Dan

Inspired to design an OTGW tattoo after revisiting the official art book, it’s such a gorgeous piece of animation.

and the disconnect between them is made plain through small, but notable actions throughout the show. on more than one occasion, wirt leaves greg behind (one time after “jokingly” telling the frog cops to take greg instead), doesnt seem that bothered when he goes off by himself, is slow to humor him but quick to pass the buck onto him, and just generally, is so busy wallowing in his own fear and misery that he allows greg to get into some really dangerous situations for a pure lack of concern. the only time we see wirt really get angry at greg is in the flashback scene, and because greg was trying to HELP him. to really rub salt in the wound, that scene is immediately followed by wirt jumping out of the way of the train - and leaving greg behind.

thats not to say that wirt really wanted greg to get hurt or anything like that. i think its more that wirt doesnt truly understand the position hes in, nor what the woodsman told him in the first episode - “you are the elder child; YOU are responsible for you and your brothers’ actions!” - until greg is taken by the beast. greg is willing to sacrifice himself for wirt without a second thought, but wirt would never have done the same because he is self-absorbed to such an extent that he doesnt understand his responsibility - and failure - to protect greg until its almost too late.

The Beast knows it’s in a story

The Beast knows it’s in a story, and it knows how people react to stories, and that’s horrifying in a series based out of folklore and fairy tales and storytelling tradition. The Beast preys on people by knowing how they’ll react to stories. The Beast acts frustrated that Greg used a honey comb for a “golden comb” and a spiderweb on a stick for a “spool of golden thread,” but it’s baiting a trap - by exploiting that same fairytale logic, Greg is going to die of exposure in the cold while he waits for the sun to “set” in a cup

Because of course Greg will wait to see the sun set into the cup. Of course the Woodsman will keep the lantern lit. That’s how the story should go. The Beast is a parasite sucking blood out of a perfectly arranged Grimm fairy tale about the martyrdom of parenthood.

The only way to properly defeat it is to actively defy the story being set out ahead of you. Over the Garden Wall says, over and over again, that Wirt will sacrifice his life for Greg. “You are responsible for you and your brother’s actions,” the show says. The original pitch bible for the series said that Wirt would sacrifice himself for Greg, that he’d die to take responsibility for Greg-

OVER THE GARDEN WALL + DETAILS 🍁🎃🍂

Led through the mist, by the milk-light of moon, all that was lost, is revealed. Our long bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring, but where have we come, and where shall we end? If dreams can’t come true, then why not pretend? How the gentle wind, beckons through the leaves, as autumn colors fall.

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