In the second half of the eighth chapter of Games Wizards Play, Nita has a terrible nightmare. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Young Wizards.
NOOOO NOPPPPPEEEE WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS. LET’S ANALYZE THIS AWFUL DREAM.
- Okay, look, Nita’s dreams aren’t just random free associations of her subconscious. They usually provide us with a roadmap to understand something that is about to happen. So, right off the bat, I feel like it’s significant that Duane takes us back to the Cavern of Writings, a place that was never fully explained before. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN
- And it feels important that Carmela was there in real life and appears in the dream. Why would her oracular power need to speak with her through Carmela, who isn’t a wizard herself?
- The main thing I got from this dream was that it was a warning. Something was coming for the Rodriguez family, first through Carmela and then for Kit.
- WHICH: NO, THANKS, HARD PASS.
- But the answers are in that cave??? What answers??? To what questions???
- WHY CAN’T THESE UNNAMED, UNSEEN MONSTERS BE LOOKED IN THE EYE? WHAT THE FUCK.
- WHY DOES CARMELA TURN INTO A CARTOON CUTOUT
- WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME
- But out of everything here, it was Carmela’s warning about what might happen to Kit that bothered me the most.
- And I quote!
- “Don’t let them get Kit, Neets, please don’t let them get him, he won’t be the same afterward! Either they’ll kill him and you’ll lose him that way or he’ll live but he won’t be Kit anymore and that’ll be even worse—“
- WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.
- And it transitions into a sequence that references the scene where Penn stood above a lifesize model of a sun, which also feels intentional. That was the clearest warning that the Invitational itself was probably the source of whatever conflict was being hinted at. So, Penn’s wizardry is connected to something? Why will everyone be happy before they are ABSOLUTELY NOT?
- Could we also NOT sacrifice Carmela for Kit? THANKS, I APPRECIATE IT.
- What the hell is that whole Pullulus-lite thing that happens at the end of the dream? Is the sun going to go out? COULD IT, LIKE… NOT? WOULDN’T THAT BE GREAT? THANKS.
So, in conclusion: Kit needs to be protected from something that will either change him or kill him. The answer to something is the cave. And the sun is gonna die? LOOK I’M TRYING, OKAY. I can only imagine how confusing this must be to the person actually experiencing it, too, so bravo to Duane for making this feel so bewildering.
But it’s also tempered by the utter cuteness of Nita and Kit at breakfast following the nightmare. I just!!! It’s so great, and I’m really pleased that Duane took her time to get us to this point. Their romance still feels new, tense, and confusing, but their years-long friendship only makes it that much more exciting. They’re such natural companions, and I’m glad that they have each other.
WHICH MAKES THE DREAM SO AWFUL. DON’T YOU DARE DO THIS.
(She’s gonna.)
(I can’t stop it.)
https://youtu.be/4dGt2ELIB2E
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