![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinara posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
i_read_whatSo this last section is interesting because for the first time, our viewpoint character isn't F'lar or Lessa. Instead, we follow a new person: Larad, Lord of Telgar.
Larad is the leader of the Lords who are revolting against the Weyr. And honestly, given what we've seen of the Dragonriders so far, I'm kind of cheering for him. At least he's not a rapist, as far as we know.
I don't think we're supposed to sympathize with Larad, but honestly? He's got a point.
"The Weyr had outlived its usefulness. That was obvious. There was no longer any need for the Holders to give up the profits of their sweat and labor to the lazy weyrfolk. The Holders had been patient. They had supported the Weyr in good part out of gratitude for past services. But the dragonmen had overstepped the borders of grateful generosity."
...is he wrong? I mean, really. It'd be one thing if the last Threadfall was ten years ago, or even twenty. But the Lords put up with the Weyr draining them, contributing nothing, for at least 200 years! And life on Pern is not easy, for anyone!
He particularly dislikes the Search, with a bit of a more personal motive:
"First, this archaic Search foolishness. So a queen egg was laid. Why did the dragonmen need to steal away the prettiest women among the Holders when they had women of their own in the Weyr proper? No need to appropriate Larad's sister, Kylara, eagerly awaiting a far different alliance with Brant of Igen one evening and gone on that ridiculous Search the next. Never heard from since, either."
Again, the man has a fucking point. There is ONE golden egg. ONE. But they bring how many women from god knows where. And of course, they choose the "prettiest". We heard the way F'lar would evaluate the various candidates. You can't choose an ugly woman to be your rape victim.
Remember those disturbing comments about how if he were one of the others, F'lar would have taken the girls back, if not to be Weyrwoman, then to be a lover? What happened to the girls that aren't chosen?! It's fairly clear that Kylara at least did not go home!
And how much choice do the girls have in the matter? Especially the ones from far away Holds like Fort? They've been teleported by dragons across the known world, probably without any money or resources. How the fuck do they get home if the dragonriders aren't willing to help them.
And you know what, F'lar, you don't get to blame this on Lessa and K'net. Sure, Larad's mad about the theft, but maybe, just maybe, he'd have been a bit more easygoing about it if your idiots didn't kidnap his sister! What if she was that girl who got her fucking neck snapped? And if she wasn't, why didn't you assholes TAKE HER HOME. What exactly did you think was going to happen?!
Larad's also mad about the Dragonriders interfering by killing Fax, when they weren't asked to meddle in the affairs of the High Reaches. Eh. I'm not really with you here, Larad. Fax was a rapist douchebag. He's annoyed by K'net's pilfering, and I'll give him that one:
"Oh a holder might excuse a few bucks now and again. But when a dragon appeared out of nowhere (a talent that disturbed Larad deeply) and snatched the best stud bucks from a herd carefully protected and nurtured, that tore it."
...again, fair point. And honestly, it shows more tolerance than I would expect!
Now we do see indicators that Larad is elitist. He doesn't trust his co-conspirator, Meron, who he thinks of as the "so-called Lord of Nabol" because Meron was an ex-warder with no Blood. I'm assuming Nabol was one of Fax's kingdoms. As we saw in Ruatha, Fax was quite good at getting rid of the previous claimants to his Holds.
I'd be interested in seeing how one of Fax's Warders ended up rising to a position of power, actually. So of course, we hear nothing about this.
Meron is pretty arrogant, arguing that the dragonriders have proven themselves cowards, and listing as example, the fact that he insulted F'lar to his face for a few times. Meron apparently has the mentality of a ten year old on a playground. Honestly though, he doesn't seem any worse than F'lar. And Larad, elitism aside, seems more reasonable and likable than either one.
Unfortunately, things get a bit less confident when the Lords come face to face with actual dragons. It's also clear that there's a lot of cultural programming at work here. Larad even uses the term "blasphemy" when referring to what he and his army were about to do.
We get a point of view shift now to F'lar, ugh. Mnementh is having fun, at least. Larad comes forward with the Lord Holders' demands, which again, sound pretty reasonable: No more demands from the Weyr. No more Searches. No more raiding.
F'lar of course is having none of that and commands the Lords to go back home and tithe. And to prove his point, he has the dragonriders come out with the kidnapped ladies
Now look at Larad's reaction:
"Larad stepped forward, tearing his eyes from his own Lady. She was a new wife to him and much beloved. It was small consolation that she neither wept nor fainted, being a quiet and brave little person.
'You have the advantage of us,' Larad admitted bleakly. 'We will retire and send the tithe.'"
Look at how Larad thinks of his wife. Look at how he admires her. Look at how much he cares about her safety. Now compare that to how F'lar constantly thinks of Lessa. Which one of these men am I supposed to like again?
Meron still balks, but then F'lar has more riders come out with his captured mountaineers. And F'lar shows them the Red Star in the sky, pointing out how it pulses by day as well as by night. Meron still is skeptical, but Larad is starting to believe.
Ugh, fuck you, F'lar. You win here, because you're using tactics befitting the villain of the story. You're right about the Red Star, because the narrative makes you right. But that doesn't mean that the Lords don't have a fucking point about everything.
I know I'm supposed to dislike Meron, but honestly? Meron's only defining trait so far is a dislike of the Weyrs and of F'lar himself. And I find it pretty hard to blame him for that.
But as much as I hate all this, I do rather enjoy what happens next.
Because what happens next is Lessa, on Ramoth, FLYING.
The Lords, cowed, leave.
Is F'lar grateful? Let's find out.
"It was infuriating of Lessa to take this moment, when all his energy and attention ought to go to settling the Holders' grievance for a show of rebellion. Why did she have to flaunt her independence so, in full sight of the entire Weyr and all its Lords?"
Let's take a moment to breathe this all in.
Lessa, after two years of being a virtual prisoner in the Weyr being taught absolutely nothing, has done the literal impossible here. She got her Queen to FLY. Outside of a mating flight!
And F'lar is angry that she stole his moment. FUCK YOU, F'LAR.
Oh and just to sweeten the pot we get some nice scary implications about how when he gets his hands on her, he'll tell her a thing or two.
But Mnementh, who had only rumbled happily when Lessa and Ramoth appeared is far too good for his rider:
"Mnementh informed him caustically that telling her a thing or two might be a very good idea. Much better than flying so vengefully after a pair who were only trying their wings out. Mnementh reminded his irate rider that, after all, the golden dragon had flown far and wide yesterday, having blooded four, but had not eaten since. She'd be neither capable of nor interested in any protracted flying until she had eaten fully. However, if F'lar insisted on this ill-considered and completely unnecessary pursuit, he might just antagonize Ramoth into jumping between to escape him."
WHY IS YOUR DRAGON BETTER THAN YOU ARE, F'LAR?!
Mnementh also recommends that F'lar teach Lessa to fly between, since she's smart enough to figure it out for herself.
F'lar does FINALLY show a moment of empathy for Lessa here, remembering his own first flight with Mnementh, and he realizes how hard it must have been for her to see the other riders practicing with their dragons when she wasn't able to.
Ugh, this romance: "The girl turned then, watching Mnementh glide in and hover to let F'lar dismount. She straightened her shoulders, her chin lifted belligerently as her slender body gathered itself to face his censure. Her behavior was like that of any weyrling, anticipating punishment and determined to endure it, soundless. She was not the least repentant."
Why the fuck should she be repentent, F'lar? SHE WAS RIGHT. She was right the whole goddamn time.
We're told then that admiration for Lessa's indomitable personality replaces the last of his anger. Well, okay. Good. But why the fuck were you angry to begin with?!
Look, it'd be one thing if F'lar's reaction had to do with practical concerns: Lessa is, at this point, the only Gold rider they have. If something happens to her, or to Ramoth, they aren't just weakened, their species is pretty much done for good.
Hell, if you think about real world genetics, this species, with ONE BREEDING FEMALE TOTAL, is pretty much already extinct.
If F'lar were angry about that, I'd understand. Hell, if he were angry because he was afraid that Lessa would get hurt. I'd be more annoyed, but I could understand that too.
He's not though. He's mad that she took his moment. He's mad that she "flaunted her independence".
And let's think again about Larad and his wife.
Why are the dragonriders the heroes again???
-
So this was Part II of Dragonflight, which had been published separately as Dragonrider. And does it withstand the test of time?
No. Not remotely.
Weyr Search was enjoyable for all its faults. Sure, I hated F'lar. But Lessa was amazing. We had a nice little triumph against Fax and a very lovely vindication for Lessa once she was chosen by Ramoth. It was simple and satisfying.
Dragonrider could have been good. I still love Lessa. And I enjoy seeing her say "fuck you" to the various terrible people in the Weyr and ultimately prove herself right.
But it's hard to enjoy Lessa when we see how utterly miserable her circumstances actually are. She's been kept a virtual prisoner for two years. No one tells her anything. No one teaches her anything. She's told of a problem, she takes steps to try to solve it, and then she's lambasted for not realizing that steps were already being taken.
And then there's the mating flight. Now Lessa is forced to deal with a man who raped her, who sees her moment of triumph as a slight against him. And I'm supposed to be happy about this?
Larad, in one small section, showed more warmth and humanity than F'lar has in two full stories. Mnementh, F'lar's fucking DRAGON, shows more regard and concern for Lessa as a person than F'lar ever does.
And it's particularly upsetting because some of this might have been fixable. I mentioned before that I liked the dynamic between Lessa and F'lar before the mating flight. If the relationship had been allowed to develop naturally from there, then we could have had a damn good love story.
Hell, even the rape might have been salvageable. If F'lar genuinely believed that R'gul told Lessa about what this entailed, and only realized afterward that she didn't know. If he was appropriately horrified and apologetic afterward. If he acknowledged that they should have discussed this before hand. If he showed concern and sensitivity toward her and actually tried to take steps to make up for what he'd done or at least show her how sorry he was. That could have been SOMETHING.
Or maybe they could have gone a different direction. One of my favorite parts of the Shadowhunter television show is how it takes characters like Isabelle and Alec and really examines what their isolated Clave upbringing has done to them and how they see the world. We see them do some pretty awful things and express some pretty horrible opinions. But we also see them forced to re-examine what they're taught to believe and learn and grow beyond that.
There is room for that kind of examination here. F'lar is awful, but so is his entire society. He was raised in it. His father was Weyrleader before him. His mother is dead. The woman who raised him is the headwoman of the Weyr. He's never known anything but a system of ethics and values so twisted that he actually needs his dragon to tell him how to behave like a decent human being.
And if this story really wanted to, they could do something pretty great with this. We could see F'lar start to come to the realization that what he's been taught all of his life was wrong. We could see him work hard to shed his old behaviors and beliefs to try to become a better person, within the context of the return of Thread.
But unfortunately, that would require the narrative to acknowledge that F'lar is wrong. And that's never going to happen. And I'm stuck with one of the absolute worst protagonists I've ever read.
Part 2:3 | Table of Contents | Part 3:1
Larad is the leader of the Lords who are revolting against the Weyr. And honestly, given what we've seen of the Dragonriders so far, I'm kind of cheering for him. At least he's not a rapist, as far as we know.
I don't think we're supposed to sympathize with Larad, but honestly? He's got a point.
"The Weyr had outlived its usefulness. That was obvious. There was no longer any need for the Holders to give up the profits of their sweat and labor to the lazy weyrfolk. The Holders had been patient. They had supported the Weyr in good part out of gratitude for past services. But the dragonmen had overstepped the borders of grateful generosity."
...is he wrong? I mean, really. It'd be one thing if the last Threadfall was ten years ago, or even twenty. But the Lords put up with the Weyr draining them, contributing nothing, for at least 200 years! And life on Pern is not easy, for anyone!
He particularly dislikes the Search, with a bit of a more personal motive:
"First, this archaic Search foolishness. So a queen egg was laid. Why did the dragonmen need to steal away the prettiest women among the Holders when they had women of their own in the Weyr proper? No need to appropriate Larad's sister, Kylara, eagerly awaiting a far different alliance with Brant of Igen one evening and gone on that ridiculous Search the next. Never heard from since, either."
Again, the man has a fucking point. There is ONE golden egg. ONE. But they bring how many women from god knows where. And of course, they choose the "prettiest". We heard the way F'lar would evaluate the various candidates. You can't choose an ugly woman to be your rape victim.
Remember those disturbing comments about how if he were one of the others, F'lar would have taken the girls back, if not to be Weyrwoman, then to be a lover? What happened to the girls that aren't chosen?! It's fairly clear that Kylara at least did not go home!
And how much choice do the girls have in the matter? Especially the ones from far away Holds like Fort? They've been teleported by dragons across the known world, probably without any money or resources. How the fuck do they get home if the dragonriders aren't willing to help them.
And you know what, F'lar, you don't get to blame this on Lessa and K'net. Sure, Larad's mad about the theft, but maybe, just maybe, he'd have been a bit more easygoing about it if your idiots didn't kidnap his sister! What if she was that girl who got her fucking neck snapped? And if she wasn't, why didn't you assholes TAKE HER HOME. What exactly did you think was going to happen?!
Larad's also mad about the Dragonriders interfering by killing Fax, when they weren't asked to meddle in the affairs of the High Reaches. Eh. I'm not really with you here, Larad. Fax was a rapist douchebag. He's annoyed by K'net's pilfering, and I'll give him that one:
"Oh a holder might excuse a few bucks now and again. But when a dragon appeared out of nowhere (a talent that disturbed Larad deeply) and snatched the best stud bucks from a herd carefully protected and nurtured, that tore it."
...again, fair point. And honestly, it shows more tolerance than I would expect!
Now we do see indicators that Larad is elitist. He doesn't trust his co-conspirator, Meron, who he thinks of as the "so-called Lord of Nabol" because Meron was an ex-warder with no Blood. I'm assuming Nabol was one of Fax's kingdoms. As we saw in Ruatha, Fax was quite good at getting rid of the previous claimants to his Holds.
I'd be interested in seeing how one of Fax's Warders ended up rising to a position of power, actually. So of course, we hear nothing about this.
Meron is pretty arrogant, arguing that the dragonriders have proven themselves cowards, and listing as example, the fact that he insulted F'lar to his face for a few times. Meron apparently has the mentality of a ten year old on a playground. Honestly though, he doesn't seem any worse than F'lar. And Larad, elitism aside, seems more reasonable and likable than either one.
Unfortunately, things get a bit less confident when the Lords come face to face with actual dragons. It's also clear that there's a lot of cultural programming at work here. Larad even uses the term "blasphemy" when referring to what he and his army were about to do.
We get a point of view shift now to F'lar, ugh. Mnementh is having fun, at least. Larad comes forward with the Lord Holders' demands, which again, sound pretty reasonable: No more demands from the Weyr. No more Searches. No more raiding.
F'lar of course is having none of that and commands the Lords to go back home and tithe. And to prove his point, he has the dragonriders come out with the kidnapped ladies
Now look at Larad's reaction:
"Larad stepped forward, tearing his eyes from his own Lady. She was a new wife to him and much beloved. It was small consolation that she neither wept nor fainted, being a quiet and brave little person.
'You have the advantage of us,' Larad admitted bleakly. 'We will retire and send the tithe.'"
Look at how Larad thinks of his wife. Look at how he admires her. Look at how much he cares about her safety. Now compare that to how F'lar constantly thinks of Lessa. Which one of these men am I supposed to like again?
Meron still balks, but then F'lar has more riders come out with his captured mountaineers. And F'lar shows them the Red Star in the sky, pointing out how it pulses by day as well as by night. Meron still is skeptical, but Larad is starting to believe.
Ugh, fuck you, F'lar. You win here, because you're using tactics befitting the villain of the story. You're right about the Red Star, because the narrative makes you right. But that doesn't mean that the Lords don't have a fucking point about everything.
I know I'm supposed to dislike Meron, but honestly? Meron's only defining trait so far is a dislike of the Weyrs and of F'lar himself. And I find it pretty hard to blame him for that.
But as much as I hate all this, I do rather enjoy what happens next.
Because what happens next is Lessa, on Ramoth, FLYING.
The Lords, cowed, leave.
Is F'lar grateful? Let's find out.
"It was infuriating of Lessa to take this moment, when all his energy and attention ought to go to settling the Holders' grievance for a show of rebellion. Why did she have to flaunt her independence so, in full sight of the entire Weyr and all its Lords?"
Let's take a moment to breathe this all in.
Lessa, after two years of being a virtual prisoner in the Weyr being taught absolutely nothing, has done the literal impossible here. She got her Queen to FLY. Outside of a mating flight!
And F'lar is angry that she stole his moment. FUCK YOU, F'LAR.
Oh and just to sweeten the pot we get some nice scary implications about how when he gets his hands on her, he'll tell her a thing or two.
But Mnementh, who had only rumbled happily when Lessa and Ramoth appeared is far too good for his rider:
"Mnementh informed him caustically that telling her a thing or two might be a very good idea. Much better than flying so vengefully after a pair who were only trying their wings out. Mnementh reminded his irate rider that, after all, the golden dragon had flown far and wide yesterday, having blooded four, but had not eaten since. She'd be neither capable of nor interested in any protracted flying until she had eaten fully. However, if F'lar insisted on this ill-considered and completely unnecessary pursuit, he might just antagonize Ramoth into jumping between to escape him."
WHY IS YOUR DRAGON BETTER THAN YOU ARE, F'LAR?!
Mnementh also recommends that F'lar teach Lessa to fly between, since she's smart enough to figure it out for herself.
F'lar does FINALLY show a moment of empathy for Lessa here, remembering his own first flight with Mnementh, and he realizes how hard it must have been for her to see the other riders practicing with their dragons when she wasn't able to.
Ugh, this romance: "The girl turned then, watching Mnementh glide in and hover to let F'lar dismount. She straightened her shoulders, her chin lifted belligerently as her slender body gathered itself to face his censure. Her behavior was like that of any weyrling, anticipating punishment and determined to endure it, soundless. She was not the least repentant."
Why the fuck should she be repentent, F'lar? SHE WAS RIGHT. She was right the whole goddamn time.
We're told then that admiration for Lessa's indomitable personality replaces the last of his anger. Well, okay. Good. But why the fuck were you angry to begin with?!
Look, it'd be one thing if F'lar's reaction had to do with practical concerns: Lessa is, at this point, the only Gold rider they have. If something happens to her, or to Ramoth, they aren't just weakened, their species is pretty much done for good.
Hell, if you think about real world genetics, this species, with ONE BREEDING FEMALE TOTAL, is pretty much already extinct.
If F'lar were angry about that, I'd understand. Hell, if he were angry because he was afraid that Lessa would get hurt. I'd be more annoyed, but I could understand that too.
He's not though. He's mad that she took his moment. He's mad that she "flaunted her independence".
And let's think again about Larad and his wife.
Why are the dragonriders the heroes again???
-
So this was Part II of Dragonflight, which had been published separately as Dragonrider. And does it withstand the test of time?
No. Not remotely.
Weyr Search was enjoyable for all its faults. Sure, I hated F'lar. But Lessa was amazing. We had a nice little triumph against Fax and a very lovely vindication for Lessa once she was chosen by Ramoth. It was simple and satisfying.
Dragonrider could have been good. I still love Lessa. And I enjoy seeing her say "fuck you" to the various terrible people in the Weyr and ultimately prove herself right.
But it's hard to enjoy Lessa when we see how utterly miserable her circumstances actually are. She's been kept a virtual prisoner for two years. No one tells her anything. No one teaches her anything. She's told of a problem, she takes steps to try to solve it, and then she's lambasted for not realizing that steps were already being taken.
And then there's the mating flight. Now Lessa is forced to deal with a man who raped her, who sees her moment of triumph as a slight against him. And I'm supposed to be happy about this?
Larad, in one small section, showed more warmth and humanity than F'lar has in two full stories. Mnementh, F'lar's fucking DRAGON, shows more regard and concern for Lessa as a person than F'lar ever does.
And it's particularly upsetting because some of this might have been fixable. I mentioned before that I liked the dynamic between Lessa and F'lar before the mating flight. If the relationship had been allowed to develop naturally from there, then we could have had a damn good love story.
Hell, even the rape might have been salvageable. If F'lar genuinely believed that R'gul told Lessa about what this entailed, and only realized afterward that she didn't know. If he was appropriately horrified and apologetic afterward. If he acknowledged that they should have discussed this before hand. If he showed concern and sensitivity toward her and actually tried to take steps to make up for what he'd done or at least show her how sorry he was. That could have been SOMETHING.
Or maybe they could have gone a different direction. One of my favorite parts of the Shadowhunter television show is how it takes characters like Isabelle and Alec and really examines what their isolated Clave upbringing has done to them and how they see the world. We see them do some pretty awful things and express some pretty horrible opinions. But we also see them forced to re-examine what they're taught to believe and learn and grow beyond that.
There is room for that kind of examination here. F'lar is awful, but so is his entire society. He was raised in it. His father was Weyrleader before him. His mother is dead. The woman who raised him is the headwoman of the Weyr. He's never known anything but a system of ethics and values so twisted that he actually needs his dragon to tell him how to behave like a decent human being.
And if this story really wanted to, they could do something pretty great with this. We could see F'lar start to come to the realization that what he's been taught all of his life was wrong. We could see him work hard to shed his old behaviors and beliefs to try to become a better person, within the context of the return of Thread.
But unfortunately, that would require the narrative to acknowledge that F'lar is wrong. And that's never going to happen. And I'm stuck with one of the absolute worst protagonists I've ever read.