#mal critical

[lancastrianwasian]

I love Mal, I just hate that the writers glorify her too much at the expense of the other characters.

[hannahhook7744]

My opinion/feelings about Mal;

Summary; what the title says.

Okay, so I'm gonna be honest. While I generally prefer Audrey and Uma over Mal (mainly pre d1 and after d1), I don't actually hate Mal. Like, yeah, I'm critical of her. But I'm also critical of Chad, Audrey, and my other favorite characters when they do bad things. My main problems with her mainly have to do with the writers. You know, cause they're rarely consistent with character development.

So, yeah I don't hate her or wish she didn't exist. She would be a main antagonist in more of my fics (other than my oc story and ones where I'm just staying what she did in canon) instead of a frienemy like protagonist if I did. It was brought to my attention that I might act that way do to how little time I focus on her and how it usually tends to be negative.

And to that, I say, I don't hate Mal. Sure, I might hate the things she does sometimes but I do that with other characters (Chad anyone?) And I understand that she's just a teenage girl with a bad upbringing. I just get frustrated sometimes with how demonized other characters (Ben mainly) are and get critical of her when I go to defend them. What I do hate is how the writers watered down her personality by always making Ben the damsel in distress and getting rid of her hobbies. Like come on, what happened to her art hobby? And her pranking? I don't want to just hear about how she's queen and I doubt everyone else does either!

Also, I think if everyone else got an equal amount of screen time than she probably wouldn't get bashed as much. You know, since the movies and wicked world and some of the books revolved around her alot. That much screen time when it's compared to everyone else's does no one a favor.

It just makes her look worse because we don't see the other vks do as much bad as she does (and most certainly doesn't help that they decide to make a couple of the bad things she did permanent like what happened with Mad Maddy's hair and some of the things she tried to do with Evie before they were friends). Which is something we definitely would have seen if descendants had been a TV show or if it had given the other characters a bit more focus. Plus I feel like the Fandom as a whole would probably like Mal a tad bit more if bad things the other kids did were mentioned at least once. And if they kept her hobbies. But I already talked about all that in wasted potential as many of you know. I just wanted to correct that mistake.

Also, I do very much indeed ship Bal. I'm pretty sure Bal is one of the only ships I actually have for Mal. I don't think Baudrey would have lasted much longer (no offense baudrey shippers) because it seems Ben mentally checked out of that relationship in school of secrets the web series. And while I think Ben could do well with many of the other characters, I like him best with Mal (just my opinion). And don't really ship Mal with many other people because I just like her that much with Ben. Was the love potion icky? Yes, but she didn't take advantage of it too much. Which I'll give her credit for. My only real problem with it is I'm not sure she ever told Ben the real reason why she spelled him and that it was a bit creepy but I tend to over look that as a mistake on the writer's part. Because I like to imagine Mal told Ben the truth at some point. I also drop it for the most part because Ben isn't too bothered by it. The only other reason I still get mad about it is because of how painful it must have been for Audrey but Mal is far from the only person I'm mad at for that.

*side eyes the other aks for seemingly not getting mad at Mal and Ben for that.* The other vks, I get since they didn't like her and like Mal were just doing what they needed to do to survive. But the other aks? Like they look bad no matter what. I'm sorry but Ben was obviously spelled. And if they knew-- if the teachers knew-- and did nothing that looks bad.

And if they didn't... well, that's kind of worse, isn't? I mean, alot of them must have known Ben throughout their school years and yet they don't know him better than that? I don't know him good enough to know that he would have never dumped Audrey like that? I've known him for less time and even I know he would have dumped her less publicly and wouldn't have tried to kiss Mal publicly afterwards. Even I know he wouldn't sing a song to another girl while dating another one soberly. Come on.

But that's not all. Answer me this; if they didn't know Ben was spelled, why did no one try kicking his butt or Mal's? I don't hate Mal or Ben or Bal, but you're telling me that no one had a problem with Ben dumping Audrey like that for another girl? Because you know how bad that looks, right? It looks like Bal were cheating together (even though we know they weren't) and planned this to humiliate Audrey. So why is it that no one tried to fight Ben or Mal, or call them (or just Ben) out on it? Why is everyone laughing, smiling, and clapping when Audrey was done dirty in this scene?

I know Audrey is a bit needy and bratty but even in real life that little song and dance routine would have caused some problems. And I'm royally ticked at all the other aks for just laughing, smiling, and clapping during that scene because even if they knew Baudrey wasn't gonna last, that's just crappy on their part. Especially since alot of them were against the vks coming here in school of secrets (like Audrey was but at least Audrey helped. Did you know she set up the limo with the sweets? No? I didn't either till I watched school of secrets!).

It's crappy because they didn't know Ben well enough to know he was spelled. And it's crappy because none of Audrey's so called friends were mad on her behalf or at least trying to comfort her (looking at you cheerleading squad. Audrey should not have been able to get to the stans to kiss Chad or harm Ben-- since they didn't know which she'd do). So yeah, while I'm critical of Mal and the other vks during that moment that pales in comprasion to how critical I am of the other aks during the series. Because most of them ain't crap. They're like Fairweather friends to not just Audrey but everyone else.

Ben brings the vks over or plans to? Everyone is talking about how he's gone mad. Mal makes a mistake on live television (yes it was disrespectful but she was raised on the isle and we've all struggled to not spite out something we didn't like when eating)? Everyone is talking about it. Mal and Ben are obviously drowning in stress? No one notices. Audrey gets dumped in the most humiliating way possible? Everyone just goes with the flow. And so on.

Honestly, I need to see a fic where someone chews Ben out for that without making him seem abusive or having him break up with Mal. And I need to see a fic where someone calls out the aks on their bull. Or one where someone realizes that poor Mal and Ben are stressed (shout out to @ginnyrules27 for being one of the only fics I've seen where people have realized that last bit). If you guys know where I can find any of those fics -- or fics about them main aks and vks being friends that aren't overall critical of Chad and Audrey and Mal (don't even have to have the sea three in them) -- leave them down in the comments below. No, please seriously. I read so much fanfiction but it's hard to find ones that I like. The ships don't even have to be canon in the last one. I just need some good fics to read. It's been awhile since I've seen a good Mal fic that my friends and @ginnyrules27 didn't write.

Oh and in conclusion, all of our vks and the main aks deserve better from both the writers and the inverse characters.

[fantasygirl3791]

Before you even get out with a unit don’t you go through training? So Mal and Alina should know how the military works before they were even put in the field correct?

[qqueenofhades]

To be absolutely honest I really disliked mal, like he is so plain and boring and … single minded? Kinda dumb 🤷🏻‍♀️ i feel Alina and Kirigan are much more balanced. Well, if what you say it’s true and they’re gonna change stuff I really would like to see those two together!!!!! Tbh Mal is kind of the only character I disliked on the show, and the chemistry is nothing like Darklina’s. They gave me more siblings vibes

Aha. I don't do character or ship hate (and even when I feel it, I don't post it), but I do go in for media/writing analysis, so that's some of what we can do here. If you like Mal or Mal/Alina and don't want to read some critical views on that, probably best to scroll past this post; no hard feelings! I will also tag it mal critical for anyone who might want to filter (and for any future posts I make in this vein).

<scrolling space>

Anyway. I don't hate show!Mal (although book!Mal was definitely in my bad graces by book 2; I didn't read book 3 in part because I was like "ugh THIS guy? Really?"), but he's just... not... interesting. He is introduced to us in 1x01 with the slow-motion shot of him seeing Alina that is clearly supposed to invest us in the two of them as a couple, and from there, he just seems to exist either to worry about her or to serve her needs in finding the stag. This is no slant on Archie Renaux, who is a fine young actor and is perfectly acceptable in the role. Rather, it's a larger shortcoming of the writing and structure in both book and show, in which Mal and Alina are presented to us as Childhood Friends With a Crush and that suffices to build their bond, along with... twelve flashbacks to the meadow, or whatever it is. We're just told to be invested in them because the characters are when the story starts, but we don't get any sense of why that should be or who Mal really is as a character and why Alina is so desperate to be with him again. We're told that they are, but.... eh.

Mal is basically a plot device to give Alina motivation to reveal her powers, to provide a contrast to her life in the Little Palace, to help her get to the stag when she escapes, and be there with her when she leaves Ravka at the end of s1. And that is.. kinda how he stays, orbiting around her and being there to give her what she needs, at least some of the time. Book!Mal gets into that Yeah No Thanks territory of blaming Alina for her powers and being distracted with the Grisha war and angry when other men express attraction to her, and while they've made him (thus far) more palatable in the show, that's gonna veer hard into Nope Territory if it likewise happens. And if they do have to change the entire way a character is written in the source material to make the relationship work, that's.... not a good thing.

Leigh Bardugo and Eric Heisserer (the showrunner) have indeed said that the show will be "significantly" different from the books (as was apparent to anyone watching s1), but I doubt that will extend to changing the main character's endgame relationship. Alina's original ending in book 3, though, is just disappointing: she kills Aleksander (albeit in a poignant/tragic way), destroys the Fold, loses her Sun Summoner powers, and goes off to live with Mal in obscurity on a farm while everyone thinks she's dead. And like... I ask you... what is the point? She goes on this whole magical and epic journey and doesn't ultimately become or do or be anything more than when she started? Especially given that show!Alina explicitly says in her conversation with Genya that "Mal always dreamed of retiring to a farm, but I've never liked farms," are they going to have her arc be "oh yeah I was wrong about that, I really do like farms after all?" I repeat: eh.

Plus, aside from Aleksander, Alina has another relationship coming up (with Nikolai Lantsov, who we haven't met in the show yet), so if we're going to see her just insisting on staying with Mal because.... whatever, he's good at tracking and The Meadow, that's likewise not going to work in the visual medium and the narrative that they've set up. Especially when she's ALSO getting these hot-and-heavy Secret Midnight Visits with Aleksander and they're continuing to bond even while on opposite sides/at loggerheads. They're going to have to write something a lot more compelling than "Alina is clinging to her childhood/Mal even while Nikolai and Aleksander are objectively much more interesting and complicated characters who are both clearly into her and offering her different kinds of respect and empowerment," otherwise it's just going to happen because the narrative/writers said it should, and that.... (LOOKING AT YOU TIMELESS) doesn't... work. Especially when there's something that they don't want to explore just because it would ruin their pre-existing plan. So. Yeah.

Anyway, I'm old and tired, I don't do shipwars, I do know how things happen in the original source material so I'll just have to wait and see what or any of it they decided to change, and as noted, I am well practiced in using fic to change things, lol. So I'm not gonna get TOO worked up about it, but these are my thoughts.

[hitchell-mope]

It’s probably a conscious choice on his part

While Ben the obviously had a right to be angry, what with the two stupid love potions and the beast curse, I think, he just chose not to be because of his dads past actions. I for one would’ve liked to see him shout scream throw things off the table. But think about it. He’s the male lead. He’s got to be good. In public. In private. In universe. And out. And he’s got the perfect excuse not to yell. He never wants people to be scared of him like they are with his dad. Especially when he trying to help vks like Mal and Uma. Mal fell for him specifically because he was so kind to her. Of course she didn’t know the cookie washed off in the lake but that’s a whole other post. Of course he’s got a right to be angry. But it’s also perfectly clear to me that he probably just chooses to let bygones be bygones because yelling at someone isn’t always the best course of action. Especially in Mal and Uma’s case. And yeah. The kind approach didn’t work on Audrey. But that’s because she’s a batshit mental maniac bent on her piddly little revenge scheme. Mal was doing what she was told to do. Uma was pissed off and desperate. Everyone could’ve handled themselves better, especially the pastel cow, but remember. They are teenagers after all. Albeit three of them are teenagers with a cathedral load of undeserved trauma and expectations and the other just couldn’t handle being denied jewellery. But they’re still teenagers.

TLDR; I think Ben specifically chose not to be angry at the potions and the curse because he wanted to help them and to do that, he needs to be kind. Because like I said. Yelling and screaming and anger would never have helped the situation

[thetimelordbatgirl]

.....I mean, I know im not a fan of Mal, and everyone who follows me knows that- but uh, I haven't been hating on her lately? Lol- I've been too busy with either aesthetics for fanfics or other fanfics in other fandoms or even planning my original series idea- like yeah I posted stuff to defend Audrey, but that's the closest I got for Mal hate.

Like, don't get me wrong- I still don't like Mal- I just don't post about her all the time lol.

But to answer your question......I tolerated Mal in D1 cause well, shes starting out and I had some hope for her development.....vain hope- descendants 2 comes along and ruins that fully- she tries to spell Ben when he realises she's been lying to him and then throws a tantrum cause things didn't go her way and acts like she has it harder then the sixteen year old king of Auradon, she basically returns to the Isle of the Lost for control over SOMETHING and reminds Uma constantly of the Shrimpy thing cause she can and then acts like Ben doesn't love her until she's given that portrait, and then in D3, she takes part in the whole VK day bullshit and seems perfectly fine with it- ONLY TO THEN DECIDE TO SHUT IT DOWN WHEN DADDY ISSUES RISES WITH HADES NEAR ESCAPE-  like SHE came up with that solution, she decided to shut it down and close the barrier, and shuts down Ben's protests with acting like to protect Auradon they need to abandon VKs on the Isle cause her daddy issues are too strong and she acts like shes in charge of the entire thing and that Uma was somehow plotting revenge on her still more then a year after D2 events, leading to us seeing the lies finally come out and Mal acting like she had no choice WHEN SHE HAD A CHOICE AND MADE IT HERSELF, and then she throws herself a pity party in her song basically before the fight, and then when it comes to Audrey, THREE YEARS AFTER D1 do we see her say 'I owe you a apology' BUT THEN NEVER SEE SAID APOLOGY.

Oh and THE LOVE SPELL?! She literally love-drugged Ben and the plot awards her for it- and then tries to spell him in D2 via trying to wipe his memory cause he found out she was lying to him- and don't forget her snapping at Carlos when Carlos basically said fuck no, he doesn't miss the Isle- like sorry Mal, not everyone misses the Isle of Abuse.

No one is making you look- you can just block people or whatever- seriously, scroll past the post or block the OP- that's it- no one should keep their opinions quiet just because you don't know where the block button is or don't know how to scroll past posts or cant handle seeing your characters get critics.

[hannahhook7744]

What is the relationship between Mal and her younger brother, your original character Treycor?

Also, where does his name come from? Does it mean anything?

Okay, so Treycor is my friends' descendants oc. But I asked him about it and he said that he was gonna name him Malcor at first (which means 'master, educated, and cheerful) but changed his mind at the last minute. Replacing the Mal part with Trey. And I couldn't find an exact meaning for Treycor but I found a meaning for cor and Trey.

Trey means "Three" and Cor means "Horn". So I guess it would mean "Three Horn" or something. As for the first part of your question, Treycor is younger than Mal by three years and her only full-blooded sibling. Which means they have the same mom and the same dad as one another.

As for how they get along with one another.... Well, let's just say that aside from Hadie and Noah (who are wee little kids), Treycor gets along with Mal the most. He can be understanding of her but that doesn't mean he let's her get away with her crap. He counters her snootiness by being Curt and Stoic. Which can make him come off as kind of bitter from an outside point of view.

But he isn't a bad guy. Sure, he's tempermantic but that's heredity and he is better about it than the rest of his family is (*cough*Mal *cough* Alex *cough* Hades *cough* Maleficent *cough*). Mal just knows how to get under his skin (something that's hard to do for others on the isle). It doesn't help that she's constantly disrespecting his crew and captain (His friends) by pushing their buttons and messing with Uma (their cousin who Treycor is closest too) and by extension, Harry Hook. Ya know, Hannah's family. She also messes with other people on the isle, which doesn't make things any easier for Treycor. So yeah, they aren't as close as they could be.

And now, some memes to demonstrate their relationship further:

(This happens like once a month AT LEAST).

(A regular day at Hades' unground home).

(Treycor in regard to Mal's character arch in descendants).

(Mal all the time to Treycor).

(The major reason why Treycor and Mal's relationship started to deteriorate before d1).

[hitchell-mope]

Most of them have done bad things

You know. People go on an on and on about how Uma and Audrey did nothing wrong. But if you wanna be overly specific the only ones who did nothing wrong on screen we’re:

Dizzy

The twins.

And possibly Ben.

All the vks are probably guilty of petty theft at least. Chad’s trespassed in jay and Carlos’s room. Doug stalked Evie all of one (1) time*. And “oh so innocent” Audrey’s got grand larceny, attempted forced imprisonment, attempted multiple murder, kidnapping, attempted blackmail, forced transmogrification and child endangerment under her gaudy old belt. Jane released Maleficent for Christ sakes. Uma nearly killed the king. Twice. On purpose.

But no. Let’s say Uma and the bitch did nothing wrong because we can’t stand grey female characters. I’m still pissed they sweep the second love potion under the rug when there’s no evidence anywhere to suggest that Uma would ever have reversed it. Cause she had no feelings for Ben. And all Audrey felt for Ben was entitlement and possession. But by all means. Please go on about how Mal never cared and Uma is secretly the love of Ben’s life and how Audrey deserved better. Like I love Uma but there is no way in hell or on earth that she is perfect. I’m not sorry. Because it’s true.

* Unless you count standing up for yourself when you feel like you’re being mistreated by your girlfriend as a “bad thing”. Which for some reason many fans do. Mostly the malvie cult though. But that’s an entirely different post.