Yeah…It Makes a Lot of Sense
I really want to applaud the crew on how well they paralleled Yang and Ren’s abandonment issues this last episode. Specifically the irony that a lot of what Yang is calling Ren out on is stuff that she specifically does herself to cope.
It isn’t surprising that the two share coping mechanisms, given their backgrounds. It’s not uncommon for people with abandonment issues (like Yang and Ren) to internalize the pain and anger of being left and direct it at themselves instead of those that hurt them. Essentially try to identify the “reason” those people left to try and “fix” in themselves so it never happens again. Ren blamed himself for being too weak to stop the Nuckelavee, so he resolved to become a “true huntsman”. Yang feared Raven and Summer left because she wasn’t “good enough” so she decided to become someone to look up to. It’s not fair to either of them. They absolutely had no fault in their situations, but blaming themselves gives a sense of control. They can “fix” themselves. They can’t “fix” giant grimm monsters, ideological suicide missions or the abstract fear of motherhood. Those are big things WAY out of their control. Pushing people away gives them time to try and do that without having to worry about scaring people away or feeling that pain again.
Despite the similarity, these two tend to go about it in total opposite ways. Ren typically internalizes, keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself. But, as we’re seeing now, when his emotions hit a breaking point (such as, “crap. Maybe I’m not a real huntsman, maybe I’m still just a scared little kid”) he starts externalizing and lashing out at those around him. Yang, on the other hand, typically externalizes her emotions - wearing them on her sleeve for the world to see - until she hits a breaking point. At which point she shuts down and begins internalizing: taking the pain out on herself. She’s picking up on Ren’s signals because he is finally expressing them in a way she’s used to doing herself.
Which makes her silence in this scene so equally important and ironic. Sure, she empathizes with Ren, apologizes on his behalf to Jaune and tries to present where he’s coming from. But she never directly says she relates to him. This is the character who used her very first appearance to the world to declare “I Burn”. What do you do when you touch something hot? You pull back. You do your best to leave that stove top alone so that it can do it’s job. From scene one this character has worn the fact that she keeps her emotional distance from people on her sleeve. And she says…nothing.
She’s thinking it, though. When Jaune confides in her, you can see it in her eyes - that hesitation. That urge to just say “yeah, me, too”.
But she doesn’t. Instead she turns away. Starts working on the motor. Honestly I can’t blame her. It’s scary to think that there’s something outside of her control (her subconscious) that might cause her to push people away whether she wants to or not. She knows she’s done it before. But, she’s made so much progress…surely she’s past it. But what if…? Like I said, it’s not something she can control. And she knows she’s been distant. I mean it’s been 3 volumes and she has yet to open up about Raven or parse out her feelings about Blake leaving.
It’s only natural for her mind to wander. Maybe…think of someone she’s scared of losing. Someone she’s already lost before. Remembering looking into that someone’s eyes, reassuring them that she isn’t a monster only to have them vanish hours later. Of how maybe, if she’d done better at controlling herself against Mercury, the aftermath of the Fall may have turned out differently. And how that person is now miles away. On the opposite side of a split Yang unintentionally caused and wonder if she’s pushing her away again.
Y'all know who I’m talking about right? Yeah,
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