Comment on the devil's daughter

  1. meditationonbaaal on Chapter 3 Fri 06 May 2022 04:29PM UTC

    And again, that “should have known.” Jug in a nutshell. And again, here: “He told her he did it on purpose to see if people would notice. They never did. He knew it was a bad habit, testing people and expecting them to fail, both disappointed and vindicated when they did.” I love this detail and the concept of simultaneous disappointment and vindication. this is a personal anecdote, and I think it’s one that’s stuck out the most, surprisingly.

    “He takes the pot of coffee into the living room to watch reruns of Andy Griffith, thinks Opie did okay without a mom.” I love how Betty and Jughead filter their own lives through fiction, in this. You always pick the perfect movies and films. thank you! sometimes I’ve worried I missed the mark with the pop culture references.

    I love this phrase, let himself be important. That’s always been his biggest obstacle, I think. He didn’t realize that being passive and distant are choices that have consequences as profound as being active and tethered would. this was supposed to be the major irony of the story. Betty is constantly worried that jug is the one who will leave, yet in the end…

    I’m struck by the fact that Betty recognizes Hal’s self-harm was a reaction to being beaten and then makes a point of explaining that he never beat her, as though the physical violence would have made her self-harm more justified. it’s also her negating the emotional abuse, and you’re right, because there is no physical component, she doesn’t think her own self-harm is justified.

    “No one could be her mother’s girl. Her mother was bad cop.” She really was stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. I think a lot about how diabolical Hal was to marry a woman who was as committed to appearances as he was and yet domineering and cruel enough to make him seem beyond reproach, in comparison. Turning that wedding ring! I agree that hal probably married alice because she was obsessed with appearances, but I don’t think it had anything to do with her domineering behavior, or that he hoped alice would provide good foil so he could be seen as the hero. It comes up in later chapters during betty’s prison visit and her conversation with veronica that not everything her father did was a manipulation, that there were many parts of their father-daughter relationship that were genuine and wholesome, but it’s been difficult for betty to separate that from her current perception of her father, and I think that’s been the true rub of betty’s situation in this story.

    “Jug sees flashes of the visceral red lining. No one else’s jacket has that lining.” I love this detail so much. thank you ❤️ I’m especially fond of this bit, too.

    “This treehouse started it all.” What you’ve done with this treehouse is truly inspired. I worry that I use the word genius so often, when commenting on this story, that it loses its power. But I really mean it. It’s genius. I think genius is too generous; I’m not; I think I got lucky with some parts of this story, but the treehouse was always going to be a central symbol. I find it funny that I almost never had betty in the treehouse (only once in the current timeline and once when they were little), but she finally goes into the treehouse in the sequel.

    For all his misanthropy, Jughead loves the world but doesn’t believe he is good enough to belong there. THIS. it’s one of his biggest problems.

    (Can you tell the Lodge subplot was my least favorite part of S2 and I did my best to fast forward them, when I last watched Riverdale years ago? Lol. I just tried my best to block him out.) anytime you have an adult villain going after teens/kids, it’s bound to get ridiculous, which is why i made jughead reluctant to join the serpents in this story. my least favorite part of s2 because there is no way jug’s initial characterization in season 1 would inform his behavior in s2, just automatically joining the serpents with little hesitance, absolute b.s.; and that was partial motivation for this series rewrite).

    “Without a second thought, she leans into his knee. She wants his hand on her shoulder. And there it is. She doesn’t have to ask.” I love how attuned he is to her needs and how comfortable she is with him. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: your use of body language is inspired. I tried to make this subtle but noticeable, and it is outright said in the final blue chapter that jughead has way more physical certainty with betty than psychological.

    “His world ended months ago, and he should’ve been ready for this, his inevitable bad luck, his constant specter, the embarrassment twisting in his belly to know where he had come from, to know what he would become and why. He did this. He made this.” This is gorgeous and devastating and I love it. thank you 🤍 I hope this was also the nod that jughead was way more involved in the Jason blossom murder than anybody thought.
    “Jughead kisses Betty on her temple and asks if she trusts him. “Yes.” He smiles and curls his arm tight along her shoulders. Her hands instinctively grab at him as he falls back into the swimming hole, taking her with him.” This image is so cute at first glance and then broke my heart at the second, when I consider that trusting him in a way leads to the fall. more terrible foreshadowing, I know 😥

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful thoughts; I feel spoiled 🤍🤍🤍

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