In the eighteenth chapter of The Broken Kingdoms, I don’t know how to cope with all the plot twists and all the character development and all the emotional turmoil and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THESE LAST THREE CHAPTERS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Broken Kingdoms.
Chapter Eighteen: “The Gods’ Vengeance” (watercolor)
THERE ARE SOMEHOW THREE MORE CHAPTERS oh my god this book is unreal.
Reading this chapter was a surreal experience because so much of it was unexpected. Despite that Shiny has been growing as a character over the course of The Broken Kingdoms, there are a lot of things here that are still surprises. I mean, on the very second page, he admits to Oree that the gods should have figured out a different solution to the problem that the demons presented. Like T’vril’s behavior later, the very fact that Shiny is even willing to admit wrong is a big deal. The same goes for his admission about his “true antithesis.” Shiny is vulnerable in this chapter, and it’s so strange because that’s not what I’m used to. I’m not used to him saying shit like, “Oh, Oree, just so you know, you’re the reason I was able to stay sane after the Empty.” Like, that kind of dependence on another person is unheard of for Shiny. Granted, there is precedence once you consider how Shiny related to his siblings. His weakness is loneliness, so it makes sense that he would seek out companionship in a mortal when he’s forced to. It perfectly explains his behavior, doesn’t it? He wants to resist the pull to feel less alone around Oree because he believes he is better than mortals, and yet, Oree has been one of the only constants in his entire life.
I’ll return to Oree/Shiny later, but let’s discuss Serymn’s FUCKED-UP capture and punishment. My god, I love so very much that Jemisin gives Oree a platform for her to dismantle the misguided logic that the gods are at fault for what’s happened to her. That doesn’t mean Oree forgot that it was the Nightlord who destroyed the Marolands, but it’s important that Oree furiously proves that it was other humans who truly ruined her life. So much of this is about arrogance, isn’t it? Serymn arrogantly assumes these people will agree with her that the gods are the real cause of all the world’s ills. That’s the reason why so many Arameri believe T’vril is a poor family leader. And it’s why Serymn could never see that Shiny was Itempas the whole time. These people live in a culture of arrogance, and it’s beneath them to consider that the world doesn’t fit their narrow view of life. Obviously, that’s just one way to view this whole affair, and I think there are a ton of different lenses you can use for the dynamics at hand.
Then T’vril has Serymn’s tongue ripped out.
So much for T’vril completely resisting the influence of the Arameri that surround him. Granted, he is a lot more kind and polite than a single Arameri in the previous book, but this brutal treatment is part of the message he intends to send to those who may think of crossing him. I don’t exactly feel a whole lot of sympathy for Serymn, for what it’s worth.
HAHAH AND THEN SIEH IS SUMMONED AND NOTHING IS OKAY FOREVER. I think one of the things Jemisin deals with beautifully is anger and forgiveness, and I am just so satisfied reading what happens here. At no point is she trying to say that these characters have to forgive the people that have wronged them. It’s a complicated path to navigate, but Oree realizes that she can’t tell Sieh just to give up on hating Itempas for the sake of it. Instead, she tries to get Sieh to understand why Itempas acted as he had. But at the heart of her argument is her understanding that these beings live forever. She does not, and she finally begins to appreciate just what the means for these gods and godlings. I think that’s entirely because of the fact that Shiny finally opened up to her about his reason for killing Enefa. Maybe she can’t completely comprehend the idea of an eternity, but she tries to. And hating one another for that entire time? When does the anger ever end? Do they torment Shiny forever?
It’s a complicated issue, and Jemisin doesn’t provide an easy answer, either. Shiny isn’t allowed to apologize because Sieh refuses to let him, and then Shiny has to admit that there’s nothing he could do to ever make up for this past actions. We’re left with an incomplete ending because there’s not going to be a day when this ever does end. The gods and godlings will forever live with the ramifications of Itempas’s fury and loneliness, and they’ve simply got to figure out how to deal with it on their own.
That still leaves Oree, who must give T’vril her answer about his proposal. More shocking than anything else in this chapter is the fact that SHINY SPEAKS UP TO DEFEND OREE AGAINST T’VRIL’S MASTER PLAN. If you want to talk about character development, HERE IS YOUR MOMENT. Because good fucking gods, Shiny verbally defends a human being. Yeah, we do sort of have to imagine why Shiny does this because he’s not exactly talkative ever. Even Oree doesn’t know why this is happening. Does he want her in his life beyond this? Does he care about her? WHO FUCKING KNOWS??? But he refuses to let T’vril take control of her life. He points out the best flaw in T’vril’s plan: that at any moment, he can just tell another god about what the Arameri are planning, unraveling the whole affair immediately.
And so this game of chicken results in a bittersweet arrangement: Oree goes into WITNESS PROTECTION. Okay, that’s not actually what it is, but the only way that T’vril is satisfied with letting Oree go free is if no one knows she exists. So they’re going to find a way to “publicly” execute her so that everyone believes she’s dead, and she’ll have to leave her whole life behind. She can’t see her mother. Her friends. She will have to leave Shadow, that beautiful city full of magic and excitement.
But she’ll be alive, and she’ll be free. It’s a stiff price to pay, but she’ll be free. So where does that leave Shiny? What’s he going to do? And why did he do this for Oree?
Please note that the original text and the videos use variations on the words “mad,” “crazy,” and “stupid.”
Part 1
Part 2
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