Jealousy runs rampant in this episode of Desperate Housewives of the Empire!
Annerose, first and foremost, has to be praised, since her growth has been blatant and, frankly, well deserved. She’s evolved a lot in the little amount of screentime she’s had, at least compared to other characters. In the first couple of episodes, (as I imagine most people) I passed her off as a one-note, simple princess character that was going to be more of a supporting character for Reinhard, but as evidence in this episode, she’s proven to be much more important and fascinating than expected, to much more of an extent than even her brother.
Even after she was kidnapped, she feels as though the feelings of her captor were legitimate, and that “everyone suffers”. We constantly praise the men in this story as diplomatic masterminds, but they often fail to simply attempt to view the situation from a different perspective, and seldom look into the motivations of their enemies. This is a valuable lesson, that not only helps within war-like scenarios, but also in real life, as arguments are just that, misunderstandings and a lack of open-mindedness. Annerose is clever and smart, and she’s proving it more and more as the series goes along.
Now, about Marquise Benemunde, as all throughout the episode she’s portrayed as the evil villain, conspiring against the Court for her own personal desires and jealousy, but what truly happened to her? Let’s do as Annerose says and delve into Benemunde’s psyche, since it’s much darker and drearier than some might think.
It’s safe to say that Benemunde was born into a very economically and politically secure household, eventually becoming the Emperor himself’s favorite. She was probably fed constantly the importance of her existence, of her love to the Emperor and of his feelings for her. As the years went by, though, the Emperor discarded her, his love for her waning and fleeting, as often men do. His eyes were now set on a beautiful, budding 15 year old, whom we know as Annerose. What does that do to a mature woman who is still deeply in love? Her hopes, her self-image, her youth, her confidence, her beauty and her passion are cracked, broken, her emotions now fueled by anger and malice. Everything she cared for and cherished was yanked from her almost immediately, as a new girl took her place, staring down from above, almost teasing her. In my mind, she switched from a perpetrator to a victim after she was already dying. Her wails of despair were honestly heartbreaking. After really thinking about it, it’s not difficult to relate to Benemunde, even if just a little bit, since most of us have something we have lost in the same way, I can assure you. And in our minds, our quest for vengeance and honor are completely, 100% justified. Again, the show keeps showing us people that upon first glance may be one thing, but as time progresses, and their deep, fractured secrets bubble up into the surface, our perceptions of them change. Nothing is what is seems.
Flegel is another one who, as of right now, is absolutely and utterly evil. He has no remorse for murder, has used weak people for his own benefits, and has no problem lying consistently to everyone around him. If the show has shown me anything, though, is that there are no totally “good” or “bad” people, and Flegel, as obviously villainous as he appears to be, has to have some aspect of him that (in his mind) gives him a perfectly moral reason to act the way that he does. What is it? I have no idea, but since he is such a mysterious person, some aspect of his personal life might be revealed or commented upon, which will shift our opinions of him drastically. It’s happened before, so I expect it to happen again.
A quick mention of Oberstein, since he’s pushed back the aura of suspicion that originally enveloped him, as he has come in to save the day. He also appears to know that Flegel was the one responsible for the plan to kidnap Annerose, even though we never saw anything cluing us in about his discovery. Perhaps he has contacts within different factions and houses in the Empire’s hierarchy, and serves almost as this show’s Varys (if you’re a GoT fan like I am), slithering around, hearing rumors and plotting something much deeper than we think. He’s on to something, man.
Looking at the next episode’s title, it seems we’re in for what looks like a space battle arc for the next 3-4 episodes, which will serve as a break from all this political backstabbing. Refreshing! Let’s hope more millions of people will die instantly and pointlessly.
The Spiral of Madness 