They’re basically acting like he’s Joffrey from Game of Thrones. Yes, yes, he’s got the crown, but we’ll just keep him distracted with shiny toys while the REAL business goes on in the high tower that his tiny little legs would tire out from climbing.

That’s a decent argument about the Trump presidency. Although there are a lot of hidden variables and hard-to-understand details involved in that, which — if someone wrote a book about it, or made a movie — I would expect to be explained in some way (either based on information I didn’t have at the time or on the author’s favourite hypothesis). Because why would I want to watch a movie about something I didn’t understand when it leaves me just as clueless?

I never had much trouble with Taro’s ascension because like T, I always thought that it was entirely plausible, but never a permanent arrangement as it soon would become obvious.

What should have happened is that Jarvis simply came in himself and swept everything under the rug, totally aware of what was going on and gathering what evidence he needed. He is definitely more war minded and knowing that losing the entire new house to an assassination from it’s youngest would destroy morale, so propping Taro up makes sense, and then when the war is over arresting him for the truth also makes sense.

The Trump analogue works. But this isn’t a democracy where there is at least the facade of pretending to accept the majorities will. This is a political society that has had no trouble scheming and murdering already.

Jarvis letting Taro do anything that wasn’t sitting in a cell to rot, letting Taro actually be able to make decisions, is perhaps one of the stupidest things the war minded general can do. The focus on the war plans only makes it worse.

Ultimately I never bought this. It feels really bad. Being told down by Jarvis probably would have worked better for Ardaic too, as he respects Jarvis. It feels a lot weaker for him in the long run that who he turns against is this. It’s not a good thing that it takes him forever to do so either. If it were Jarivs, it would make sense that it takes so long and be a genuinely heroic moment when he finally stops trusting his leader. Not enough to make up for all he’s done, but genuinely heroic all the less.

Ardaic and Jarvis look like fools letting this literal idiot take control. The trade route might have worked, but would have felt a lot less connected to Ardaic’s current issues and would have made too much sense. A trade route like that being lost could not only destroy a country at war but a country after war. But Jarvis himself being that in the thick of things would have been another pay off for how clever he was.