Amaya, I love you, and I know Viren is going to be evil, but girl, he did not cause the assassination. In fact, he was trying to save Harrow, but...PRIDE
Originally this meta was going to be about the consistent framing of Pip in Viren and Harrow's early scenes, both as a way to get the audience to consistently associate the three of them together, particularly Harrow-and-Pip, and accordingly Pip as like, the third haunting Viren's relationship with Harrow throughout these early episodes, and while this meta will touch on some of that, I think I've hit upon a more interesting thing to discuss.
In @kradogsrats' examination of Pip's character design, she mentions that Pip is a symbolic representation of Harrow's relationship with dark magic due to Pip's striking black-and-green feathers. I'd like to offer up a branching but slightly different take, which is Pip as being representative of Harrow's relationship to power, so let's discuss.
Harrow's relationship to power is a nebulous one. It's a facet to his character that is simultaneously danced around and also discussed in a very straightforward manner. This is, I believe, partially because "Harrow having (more) power" is the status quo in all the relationships we see him have in season one.
Pip is a pet and Harrow is an owner; Harrow is a father and therefore makes decisions for his sons; Callum is unsure of their dynamic and calls him sir, with the level of power Harrow has forming one of two main wedges between them; the servants and crownguard (including Soren) serve him; and so, of course, does Viren.
In season two, we get a much better understanding of Harrow's worries and feelings of unworthiness over the about the level of privilege he holds, and how he treats power as a responsibility: "he told me he thought of himself as a servant king." While this is Harrow's intention and something he does manifest as much as he can, he is still always the king, even if we arguably see a real equal in his dynamic with Sarai (and not Viren).
But for now, in season one, we mostly see him giving orders to Viren and the crownguard, the latter of whom help him put on his armour. His sons question him, but ultimately obey.
However, what I want to focus on primarily is how when Pip is in a scene, Harrow feels in control and powerful, and when Pip isn't present, Harrow feels far more powerless or uncertain. There are actually only 4-5 scenes where Pip is present at all, so it won't take long to go through them quickly. Let's start at the beginning.
#1: first morning scene, where we are introduced to Pip just before we actually lay eyes on Harrow for the first time. We're immediately shown that Viren and Harrow know each other quite well (Viren was notified about something being wrong, he barges in despite being told the king is asleep, and Harrow is teasing with him rather than demanding) but also that Harrow holds power over Viren: "Didn't I ever tell you that if you woke up this early again, I'd have you executed?" It's both a joke and a reminder of their very different levels of status, and a reaffirmation of what will eventually break them apart. Harrow is happy, and casually in control, and Pip is present.
#2: morning scene part two on the balcony. Again, we have an establishing shot of Viren and Pip (his stand) before Harrow and actual Pip show up, because the bird is their third and haunts the narrative. Although being told of present dangers, Harrow is calm and confident, taking an offensive rather than defensive strategy. It is also worth noting that is one of our only glimpses at Harrow pre-Narrative of Love epiphany, and this choice affirms he hasn't really fundamentally changed (yet).
Then we get a quick succession of scenes in 1x01 and 1x02 (an episode where Pip is not present at all) without Pip. The scene in 1x01 is Harrow telling his sons they're being sent away, so he's less certain and authoritative, arguably, than in morning scenes one and two, as he plans for things to potentially go wrong.
When Viren arrives to tell him that the elves were not found (and as the day has worn on) in 1x02, Harrow is openly doubting. It's not clear if he writes The Letter before or after this conversation with Viren, and you could honestly make a compelling argument for either (I'd personally say before, as Harrow is beginning to be angry but hasn't seemingly switched completely yet). But the importance is that in this scene, and his goodbye with Callum, he is doubtful, fearful, regretful, and uncertain — the opposite of ironclad and in control, as he explains to his son: "The real illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and freedom. But the truth is the opposite" (off the heels of him writing The Letter, I might add).
Harrow has another scene in 1x02, which is his first big explosive argument with Viren. While Harrow has agency in the scene — refusing Viren's offer and telling him to get out — I'd argue that he doesn't precisely have power. This is the first scene we have between Viren and Harrow that is public rather than private, likely to invoke the presence of servants and their subsequent role(s) to play in each man's plan, so Viren questioning (and pestering) Harrow a bit in front of the servants is going to hit differently than say, his sons in 1x01 (especially when it seems Ezran in particular was basically given free reign to do more or less whatever, but I digress).
I also want to return to the idea of Harrow having agency in turning down Viren, when the series often presents similar scenarios in a decidedly different light. This is true in the book two novelization (aka I lied, we are going to talk about season two) but also beyond:
Queen Neha looked at Queen Annika, who nodded solemnly. She wiped a tear from her cheek. “We have learned that Katolis barely has enough food for its own people. We cannot accept such a sacrifice,” she said.
King Harrow could barely speak. He could hazard a guess as to who told the queens about Katolis’s mediocre grain supply. He was certain the queens had been forced into this moral dilemma.
(This also plays into the series' understanding that knowing what you didn't before can be a burden, starting in season 5 and then being overtly developed in season 6 and season 7 but again: meta for another time.)
In presenting the soulfang serpent, Viren is attempting to push Harrow into making a choice — for understandable, but still dire reasons — of choosing who loses a hand who explicitly sacrifices his life for him. This is completely at odds with Harrow's understanding of justice ("above all else, my father told me I must be a just king" / "a fair system should be fair no matter the accident of my birth"). What we see in Harrow's letter is an understanding that with the amplified agency he's had with being king, he has routinely made the 'wrong' choice(s) and should pay the price for his (and Viren's) mistakes. It's not a perfect mindset and arguably one that is dismantled the further the show goes on (particularly by Rayla and season 7) but it's where he is at this point in time, and is still (somewhat) a departure from where he was before (2x05-2x06).
“Very well,” [Harrow] said. There was no use arguing, but he hated to feel so powerless.
Complicated Harrow's view of his own agency tangent aside, when we finally see Pip again (#3), it's after Harrow has written the letter, said goodbye to his son, and accepted the sword presented by Soren: a king ready and willing to make his final stand, and with full agency of himself.
Again, we could get into the weeds of Harrow taking his sword and Ezran taking his (as a crown) and the NovaBlade in season 7, but I digress. Harrow is alone, Harrow is contemplative, and in command with Pip on his shoulder.
Finally, we get to our final Pip scene of #4, and it's a doozy.
First, we get Pip lurking in the corner when Viren enters, reminding us that he's there with them (like nearly always). Pip moves from his perch when Harrow not only pulls rank but also dresses down Viren. The camera angles, ferocity, and reaffirmation of difference in status ("let's try 'yes, Your Highness' for a change") is stark and at its highest point. And Pip is there, looming over all of it, with Harrow at his 'most powerful' in some ways (and not in others but we'll get to it).
And — after Harrow's death, after the burning of the body, after Harrow's soul has ('unknowingly' to us) been swapped — where do we see Pip?
In a cage, with an inverted camera angle, stripped of agency, and Harrow now imprisoned (against his will!) in what once represented his freedom and barring that, his own power.
they're sharing this little moment all of their own, without ez (in some capacity at least), that they sat down for together
harrow is so at ease. his shoes are off, his crown is off, he's deep into whatever conversation he is, and he clearly feels he's talking to an equal who can understand
imagine a moment where harrow has just been returned to this mortal plane and you get the idea and at some point someone says something about sarai, and for a moment his face alights with a combination of confusion and pain and, somehow, hope (because if they could bring him back, well...?) and everyone's like oh. no...
