Cassandra Appreciation Month Day 26 y’all!! Let’s talk about Once A Handmaiden and PEEV!
Why did Cassandra not realise she was the bad guy? What part of her previous actions made her believe she was the good guy?
Hoo boy this one’s been a point of contention for a long time 🤣
I think a lot of it was her initial trauma plus Zhan Tiri just pretty much forbidding her from even considering trying to move past it. In her right mind Cassandra is VERY hard to manipulate, and Zhan Tiri NEEDS her in that vulnerable state, she needs Cassandra to stay mourning and hurt and angry so she can’t seriously think about what she’s actually doing.
And also it’s the injustice of it all. Cassandra has technically been wronged by a lot of people in the show and she wants to make it right. And she is right to want justice, but thanks to Zhan Tiri she’s confusing revenge for justice. Cassandra’s going about it in the entirely wrong way and the only people actually telling her that are people who neglected her so of course she won’t believe them.
Did she feel sad and upset that the revelation her Mother never really loved her?
Eh, we mostly see her look shocked and angry.
and then almost immediately forget about it to enact her plan, but I’m almost positive Cassandra was indeed sad at some point off screen. It can be hard to swallow the truth that your own mom hated you. Whether your mother is abusive or not that’s a devastating truth for anyone to face and I feel like some- not all, but some- Cass haters just don’t understand that. There’s actually a quote from Kung Fu Panda 2 from Lord Shen that fits Cass perfectly-
“How worthless you must be for your own flesh and blood not to…not to love you. Even a little.”
And that’s the perspective Cassandra is working from in terms of the Gothel baggage. Gothel doesn’t love anyone but Cassandra was hoping she could at least love her own flesh and blood daughter. And that’s why Cassandra has to hear it right from Gothel (sort of) because otherwise she would’ve just kept lying to herself.
Why is Cassandra so surprised that she is attacked by Corona guards at her identity being exposed? Surely she should be more understanding since she has, perhaps, realised, she is the villain?
I…could be wrong…? But if I remember right this is the first time Cassandra has actually faced down the guards instead of Rapunzel and the gang. The same guards who raised her, trained her, loved her.
It's a blink and you miss it moment but Cassandra looks more confused than anything. And to Cassandra’s credit she only uses blunt rocks which will certainly still hurt them but it won’t impale them, at least before Project Obsidian is fired.
As bad as her actions were, I don’t think she ever really thought about how it would feel for all her paternal figures to turn against her and treat her like a proper threat. Or that that would even be a possibility
And they’re just attacking, unwittingly putting her back into that reactive state that Zhan Tiri tried for so long to keep her in. Because it doesn’t matter, the damage is done, they know how dangerous she is from Rapunzel. Or even worse they don’t know cause aside from the black rock plague in season 1 no one in Corona really knows what the Moonstone can do or even what the Moonstone is. So in a supposed emergency situation like that the guards probably figure it’s better to neutralize the threat while you’re still breathing.
Why did Cassandra not believe Varian's attack on her was not his fault considering his reaction to it?
So based on Quirin's reaction coming out of the amber and having no awareness of what went down in SOTSD, I'd imagine it's safe to assume that this:
Was not at all heard by Cassandra. She has no idea that the shot fired was all Zhan Tiri and a complete accident, she has no idea how much that horrified and triggered Varian. And just like the mirror issue in Tale of Two Sisters, with the way Zhan Tiri has tailored the situation neither Rapunzel nor anyone can really talk their way out of this with the facts presented. Even if they try to tell Cassandra it was friendly fire, why would she believe them? The fact that they even made it is bad enough in Cassandra's eyes, because why would you make a weapon if you still believe someone will come back and try to rekindle their friendship with you?
Why did Cassandra lose hope so quickly when the Moonstone was removed from her by Zhan Tiri?
To put it bluntly, because Cassandra finally had no other choice. She's completely run out of options by this point to try and achieve the life she wants for herself.
See this is one of the many things Casasndra and Rapunzel have in common, they are both so incredibly stubborn that they won't believe a thing until they have no other option but to believe it. The way Cassandra saw it, the moonstone was her last chance and her one real chance to have a destiny, and even that was a lie. So what's the point?
Do you think Cassandra was surprised by how accepting both Rapunzel and Eugene were with her at the end? First with Rapunzel's words to her when they were trapped together and then by Eugene's inclusion of her in their hug?
I think it both did and didn't surprise her. Eugene and Rapunzel have arguably never been completely amicable with her but at the end of the day they're both very forgiving people and they always will be. But frankly, I prefer the storyboard version of that last scene WAY more than the final version we got. In the storyboards Cassandra seems much more tired and apprehensive and aware of her actions. There's this awesome bit right before Eugene says "you were worth fighting for" where Cassandra just baraces herself fully ready for Eugene to chew her out.
Do you think it was an easy decision for Cassandra to leave at the end?
No. Even with all the damage she’s done, it can be hard to leave your home behind. In the past few years I’ve learned what it’s like to leave home behind and it’s one of the scariest but most necessary things a person can do. Frankly though even if Chris confirms otherwise I’ll never believe Cassandra fully left willingly. I personally believe Cassandra is in exile and that was Rapunzel and Frederic’s compromise. And even if it wasn’t fully their idea I think it’s safe to say that Cassandra just doesn’t feel like she belongs in Corona anymore. I would've liked at least one line explaining or exploring that a little more.
Do you think Cassandra ever felt resentful of Eugene getting the Captain role over her?
Absolutely I do. I'd be frustrated too if the job I spent my whole life working for was just handed to someone. I won't get into all my feelings about Flynnpostor here, that'll be for another time. But I think it's natural that that's something Cassandra takes a while to kind of process. I think if she stayed she'd spend a lot of time drilling Eugene and making sure he follows protocol. Luckily they've got Max for that.
Where do you think Cassandra went first after leaving Corona?
Oh man, I have so many ideas of where Cassandra could go 😂 uhhh…maybe she went to finally have that date with Marie?
I’m kidding, I’m kidding 😂
After leaving Corona the capital, I think the very first place Cassandra went is to her cottage so she could grab the rest of what little belongings she could take. Then I think her first stop out of Corona the actual kingdom was probably Vardaros. Or maybe Ingvarr.
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