OOTS #1181 - The Discussion Thread

[Sindeloke]

Any sch tonal mismatch only arises if you perceive Hilgya as a character that is supposed to be sympathetic though. There would be no such mismatch if Xykon were to act similarly. But I don't think there's anything in the comic that suggests that Hilgya is supposed to be sympathetic - she is simply an evil character who does evil things. I don't think the giant foresaw that some people would seize on things like her gender to perceive her as sympathetic.

I do think it's fairly obvious she's meant to be Evil, but I definitely think we're supposed to also be largely okay with it, much as we are with Belkar. Every other character in the Order so far who has had a familial arc has had it resolved in either a "just" or a "good" way. Tarquin was defeated by his own rules and Nale was stripped of his team, power, and the affection of his father. Haley's father wasn't able to become what she needed from him, but she herself was able to finally stop needing that from him. Eugene is miserable in the Afterlife, forced to watch the son he resented accomplish the thing that he couldn't. V's family was saved, and when they chose to leave him for their own safety and happiness, he was mature and accepting about it. As a rule, things turn out okay in the end for our protagonists, and the people who oppose them suffer appropriate consequences. The heroes learn hard lessons and suffer losses and are forced to grow in response to adversity, but ultimately their arcs are resolved positively. The framing of this strip strongly suggests this is intended to be no different - it's a soft moment of hinted reconciliation designed to assure us that Durkon's difficult struggle with his unexpected fatherhood is over and he now has the access and wisdom to be the parent he wants to be. His family is safe, he's worked things out with his babymama, he'll be with his son, Hilgya is leaving the story, her part is done. Things aren't perfect, but they're acceptable, with a promise of future good.

If the Giant agreed with those of us who think Hilgya is a dangerously unfit parent and Kudzu's future is uncertain at best in her care, it would be very weird for him to end Durkon's book with Hilgya walking consequence-free and Kudzu-carrying into the sunset, tantamount to ending Elan's book with Tarquin's narratively triumphant death at Elan's hands or Haley's book with Crystal stabbing her dad and running away gloating. That's not "acceptable, with a promise of future good," it's "terrible, the good guys lost hard and the bad guys got away scot free."