Comment on the devil's daughter

  1. emwithoutnumber on Chapter 1 Tue 05 Oct 2021 05:28AM UTC

    A painting of a fair-skinned woman in profile. She has copper hair and wears a coral pink dress. She's seated at a table with a round glass bowl with red liquid in it, a book open in front of her with a circumscribed circle and illegible text on it.

    I had to start from the beginning again, Knowing What I Know Now. I hope you don’t mind these long comments.

    “She still has the black hood in her lock box under the bed, Grundy’s Rossi nestled on top.” This is so fucked up and so her and I love it. Both she and Jughead have their obsession with keepsakes.

    And yet this, as a critical difference between them: “Nothing ever feels final until it is front page news, and Betty finds some twisted comfort in that. Experiencing it for herself and then reading about it the next day somehow makes it feel more real.” Now I’m thinking about what it means, in terms of her emotional processing, that so much can never be acknowledged publicly.
     
    “Jug gives him the empty revolver, muzzle pointing towards his own gut. Doiley takes it back, finger laid parallel to the trigger like a good boy scout, but Jug sees it flinch in the wrong direction briefly, makes the corner of his mouth twitch up in response, like another dare.” I love Jughead’s relationship with Dillon in this.
    This scene in particular was so vivid and so evocative.

    “He feels bad for the kid, because that’s what he is, a kid, a really dumb, impressionable kid.” I hate that he is able to see Archie has a kid, as a victim, but doesn’t allow himself the same grace! My poor Jug!

    “playing the part like the cameras are still on her, the jury studying her, her father manipulating his wedding ring and watching her.” I love the image of him watching and turning that ring. The ring/his marriage as part of his disguise, like her proper posture is here.

    “Being seasoned for violence does not make her feel invulnerable. It makes her feel expectant.” I love that she understands the difference, while Jughead seems to think he can become invulnerable by being expectant.

    “They both still have their security blankets, both iconic and beyond reproach. They give each other the privilege of taking it away.” This is beautiful.

    “So while the chapter on their last huntsman closes, they both sit on the next blank page as edited versions of themselves wondering where the story goes from there. No, amended. Amended is better. Amended and more developed versions of themselves, because he is more than before, better than before, and whole despite all the people missing from their lives now, his father, hers. But, he knows from experience that when you cut the head off one monster, another inevitably grows back in its place.” My heart! There’s so much dread and so much hope and I just. I am just full of feelings.

    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. meditationonbaaal on Chapter 1 Fri 06 May 2022 03:28PM UTC

      I never mind your comments. Ever. They're always a treat to read.

      “He feels bad for the kid, because that’s what he is, a kid, a really dumb, impressionable kid.” I hate that he is able to see Archie has a kid, as a victim, but doesn’t allow himself the same grace! My poor Jug! this is really meant to set up how he perceives himself, but it is ultimately very myopic. he is world-weary in a way, but also emotionally unequipped to process his own traumas (much like archie with grundy, which i think i could've addressed better in this story if archie had a more central role.) as well because a) he's also a kid and b) he has no mental toolbox and has no idea how to build one and no one to help him.

      “Being seasoned for violence does not make her feel invulnerable. It makes her feel expectant.” I love that she understands the difference, while Jughead seems to think he can become invulnerable by being expectant. i also think this is a fundamental difference between them, and partially why it is the summary phrase.

      “So while the chapter on their last huntsman closes, they both sit on the next blank page as edited versions of themselves wondering where the story goes from there. No, amended. Amended is better. Amended and more developed versions of themselves, because he is more than before, better than before, and whole despite all the people missing from their lives now, his father, hers. But, he knows from experience that when you cut the head off one monster, another inevitably grows back in its place.” My heart! There’s so much dread and so much hope and I just. I am just full of feelings. it is my hope that much of the foreshadowing in this chapter made sense throughout the story and especially by the end. i mean, we always knew it was going to end with another monster coming out; we just didn't know who it would be (and it ends up being both betty and jughead, of course).

      no, thank you for literally dropping a comment on every chapter! i swear it made my days, even if it took me a very long time to reply (i'm sorry 🖤)

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