TDP Reflections: Lost Child breakdown
“Know your roots and know yourself…”
Loss of sense of self motif for Viren, Claudia, Callum, and Rayla continues.
Claudia blinked in surprise—she didn’t realize she’d been followed from the campsite—and the creature blinked back. She tilted her head, and sure enough, the homunculus did the same.
LIKE A MIRROR REFLECTION YOU SAY, aaravos transforming her like a butterfly for his own ends
Something flickered behind its lamplike eyes—like someone passing in front of a flame—and Claudia realized that the air in her lungs was growing stale.
fire elarion motif (his touch a blaze, a gift, a spark) nobody’s business
Burbling happily, it offered her the mess like it was the prize of its many labors. Worms dangled helplessly in the air, many broken apart by the being’s sudden movement, their blunt ends wriggling in confusion.
IT’S FUCKING FISH B A I T, like bait on a hook, hook line and sinker
She uncorked her flask and plunged it into the pond. Bubbles sprouted from the lip, like someone drowning.
Her hands itched with the horrible lightness of each scattered piece, her feet ached as she walked and walked and walked to gather her father back together… And then the voice, the thread she had caught and clung to and used to haul herself out of the darkness.
I know the patience of a woven tapestry, how the weaver plaits the purpose of every thread, even as they disappear into the beauty of its design. (Patience, first Aaravos short story) / string and puppet symbolism
+ bonus dark isn’t always bad / light isn’t always good continued thread of symbolism / duality
It’s up to me again, she thought. It’s always up to me.
It’s also a perfect parallel to their own dynamics with their respective boyfriends. Terry is right there, actively supporting Claudia, but she can’t seem to fully trust that she can rely on him (just as Rayla feels she can’t fully rely on Callum - without getting him killed, perhaps) because they’e both too wrapped up in their tunnel vision of “I’m the one who has to sacrifice to keep other people together/safe” even when it’s detrimental to them and untrue.
“So is that it?” she asked. “Aaravos left me too, huh? Like dad and Soren, and my mo—”
Lissa had left her years ago, but the space she had owned in Claudia’s heart remained. It was a dark place now, hard and hateful, its edges raw as a wound that had forgotten to heal.
A FESTERING WOUND / dark and light symbolism again as well as a parallel to Aaravos’ (missing) chest piece and according Key to his Heart theory
Surprised, Claudia looked up to see the homunculus. Its wings caught the sun, bathing it in a soft halo of lavender light. Its eyes glowed gold and luminous, almost warm, almost… patient.
A moment later, she blinked into the pond; her reflection beamed up at her. Her eyes brighter, her face fuller, more color in her cheeks. Small changes, but still—There I am, she thought.
Not only is this a smaller version of Viren’s butterfly spell to hide his physical dark magic corruption (and seemingly rejuvenate himself too) and it shows Claudia going down that path, but it’s also a parallel to 3x03:
But instead of being brought into the fold by someone else (and therefore supported through clarity rather than guise), Claudia is alone, because of course she is.
“Let’s go,” Claudia told the creature. “I can fix this. I can fix anything.”
Her brother squirmed. “Clauds, Biscuit’s—” “—I know. But I fixed it. Now we can still play with her.” (Rise Again, S4′s Claudia short story)
She reached for its hand—and flinched. The remains of the second snail coated the homunculus’s palm, a stain of crushed flesh flecked with colorful shards of shell. The being seemed unperturbed. It gazed up at her, eyes bright and luminous. Like a helpless thing, Claudia thought. Like a child.
Re: Sir Sparklepuff being compared to both Claudia and a child, thus tethering Claudia to that same childlike comparison makes me find it especially interesting that seconds before this, Claudia reaffirms her sense of herself that she’s uniquely Strong vs her father’s “If we are led by a child king--” “He’ll make bad choices?” “He will make weak choices” as well as the juxtaposition of This, always:
as well as the whole concept of being Lost (with Ezran and now Aaravos’ “lost and found” / game of “hide and seek” thing that’s going on) and Rayla’s “Don’t look for me and don’t follow me, I don’t think you’ll find me anyway” and Clarity of Vision amongst blackened (dark magic) / whitened (possession) eyes and