#and not in the why is Pelia not there sort of way like I thought I would be disappointed by

[poebrey]

Posting this now because I know how often my full recaps make it out of my drafts, but shipping aside and no hate on Christine (in fact I really want character development for her!), and this is 100% not about Spirk either, this was hands down the most disappointing episode of snw so far by a lot. Not just because of this needlessly white and hetero relationship but because of the incredibly indelicate way Spock’s major character conflict was handled? I was ok with it being played for laughs in the beginning with him coming off as a moody teenager but why are the writers conflating bigotry he’s faced since his childhood with his love life? Also I’m really not trying to bring up Discovery because I’m well aware they did the going into the future plotline to never have to bring it up again, but Spock’s sister was killed in a terrorist bombing and we’re bringing up moms being mean at the playground? Absolutely think Amanda suffered through a lot but what the fuck kind of writing is this? I’m glad Spock is seeing things from her perspective, I’m happy they got where they are even though the last time we saw her she was feeling bad about borderline emotionally neglecting her son…., but the way this was handled was genuinely so bad.

[acourtofthought]

You seem like a fair and kind person to me, plus you do a lot for this fandom; we're lucky to have you, and you deserve the compliments! Also I wanted to add that the az-luc theory was nice to hear bc it made the whole situation b/w them less “teen drama” I feel like a lot of the times the explanations given for the tension among the 3 of them are oversimplified. And although it’s not bad thing when guys fighting over a girl, it seems out of place in this series. Idk how to explain it exactly, but yeah it just seems so random snd doesn't make sense for this situation?

Thank you again!! 😊

I agree (with the rest of your message, I wasn't saying I agree with be deserving compliments though I greatly appreciate them 😂)

I think some treat the Az / Lucien setup as if it's really not a big thing but it's so out of character for two of the good guys in the series and the animosity Az has for Lucien has been mentioned enough times that it doesn't feel like they're simply going to shake hands in the next book and walk away without further explanation. SJM has made Az's dislike of Lucien a pretty big plot-point.

It's hotly debated but I honestly don't think Az was romantically interested in Elain until Solstice of MAF. I think he was protective before that because to him she seemed to be someone in need of protecting but he was relieved not to have to get her a gift and while she was in the room with him at Solstice, he stared at Mor with heat and yearning. You just don't do that if you're interested in another female at that moment.

But he was pissy about Lucien before Solstice:

"Send Lucien then. As our human emissary." (Az said this line)

After saying it, Rhys takes note of: "I studied the tenseness in Azriel's shoulders, the shadows veiling half of him from the sunlight."

He also says: "I don't make a point of looking after his movements" and: Azriel's Siphons guttered, the stones turning as dark and foreboding as the deepest sea. "Where did Lucien go"

After that last line Rhys is a bit taken back Az's tone and the way he basically demands an answer.

When Rhys asks Az if he thinks Lucien can handle being around Graysen, Az adopts an expressionless face and says "Why should I be the judge of that?".

And Rhys thinks again on how Az is giving absolutely no emotion away.

This can't be about Elain, he's still lusting after Mor. He's either mad about the fact that Lucien was "worthy" of a bond (regardless of who it was with) or mad that Rhys is looking to Lucien for information where Az used to be the go to person.

And of course after Solstice Az gets fixated on how Elain gave him and gift (which he opened after blushing, lusting over Mor) but didn't give one to Lucien and suddenly Az is caught up in his thoughts of Elain and his anger towards Lucien has progressed to him really not giving shit about Lucien at all, to the point that he's annoyed to have to ask him for help in Spring, thinks he's not good enough and doesn't care that he's casually talking about killing him.

I mean....what?!?

There's deeper emotions going on when it comes to how Az feels about Lucien that I don't think has anything to do with Elain and I kind of like the idea of it echoing whatever fallout may have existed between Fionn and his best friend, maybe some sort of jealousy that drove (Pelias?) to kill him.

That whole "history repeating itself but we'll do better than our ancestors" is always a good trope in books. And I think it was the TOG series that said something along these lines but maybe I'm thinking of something else entirely, "all the original players have returned". Which adds up to there being key people thousands of years ago that made mistakes which led to bad things happening and now, all those that were once connected to the originals have come together to succeed where they failed.

I don't know, it would make this whole setup a big more grand and purposeful and would be something more exciting to sort out instead of having a fan favorite MMC go down a path where he's being a dick to Lucien all on his own for absolutely no reason that's important to the story aside from being mad that he's not getting what others are getting. Having their setup be an echo of history somewhat takes the focus off Az's childish behavior and puts the focus on the bigger story.