Flossy

Let’s talk about Great Tree and Destinies Collide! This may be a long one so strap in!

Tagging @the-writer1988

What do these episodes contribute to Cassandra's arc?

These are arguably the two most important episodes of Cassandra’s arc in season 2. Great Tree is so powerful in the sense that it gives Cassandra and Rapunzel a conflict that they can’t come back from. Both figuratively and literally, Rapunzel hurt Cassandra and that is gonna stay with the both of them forever.

Yes, forever, because to heck with what Sonnenburg says about Cassandra’s hand being healed in PEEV. That’s a copout and it’s ridiculous.

Destinies Collide is of course the very beginning of her villain arc. I remember when I first saw this episode, I was so shocked (no seriously) and lowkey furious that I had to wait a whole year to figure out what was going on. Cause season two did a good job of showing that yes, Cass was gonna betray Rapunzel, but the real mystery was WHY.

At what point does Cassandea decide to betray Rapunzel?

This is actually a very tough one to answer in my opinion so I’m very curious to see what other people have to say about this.

Cause Cassandra’s face when she opens the door at the end of Rapunzeltopia doesn’t come off to me as “I’m gonna betray you”. That’s more like a “You are the last person I wanna see right this second.” Even when she speaks, she sounds resigned and tired more than she sounds angry and bitter.

And there’s not really a moment at all in season 2 where I feel like you can pinpoint “yep, that’s it, that right there is when she decided.”

I personally believe that even if Cassandra has agreed to Zhan Tiri’s plan, she was constantly back and forth on whether she would actually do it until they were all in the moonstone chamber. Even in there you don’t see her getting ready to take it until after Rapunzel has said her “goodbyes”. Cause she had to have been moving fast enough that Eugene couldn’t stop her.

Why was it so easy for Zhan Tiri to manipulate Cassandra considering how much she distrusted Eugene? Wouldn't Cassandra be less inclined to believe a ghost?

Something I feel like a lot of people forget is the circumstances of Cassandra trusting Zhan Tiri vs not trusting Eugene. When Eugene and Rapunzel came along, Cassandra was in her right mind. By the time Zhan Tiri comes along, Cassandra is at one of the lowest points in her life and Zhan Tiri is willing to take full advantage of that. I saw someone do an analysis about this years ago and it was super interesting.

And that’s another thing, Eugene was never out trying to manipulate Cassandra either, he just wanted to be civil or not want anything to do with her at all. Zhan Tiri is a textbook cult leader, looking for an alienated victim that no one would really miss and exploiting the victims insecurities by making them think that the cult leader is somehow “better” than their social circle. See, the friends don’t understand but the cult leader does. They see the value in the victim.

And there’s also the fact that Zhan Tiri does what none of the gang ever thought to do at any point in the show.

Zhan Tiri apologized and validated Cassandra’s trauma. She didn’t make it out like she was responsible for it, she just said “I’m sorry, that sucked, you shouldn’t have gone through that.”

Is there anything Rapunzel or Eugene could have done to stop Casssndra betraying Rapunzel?

Meh, yes and no. I think if they had both listened to Cassandra more in season 2 Cassandra would be way less likely to betray them, but it might not have been rendered fully impossible either.

Also if they had actually helped her with her hand. Oh god or that bit in Mirror Mirror where Eugene was like “But in our defense, we never listen to you!”.

That was just rubbing lemon juice in the wound at that point, he should not have said that like it’s some kind of defense. I honestly think Lance saved Eugene’s life by intervening.

Did Cassandra have a goal when she took the Moonstone?

No, I think her whole plan was just grab the moonstone, yell at Rapunzel, and then leave. In fact I think if Zhan Tiri hadn’t been manipulating her Cassandra wouldn’t have even gone back to Corona.

Should Rapunzel have given Cassandra the chance to stop Hector at the Great Tree?

See, it didn’t even need to be Rapunzel giving Cassandra the chance per se.

Plenty of her hair is still free and it’s literally right there. Rapunzel could easily have grabbed the spear herself. Obviously Cass still would’ve felt a little slighted, but probably less slighted than Rapunzel using the decay incantation because it would’ve been Cassandra’s idea that Rapunzel was using.

But as much as people have debated about it, I do like that about Great Tree. I like the fact that were was no real good option, not even the decay incantation.

Do you think Rapunzel's love for Eugene to save him at the Great Tree is a contributing factor to Cassandra's fall? Cassandra later uses Eugene against Rapunzel in S3... Do you think Cassandra feels second best?

In the long run….kinda no? I don’t think it was a major contribution to Cassandra’s villain arc per se. But this is an underlying…I don’t wanna call it a problem but this is an issue throughout the show. When Eugene is in mortal danger, Rapunzel PANICS. She panics and goes berserk and presses the first nuclear button she can find to get him out of danger. And this is very clearly a trauma response to him dying because she really, REALLY doesn’t wanna watch him die again. I think it really traumatized her more than she realizes and I don’t think she and Eugene ever talk about it.

Cause look at that face.

That is a desperate woman. Everyone’s in danger, but the show makes a point of showing Eugene in pain, making you hear Eugene’s cries.

And Cassandra knows that full well, and tried to exploit that panic in CR….and then got her butt whooped.

And this isn’t even a life or death thing, even in lesser scale issues like her hair growing back in what the hair. Rapunzel prioritizes Eugene’s comfort over Cassandra’s livelihood.

I forgot to post this yesterday…

I love how these episodes really helped bring some happiness into Cassandra’s life.

Not in the Mood: the episode where Cassandra turns into Buddy the Elf 😂😂

I feel like it definitely helped her view suspicious-looking people in a better light because she lets the one guy in without a proper security check but after she’s her normal self again and he saves her life, she remarks that she knew letting him in was a good idea.

You’re Kidding Me: This one was super cute! It’s one of the only times we see Cassandra spontaneously acting playful. (The toy swords, the top, and playing tag as an adult) Cassandra’s not one to let her guard down to play so it was sweet to see her playing with Lance.

Were Cassandra’s actions in are you kidding me reflective of how she was as a kid: Honestly, not sure. I heard an analysis one time that said something like, “Cass had been brought up strictly, so when she saw that there weren’t so many rules with Rapunzel’s parenting style, she took full advantage of that. Lance had been on his own growing up, so he didn’t respond well to suddenly having to follow a bunch of orders.” So I’d say not necessarily.

This moment was so cute!!!

(yeah no way I'm missing this one)

Oh wow, not sure where to begin on this one; this show and Cass specifically really played a huge part in me getting 'into' fanfic. There are so many fics and writers in this fandom that are so special to me, (shout outs to @flossy2003 @twotangledsisters and @nerdasaurus1200 all of you are amazing Cass writers who I am honored to share this fandom with). That being said, there's a few pieces I really want to mention that maybe don't get as much attention nowadays. SO:

Waiting in the Wings is hands-down one of my favorite Disney songs. I remember, before RATGT premiered, it was announced that Cass would have a song and Broadway World released a clip; I deliberately didn't watch it because I wanted to have the full experience of hearing it for the first time in the context of the show.

I remember hearing it start up, getting all excited because here it was, the big moment, Cass finally getting a solo and-

And it was amazing, of course, but I was not prepared for how devastating. Like- you can hear the longing in it, the pain, the resignation...this wasn't your usual Disney Princess 'I Want' song that crescendoes into the heroine's hope for something more, no, this was something deeper. This was a song by someone who knew, deep down, that she could spend her whole life trying to achieve a dream and only ever brush it with her fingertips.

Tears in my eyes when it was done. Truly singular in the Disney canon and totally deserving of that Emmy win. And to help celebrate, I leave you with some amazing fan takes on Cass's shining moment.

Oh, and tagging @the-writer1988 who organized this event!

I wanna give a big ol' shoutout to my pals, @twotangledsisters @majorabbey @flossy2003 and @frozenwolftemplar

Go check out their fics, go check out the art twotangledsisters has made. It's all so so amazing. They're all such troopers for thinking of and writing and creating so much in the second week, it's absolutely insane.

Young Cap and baby Cass 🥰

I wanted to do more with this and have Raps and Eugene years on, but we’re currently going through a heatwave and I’ve been not feeling like doing anything today 😭

I'm terrible at discussion posts so there's not much more I can do for Cassandra Appreciation Month, except appreciate some of the awesome fics I got to enjoy over this month!

And this is a piece of art I've had in my head since last Saturday:

@twotangledsisters for really going above and beyond for the prompts, providing great fanart and fics. I've enjoyed all of them.

@nerdasaurus1200 for also providing great fics, but also for the discussion prompts as well. She brought up some points I've never really considered, as well as many I agree with.

@jy4stine for their excellent discussion posts, particularly the one for the fifth day (discussing Cass's childhood)

@frozenwolftemplar for that wonderful (and heartbreaking) Cass fic.

@flossy2003 for the artwork you submitted. Scarlett is adorable.

I’ve LOVED your contributions to Cassandra Appreciation Month, Abbey!

I really, really don’t like season 3. Rapunzel is so out of character until like Plus Est En Vous. She would NEVER say this shit.

Also, did the writers forget that the kingdoms were UNITED??

Saporia and Corona united last time I check, also s3 is a mess and a can of worms that I must write it someday when the day comes. Like no shit I'm crying cause s1-s2 are the only descent seasons! And s3 has so much potential but Chris turned the series into less of a Tangled spin off show that is a midquel between Tangled and Tangled: Ever After to a glorified ICE and hyper conservative show. Like if that's not racist, I don't know what is. He literally glorified putting kids in cages.

It’s even worse when you consider that Cassandra’s voice actress is from Mexican descent, has spoken up against ICE and felt too afraid to go to her own town’s voting booth in fear of getting attacked. She isn’t following Chris or Zach anymore, despite being close to them when working on the show.

Now you mention it, I can see the resemblance to ICE in that scene. I sincerely HOPE that the resemblance is purely a coincidence, as I’ve seen this kind of thing in other shows and there were a lot of non-conservative staff on board, but the waters DEFINITELY muddy with Chris in charge.

While Rapunzel is more blatant that she felt betrayed by her father lying to her (I think she does feel bad for Varian but that could’ve been conveyed better oh my-).

As for Cass, we never really know her true feelings. All we see is her say “dad?” And her face grimace in disgust, so she could’ve very well been disgusted by her dad participating in such a thing. Judging by her tone alone, she seems shocked.

I’ll always love Tangled the Series and its characters so much, but it’s really important to look close and shine a light on its problematic moments and talk about them. Putting them out in the open and enforcing how much we don’t want them, will ensure that things like this will never be put in shows again.

- Do these two episodes showcase Cassandra's skills?

Painter’s Block does a really god job of showing Cass’s detective skills, which I feel like we don’t really get to see a lot in the show.

Even though Cass doesn’t have a lot of close friends, she knows how the people around her operate. As paranoid as she can be, it doesn’t cross her mind even once that Feldspar could be up to something nefarious. She knows Friedborg well enough to know that she’s NOT a flake. Where some people might just brush that off as a fluke, Cassandra sees the signs and looks into it just in case her gut is off.

And though we do see a little bit of her lingering bias towards thieves (“When something bad happens bad people know about it”) the moment she finds out Ulf is also missing she doesn’t even hesitate to include him in her case. I think that’s partly Eugene’s influence, I feel like the Cass we see at the beginning of the show would never do something like that.

And the fact that she and Eugene both realize what’s going on at the exact same time shows that not only are they equally smart, but they clearly think the same way. They can have a major epiphany from just a handful of vague clues.

Quest for Varian we don’t get to see much of Cass’s skills beyond being a fighter, but I think we do get to see a little underlying bit of her and Cap’s dynamic as fellow warriors. As skilled as she is, Cap is still miles beyond her. He doesn’t even land a blow on her and still wins in two seconds just from pushing her with his staff.

- Do you think Cassandra feels betrayed by her father?

Oh absolutely. Considering how Cap raised her, considering how much of an emphasis he placed on justice and truth and responsibility during Cass’s childhood…and then he lets himself be Frederic’s puppet to cover up a…would it be called a conspiracy…? I dunno, to cover up the black rocks. And considering that we never see anything of Cap reacting to the black rocks it’s possible that he also knew about them the entire time and just did nothing because Frederic wanted to avoid it.

I think QfV was the episode where Cap kinda fell from the pedestal Cass put him on and she realized that even he committed some very serious injustices. Which we see the effects of in Secret of the Sundrop, as far as Cass is concerned Cap has betrayed everything they stand for.

That face just screams horror, confusion, and even borderline disgust. And I think it’s really telling that instead of reacting, Owl looks to Cassandra.

- How do these two episodes contribute to Cassandra’s character devlopment throughout the rest of the series?

Strictly canonically speaking, I don’t think they contribute a TON to Cassandra’s character development specifically. Especially not Quest for Varian. However…

Both Sugarby AND Zhan Tiri saw Cass. Sugarby got really close, and ZT had to have seen her through the portal.

And Eugene said her name.

So I suspect that one or both of them figured out who Cass was in this episode. And if Tromus didn’t already know who Cass was in Mirror Mirror, I think one of them told him.