Annotated 13-11
Well, THIS took a turn. One would certainly have expected Frigg to reiterate her old, fairly justified complaints that Byron is endangering the lives of the people he calls friends just by hanging around them while he’s a time bomb. But she’s already gotten into that, and once she starts punching all kinds of comradely feelings come out, ones she may not have even known she had.
This was one of the more personal scenes for Phil. Both Frigg and Byron here are expressing things that his internal voices had sometimes voiced. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
Not a lot to be amused about here, this is all pretty oof. But the sheer number of chains on Byron meant that I had to use this image somewhere in this scene.
Punching chains barehanded. Thanks, I’ll stick to the mace.
Yikes, no thanks!
“The burden of caring about yourself”…
I’m not sure how I missed that line my first time through, maybe I was going a bit too fast since when I discovered Guilded Age it was near completion.
That’s a very interesting notion, for a person that has had some… struggles…
This scene was very poignant for me, because I have had suicidal feelings in the past, and it was a really good to see the other side, and how angry Frigg felt about it. Anger that kindof sortof covered up her caring. And yet, by the end it seemed to me that Frigg was starting to really understand a little bit more just how deep and how pervasive suicidal feelings can come, and that he wasn’t feeling that way because he didn’t care about his team, but rather that he cared deeply about his team (more than himself).
I have to address your last sentence. The only way Byron’s death-wish could be caring more about the team than himself is if despair were truth. If he really wanted his friends to be happy, then he would give them the happiness of a life with him, where he cares for himself.
But he’s tired and scared, and emotionally traumatized, so he buys into despair–the idea that death is the only way out–and tells himself that he wants his friends to be happy… while he’s taking away the one thing that would really make them happy.
Despair is seductive, persistent, a horrible burden – and a fucking liar. As readers we know for a fact that Byron’s rage can be managed, that there’s no need for him to hurt his friends again. I have a lot of compassion for Byron, but Frigg is right this time.
“I pity the fool!”
Sorry. Like the image, it had to be said.