Okay last part and last episode of season one. Lets have at it.
Summary: Varian has kidnapped the queen as bait to lure Rapunzel to Old Corona and force her to help his dad. Meanwhile, Frederic’s dark past comes to light.
Just Reminder This is Still a Grown Man, With Lots of Power, Threatening a Child
Like the power dynamics and ages of the characters still haven’t changed just because Varian did a bad thing. Frederic being concerned for his wife is understandable, that still doesn’t make him in the right here.
And the sad thing is that the main character only disagrees with the logic of his plan, not the morality of it.
Yes, Lets Reduce the Only Mother In the Show to a Damsel In Distress
The only thing holding Arianna here is a rope around her hands. She’s not chained to the ground yet, like she’s shown later to be. Her feet are still free and she can still grab things while tied like that.
This is suppose to be a woman who has previous fighting experience according to the show, and she’s only facing a scrawny fourteen/fifteen year old with zero fighting skills. Why is she just standing around during this segment? How did she let herself get chained later on? Why didn’t the writers think to have the ultra smart Varian come up with a better containment system from the get go so that both characters don’t wind up looking like dopes here?
That’s All You Got to Say In This Situation Arianna?
You just found out that this child has been through a traumatic experience and has been persecuted by your own husband for it. Yet your first line of question is ‘yeah and then what, hun?’ Not, you know, actual concern for this child’s well being.
You’re only tied up by your hands, he’s presumably done no more harm to you other than to drug you with a sleeping potion, and he’s taking the time to explain to you what's going on. Yet you can’t take two brain cells and some basic human decency to even fake your way out with some small show of compassion.
In a desperate bid to make Frederic not look like the villain in this situation the writers had to hand Arianna the idiot ball. That’s never good writing.
Intent Isn’t Action
The writers have this exchange just so Varian can give this empty threat, so that they can later try to justify the other characters’ retaliation. Only it doesn’t work cause we know that it’s empty.
Like, all he wants is his dad back. If he’s waiting to take on his revenge until after being reunited with his father, then we know that it's never going to come. Because if his plan works, he’ll then not only have achieved his goal, but he’ll also have that parental figure around to talk him down.
Heck we don’t even see his plans for this supposed take down of the whole kingdom. Meaning they may not even exist, yet. Meaning he’s just trying to sound tough here, and saying something in anger is not the same thing as actually acting upon that anger.
This also why blaming Varian for the reprise doesn’t work either. You can’t condemn people for having intrusive or negative thoughts. Especially, when you know that person is going through loads of stress, trauma, and depression. You can only condemn them for their actual actions.
Way to Keep Victim Blaming, Raps
You can condemn Varian for his actions in this episode, but you can’t ignore that his actions weren’t done inside a vacuum. He didn’t just swoop in and attack for some petty reason with zero provocation. This is very much both your’s and your father’s fault as much as it is his. Failing to acknowledge that, failing to recognize the main protagonist’s poor behaviour, validates that poor behavior. And validating child neglect should be the opposite of what this show is trying to do, especially considering that the protagonist in question is a former victim of neglect herself.
This is Just A Sob Story to Distract from Frederic’s Real Failings
None of this actually addresses what Frederic has done wrong here. It doesn’t explain away
- his overly harsh crackdown on crime
- Corona’s unjust legal system
- him separating families and orphaning children
- persecuting children/teens as adults
- framing people who disagree with him with fake crimes
- hunting down a poor orphan like a dog for months
- lying to his daughter
- abusing his daughter
- re-traumatizing his daughter
- sending his daughter’s best friend away to an unsafe environment
- nearly hanging his future son-in-law without a trial for a nonviolent crime (and presumably actually doing so to others)
- throwing people in stockades who accidentally annoy him
- making the highest crime in a land ’treason’ to mean any personal or political opposition to him
- banishing people for misdemeanors
- hoarding medicine from his people
- failing to protect his people from his harmful decisions and displacing an entire village
- failing to warn people of the danger that he knew was coming
- attempting to kidnap a rival’s child....
Like the list goes on and on.
But no, feel sorry for the poor baby, who condemned his entire country to ruin by stealing something that he could have just left planted, since he clearly didn’t use it all... he nearly lost his wife and child, don’t you know. UwU
This Isn’t an Apology, It’s an Excuse
There’s steps and rules to how an actual apology is handled and the series often fails to follow these steps all the way through. Having the characters often offer up half-assed apologies and excuses in their place and then act like this is enough. It’s not. Here are the steps in which Frederic fails
- Actually Say “I’m Sorry” - Frederic gives no formal apology to anyone. Not to Raps and not to the others he has hurt. Instead he launches right into self-deprecation instead. In doing so he fails to acknowledge the feelings of those involved and makes it all about him and how he feels. Rapunzel feels the need to shift blame off of him now to make him feel better, so what we get in the end here is a manipulation tactic not an admission of guilt.
- Admit What You’ve Done Wrong and How That Affects Others - Even if you say ‘I’m Sorry’ or admit wrong, if you follow up your apology with excuses you’ve failed. You can explain why you’re apologizing to show the other side sincerity, but whatever explanations you offer up can’t be used to defend yourself. You have to still acknowledge how your behavior affects others, why it's wrong, and why you shouldn’t do it again. Saying “I had no choice” when it came to stealing the flower does not acknowledge what he did wrong, as listed above.
- Actually Explain How You’ll Make Amends - Sorry is not enough. Admitting fault is not enough. You have promise not to do it again and also detail any other actions you need to take to repair the damage you’ve done. We get none of this from Frederic here. Even later when he agrees that Rapunzel should go on her quest, that’s still not acknowledging or making up for the fact that he’s abused her. As for everyone else he owes an apology to, they’re fresh out of luck.
- Actually Follow Through and Never Do The Thing Again - Frederic will still carry on being a dictator after this episode. Nothing has been learned and no real change has been had. And I fully believe that the only reason why he doesn’t go back to abusing Rapunzel is because she either wasn't around or that he was out of his mind when she was.
Also This Excuse Is Beyond Hypocritical
There’s nothing Varian does that Frederic himself hasn’t done ten times over. That doesn’t make everything Varian does right, but it sure as hell doesn’t give Frederic any excuse either.
Rapunzel forgiving her dad for doing precisely the same thing that Varian tried to do, for no other reason than because he is her father, is favoritism. And I shouldn’t have to tell people that favoritism is wrong.
Chris really does believe that fathers should be excused for everything they do just because they are fathers and that’s a really messed up belief that shouldn’t be taught to children. In fact it’s a harmful belief that can and does lead to people being trapped in abusive situations.
This Makes No Sense
There’s no logical reason for the citizens to continue following Frederic after what’s just happen. There’s even less reason for them to enthusiastically go chasing after a child to beat him up and then possibly hang him. As far as everyone is aware currently, Varian just told them the truth and Frederic has being lying to them and putting them in danger for months. Thus far Varian hasn’t attacked them, just the royal family, and they have no knowledge of his empty threat that he made to the Queen in private.
Corona’s greatest threat is the rocks and Frederic’s poor leadership skills, not the fourteen/fifteen year old fighting for his life. This is more of that classist brainwashing going on. They’re only joining in to help Arianna and Frederic because they are royals, not because it’s beneficial to themselves nor because it’s the morally right thing to do.
It’s the narrative rewarding the creator’s favorite in order to try and manipulate the audience into siding with his self-insert. ‘See everyone else supports Frederic, you should too....’ No. You really shouldn’t.
Oh Look, It’s the Payoff For That Set Up From Earlier. The One That Adds Nothing.
I mentioned this one back in Challenge of Brave when it first appeared. The wig is one of the few proper ‘set ups and resolves’ in the show. Only it doesn’t have any impact at all. Not only is Varian not dumb enough to fall for it, he’s already predicted Rapunzel’s plan and set up his trap to counteract it. If anything this plot point just makes Raps look stupid.
Let Me Be Real Here...
Ready As I’ll Ever Be is the greatest song Alan Menken have ever written in his nearly half a century long career.
The only fault with it, is that it suckered me into the show to begin with. I’m here now because of this song and the rest of the series really does not live up to its hype.
Oh Look, Cass Is Achieving Her Goal
Cass has a complete arc in season one. She wants to become a guard and earn her father’s approval. Well here is her dad approving of her and entrusting her with the highest command possible short of him retiring altogether. She has completed her arc here. She’s achieved her goal.
Logically a series would acknowledge this and give Cass a new arc, preferably one that builds off of her old arc. Give her a new goal or problem to overcome. Like maybe finding out she doesn’t actually like being a guard or maybe finding out that she might want to work/live elsewhere while on the road... but nope. Later seasons just reset her character back to square one with no explanation. It gives her the same goal or even no goal at all, depending upon the moment, and ignores everything that she did manage to accomplish in the first season.
The series treats its audience with disrespect by thinking we’re too stupid to remember what we saw only a season ago.
Varian’s Has a Point
Just because he’s a villain doesn’t mean that he’s not right. Frederic and the rest of the royals are so devoid of any basic compassion and empathy that it really did take this extreme action just to get them to even acknowledge that there is a problem. Even when faced with the consequences of their actions, they still can’t admit to treating him unfairly and don’t even bother to offer to make amends. This should have been a wake up call to the ‘heroes’, but no, they go on acting like they’re completely in the right and that Varian is the only one to blame.
The entire plot to season one is really a ‘boomer’ (Chris) trying to pull a ‘kids theses days, with their political activism, are just overreacting and whiny and should just shut up and mind their elders.’ No really. Chris and Ben honestly thought the audience would hate Varian. They created him just to be a fall guy, a straw-man, for their twisted beliefs. They want you to side with the dictator, the abuser, the ‘father’. They go out of their way to make Frederic appear sympathetic and excuse him at every turn because they truly believe that being a dad, a ruler, an ‘authoritarian’ makes you right.
Imagine their surprise when it turns out that the kid that they, as grown men, hate, is the favorite character of their audience which is mostly comprise of pre-teen girls. Pre-teen girls who are very well aware of what kind of world they live in and the fact that the adults responsible for screwing it up don’t respect or listen to them. Golly gee, who could have thunk they’d side with the teenager who’s been mistreated by the guy in charge and is only trying to save his home and family? I mean it’s not like the rocks are a fantastic allegory for climate change or that Frederic has committed the same atrocities that current wannabe despots and oligarchs have? Or that historically the young have always been at the forefront of much needed political and social change? No, no one could have possibly predicted this crazy turn events.... Except for the female staff who were working under Chris and supposedly warned him... but you didn’t hear that from me. (¬_¬ )
Yes, Let’s Ignore the Grieving Child Crying Over His Father’s Corpse, Again
Look, I get that they’re relieved to be safe and reunited, and yes, everyone’s reactions here are believable and understandable, and blah, blah, blah.... But this really is a slap in the face to the viewers. We’ve spent half a season watching these a-holes treat this kid like dirt, waiting for them to get a clue, only to have them at the last second repeat their dumb mistake again. Where on earth are these people’s humanity, empathy, or sympathy even? It does not take much just to show the barest hint of ‘giving a damn’ about a child crying on the floor next his dead father. I don’t care what he’s done. All of you are the adults here, so step it the fuck up!
I want to make something really clear here. I do not care about what messed up actions a character commits; I care about whether or not they learn to stop their unhealthy behavior! You want me to root for flawed heroes then have them acknowledge their flaws. It’s that simple.
Varian admits to what he did wrong, more than once, both before and after his arrest. Rapunzel and Frederic never do.
Keep In Mind Varian’s Life Is Still Under Threat Here
Yes, what Varian does here is wrong. Yes, I’ve heard the debate and, no, an emotional breakdown that leads to violence isn’t the same as a premeditated murder. Those are two separate legal charges. We have varying degrees of murder and attempted murder in a court of law for a reason. Yes, it’s still murder, but if you can’t acknowledged why differentiating circumstances matter when passing judgment then you do not need to be anywhere near the judicial system at all.
Varian’s actions here legally qualify as self defense. Here’s the facts.
- Varian was framed with a felony charge that he did not commit, (attacking a royal) in a country that enacts overly harsh punishments that often lead to life imprisonment, banishment, or execution
- Varian, a child of only fourteen, was neglected by the adults responsible for him for three months
- Varian, was then framed with a second felony charge, (theft of royal property), a high crime that has a punishment of death attached to it. Even though the scroll was legally Varian’s property; the ruler in charge of the country had political motivations to keep him silent.
- The king then sent his elite guard on a manhunt for Varian in order to either illegally confiscate his private property and/or arrest him and have him jailed or hanged. Thereby forcefully driving the accused from his home, supposedly for several weeks up to months.
- After being accused of various crimes he did not commit, Varian committed high treason by stealing medicine that the king was hoarding, upping his possible sentence to that of a confirmed execution.
- Now, without question, under threat of death, Varian goes on to commit increasingly worse crimes in the hopes of freeing his father and avoiding the hangman’s noose.
- The King gathers up a lench mob to fight Varian, a fourteen year old, who tricks the royal family into helping him while his robots fight off the mob.
- After failing to free his father, the accused then has an emotional and mental breakdown, after months of enduring both trauma and abuse with no adequate help, and fights off his attackers with a weapon that he built intending to kill his abusers. Even as the mob is still gathered.
There is nothing else Varian could have done at any point in this situation that would not have led to his eventual death. Not doing anything would have led to either,
- death from exposure or starvation due to neglect,
- death from life imprisonment while held in inhumane conditions that would have undoubtedly shorten his lifespan drastically,
- death from hard labor on the prison isle that criminals are banished to in the show,
- or finally death by outright execution, most likely hanging.
The best he could have hoped for, is leaving Corona where he’d still be faced with either death by exposure and starvation or stealing to survive. Which then puts him back a square one if he’s caught. Varian literally does not have any other options. His entire life is at the mercy of his abusers and we already know Frederic doesn’t have any. Varian knows this too when there’s a literal mob waiting right-outside to arrest/kill him.
So, no, he’s not right in trying to kill everyone, but you really honestly can not him blame for it. The power dynamics have not changed here. He’s not even the most physically powerful in this situation because of Rapunzel’s powers. He is still an abused child, who’s life is on the line, fighting against both his abusers and those who enable his abusers.
Indirect Violence Is Still Violence, and Neglect Is Still Abuse.
Varian is only the villain of the story because of perspective. You flip that perspective and he becomes the tragic hero.
All this Crap Happened Cause Rapunzel Refused to Touch a Rock
That’s what it really amounts to hun?
Like from a character stand point, it makes sense why she didn’t. But once you stand back and look at the wider picture all of this could have been avoided had she just thought to touch one of the black rocks a second time. That’s it. That’s what she’s been running from this whole time.
That’s like avoiding going to the doctor for months to get a flu shot because you fear the pain, only to get the flu and wind up in the hospital sick and now need a shot anyways. Only to find out that the pain wasn’t that bad to begin with. But now you got a doctor’s bill you can’t afford and are miserable being sick in bed.
The difference here is that Raps foots the bill onto other people. That’s not a very compelling protagonist you got there show.
This Is a Lie
When next we see Varian and Frederic, it will be confirmed that all the king did to ‘help’ Varian was to throw him in jail and not look back. There’s also no indication that even tries to help Quirin like he promises here.
Recognizing that Your Grown Daughter Can Take Of Herself Is Not the Same Thing as Admitting Your Treatment of Her Was Wrong
It honestly doesn’t matter whether or not Raps can take care of herself. She doesn’t need to prove anything to you in order to deserve basic respect and decency. ‘Protection’ is not an excuse for abuse any more than ‘love’ is.
Oh, Hi Adria...
You wanna, maybe, try and free your nephew while your here? No? How ‘bout taking that rock cutting sword and trying to save your brother with it? Nope? Yeah, okay then. This scene is just here for a lazy hook and directly contradicts what we later find out about this character. In the end, it just makes her look like an ass.
Conclusion
This is the third best story of the season, the best finale in the show, and my personal second favorite episode. The whole Varian arc, as little as we get of it, is the high point of the series. If it wasn’t for later seasons riding roughshod over the show, then this review would have been a lot shorter.
So, that’s it for season one. Next time I’ll post a season recap and then we’ll move on to season two. See ya, then.
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