utena ep 12 MORE THOUGHTS
“I played the part of the noble prince, and rescued the lonely princess. That’s all.”
“A prince, huh?”
“The stories always end with the prince and the princess together, right?”
MORE THOUGHTS ON THIS CONVO
“the lonely princess” Touga is Utena, not Anthy right? Anthy is the Rose Bride that he “won” in the duel with Utena, but he seems to think that Utena is just trying to be something she’s not by wanting to be a Prince that rescues Princesses, and that she should just be a “normal girl”. (Last episode he was watching Utena, Anthy, and Wakaba laughing in the park and told Miki he was looking at a “lonely princess” - and that only he could see it. Also he emotionally manipulated her into thinking he was the prince who helped her when she was little soooo.)
Like at the beginning of the episode they did what was almost a “previously on” bit (which the show does not normally do) and showed Akio saying this:
“Even though you fancied yourself to be a prince, in the end you were just a girl. Despite what you may have hoped for, your hopes didn’t become reality. Well this is a good chance for you to be a normal girl, isn’t it?”
Except I replayed the end of the last episode, and that isn’t what he said? And given that it cuts to Utena cutting class and being in depressive spiral in her room, I think it’s how she has taken it? Like that’s what he might have well have said. (And she starts being “normal”, by wearing the regular girl’s uniform for the episode). But I also think that’s. What Touga actually does think. Or at least wants her to think?
Like him putting his arm around her when she’s completely non-reactive????? He likes seeing her downtrodden. After all the times we’ve seen him talking about her noble spirit and dignity~ and whatever, he likes seeing her brought low.
which is just such typical fetishizing bullshit
...and some rape culture stuff given that she was seriously STARING BLANKLY AND NOT MOVING AT ALL. I was so thankful for her friend Wakaba being there to yell at him to go away oh my god.
(she’s better by the end of the episode)
