I finished chief of war and I'm really hoping they get another season!!! I am... Confused. By a few of the decisions on a writing level, a directorial level, and on a historical level.
Tbh my biggest pet peeve is the whole.... Cheating/forbidden romance thing. Like. Chiefs had multiple partners!!!! On both sides! Ka'ahumanu has THREE recorded husbands and that's not including lovers or anything like that. Kamehameha had like 11 wives. So idk why they are acting like a romance between ka'ahumanu and ka'iana would be so taboo. Like if they were actually doing anything to portray the kapu system then maybe you can argue on that level. But in general multiple partners was not kapu/taboo.
Like the whole thing about ka'iana's wife and brother *could* maybe be more kapu (but also incest was common the higher up you went but also also I don't remember the specifics of that) and I get how it felt more like a betrayal because of *who* it is, rather than oh no my wife had an affair! But I do like how ka'iana was like I was dead in your eyes. It's okay.
I once again put this out to my fellow kanaka on this site. Any of you take honors Hawaiian history or honors Hawaiian culture? I need someone with more knowledge of the kapu system to let me know if I'm totally misremembering
Aloha! I think their romance is based on a theory some historians have that the rift between Kai'ana and Kamehameha was caused because maybe Ka'iana and Ka'humanu had a thing. It’s just a theory though.
I’m personally not a fan of how the show chooses to portray that story because they kinda threw Kupuohi under a bus to make it work. And it takes away so much time from more interesting storylines it’s just annoying to watch.
And you’re right the show is very reserved when it comes to the fact that many of the chiefs and people in general had multiple partners. The show is a little biased when it comes to these things. It’s the most obvious with the same sex relationships.
They are all on the bad guys side. Even though it was a really common thing. And even though Kamehameha has multiple wives it feels like the show wants you to forget about that really quick.
And don’t get me started on the fact that they added sexual assault into the storyline of the only Aikane character/relationship this show has.
The way the show chooses to portray the Kapu system is genuinely confusing. They acknowledge that it’s a thing but never really dive into it. The show doesn’t really seem to want to tell a political narrative but still wants to address social issues that directly come from the political reality these characters should exist in.
Yeah I really feel like they just don't show the kapu system at all. I understand maybe not wanting to have Kamehameha literally crawl to ka'ahumanu every time they meet, but I feel like they still could have done something to show people's different levels. Maybe have it where characters don't look others in the eye until given permission? They could have reinterpreted it in some way that would have read to modern audiences while still remaining true to the consequences of it. Idk, I feel like the kapu system is such an important part of the culture at this time because of what ka'ahumanu eventually does.
I feel like it's only really mentioned when the lady whose name I forget says that her and ka'iana would have never been allowed to eat together on the islands. And even then, it's so in passing.
I feel like they also do a disservice by not showing having multiple partners because ka'ahumanu was his *favorite* wife. The one he chose to listen to even though she didn't do the thing she was "supposed" to do (give him babies). They could have made ka'ahumanu's value to Kamehameha more clear by showing his other wives.
I guess if it's based on a historical theory that's better, but once again by not showing she's his favorite I feel like the whole possible cheating thing loses weight. Because why else would Kamehameha be mad about it? And they've already done a lot to show how Kamehameha and ka'iana have significant differences of opinion.
The show is very biased when it comes to the portrayal of Kamehameha. I obviously understand that you have to change things in order to make it work for TV. However, this show definitely picks and chooses when it wants to show real historic practices and when it ignores them. And who is allowed to have moral complexity and who isn't. The show bends characters to make them look cartoonishly evil. Instead of exploring societal norms that might explain these characters moral values, it just turns it into bad guys bad and good guys good. And that extends to the portrayal of women in this show. The women in this show who are lower ranking have no voice. They are just set dressing to show how loving and great Kamehameha's kingdom is. Vai who could have been an interesting addition, is killed off before she can comment on her own society. Because if you follow that path logically, she would be opposed to any chief Kamehameha or Keoua and might have even had issues with Ka`ahumanu. But there is no ideological complexity. The show does not want to get political for some reason. The only lower ranking character who is treated as a lower ranking person who adds a little complexity to that system is the Aikane character. For some reason they have no issue showing that he has to follow the rules. And to their credit, they make it work, he is not a pushover, and he has a voice. There is still a level of equality between him and Kupule. Until they decided to slap rape into that styoryline. I think it's also very interesting that there are no women in Kahekilis kingdom with speaking roles. Because again, it could have added some really interesting complexity to have female characters who don't agree with each other on this show. If perhaps the wives had different opinions or if that one woman from Kahekilis harem actually had a voice. And I have to point out that the women on Kamehameha's side are treated with more respect and dignity by the writers and filmmakers than the women on Kahekili's side. On Kahekili's side, the most women we see are during the orgy when they are extremely sexualized. It almost feels like a " and her brests bounced boobily" moment. Which is made worse by the fact that a chracter is literally being sexually abused in that scene. And Keoua only ever interacts with his mother, never a woman his age or younger. We never get to see any of his wives who might support him. It just feels incredibly biased to me personally. Because just because a woman lives on Keoua's side does not make her evil. It just means that she might have different opinions on who should rule. It almost feels like the show is ok with playing into sexist and homophobic tropes when it's happening on the bad guys side.
