#belasko

However, it would’ve been better if Belasko was more unhinged and frightened in his scene with the Dread Doctors. Not only would the stark contrast between this behavior and how unfazed he was in his battle with Scott help validate the Doctors as frightening villains but it would’ve been such a great parallel to Theo’s own feelings regarding them. 

Irati: Heraldy & Etymology

@asongofstarkandtargaryen @isadomna @queenmiriamele @luceirosdegolados

So I went to the cinema to watch Irati a week ago and I wanted to make something about it.

In some outfits of some characters who are part of the nobility it can be seen some elements like brooches or pendants in which there's elements that represent the sigils of those characters, and some of them are related with the etymology of the names of these characters.

Eneko Aritza

Like I said in this post, his outfit there's some details of oak leaves, and that could be a references of the etymology and meaning of his name.

Eneko is form by the words ene (my) and ko (little), and it's often traslated from Basque as "my little one/ dear", and its Spanish from is Iñigo.

Arizta is a derived form from the word haritz, that means oak. Hence, that's why sometimes he's refered as Eneko the Oak in some sources.

But its sigil isn't related with oaks, it's an eight-pointed star, in his brooch it's golden with an orange detail, although by the end a shield with Eneko's sigil, but this one is a yellow eight-pointed star in a red field. Red and yellow, it could be a reference to the colors of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Navarra.

Also in one part of the script of the film it's confirmed that Eneko's sigil is a bit inspired by the Eguzkilore (the flower of the sun), it's an important flower linked with Mari and pagan beliefs. The thing is that this sigil is wore by Eneko since we firstly meet him as an adult, and that point he just believes that Mari and the other criatures are just child tales. Although his father Eneko believed in Mari and in the end although Eneko Aritza is a Christian he starts respecting the pagan beliefs after meeting Irati and Mari and finally understanding what his father did.

Apart from that, Eneko had 4 children, Assona, Garztia, Galindo and Nunila. For example, Garztia comes from (h)artz->(h)artzea->kartzea, that means bear, and in Spanish was adapted as García, a name that was popular during the Middle Ages, but later it became very common as a surname.

Belasko

And now I'll continue with the antagonist of the film, Belasko.

Talking about etymology, Belasko comes from Bela or Bele "crow", and the diminutive -sko meaning "little crow". In Spanish was adapted as the names (and later surnames) Velasco and Vasco, that derived into patronymic surnames like Velázquez and Vázquez.

And that is reflected on the sigil of his pendant, two crows with two towers and a cross.

Otsoa

The last of the three, indirectly accomplice of Belasko, there's Otsoa.

This one is very direct, otsoa in Basque means wolf. So, yeah, this man is literally named Wolf. Although it's not used nowadays as name, kt's mainly common as the surname Otxoa or the Spanish adaptation Ochoa.

I don’t think they could have improved Belasko, the enemy from the first episode of the fifth season, very much.  He absolutely served his purpose, which was to introduce us to the overarching themes of the season.   On the other hand, I really think that the show could have improved their use of mythological creatures overall.  I’ll start with how I think Belasko was well used.

From the way Belasko talked and acted, I think he was different than the other chimeras.  I don’t think he was actually meant to be part of the experiment to resurrect La Bete.  I think he was used in an attempt to eliminate Scott while also being used to aid Theo’s infiltration of the pack as a secondary backup.  He understood what he was and his primary mission.   I have no concrete evidence, but I suspect he was another omega werewolf, like the homeless refugee from Season 2, looking for power.  The Doctors offered him it.

In the end, Belasko was simply another generic “I want power” villain, a discount-store Peter Hale (and in a wonderful bit of trivial played by Michael (Gerard) Hogan’s son Gabriel).   He wasn’t successful in killing Scott, but he was successful in establishing for the audience that the Doctors worked by blurring the lines between science and the supernatural, that they were intelligence and disciplined, that they worked primarily through proxies, that their animosity toward the pack was not personal but practical.  Belasko’s actions demonstrated to us how and why the Doctors would be a threat this season.  It was an excellent example of showing, not telling.

It also served as a legitimate and understandable reason why Scott was open to Theo’s presence -- after all he came to Scott’s rescue which is what Scott would have done -- and  why Scott was skeptical of Stiles’s unsubstantiated suspicion of the same.  Belasko’s purpose was served when Scott told Stiles “I'm kind of more concerned about the guy who just tried to kill me.”  

I even dug the glowing blue garuda talons.  Why would the extra power that shapeshifters have only appear in their eyes?

The problem I have is in the casual dropping of the species’ name.  Deaton describes them as more like the talons of a harpy eagle in Parasomnia (5x02) but later on has recognized them as a shapeshifter from Asia known as a garuda in Condition Terminal (5x04).  It’s wonderful that Deaton starts out misidentifying the source of the talons because Deaton being wrong is a humanizing thing.  He shouldn’t be a walking encyclopedia of the mystical.   It is also wonderful that we see more of the things he promised back in Alpha Pact (3x11).  

What’s not wonderful is the shallow way the name is used to give the illusion of depth.  It would have taken not much time at all for Deaton to talk more about the role of the garuda in their original culture in the episode when he mentions it, or later in Ouroboros as he explores the Russian non-nuclear facility.  Deaton’s adventure and his knowledge isn’t used to expand the audience’s conceptions of the world Scott and his pack find themselves in.