for. I like that he spent the story conflicted on his parents, I like that he hoped to be secret nobility, or even royalty, and then wasn't. But I also like that he didn't feel destined to follow in his parents' footsteps. Eugene is his own man, a self-made man, but it's nice for him to know that his parents didn't abandon him, and that he was in an orphanage for legitimate reasons. (Not that someone inability or lack of desire to care for a child they had and giving them to an orphanage is a bad thing, inherently. This is a pro-adoption blog, and a pro-choice blog. People should not be forced to take care of people they don't want around. It's better for everyone involved if this is destigmatised.) I also like that he was named for his uncle, and is last name is a blend of his parents' two last names.
Again, a fan. Having Eugene fidget with stuff, keep his hands busy, when he's stressed out it an excellent tic to give a thief/ex-thief. Someone who needs to keep their hands busy would build manual dexterity. It would also allow for things like rolling a coin between the knuckles, palming stuff, and other slight of hand tricks. Plus, it added to the absolutely lovely scene where he rolls Rapunzel's sleeves up for her and explains how he used to pick at his sleeves when nervous, which led to him keeping them rolled up. As for their trauma's, they were extremely realistic to me. I've always thought it would take Rapunzel a long time to stop thinking of Gothel as "Mother," and I'm a bit disappointed that this -- as well as the series -- had her call the Queen "Mother," as well, instead of giving her a trauma response to the word and picking something different to call her, even if it was just "Mother" in another language. And Eugene occasionally thinking about his near-death (and actual-death) experiences in the movie only makes sense. I've long held the belief that he wouldn't like tight collars -- especially after the movie -- because they were too reminiscent of almost being hung.
Honestly, I'd have to re-read it to get a good mental visual. His introduction was one of the things I was only half-tuned in for. But I think I was picturing him as looking something like Esteban from Elena of Avalor (but with more grey hair and a less fancy mustache). I picture him in his early-to-mid 50s.
I don't want to claim that there were any times the book made jabs at the series, because I don't know if Margaret Owen is at all familiar with the series. I did notice a few times when there were some... strikingly familiar phrases used, but I'm not going to assume that was deliberate.
I was very satisfied with the roles of women and fathers in this book. The King was kind of a dork, and I love the Queen dragging him for wanting the strongest painkillers after spraining his ankle (for the fourth time). But he was also very sweet with Rapunzel, assuring her that what she's learning isn't easy, and that her own mom wasn't good at the waltz for an entire year after they were married (which implies to me that the Queen wasn't royalty when they married, and if she was nobility, wasn't expected at balls much.) I also quite enjoyed that parallel of King Enver and Gothel, letting the audience (and Rapunzel) know that that sort of selfishness and manipulation isn't gendered or restricted to mothers. It was also an interesting contrast, seeing Gothel-like behavior but on a much larger scale. Gothel was very self-contained, and she didn't want power, she wanted eternal life just for herself. Hell, we still don't know what she did with her time when she wasn't in the tower. But it was very nice to have that contrast between Gothel and the Queen, which was something I'd always wanted from the series. A pity the Queen wasn't in it more (though she was in it more than the King), but I understand why Margaret would want to put Rapunzel and Eugene in their own adventure without her parents.
I'm considering drawing Verette, and possibly Eugene if he'd been raised in Astera (with the white hair and all). Maybe Cressian, after I reread it and get a better handle on what I think our old gay diplomat looks like. A lot will depend on what I absorb the second time around. (Also, I've had severe artist's block lately.)
