#action and consequence

I wanted to do a little write up on what I think are the main themes of ‘First Kill’. Every episode has a short piece of dialogue narrated by the main protagonists at the start and end of it that seems to present the main theme of each episode except for the first episode, ‘First Kiss’, as that is nearly all narration and it’s an introduction to the story, characters and world told from both point of views of the main protagonists. Which is why the first episode is structured like a novel and why the seven following episodes play more like extra chapters to that novel. Which makes a lot of sense because the creator of the TV show is a novelist and is the author of the short story the TV show is based on. But only the first episode is the short story,… the rest of the episodes are a continuation of an entire novel not written in book form which is why I say they are extra chapters to the short story that was. Using the narration by Juliette and Calliope as well as what happens in each episode, I will explain what I believe the main themes are for the seven following episodes after the first.

First Blood - Action and consequence

JULIETTE: “As explained by my physics teacher Mr. Myrick in excruciating detail... Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Once an action is taken... you must live with the consequences.”

CALLIOPE: “Actions always have an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's third law. Once an action is taken, you have to live with the consequences. I am a member of the Burns family, a Guild-trained house of monster hunters. Our hearts drive us. Duty and logic lead us. And we vowed to rid the world of all monsters.”

First Fight - Instinct

CALLIOPE: “My dad always says a hunter is only as good as her gut. Shouldn't this gut thing guide me? Give me confidence? Or is it supposed to weigh me down with guilt for doing what I know is right for me?”

JULIETTE: “Some decisions you have to mull over, consider, contemplate. But sometimes, you know in your gut the right thing to do.”

First Date - Choice

JULIETTE: “In Savannah, you know a bad storm's coming when the sky turns black. With every growl of thunder you ask yourself, ‘When will the heavens part and offer some relief?’”

CALLIOPE: “When you're in the middle of a storm, the kind where the sky turns black and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, you have two choices. You can wait for the heavens to part, offer even a tiny bit of relief. Or you can run. And keep running until the growl of thunder disappears behind you.”

First Love - Destiny

CALLIOPE: “Hysteria, devastation, crazy uninhibited highs, the crashing lows of withdrawal. It's not pretty. Not like in the sonnets or pop songs. It was no match for the gods of Olympus. So why would I be immune to the insanity of first love?”

JULIETTE: “It is impossible to be immune to the insanity of first love. A union predestined, written in the stars. That's the only way I can wrap my head around it. But every tear, every skipped heartbeat, the passion, the pain, it's all worth it in the end.”

First Severing - Connection

JULIETTE: “Humankind is connected by a series of intimate experiences that knit us together. Nurture these connections and they become the ties that bind us, make us whole. But is it possible to honor these ties that bind and also be free from them?”

CALLIOPE: “Life is all about connections. If you nurture them, they get stronger. But sometimes, severing connections is the only way for you to get stronger. The only way to freedom.”

First Goodbye - Understanding

CALLIOPE: “What is a monster? The man who threatens to kidnap you, forces you to fight for your life, and ends up losing his? The bigoted neighbor who's so sure she's on the side of right, she defaced your property to prove your beliefs are wrong? Or is a monster anyone or anything you fear will harm you, and therefore you must harm it first? Keeping the victory to yourself, of course, so that you can live to fight another day.”

JULIETTE: "’Whoever fights monsters should see to it that he doesn't become a monster.’ Friedrich Nietzsche said that. In other words, if you're a monster hunter... it's possible that your actions make you a monster too.”

First Betrayal - Regret

JULIETTE: “‘The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness, and in the taste confounds the appetite. Therefore, love moderately.’ Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 6. Love moderately? Did Shakespeare really believe you could control how deeply you fall? Like your heart is something you can pour into a measuring cup and simply stop at the two-thirds line?”

CALLIOPE: “Act II, Scene 6, Friar Laurence advises Romeo that violent delights have violent endings. ‘Therefore, love moderately.’ It makes sense to me now. I fell too deeply. Had I never met Juliette Fairmont, maybe I could have loved moderately…”

JULIETTE: “Had I never met Calliope Burns, maybe I could have loved moderately…”

(honestly I’ve lost count now):

“They don’t make it known that everybody knows about monsters until halfway through the show. That’s bad writing because that’s important.”

Episode 2: ‘First Blood’.

CLAYTON COOK: “There was a time when everybody knew about monsters… but time eats away at memory and vigilance.”

The few scenes before that you see Elinor visit the morgue guy Malcolm. She convinces him to let her see the body of the girl Ashley Stanton, which she at the time thinks Juliette killed but notices there’s still blood in her veins despite all her gruesome injuries. Malcolm then starts talking about seeing bodies that had injuries like Ashley’s when he had just started working at the morgue. He doesn’t specifically mention “monster attacks” but he knows “freak accidents” occurred frequently. Then she compels Malcolm to believe Ashley just hit her head due to drinking too much alcohol: she is nicknamed ‘Smashley’ after all. Easy thing to believe so long as no one else saw the body and the significant damage to the liver. Between her compelling powers and her influence of being the DA’s daughter, Elinor could easily cover it up and make the town believe what she makes Malcolm believe. What’s to say she didn’t do that with all the monster attacks that used to happen? What’s to say the reason the town “forgot” monsters existed is because she was always around to cover it up just in case it put her family under suspicion?

This entire episode is all about facing and living with the consequences of one’s actions. That’s the theme.

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