"This isn’t a return home. It’s a return to the scene of the crime."

instagram:   / xxbludger  
website: https://ninareels.carrd.co/

Wow! What a season, huh? Alina went through a LOT, and I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted to say for her. I knew pretty early on that this was going to be a long video, but I didn't think it was going to be an explicitly longform video. After Andor, I'm still getting the hang of what it means to make videos that tie together more than just 1 or 2 narratives. So I have to give myself grace if I don't feel that this is "perfect". It's a completely new style for me!

In this video, I really wanted to focus on the impact that the Darkling's actions left on her. I'm sad that there's such a dearth of solo Alina videos after this season; most of them are ship related, and in general I didn't see a lot of people focusing on her PTSD. I knew, watching 2x05, that I had to include her monologue about what the Darkling did to her no matter what. I love that the episodes showed her getting angry, and losing control, and being unable to process her trauma. That's exactly what I hoped would happen, and I think Jessie Mei Li did a great job balancing all the different sides of Alina this season. So I think it was important to me to make that theme as clear as possible.

While I don't this video is a clear sequel to my first video about Alina, it's still interesting to compare the two. I noticed that Alina rarely uses her powers in Season 2, and when she does she's struggling to control them and it's usually in life or death situations. But there doesn't seem to be any joy in her using her powers, except for the brief moments after she takes the power of the Sea Whip. I think that was an intentional choice, and I think the whole of Season 2 slowly watched her try to take back control over her own body. I'm curious how Season 3 will interact with her powers.

The other thing I noticed, and tried to be intentional about, is that my first video has a lot of people telling Alina who she should be, what they expect of her, and predicting her future. I tried to make use of Alina's voice in this second video, and highlight a lot of what she's actually thinking, how she feels, and how she responds to these forces. It was also nice to bring back some clips from Season 1 that didn't make the cut for the first video ("What happens next is up to you." "None of this has been up to me!")

How have I gone this far without mentioning how fucking great it is that Alina is following in Clary's footsteps? When she brought Mal back from the dead, I actually hollered and threw my remote across the room. I never lose, I fear.

I also question, like...do I really "get" Alina? Does this video show a side of her that's folded within these shades of her character? I don't know if I feel comfortable saying yes to that question. So much of what I love about her character is the clear narrative about abuse, grooming, consent, bodily autonomy, and trying to put yourself back together afterward. Like there's a whole extra level to this when you consider the twist of the season being that she has to take Mal's power for her own, to save Ravka (To which I am also happy that we continue to develop the world's politics and keep emphasizing that West and East Ravka are probably not just going to be happy neighbors now that the Fold's gone. Also - the Fold being torn down after two seasons, the Darkling dying after two seasons, 1x08 being titled "No Mourners" and 2x08 being titled "No Funerals" - I really like how these two seasons mirror each other). Dear reader, please understand that I've never read the books and the Firebird twist actually knocked me out. Anyway, I don't know if I truly understand Alina yet, which means that I don't know how happy I feel about this video yet. We will see...

Anyway, some editing notes:
- "Freya" is a complimentary track to "Diya"; go listen to both of them, and you'll see what I mean. There's a reason I chose "Diya" for Inej :-)
- "Lux" and "Iduna" are also compliments. I first heard "Iduna" here    • (Marvel) Ikaris | Sacrifice  , and I wanted for a long time to make a video for it. It wasn't until I heard "Lux" here    • Marisa Coulter | Oblivion   (and was totally shocked because of how familiar it sounded) that I decided that I couldn't edit one song without including the other.
- The cut sequence at 8:13 is the very first thing I edited minutes after the finale. It haunts me viscerally

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Fandom: Shadow & Bone
Songs:
- "Iduna" by Christian Reindl (   • Iduna  )
- "Freya" by Christian Reindl (   • Freya  )
- "The Spot" by Nicholas Britell (   • The Spot  )
- "Lux" by Christian Reindl (   • Lux  )
Program: Final Cut Pro X

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