Copenhagen - Chapters 5-8

[dmeck7755]

One of the things I missed or really did not understand on page 333.

When Onni says it is looks for us again.  Little did I know that a hint for what would have been Adventure II. It now makes me think the KADE has been hunting them.

[Róisín]

I think that is what it means.

[NightMareMage]

The Kade is "it." That fact is just not clear on first reading. This becomes clearer in A2.

[dmeck7755]

The Kade is "it." That fact is just not clear on first reading. This becomes clearer in A2.

yeppers!!

[NightMareMage]

288 - 301
Page 288, to be fair, Emil is not technically wrong in calling Reynir a prisoner. Sigrun is in charge and she said he was, so even if Emil understood Mikkel, he would still not be wrong.

Page 288, again. It’s likely that Sigrun is still having trouble understanding Mikkel, but I don’t think she would act any differently here if she understood him clearly.

Page 288, but for the last time. Lalli seems to be suspicious of Reynir, which is fair. Lalli saw Reynir in the Dreamworld (where he tried to get Reynir’s attention and was not at all hostile to Reynir), and now Reynir just showed up out of a crate. I wonder if Lalli thinks that Reynir followed him or something.

Page 290, Emil says he would not have acted that way if he know that Reynir was not a prisoner. Though I would assume if he had understood Mikkel he would have still lessened to Sigrun, he likely would have done it differently. Anyway, Emil saying, “We’re mortal enemies, now!” is interesting because later Emil seems to not like Reynir all the much, whereas at worst, Reynir seems neutral to him. I don’t remember how Emil’s and Reynir’s relationship developed, but I do recall thinking that Emil’s problem with Reynir was that Lalli had a problem with Reynir. Maybe Emil thinking that Reynir hates him now was also a factor.

Pages 292-297. Okay, time to talk Reynir. So when we meet Reynir had this romanticized idea of travel that he got from his sibling's stories, even the ones from Bjarni who learned what death looks like. While his siblings had tales about the Silent World, Reynir just wanted to see a foreign county, not do anything truly risky, only for him to stumble himself into the Silent World. Great start to a character arc (one that does not really pay off but anyway)!

We also learn that Reynir’s parents lied to him about the ban on non-immune people traveling, with marks the first instance of us seeing his parents being abusive. Now, it seems the idea that Reynir’s parents are abusive is contentious and/or missed by a lot of people, but their lie and Reynir's behavior (leaving them a letter before sneaking off into the night just to avoid confrontation with them) are indications of abuse. I recall there being other evidence in A1, but this fact is explicit in A2 when Reynir reunites with his parents. (I don’t think Minna realized that this is what she wrote, but anyway!)

On page 298, Mikkel says he is “-capable of working around situations such as these.” Before that line, I thought that Mikkel was just adaptable, but now I wonder what situation or situations he has had that were similar to this one. This seems like it would be a really odd case but apparently, it may not be that weird. With is itself, very weird.

[dreki]

One of the things I missed or really did not understand on page 333.

When Onni says it is looks for us again.  Little did I know that a hint for what would have been Adventure II. It now makes me think the KADE has been hunting them.

Yeah 'It' is almsot certainly the Kade which suggests this is why Onni went on his suicide mission. It's not that there was some nebulous thing out there with his grandmother that potentially could cause problems to people who wander into the silent world - it's that Lalli is actively being hunted by it, and defeating it is vital to Lalli's continued well-being.

(Onni is also being hunted but 1. is more experienced and able to defend himself; 2. is basically canonically suicidal in Adv 2 so his own welfare isn't much of a concern)

288 - 301
Page 288, to be fair, Emil is not technically wrong in calling Reynir a prisoner. Sigrun is in charge and she said he was, so even if Emil understood Mikkel, he would still not be wrong.

I'd argue he's right in a sense.  While it isn't malicious, it's entirely done for his own well-being, the reality is that Reynir is not free right now. He's not free to leave the tank without permission. He's not free to leave or explore. Tuuri signed up for this - but Reynir fell into it and I do think he could be considered a prisoner in the sense of someone who has been captured and trapped. 

And I would personally argue his actions were almost certainly criminal. Stowing away is treated pretty seriously. I headcanon that if he'd been successful, and been caught trying to sneak into Bornholm and avoid the quarantine and proper documentation, he would've been in loads of legal trouble.

Anyway, Emil saying, “We’re mortal enemies, now!” is interesting because later Emil seems to not like Reynir all the much, whereas at worst, Reynir seems neutral to him. I don’t remember how Emil’s and Reynir’s relationship developed, but I do recall thinking that Emil’s problem with Reynir was that Lalli had a problem with Reynir. Maybe Emil thinking that Reynir hates him now was also a factor.

I can imagine Emil being very sensitive to rejection. Since it's impossible for them to talk it out and clear the air, it makes sense to me that he'd just assume Reynir hates him and respond by being gruff and closing off to him.

[Jitter]

P 346-354 about cats

We haven’t seen cats for a while but here are several now. Very sad cats The mother cat uses her final spark to hilariously battle Sigrun, and I love the way Sigrun tries to reason with her. Actually she seems more willing to talk the cat into doing what she wants than she does with people. Understandably, as she’s the boss of all people in the team, while the cat obviously is the boss of her! We also see what I believe is the first instance of the Cat Hat on p 346.

346 also has one of the most hear wrenching moments with Emil grieving over the dead kittens. The first time I read I didn’t notice them next to him in panel 5, and later when I did it turned out I’m allergic to dead cats and suddenly needed a napkin.

This entire section tells a lot about several characters, Sigrun, Emil and Mikkel.  Mostly good things in my opinion.

[Keep Looking]

This entire section tells a lot about several characters, Sigrun, Emil and Mikkel.  Mostly good things in my opinion.

I feel like, upon re-reading it, this section really establishes Emil's compassion, which I think is one of his key character traits throughout the rest of the story. While Emil is spoilt and annoying at times, he also really cares - seeing his grief at the dead kittens, his insistence that Mikkel save kitty, and his reaction when Mikkel has to put the mother cat down. Emil's compassion and his insistence on not giving up on people even if they seem like a lost cause will really shine through later during the Emil/Lalli mindsharing chapters, but I think this scene is one of the first places you start to properly understand this facet of his character.

[thorny]

Page 346: It's always puzzled me that Sigrun seems to expect the cat to see Sigrun as a potential source of help. A non-trollified cat living in the Silent World, this far from human-controlled lands, in year 90, must have been born feral; she won't have ever seen a human in her life, much less had positive interactions with a human. All she can possibly be seeing in Sigrun is another predator even larger than the dog.

And Sigrun isn't even giving the long-blink-and-turn-head. She's staring directly at the cat. That signals aggression or hunting behavior.

I suppose she's just so used to thinking of cats as partners with humans that it's never occured to her that that's learned behavior? No feral cats in the human-inhabited areas because they're all way too valuable to allow that to happen? But I'd still think that in a world where cats are ubiquitous she'd have learned how to say hello to one! But maybe Minna doesn't know either. An awful lot of people in this world don't speak any Cat, or any Dog for that matter; they just expect everybody else to speak Human.

[LooNEY_DAC]

I feel like, upon re-reading it, this section really establishes Emil's compassion...

I will have to respectfully disagree. I believe Emil's compassion was established much earlier and quite often by this point. What I think this section establishes is another quality foreshadowed in Emil's Prologue ancestors: stubbornness.

On page 41, Ulf is described thus: "Spends his pension betting on sports. Knows nothing about sports." While most commenters focus on the latter sentence ("Emil knows nothing, ha, ha, ha"), I want to focus on the former sentence, or what the former means in light of the latter: Ulf continues betting on sports, though he's utterly ignorant and might thus be expected to lose constantly; Ulf is therefore extremely stubborn, as is his true descendant Emil. Neither will give up on what others would see as a lost cause.

I feel like, upon re-reading it, this section really establishes Emil's... insistence on not giving up on people even if they seem like a lost cause [which] will really shine through later during the Emil/Lalli mindsharing chapters... I think this scene is one of the first places you start to properly understand this facet of his character.

I think this is a more accurate take on it.

[Róisín]

thorny, I agree about Sigrun not speaking Cat. Neither did she approach the cat as one would approach a wild animal, just assumed it would cooperate. Having rescued quite a number of wild animals from dangerous situations such as the middle of a highway on which they have been injured, I find it wise to assume that the animal is confused, in pain, possibly semi-conscious, and it is very likely to lash out at any approach, taking it as an attack. In Sigrun’s place it would have been better to take off her jacket before climbing, carry it up with her and throw it over the cat.

[Keep Looking]

I will have to respectfully disagree. I believe Emil's compassion was established much earlier and quite often by this point. What I think this section establishes is another quality foreshadowed in Emil's Prologue ancestors: stubbornness.

That's a good point. Emil's compassion starts appearing well before this point, although this scene does show it quite well, but it also really establishes his stubbornness. Interesting you bring up that he had an ancestor who was also stubborn - that's a detail I never noticed.

[LooNEY_DAC]

Interesting you bring up that [Emil] had an ancestor who was also stubborn - that's a detail I never noticed.

The TVTropes page has had varying degrees of commentary on how closely the cast resembles their Prologue forebears, but to my way of thinking, Emil is the closest synthesis of the four Swede adults described: "A kind and curious man" (Stig); "Would prefer not to hear about other people's problems" (Ulrika); "Spends his pension betting on sports/Knows nothing about sports" (Ulf); and "Would also like to bet on sports, but always forgets to" (Elvira).

It always grates on me a bit when people dismiss Emil as simply stupid; I think he's just misinformed about stuff, and "wrong" doesn't mean "stupid".

[Róisín]

I see what you mean about Emil’s stubbornness, though being myself a person for whom stubbornness is a major defining feature of my character, I prefer to call it persistence or endurance. One just keeps on and doesn’t give up. The attitude has certainly helped to keep me going through the vicissitudes of a long and frequently difficult life.

[LooNEY_DAC]

I didn't say it was bad; in fact, I agree with Keep:

Emil's... insistence on not giving up on people even if they seem like a lost cause will really shine through later during the Emil/Lalli mindsharing chapters...