#it’s never outright Stated but it’s very very heavily implied. it’s called subtext and not even very subtle subtext

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Hi, how did you feel about Kanjigar as a character and his death? Were there any Trollhunters' pairings that felt forced and rushed, or ones you like, but either became bland or felt tacked-on? And finally, how would Trollhunter Claire's relationships go with Blinky, AAARRRGGHH and Draal?

Kanjigar’s death:

Kanjigar’s death is a necessary aspect of the show’s premise, since there can be only one Trollhunter at a time, chosen by the Amulet. (Unlike in the original novel, where there could potentially be many, and Jim Sturges and Claire Fontaine were both revealed to have genetic predisposition to be paladins - another name for Trollhunters, which I think Netflix chose not to use in order to avoid conflation with Voltron - and the amulet was just a translator device.)

Kanjigar’s death not only sets up the Amulet choosing a new Trollhunter, but also provides a bunch of exposition within the first few minutes of the show - that Bular is dangerous (Kanjigar clearly concluded he wasn’t getting out of that fight alive); that sunlight doesn’t just hurt trolls, but can outright kill them; and that this is a show where characters can and will die.

The fact it was a suicide which led to the selection of a new Trollhunter might be a deliberate parallel to how Jim’s use of the transformation potion in Season Three was filmed like a suicide, ‘killing’ Human!Jim to replace him as Trollhunter with supposedly-hybrid Troll!Jim.

Setting aside Doylist analysis and switching to Watsonian, Kanjigar was shortsighted.

Based solely on evidence in the show, we don’t know if Blinky was watching the fight and Kanjigar knew it and just didn’t call attention to him in order to protect Blinky from Bular, or if Blinky went looking for Kanjigar later and just happened to arrive in that drainpipe at the right moment to see Jim get the Amulet. (Supplementary books say Blinky and AAARRRGGHH were both witnesses but Kanjigar didn’t know they’d followed him.)

From what is shown on camera of Kanjigar’s knowledge at that moment, as far as Kanjigar knew, Bular could have climbed down from the bridge and stolen the Amulet immediately at sunset, before anyone from Trollmarket even knew Kanjigar was dead.

Supplementary comics justify this to some degree by showing the Amulet fly to Kanjigar following the death of his predecessor; but again, from evidence presented on camera in the show, there was no reason to expect that to happen … unless you count the Amulet vanishing by mid-afternoon when Jim tries to go back for it in Unbecoming, which I interpreted on my first watch to mean the Changelings had stolen it - which could well be the case, since they didn’t know yet that they needed the Amulet and the Trollhunter, and they might have let Draal find it after they did learn as much; Nomura’s dialogue with Strickler regarding the Trollhunter in that episode is basically, “he’s someone I know well enough to easily manipulate.”

So, Kanjigar’s ‘heroic sacrifice’ was narratively necessary but a dumb move on his part. Having a well-meaning hero create problems by trying to protect everyone and solve things alone seems to be a theme in this show.

Kanjigar personally:

Kanjigar is … what Jim could become. I don’t mean that as a compliment. I mean an admired and well-meaning figure, who nonetheless causes serious emotional harm to himself and those close to him by pushing away their attempts to support him and feeling like he shouldn’t bond emotionally with anyone, in an attempt to “keep them safe”.

Jim is good(ish) at teamwork when he starts out as Trollhunter, but as the series goes on he tries more and more to contain any fallout by cutting out the rest of his team, most notably when he goes into Darklands (just after Kanjigar ‘reminds’ Jim that “a day will come when you must finish the fight alone”) and uses Merlin’s potion (after being left alone with the wizard strongly implied to have created, not just the Amulet, but the Trollhunter job in the first place).

Likewise, the supplementary materials imply Kanjigar used to bring Draal, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH along on missions, but it’s repeatedly stated in the show that Kanjigar had created distance between himself and Draal by the time of Kanjigar’s death, and Blinky and AAARRRGGHH never share any personal memories of interacting with him.

My opinions on various ships:

Jlaire was developed about as much as any straight relationship between teenagers in an animated series ever is. My reflexive response when Jim’s crush on Claire was introduced was “Oh No, Another Obligatory Unnecessary Hetero Romance Subplot To Prove The Protagonist Is Straight”, so its presentation actually exceeded my expectations by a lot. I could enjoy Trollhunters just as well without Jlaire being a thing - I’ve actually got a short essay on how I think that ship has a negative impact on my perception of Claire’s character, because it feels like she’s only there to be the love interest, even though I recognize she actually is plot-significant in her own right - but it’s fine. It has its roots in the original novel and there was no real reason to cut it from the script.

Darby was very much a background relationship. Something I noticed during my full-series rewatch was that Darci doesn’t get a lot of screen time or definitive characterization; I was trying to take notes on her so I could better write her in my fic, because I feel like I haven’t developed her character much, but I didn’t actually learn anything new about her. She and Toby are cute, and they have at least one ‘off-camera’ date (stated by Toby in the double-date episode) as well as their on-camera date. Definitely hoping to see more scenes between the two of them in the next season of 3Below - we know Toby’s going to feature because of the trailer where Eli is recruiting Toby to help him investigate extraterrestrial presence in Arcadia.

Stricklake starts out really intriguing, but gets fumbled with how clumsily Strickler’s redemption arc is written. What I would’ve preferred would be if he actually says the words “I’m sorry” during the doorway scene, mentions when Morgana tries ‘tempting’ him that Barbara would never forgive him if he lets her son be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever, and the next time they meet is because Barbara contacts him. We have no idea how or why he shows up in Parental Guidance, but a scene of Barbara calling him, as another adult who the Nuñezes and Nana are likely to listen to, to back up her story, would cover that base and give Barbara more agency in their interactions that season. So, yes, getting them together by the end of Season 3 feels rushed.

BlinkAAARRRGGHH was heavily implied but technically left to the audience imagination. I personally would not call it ‘baiting’, because to my knowledge the show was not marketing itself as “hey there’s a canon gay relationship” and then leaving it in subtext, but it is disappointing.

Dromua, meanwhile, happened entirely off-camera, casually referenced and hinted at by Draal and Nomura both, but never shown other than an ambiguously flirty moment between them after the escape from the Darklands. Again, I would have liked to have seen more.

Trollhunter Claire’s dynamics with Blinky, AAARRRGGHH, and Draal:

Claire wouldn’t see Blinky as a father figure. She has a dad already and seems to have a mostly-positive relationship with him. (Less ‘under pressure’ than her dynamic with her mom, at least, with some cute moments.)

Blinky would approve of Claire’s academic inclinations. Her interest in Shakespeare could be used as a framing device to explore troll literature, poetry, and theatre. For example, a scene could begin with Claire and Blinky discussing some troll playwright, and then somebody (probably Bagdwella, maybe Vendel) comes in looking for the Trollhunter.

Her dynamic with AAARRRGGHH probably wouldn’t change much. In canon, he’s about equally affectionate with all the kids (until Toby becomes his favourite, but even then, he stays affectionate with all of them.)

Draal, I don’t know. Claire’s certainly got enough of a temper to challenge him to a fight, so that would probably happen. It’d be more difficult to sneak him into her basement since her house is more populated. If he moves in before Enrique is kidnapped, I could see that creating tension when Claire discovers Not Enrique - “you said you were going to protect my family!” - and maybe she’d even throw him back out, forcing him to find alternate lodgings since he still can’t show his face in Trollmarket? Also I feel like Claire would introduce Draal to punk rock at some point.