I'm so obsessed with the visual language of Becka's patricide scene. Her cutting the white rose and making her mind, white being purity and them reaching womanhood always called "flowering", you catching my drift?
Then her white sleeping dress. Oooh boy.
In the very first episode, we learn that a girl was raped by several men in her room when she was sleeping. Then we see Agnes having nightmares about her future husband raping her, twisting in her white dress. Now we see Becka, in her most vulnerable state, take control. She goes to the man, the pedophile, the rapist, and finds him weaker than her. Bathing, nude. Defenseless.
They have been lying to her. They have always been the weak ones.
I feel like a lot of people are missing the point that these girls live in an ultra-fascist patriarchal society where they are viewed primarily as future wives and breeders, and where religion dictates nearly every aspect of their lives. That's what Gilead is.
People keep discussing the kiss as if it happened in our world, where a kiss between two girls might not carry the same weight. But this isn't our world.
In Gilead, being queer isn't merely frowned upon. It's dangerous.
That's why I find the "it was just a comfort kiss" interpretation interesting. Because even if that's true, it's still a kiss. In a society built around controlling women's bodies, relationships, and sexuality, that kind of intimacy means something.
I'm not even saying the scene proves they're destined to be together. What I'm saying is that the choice itself matters.
The writers could have given them a hug or a conversation. Instead, they chose a reciprocated kiss in the final stretch of the season finale.
Whether the moment was romantic, symbolic, or something in between, I think it's meant to have consequences. Otherwise, why choose a kiss at all?
If Agnes were a boy, fans would be going absolutely wild. Why is it that when a man kisses a woman (or vice versa), the moment is almost immediately framed as passionate or romantic?
Fans would already be rooting for them to run away together and start a new life far away from Gilead if this were a guy/girl pairing. Honestly, even if they were both boys, the fandom reaction would probably be very different.
â Oh, it was just a comfort/pity kiss.â
I love my friends dearly, but NEVER in my life have I kissed a friend just to comfort them.
I understand the argument people are making, but if I were Becka, I would absolutely feel some type of way after that moment. Maybe for her, this truly is a closing of their 'relationship', but is risking that level of emotional and physical vulnerability really worth it if the relationship is meant to stay strictly platonic?
And honestly⌠if the kiss is never brought up again in season 2, was it even worth including at all instead of a conversation or a simple hug?
Imagine you kiss your "platonic" girlbestfriend on the mouth then watch her get married to your tall man big eye crush because you told them to and then your friend you met not even six months ago goes
đ"... you remind me so much of your father... Osama Bin Laden."
The way Becka regarded Agnes as a goddess after her patricide.
She took off the robe, showing Agnes the proof of her devotion. She said "He cant hurt you anymore." searching for her approval. Then she stripped, completely bare and vulnerable before Agnes, important detail in a society so afraid of the "power" of the female body. Then Agnes bathes her, similar to a baptism. Becka says something like "I committed divine justice... and for you" as if Agnes is more important than the lord she has been told to revere. "I would do anything for you, Agnes."
Becka came to Agnes as a disciple proving herself worthy to worship her, and Agnes was just afraid.
The people have spoken! It seems that the students of Nevermore Academy do want a magma board, so Iâve gone ahead and made one.
Create on a shared canvas in real time. Magma is a drawing platform for artists and teams to sketch, collaborate, and grow together.
Before you enter, letâs set up some ground rules:
-No NSFW, extremely dark topics, or heavy gore. Blood is alright, but try to keep things on the lighter side. If you think something is worth putting a TW or CW over (things like insects, slightly suggestive content, mentions of abuse, etc etcâŚ), you can always add an extra layer on top of your drawing that covers the illustration and whoever is fine with such content can always turn of that layerâs visibility to see.
-No fast-pass spoilers or patreon content! Whether itâs in the chat or by drawing, donât ruins othersâ reading experience by mentioning content locked behind a paywall.
-Stay respectful of peopleâs space. Donât draw over other peopleâs drawings or re-arrange their layers without their permission. If you need someone to move their drawing for any reason, you can personally ask them to move but they are not obligated to.
-Try to not use up too much space all at once; your drawing should not take up a whole page. Draw as much as you want, but try to make sure that 1 single drawing doesnât take up more than half the page. Doing this excessively will result in a strike.
-Try to stay out of heated debates and do not harass anyone for whatever reason. If you think a conversation is becoming aggressive or not worth engaging in, simply do not engage! If you think that someoneâs behavior is worth reporting though, please send me a DM and Iâll act accordingly.
-No tracing, Ai, or any other form of plagiarism. Referencing is okay. Credit people as much as you can if youâre using their art as a reference or drawing for their AU.
-Do try to keep your art mostly nevermore related! I wonât force anyone to follow this rule too strictly, but if you want to draw for other fandoms or make non-nevermore Oc art, you can probably find other boards that would let you do just that more freely.
Extra info:
-When sharing the magma board, please always link this tumblr post. Everyone should read the rules before entering, and ânot knowing the rulesâ is not gonna get you out of getting a strike 90% of the time.
-Need to contact me? Dm me on Tumblr or Discord (lulu19107221) and Iâll try to respond ASAP, but remember I am human and have to do adult things so Iâm not always available. You can contact me for things like adding extra pages, reporting behavior, suggestions, or other technical issues.
-I will be following a 3 strike rule, 2 chances, 3rd strike and youâre out. Some behavior will warrant an immediate ban, while other smaller offenses wonât get you a strike the first time. If I get multiple reports/ witnesses of you doing something against the rules I will take it as fact unless Iâm proven otherwise with solid evidence. False reports will count as a strike if severe and intentionally made against someone.
-I would recommend using an actual account instead of a guest account if you plan to draw/ join more than once. Guest accounts make moderation harder, and you may lose access to your layers.
-While I want people to be able to draw wherever they want, I may occasionally move around drawings to make space for others; I wonât delete anything though!
-Also, try to minimize your layer usage. If youâre done drawing, itâs a good idea to merge all of your layers. On filled pages, I will take this task upon myself.
-Iâll post pages that get filled to the brim on the Nevermore community tab every once in a while, so feel free to sign your drawings! Iâll also regularly update the rules through this post and those semi-weekly posts if I need to.
gummygunk
jbbartram-illu
prguitarman
pixelskylines
theartofmadeline
