#will obviously be posting more about the Big Laman Fumble of it all later bc i cant help myself but like. insane decision making

[sadhorsegirl]

if you've talked to me at all since the first big episode we had in carihien then you know how much i disliked the decision to go for a rococo aesthetic given what we know about cairhien in the books lol

by invoking the french revolution you bring in the audiences preconceived notions about what that time period was like. in popular historical imagination its a situation where the rich hoarded all the wealth until the poor rose up and killed them, which is simple but true in broad strokes. while we definitely see a wealth divide similar to this in the books (particularly with the forgate), it also isn't really the best analogy for the state cairhien is in in the mainline of the series in the books.

due to the aiel war and their custom for taking one fifth of the property from their enemies when they defeat them, the land has low-key been strip mined. by the time rand gets there the towers are still covered in scaffolding, we see that the aiel are still passing around treasures from cairhien when we spend more time in the wastes in later books, famine is imminent and the line of succession is tenuous at best. the caste system is also a bit more complex (convoluted?) than the french rev analogy as the average viewer might interpret it implies. the upper class are essentially killing and torturing each other to have power for like a week over dwindling resources that they will be assassinated for starting the cycle of power struggle all over again. if cairhien is anything french rev it's like. IMMEDIATELY post revolution not pre just in terms of a chaotic, painful rearrangement of society

cairhien in the books a nation that used to have way more sway politically on the continent having to come to terms with the fact that it's future means potentially abandoning sovereignty or becoming increasingly dependent on the nations around it for aid. and i think the architectural aesthetic described in the books (granted, as recreated in my mind palace) is way more interesting!! we could have had organic brutalist wood clad skyscrapers!!!

i think the idea of dark wood and geometric design with sharp angles is also more interesting thematically in communicating how the people of cairhien operate as a society. this kind of minimalist presentation belying the fact that they literally might not own as many ostentatious family heirlooms as they used to, but also giving the false impression that the home owner is being transparent and has nothing to hide. the ultimate "im an open book" power move while they are all hiding way more secrets than than their walls might imply lol

by not talking about laman and the lingering impact of the aiel war, season 2 just ended up feeling like the writers had sanded the more dynamic political dimensions and ideas surrounding cairhien in the books for an easy visual catch all