Kaz and Jesper friendship
I've been procastinating to write it for so much time...
It's been some time since I read the books and I kind of lost my interest after Crooked Kingdom, that's why it took me so much time to write it. I'm not sure why I stopped being interested in the Crows but I guess it has something to do with Matthias' death and the fact I'm rereading sab.
And I'm sorry because the analysis is messy and just not good overall.
(I'm not able to put quotes because my books are in BR Portuguese)
What I like about their relationship:
I just really like how different they are.
Kaz is an introvert, Jesper is an extrovert.
Kaz doesn't know how to flirt, Jesper flirts with everyone.
Kaz is very cold while talking to people, Jesper is very friendly.
Kaz is a very still and quiet person, Jesper is always moving.
Why their friendship is not good?
One problem is how they are not open emotionally to each other. Kaz doesn't tell Jesper about how he feels about anything and Jesper would problaby be mocked or dismissed by Kaz if he told him about his feeling, especially how hurt he feels when Kaz treats him badly.
Kaz:
Kaz treats Jesper very poorly.
He not only enables Jesper's addiction, but also takes advantage of it by using his addiction to "buy Jesper's forgiveness". And when he is mad he uses it to make Jesper feel bad about himself.
He also takes advantage of Jesper forgiving and easy going nature. Since he knows Jesper won't be mad for much time and won't hold any grudges, he has no problem treating him badly.
He also makes Jesper feels useless, uninportant and constant doubt about their friendship. Kaz shows no real signs that he values Jesper and it makes him feel like their friendship is one-sided.
Kaz is a freaking jerk.
Jesper:
Basically Jesper doesn't stand up for himself and he never holds Kaz acountable for what he does to him. I'm not saying it is Jesper's fault that Kaz treats him, but the way he reacts is not good.
I'm not saying this is his only character flaw but I think this is what affect his friendship with Kaz the most in a negative way.
Some critics about how LB wrote their relationship
My problem with their relationship is that I don't think Leigh focoused much on it. There is some growth in Crooked Kingdom, Kaz finally recognizes that Jesper is important to him and kind of shows it, while Jesper finally stands up to himself.
However I feel that in Soc there is way more focus in the romantic relationships than in the platonic ones. And one example of it is how, at least for me, Kaz was mad at Jesper because Inej ended up in danger and not because he hurt his trust. Of course Jesper's betrayal hurt Kaz, but the book spend a lot of time acting like Inej was the only thing that mattered to Kaz in this situation. Which is ridiculous because Inej and Jesper are equally important to Kaz and I think LB failed to show that.
Jesper's friendship was really important to Kaz, Jesper was the only other person Kaz trusted. Jesper's betrayal should have hurt Kaz more, impacted him more but instead the whole focous was on Inej.
Best regards,
Me.
Ps. I've realized that I only like Kaz because Jesper and Inej like him so much. Since they are both so fond of him I kind of like Kaz Brekker too.
