In Defense of Jade: AKA I’ve Been Meaning to Make This Post But Was Afraid to Say Much
Lowkey, I actually love Jade’s character because, much like Calista, she’s a real kid.
I love Sofia for what she teaches, the lessons she learns, and all she represents. But, she is also the main character, and that comes with having a whole lot of problems, graces, and powers that can make her feel larger than life at times.
Which, don’t get me wrong, makes her incredible, and I love Sofia for who she is, but - let’s be real - we’ve all known a Jade, and, if we’re real-er still, we’ve all *been* Jade, at some point.
One of the things I like about Jade, along with Ruby, is that she keeps Sofia connected to who she *was* before she became a Princess. She’s Sofia’s tie back to her past self.
Because, to be honest, as someone who wears specs, if I was going half-blind, didn’t know why, and all the sudden my best friend completely abandoned me and my friends last minute, I dunno? I’d be kinda P.O.ed too.
Also, I saw someone else mention that Jade seems more chill in the later seasons.
And, I wonder if that doesn’t have to do with the young folks that age looking for apprenticeships.
Jade strikes me as someone who could benefit from working with her hands.
We see her intense personality throughout the show. She’s incredibly driven and focused. However, she also kind of likes to stay busy - either through sports or in creative activities.
I also noticed how she seemed to light up at the idea of working with Mme Colette in “Four’s a Crowd” when asked to help make the costumes in ways the other characters were just sort of passively interested.
So, I wonder if she didn’t find a trades master (either Colette herself or someone else) to work with and, in doing so, found a way to manage her emotions by channeling them into her handicrafts.
I think Ruby would have helped a lot, and I could see Ruby going on to apprentice in some kind of mechanics, gear crafting, or some other form of black smithing due to her interest in go-kart building.
Both Ruby and Jade seem to share an interest in making things and doing things with their hands. However, Ruby strikes me as a little more of a technician, blade-smith, and/or STEM person (like Gwen) and Jade strikes me as someone who is more interested in fine details, like tailoring, architecture (which we know she had family who did that), or some kind of fine art.
I get this from their personalities as well as the handful of times where we see their actual interests.
Jade, as a person, has a tendency to fixate on small details. Her grudges often come from holding onto and hyper fixating on them. But, it’s also what makes her good at seeing solutions to problems. It’s what makes her a good artist and designer. It’s what makes her good at finding novel moves in Dazzleball. It’s what allows her to keep Sofia honest and coming back to her roots.
Ruby, by contrast, has a tendency to see the larger picture AND has a tendency to experiment more. With Tizzy, she pushes the boundaries of how far she can go *before* she’s no longer racing at all, mostly because she wants to win, but also because there’s a spark of curiosity in her that seems to poke out. She asks questions of Sofia before Jade does. She’s willing to forgive and get to know Lucinda before Jade does. (Is that because Jade was hexed more or is it because Ruby’s more naturally curious? Perhaps both?)
Either way, Ruby looks at things through the lens of asking questions and pushing boundaries - which, especially in the case of Tizzy - can get her into trouble. Jade looks at things through lens that focuses more on specific details.
Furthermore, to focus on Jade specifically, while we don’t have mention of Ruby’s father, we don’t have any mention of Jade’s mom either.
I’ve often wondered if her mom had also died and, seeing as she and Sofia were super close, I speculate that may have been some hope that she and Sofia would become sisters at some point.
So, it’s not that she’s not happy for Sofia to have found a complete family.
It’s just, maybe, she hoped she would be that family, and she’s working to come to terms with that.
(I have written an arc and a handful of characters, one original and a few cannon, that help her fill those holes based on this HC. The OC is actually Jade’s uncle, mom’s older brother who is Mme Colette’s tailoring rival. He’s kind of a handful but, also, kind of endearing. Ah, Philip. The first, but certainly not the last, person Miranda would break/bail out of prison.
Calista is, funny enough, actually deeply involved after the trick-or-treat … err … thing. Jade goes slightly mama-bear and decides Calista is her small child now because clearly witches do not understand how to take care of small children. Stars Above! - How this comes up, exactly, is to be revealed.
Then, Mme Colette is also later involved because Mme Colette is also deeply underrated, as is most of the staff of the castle, honestly, especially Violet and Gwen. Gwen is a treasure. I’ll die on this hill! Fight me.)
But, anyway, this is my Jade defense as well as some lore/ HC tidbits I have developed for her. She’s a spitfire, but I love her.
I just, generally, think Jade deserves more love.
