#i need her and rat god to interact or summat

[nazm145]

This was supposed to be a mildly long rant but ended up a dissertation I’m so sorry

Ok, can we just talk about Juliette Durand for a moment?

Like, I know people hate her, but I don’t get it. And I just can’t.

Let’s consider the facts, shall we?

This is going to be hella long, just a warning, so please don’t hate me. I have many feelings.

(I haven’t read the books, so I’m basing almost everything off of the show’s version of the characters.  Tell me if I get anything wrong. Also, general spoilers below.)

Juliette was sired, abused (strong implications of rape), confined, and conditioned by a (white) man who used and trained her specifically to get close to another (white) man and get information from him for his own personal gain.

We see the dynamics of their toxic relationship and its effects on Juliette from the moment she and Gerbert are introduced, augmented by the dark, claustrophobic interiors of their Venetian home – which is strange because the house should be airy and well-lit considering how open and spacious it is. Definitely a metaphor, I think, for the dark and twisted nature of what is supposed to be a “father-daughter” relationship.

The scene in which Gerbert is seeing her off on the boat after allowing/ordering her to go find Matthew, the creepy cheek-kiss, and her look of relief and what seems to be almost a mixture of triumph and freedom as she turns around and gets farther away from him is a pretty decent summation of what things are like between them. Of course, we hardly need to analyze anything this deeply when Gerbert’s treatment of Juliette and her strange, toxic dependence on him is so grossly obvious.

Enter Domenico.

For me, Juliette and Domenico are the most intriguing characters on show. I don’t know how extensive their roles were in the book, but to me their subtle exchanges, as short as they were, are so impactful. I definitely think this is in large part because Elarica Gallacher and Gregg Chillin are amazing actors who pack so much depth and nuance into their scenes.

The whole Juliette/Domenico/Gerbert dynamic is so interesting to me (to reiterate, I fully loathe Gerbert and want him to choke). While the nature of Juliette and Gerbert’s relationship is tragically obvious, Domenico’s relationship with both of them is much more complex. From their very first scene, it’s clear that there is a mutual dislike, distrust, and tension between them all, and like Juliette, Domenico answers to Gerbert. But of course, his level of subjugation can’t even begin to compare to hers.

What first caught my attention was when Gerbert called Domenico a “nosy fucker” even though Domenico looking into the dead body and reporting to Gerbert was clearly in his favor. This strongly leads me to believe that Domenico has indeed fucked with Gerbert in the past, either intentionally or unintentionally. Not surprising – Domenico obviously has no love for Gerbert and given the constant descriptions of him as a manipulator and strategist, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s played his hand more than a few times in the past. He even tells Juliette that Venice is his home, so he does what he has to do in order to keep Baldwin and Gerbert happy. He is, in his own way, a victim of his situation - even though he holds a position of power, there is only so much he can do.

Which brings me to him and Juliette. God, I have so much to say about these two. So many of their scenes (both together and apart) force me to think about just what their feelings are towards each other and how much of that stems directly from the other and how much from their situations and the other people around them.

Like when Juliette tells Gerbert, “Domenico hates me.” It got me thinking – does he really hate her? Does she only think that he hates her? What has he said or done to make her feel that way? Or am I just thinking too much into this and it was really just a last-ditch effort on Juliette’s part to try and stop Gerbert from punishing her? Now, that last part is interesting – I’m positive Domenico knew what would happen to Juliette once he told Gerbert what happened. Everyone probably knows. But Domenico’s role in regards to both the Congregation and Gerbert seems to be that he’s the one who’s expected to keep everything in line on the Vampire front and report any problems, otherwise it’s his ass. And clearly, he’s under some sort of employment for Gerbert considering he reported the incident to him and not the Congregation, and it was him who was asked to fetch Gerbert when he didn’t show up at the meeting in episode 7. So I really believe he had no ill intentions towards Juliette when he ratted her out – it was more a fulfillment of duty, which in the world of ADoW, seems to be a necessity for survival.

Which brings me to The Scene. You know, the one where they unnecessarily angry-whisper-flirt with each other, have absolutely no regard for each other’s personal space and for two people who supposedly hate each other, look at each other’s lips a completely inappropriate number of times within a span of thirty seconds. This was the scene that made me complete trash for them, not in the very least because it was sinfully hotter than hell and had me feeling some type of way. There was so much to unpack here.

This didn’t occur to me until now, but when Domenico tells Juliette to not bother going home because Gerbert is disappointed, was he really mocking her? Or was it actually a subtle warning to wait until Gerbert cooled down so she wouldn’t have to go through what she did the last time she made a mistake? What leads me to believe the second option even more is that Juliette herself told Marcus that Gerbert will be angry with her if she doesn’t retrieve Matthew… so.

Next – Domenico shamelessly spilling the deets on how Matthew is in love with Diana, and goading Juliette to go to Sept Tours and confront them.  Here, I’d just like to take moment to appreciate Gregg’s delivery of “really” after Juliette tells him she can’t go without permission. It could easily be interpreted as “Really? Do you really need Gerbert’s permission, or are you just forcing yourself to believe that” OR “Oh really? You don’t say.” Like, I love how he could either be challenging her perception of the reality of her own confinement or just being a facetious asshole. But what really got to me was the look he was giving her as she walked away. It was both unreadable, and yet strangely… I don’t even know. Almost sympathetic? Dare I say longing?

And that’s what occupied my mind for an entire week until I saw episode 7. How genuine or underhanded were Domenico’s intentions when he tried to convince her to go to Matthew during the bar scene? Was he just trying to hurt her? Did he want her to go for her own sake? Or was it all a ploy to throw Gerbert in deep shit when his “daughter” showed up uninvited on ancestral De Clermont land? I honestly don’t believe that Domenico would be above grabbing any chance he could to fuck with Gerbert. And I absolutely don’t condone him using Juliette or manipulating her to accomplish that. Which got me thinking about another aspect of their relationship, until again, I saw episode 7.

Domenico obviously hates Gerbert, and he knows what he’s done to Juliette, possibly more so than anyone else considering the extent of their interactions. Why then, has he done nothing to help her? Why has he been, if not complicit in, then at the very least a bystander in her abuse? Now this bothered me a lot more until I saw the more recent episodes of ADoW (Don’t get me wrong, it still does. But I feel like I understand a lot more now.)

The magical world of ADoW works a lot differently than the mortal one. Law, intrigue, politics and revenge take precedence over even family and friends. Gillian sold Diana out because she thought it was her duty as a witch (although there was clearly some personal pettiness involved there). Sophie and Nathaniel wouldn’t tell Agatha that the baby might be a witch even though she’s the grandmother, and quite possibly the only genuinely kind, not insane member of the Congregation. And no one even questioned Baldwin’s claim that Knox had Diana and he himself didn’t know where she was because they never thought he would actually lie to protect his own brother (albeit only Vampire brother). So it’s not hard to believe that Domenico wouldn’t put his ass on the line to cross Gerbert that way, especially when, as we learned in episode 7, Juliette could have saved herself but chose not to.

You guys – their talk in 7 was so unexpected and touching to me. Not in a “Oh look how cute, he cares for her, aww” type of way. But in a “Wow. He really does realize her situation and is willing to help in whatever small way that he can so she can finally free herself – in whatever manner she chooses to do so.”

What really got to me was when Juliette asked him what he wanted in return for Diana’s file, and all he says is that she should finally free herself and just go anywhere. Just leave the horrible life she’s been living, while recognizing that in part it’s been her own choice because she either can’t or won’t forget Matthew. Contrast this with Baldwin asking Domenico what he wants in exchange for Satu, and Domenico saying “Someday… who knows?” Everyone knows how manipulative Domenico can be. But in that one instance with Juliette, we see him being genuinely kind and not asking her for anything in return. And his little smile after he sees her Power Walk out of that church like a Queen?

You guys. A girl is weak.

Coming back to Juliette, I’m so mad that all this likely won’t come to anything if the show stays true to her fate in the books. Which it looks like it will. As much as I felt her walking out on Gerbert, the fact that a black woman left her abuser only to put herself in a situation that her abuser conditioned her to be in is still so problematic. Not to mention the fact that that after years and years of being used by males (apparently she was a prostitute before she was sired, so even as a human?! Really?!?!) she is killed by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed lover of the white man she’s been obsessed with for centuries. Like. Ew. No thank you.

And honestly? I feel like she and Domenico could really be something if she would just try and get over Matthew. Again, not saying that her obsession with him is completely her fault. She is blatantly a victim of abuse, and so many of her actions stem from the violence, manipulation, and torture that she has suffered for centuries. Of course that would mess her up. And finally giving a black woman autonomy and power and the courage to stand up to her white abuser in one episode only to kill her off in the next in a situation that is indirectly the result of her abuse is just awful and unacceptable, especially in fucking 2018.

You know what I want to see? Juliette calling bullshit on the whole Matthew situation and finally becoming her own person.

Like, girl. First of all you don’t need no man. You are gorgeous, clever, resilient, and could probably seduce half the world’s population with one Look. And yes, I fully include myself in that. And even if you do want a man (eternity is a long time to spend alone tbh) Domenico is right there. I know their relationship is nowhere near healthy or good, but it is still light years better than the shitstorm that is the Diana/Matthew/Juliette triangle of a fucking toxic disaster fest.

Give Domenico and Juliette their own developed story where they do or do not get together (as long as they’re both happy tbh – I love my evil disasters, leave me alone), fucking rip Gerbert’s throat out, and then basically take over everything. Because – and I know I’m gonna get hate for this – Matthew and Diana’s story is sweet, and Goode and Palmer are lovely in their roles. But the whole “forbidden love/Person A not knowing about or repressing their powers only to find out they are SuperPowerful™ and now have to master their abilities with the help of Person B so they can fight the world together” is so overdone. Give me more magical world politics and intrigue with a concentration on Domenico and Juliette or give me death.

Also – more hate-bait, but whatever – Diana and Matthew may be cute and all, but this is what makes my heart beat.

 LOOK AT THEM

Domenico and Juliette are so fucking hot. Those curls. Those FACES. The adorably tiny height difference. His hand on her waist. The Looks being fucking Served. 

Don’t even try to tell me that they wouldn’t be That Power Couple