Tumblr crosspost (9 November 2019)
Jul. 31st, 2021 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghraineA Tumblr anon said:
I found a non-tumblr post via Google, titled "Yakone's Sons Revisited". It talks about the boat scene after the Book 1 commentary came out. It's an interesting read.
I replied:
I googled it and … yeah, interesting!
I agree with some of the details, but I do pretty firmly disagree with it when it comes to the fundamentals. That is: in general I like Bryke, like LOK, think they deserve their share of the credit for ATLA, and strongly feel that the narrative endorses Tarrlok’s view.
I do agree with the general analysis of Tarrlok’s thought process—I just don’t think that in-story reasoning has a lot of bearing on the construction of the narrative and the purpose its serves in the wider story. Personally, it’s very difficult not to feel that the purpose of the murder-suicide was, first and foremost, to conveniently remove Noatak and Tarrlok from the story (to the point that they’re almost never even referred to again, by contrast to the multi-season influence of Unalaq, Zaheer, and Kuvira), and secondly, to do it in such a way as to resolve their tragedy on a “noble” note.
I’m not persuaded by the blogger’s interpretation of Bryke’s commentary on Tarrlok, either, even though I think it’s fair to disregard creators’ interpretative authority. Everything I’ve heard from them inclines me to think the intent was that Tarrlok courageously did what had to be done, rather than, say, that Tarrlok was too damaged to see any other way. And I think that intent is very present in how the scene is framed.
I found a non-tumblr post via Google, titled "Yakone's Sons Revisited". It talks about the boat scene after the Book 1 commentary came out. It's an interesting read.
I replied:
I googled it and … yeah, interesting!
I agree with some of the details, but I do pretty firmly disagree with it when it comes to the fundamentals. That is: in general I like Bryke, like LOK, think they deserve their share of the credit for ATLA, and strongly feel that the narrative endorses Tarrlok’s view.
I do agree with the general analysis of Tarrlok’s thought process—I just don’t think that in-story reasoning has a lot of bearing on the construction of the narrative and the purpose its serves in the wider story. Personally, it’s very difficult not to feel that the purpose of the murder-suicide was, first and foremost, to conveniently remove Noatak and Tarrlok from the story (to the point that they’re almost never even referred to again, by contrast to the multi-season influence of Unalaq, Zaheer, and Kuvira), and secondly, to do it in such a way as to resolve their tragedy on a “noble” note.
I’m not persuaded by the blogger’s interpretation of Bryke’s commentary on Tarrlok, either, even though I think it’s fair to disregard creators’ interpretative authority. Everything I’ve heard from them inclines me to think the intent was that Tarrlok courageously did what had to be done, rather than, say, that Tarrlok was too damaged to see any other way. And I think that intent is very present in how the scene is framed.