Reblogged
I think about this a lot.
I do love the circumstances of Fjord absorbing the cloven crystal in the show now with the context of his arc. In the campaign it was less of a choice; yes he made the choice to grab it but the act of shoving the orb into his stomach was, as Matt described, against his will and “instinctual”. Fjord had no idea that was going to happen.
I like that in the show, Fjord experiences what he’s supposed to do with it without it actually happening, and when it comes down to it makes the conscious decision to consume the eye. Uk’otoa reviving Fjord, essentially forcing him into a pact is one thing. Fjord given time to mull it over and making the choice himself to deepen his deal with the devil is another, and a great change given it was literally a desperate move to protect someone he cares about. Which serves as a greater reflection of the nuance in his motivations when it comes to power, that he is also desperate to have the power to protect what he cares about, which is a quality of his that never goes away.
And it makes it very clear why they decided to introduce Fjord’s character through that part of his backstory. It’s no coincidence that in the episode where Fjord is made useless, we see how Sabian’s betrayal only worsened his self-loathing, as he specifically blames himself for not being able to stop Sabian and save everyone. Which then becomes the perfect ammunition for Uk’otoa as well, later using Fjord’s guilt to manipulate him as Vandran. The perfect buildup for how they incorporated the cloven crystal, that in an attempt to fulfill the role of the “hero” Jester sees him as, Fjord actively makes the choice to become a monster (something he was terrified of being viewed as in his childhood which played into why he was always so averse to conflict).
Reblogged
I think a neat thing they could do for season 2 is have Molly and Fjord go on parallel/opposite act wrt their powers.
Fjord craving more of the strength and identity that he feels he gets out of uk'otoa's power (and quietly building up the wedge those powers drive between him and Jester until it culminates with Avantika)
Molly running away from the power he inherited from lucien, scared of the way it overruns the person hes become over the past two years. Where Fjord succumbs more to his patron, Molly becomes more hesitant to use his bloodhunter abilities for fear of opening his eyes. This is a lose-lose situation for him, as he can either use his powers and be able to fight but start to lose his hardwon identity, or he can latch on to his identity as Mollymauk, who's never needed these abilities and being more at a disadvantage in fights
And of course, Molly makes a great foil to both Caleb and Fjord, who are so deeply shaped by their past, whereas Molly dances away from it, determined to make the best of his borrowed time without thinking too hard at the void where his past lies
