Erfworld 78, Page 72

[fendrin]

Er, Wanda clearly cast a spell on Jillian, and its effects are visible when they next appear (note the "sparklies" around Jillian's head).

That said, it does seem that the "underpinnings of this spell" that made Wanda so confident that it would hold (and so unwilling to objectively consider the risk that it wouldn't?) are based on Jillian's emotions. Note that she suggested that "both of us get out of here" before Wanda began the torture session or cast the spell. I think that gave Wanda confirmation that the emotional "underpinnings" were in place, and she could proceed with the spell. ("When Prisoner says 'the very easy way'? She gets 'the very hard way.'" was a literal, if oblique, statement of this.)

Also, considering that she's a rough and tough barbarian warlord, she didn't take much persuasion to go from smart-mouthing to "Yes, Mistress." (Admittedly, Wanda wrote the book on that. ) My read is that this submissive aspect is what Jillian was referring to when she said "I like it."

So, my read is that Jillian enjoyed being submissive to Wanda, and was emotionally bonded to her to the point of proposing that they run away together (to save Wanda from what seemed to be the imminent doom of her side). It is unclear whether this situation arose out of a pre-war relationship or out of Wanda cultivating a submissive streak/Stockholm Syndrome effect/whatever that emerged during early interrogation sessions. (I lean toward the latter, since it has at least some evidence in its favor: we know that Jillian has been captured and "escaped" several times in the past).

The problem is that the relationship was highly exploitive on Wanda's part; she was using Jillian as a source of intel and (now) as a mole. My interpretation of Jillian's breakdowns (when the session ended and when she found herself unable to rationalize her way through the encounter with the wounded dwagons) is that she was reacting to being used and manipulated into betrayal. In the former case, obviously, the spell held and she (superficially) recovered. In the latter case, the spell broke -- Jillian is now aware of how Wanda used her and she is lashing out angrily (I think she'd be pleased if she could see how the sight of her "dolls" being broken affected Wanda). If she loved Wanda before, that just made her all the more enraged at having her feelings abused and used against her.

I think that Wanda did develop her own emotional bond to Jillian, without really acknowledging it (even, or perhaps especially, to herself), and that being so decisively rejected (and possibly believing that Jillian just got croaked, if she had already walked away in shock before Ansom arrived at the battle) is what caused her breakdown. Being totally wrong about something and having her plan fail as a result might be a contributing factor, but I can't believe that it's the primary one -- that happened earlier, when Ansom didn't show up for the original ambush, and there's no indication that she freaked out over that.

Very good points, but...

1) Those sparklies (which I hadn't noticed before, thanks) go away when Jillian heals, which is definitely a length of time after the spell is cast; this indicates to me that the spell broke at that point. Which would also be why Jillian realizes her betrayal of Ansom at that point and starts to cry. I presume that means the spell we see being cast is a short-term suggestion spell, perhaps akin to plying someone with alcohol to get information out of them. It doesn't force them, but lowers their inhibitions about sharing information.

2) Jillian was aware of that spell being cast, as it was right in front of her; yet she seems surprised when Jaclyn mentions the spell on her.

3) Sizemore may be assuming there is a suggestion spell in play. Heck, knowing (the superficial, public) Wanda, it is FAR more likely that she cast a domination spell than that it is love. In fact, Wanda would want to protect her secret, so she tells people it's a spell. I mean, would Stanley ever permit Jillian to leave if he knew that there as no magical coercion involved?

4) that may be why Wanda said that the spell couldn't be broken, because there is no spell.

5) the Archons are still an unknown quantity. They're loyalty is to Charlie, not Ansom. The other Archons may have been protesting/upset because Jaclyn was lying to Jillian about the spell. Or, they may have been playing along to make it more believable. Heck, for that matter, Ansom may have paid Charlie to have the Archons do this. We already see Ansom losing his faith in Jillian.

All of these points are to show how it is POSSIBLE that Love is the only 'spell' influencing Jillian.

However, even if it is true, I doubt we'll find out it in this story arc. It just doesn't fit unless we get a James Bond-esque "bad guy gives away their plot because they thin there's no way to stop it" moment from the Archons. Heck, if their true purpose there is actually to steal the two arkentools, they may actually succeed (sounds more like something Stanley would think up, but we really don't know anything about Charlie).