#there's a lot of focus on the immorality of madeline's actions and yes like all the characters she's Not A Good Person

[gh-0-stcup]

I think it was done to show Madeline has an indifference, selfishness, and lack of moral fortitude that makes her compatible with the lifestyle of a vampire. She's detatched from life, from the people around her. She doesn't care about the politics of the war or the suffering the Nazis are causing, she just cares about what makes her feel good.

Neither Claudia nor Louis care about the Nazis aside from how inconvenient the war makes their traveling. None of these characters are emotionally invested in the political situation of the time, so it doesn't get addressed in conversations between them.

God. I think having watched S2 of IWTV, I did love it but I just have one big caveat? Which is Madeleine?

To be clear, I did love Madeleine! Fucking heartbreaking how she and Claudia went! I love a tragedy, but god if I hadn't been happy if they'd somehow made it. I think she's an interesting study of a post-liberation french person jaded by war.

But that's also the issue?

I don't think she deserved the fate collaborators (as in those who had a gainful relationship with Nazis and Petains lot during ww2) got, and I'm sure a lot of collaborators who were just trying to survive (as in people who let Nazis stay in their home or exchanged small personal favours for food and supplies they might need to survive) didn't deserve the way the mobs treated them after liberation, but she was still someone who invited a nazi officer into her house, not because she was truly and unfortunately in love or because she needed to survive, but because, in her own words, she felt lonely.

She was with a nazi officer because she was... Lonely. And they don't even explore it! They don't delve into it! Like it was used as a plot hook to give Claudia a reason to save her without actually looking at the ramifications that shed been with a man who mightve shot (or at least tried to shoot) Claudia! You can't just... Skip over the fact that someone was a collaborator when looking at post-liberation France. That war ruined and tore apart families just like the US Civil War did as some were fine with or even directly supported the Nazis and the Vichy government and others fought and died trying to expel them from french soil.

Anyway. I just. Idk. They glossed over something with huge social and cultural weight in that setting and it's just bad taste in my mouth, I suppose. The way the show portrayed the retributions also just garners sympathy for people who sometimes sold out their own family members to the Nazis, and the only anti nazi representation are three enragé who break into a house to try and rape a woman.

Ah well! Good TV show. Just didn't love that facet of it.