#FELLOW KENDALL GIRLIES RISE

[stillswearing]

Kendall Roy? Not like other girls.

Actual title: Beyond Shakespeare, a dive into the American white male antihero archetype 

[Edited and reposted]

As Succession comes to a close, comparisons between Kendall Roy and other iconic onscreen antiheroes have been thrown around online. And as a lover of white boy media over the years, I got into thinking about my favorite 40-year-old nepobaby media mogul.

The way I see it: What sets Kendall apart from typical antihero protagonists, like Walter White or Michael Corleone, is that he starts as a cringe fail loser. And I kinda wish all white boy corruption arcs in the future be as pathetic and hilarious and upsetting and sharply written as Kendall Roy’s.

CORRUPTION ARCS

We know corruption arcs or negative arcs. It’s one of the ways a protagonist becomes the antihero. Walter White and Michael Corleone begin as competent, fairly nice guys living decent lives. And the thrill of their story is watching them reluctantly (and then not reluctantly) apply their skills to increasingly morally grey situations until they're fully consumed by power and they lose everything.

Whereas characters like White and Corleone are introduced as men who already had the makings for greatness (Walter, a genius chemist, and Michael, an intelligent marine), Kendall is introduced as a 39-year-old child who can’t close the Vaulter deal. And while Walter's and Michael's disillusionment and corruption began reluctantly as a result of a sudden disruption in their lives (Walter with cancer, and Michael with his dad’s assassination), Ken's path to becoming Logan is the baseline - not a disruption - for his character.

This is cool because corruption arcs don't typically work like this. A protagonist's competence isn’t usually doubted in corruption arcs. And how can you even bring a character down if they're already a disillusioned loser hungry for power at the very beginning? 

While White and Corleone have a slow descent towards unscrupulousness, there’s no reluctance on Kendall's part in hurtling towards, well, evil. He's always wanted to be his dad. Even after going to great lengths to act out against Logan, as a result of trauma and abuse, Kendall was always meant to revert back to his baseline - his desire to be king no matter the cost. The typical corruption arc doesn't really apply to him because he's already corrupted from the start. So how did they make his story compelling? 

By laying it out as a hero’s journey. A really fucked up one.

A HERO’S JOURNEY

In overly simplistic terms, a hero's journey is one where the character goes on a quest and comes back a changed person. Think: Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon. The protagonist starts from the bottom and rises to the top, learning valuable life-altering lessons along the way. Hiccup starts out as a weak child sidelined by his dad & peers but grows up to be Berk's chief like he always dreamed of. A zero to hero.

And that’s literally Kendall Roy; he's the Hiccup of Wall Street. He goes from being a bitch ass failure who can't close Vaulter to being Waystar's CEO like he always dreamed of. The key difference is that Hiccup has altruistic goals & values (because he's a character in a wonderfully scored children’s animated adventure series) and Kendall doesn't (because he is in the wonderfully scored HBO show Succession). But regardless of their different morals & end goals, the journey they go through is the same. 

Kendall’s story cannot be framed as a descent to wickedness, unlike in a typical corruption arc. His is an ascent from loserville to winner…ville. It’s about becoming the man he was always destined to be. 

A bad zero to a bad hero. 

ANTIHEROES

As a result of this distinction from other white male antiheroes, Kendall Roy as a character achieves something his predecessors have had a difficult time doing well: Be an obvious, glaring, clear condemnation of the patriarchy and its many forms of violence.

Ok, stay with me.

See, characters like Michael Corleone, Walter White, Tony Soprano, and Don Draper are all widely considered well-written, compelling antiheroes. (No, I will not be putting Tommy Shelby on the list because Peaky Blinders truly deeply sucked - fight me. And full disclosure: I haven’t seen The Sopranos and Mad Men, but I think my point still stands.) Audiences know they’re bad people, but we understand them and even root for them. Or at the very least, we understand why people would root for them within the logic of the series they’re in. This is the power of storytelling, of framing, of choosing who’s at the center of the narrative.

Things get messy when audiences (and even creators) empathize with these men’s corruption so much that they sometimes lose sight that the antihero archetype is a critique as much as it is an understanding of this specific white man who does violent things. After all, how can we critique something we do not understand? 

Moreover, stories usually draw the audience’s sympathy for antiheroes by putting them in conflict with a way more malevolent character. That way, the protagonist's morally grey decisions look less destructive in comparison. As a result of being the center of the narrative, these problematic asshole fathers can be easily interpreted as “simply misunderstood”, or worse as “justified and enlightened and aspirational and cool. fuck yeah.” Along the way, people forget that these antihero stories were meant to be a commentary on the patriarchy.

It’s also why many female characters around these antiheroes suffer undue vitriol from viewers. We empathize with these bad boys so much, that the women are seen as nuisance, as hysterical creatures in the way of the antihero's destiny and goals. When really most of the time, women in these stories are the voice of reason, stopping these douchebags from exercising monstrous violence. (Skylar White, I will always love you.)

KENDALL ROY

Not our Kenny though. Unlike the intelligent, suave, and capable antiheroes that came before him, our man was Uncool and Cringe since Day 1. As said, being a failure and inept is key in a hero’s journey, especially at the beginning. That’s why I understand why so many viewers actively dislike Ken. (He is my most favorite character though, no one comes close.)

Sure, we deeply empathize with Kendall over the course of four seasons. He is a victim and a perpetrator of abuse. But at no point does the show hold back in portraying his violence as the actions of a truly pathetic, emotionally stunted, insecure man-child.

I have to mention my awe for Jeremy Strong at this point because, in lesser actors’ hands, it would have been nearly impossible for anyone to empathize with, root for, and even cry for, Ken. He did not have the luxury of playing an antihero that starts out as competent and likable before things turned sour (as in a traditional corruption arc). All of Kendall’s weaknesses and ugliness were right there at the very beginning of the show and they were continually highlighted throughout all four seasons. His actions are rarely portrayed as justified, let alone aspirational. He fails and makes the wrong call all the time.

And yet Strong plays Kendall so masterfully, that we always see Kendall as both the abusive man and the abused child whenever he’s onscreen. It's a genius move on Armstrong's and Strong's part to create Kendall Roy in this manner. By placing Kendall as a hero on his way to becoming whom he was always destined to be, instead of a character who turns to a dark path as a result of a disruption in their worldview, we the audience are able to hold both the evilness of Ken and his kindness, as well as his incompetence and his strength, in our minds simultaneously every time.

We really understand Kendall, and it's why we can deeply hate him. He is an empathetic explanation AND clear condemnation of white male patriarchs in society. Antiheroes before him may have been as complex as Kendall Roy, but they could only wish that they had his clarity as well.

CONCLUSION

Rooting for Ken means differently for various people. Rooting for him can mean hoping he fails to be Logan and breaks out of the cycle. But it can also mean hoping that he finally gets what he wants and succeeds Logan.

I’m mostly in the latter camp. 

There is catharsis there, in watching a shitty human being achieve his ultimate empty dream of being the shittiest human being. This is a hero’s journey after all.

A bad zero to a bad hero.

[youremyheaven]

vedic astrology symbols & motifs pt 3

1. Serpent symbolism

Zendaya wearing a Roberto Cavalli dress with twin serpents on the back. She has her saturn & ketu in UBP.

She's also the ambassador for Bvlgari, a brand known for its iconic serpent motif. Fellow ambassador Priyanka Chopra also has serpent yoni (Rohini moon)

Julianne Moore, mrigashira moon wearing a dress featuring cobras

Kendall Jenner, UBP moon wearing a dress with snake imagery

Charlize Theron, ashlesha sun & mercury wearing a serpent pendant.

Cardi B, mrigashira ketu as Medusa

Rohini Mars, uma thurman as medusa in percy jackson

2. Punarvasu girls often play the Trophy Wife or the Dream Girl in media.

Malin Ackerman (punarvasu moon) played the titular Trophy Wife in the sitcom of the same name

Sofia Vergara (punarvasu sun & moon) plays Gloria Pritchett in modern family who is a classic example of a trophy wife.

Kaley Cuoco (punarvasu moon) plays Penny in TBBT. Penny is a quintessential "dream girl" type character.

Punarvasu moon Drew Barrymore plays a version of this role in nearly every romcom she's ever been in.

3. I have a soft spot for Virgo-Cancer couples. Virgo is considered the most masculine sign and Cancer is the most feminine sign. Sexual polarity is what drives a relationship and this could be why these couples are so fun to watch on screen and even irl.

Jay on the show, Modern Family is played by Ed O'Neill who is Purvaphalguni moon (tropical virgo) and Sofia Vergara, who plays his wife, has Punarvasu moon (tropical cancer).

Ed O'Neill was on the show Married With Children, where Katey Sagal played his wife. She has Pushya moon and Punarvasu Ketu. Its interesting how his two most well known characters are both husbands on shows about families with wives played by Cancer girlies👀

Chris Hemsworth is a Purvaphalguni sun and Uttaraphalguni moon and he is married to Elsa Pataky who is Punarvasu sun and Revati moon. Pisces is opposite to Virgo and opposite signs have insane chemistry.

I'll make a separate post about how movies often pair actors with opposite signs to play a couple and how this happens in real life as well (opposites attract 😏)

Priyanka Chopra is a Punarvasu sun and Nick Jonas is a Uttaraphalguni sun and stellium.

in Bridget Jones' Diary, Mark Darcy is played by Purvaphalguni sun Colin Firth and Bridget is played by Ashlesha moon Renee Zellwegger.

The OG romcom pairing. Adam Sandler, Purvaphalguni sun and Drew Barrymore who is Punarvasu moon.

Purvaphalguni sun, Hugh Grant and Pushya rising Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.

another iconic romcom pairing, Purvaphalguni sun Richard Gere with Pushya rising Julia Roberts.

6. I find a connection between Ashlesha and plastic surgery. Ashlesha is the star of restriction and its tightly coiled by nature. These natives often express their severity through their self-presentation. On another note, these tropical Leo natives become sidereal Cancers and while Leos are known for being extremely self conscious and prone to fluctuating self esteem, adding a layer of Cancerian sensitivity makes things worse for them. Their self-image becomes extremely personal and they feel a need to master perfectionism. (in my perspective, switching to sidereal does not cancel out one's tropical signs, it adds another layer or texture to it. Leos are so sensitive and picky, why? because they are sidereal Cancers underneath the surface. some Cancers are very typically girly and domestic whereas others are not? because they're split between the gemini and cancer signs in sidereal)

Now a lot of celebs get work done, especially these days but I think there are some celebrities who are known for their plastic surgery and these are just a few off the top of my head.

Megan Fox, ashlesha moon.

Kylie Jenner, ashlesha sun

Bella Hadid, ashlesha mars

Sridevi, ashlesha sun and stellium.

(she had already had some work done in the first pic) Sridevi is probably one of the first Indian actors to get plastic surgery back in the 70s/80s and was known for it.

[strawberrystepmom]

Kendall!! 💖 You're an astrology girlie too AND a fellow cancer rising?? I love that! I am coming over with freshly cut fruit for mimosas to chit chat about the stars as we speak~ 💗✨

Also, I headcanon Sasuke as an aquarius moon (like myself), but sometimes it wavers, can I get your thoughts?? 🥺

~ @lovelucilfer

CHELS! i hope wednesday has been gooood <3333 i love cancer placements even without my intense bias in favor of them. i think rising especially creates really warm and lovely people (like you) so thank the stars for that!

i 100% agree sasuke uchiha has an air moon. aquarius feels correct but i will also go so far as to say perhaps gemini because moon does impact decision making to a degree and i think gemini's tend to be less analytical than aquarius. i think air moon fits him perfectly though regardless and aquarians can sometimes falsely be perceived as cold when really they're just analytical and not always great at explaining themselves independent of other astrological factors.