In this essay I will explain how the branding scene was in no way Olroxās character getting bungled but made his character better instead
Spoilers for s2 below the cut
Olroxās introduction in s1e1 was about getting revenge for a murdered lover.
And Olrox is established to love Mizrak too in much the same way.
He also blatantly refuses to let Mizrak die. Twice. Once in s1e8 and once in s2e2, both of which have Mizrak trying to join a fight that Olrox states will get him killed. He will not let Mizrak die. And to him, that goal is more important than Mizrakās complaints or the fate of innocents or the fate of the world.
With that half of the setup out of the way, I can talk about Olrox and Erzebetās first meeting.
They are actively sizing each other up during this and determining what the other wants.
Olrox is flippant, disrespectful, and downright rude because in his eyes, this is a colonizer playing god who blindly expects him to fall in line- even when he says he will never worship her. Hell, he doesnt care when Erzebet shows off her magic tricks. What matters is when Drolta suggests that Olrox has a weakness, implying that itās something that will be exploited if Olrox doesnāt bow down to them.
And he does bow- pissed as he is- even when heās directly told that Erzebet and Drolta want him to help colonize the new world.
It doesnāt particularly matter if Drolta actually knew his weakness. What matters is that sheās powerful and clever enough, with enough underlings, to find it- or rather- him and leverage him against Olrox. And that. Cannot. Happen.
In s2e2 however, Olrox gets reckless. He starts lying to Drolta and Erzebet. He ādidnāt even bother looking for the warrior-monkā but thatās not true at all. Hell, he finds Mizrak and the whole gaggle of heroes that he ādefinitely didnāt seeā.
This is not. a terribly subtle lie. Droltaās thoroughly studying him and almost certainly picks up on his bullshit but doesnāt call him on it. Not yet.
Now we arrive at the branding scene in s2e3
Drolta points out that Olrox really hasnāt done anything to prove his loyalty and he decides to bow and play nice and tell Erzebet just how much he admires and worships her because thatās the best way forward, even if itās a bald faced lie because Olrox said heād *never* worship her
At this point, his bluff gets tacitly called by Drolta, who asks him what he has sacrificed- what will he die for? And Erzebet chimes in with, āor who?ā
She follows this up with some *very* specific phrasing, āIf you love me Olroxā¦ā and here she pauses to put a thumb to his lips which is Very Intentionally adding the subtext of romantic or physical love. Sheās stating that she knows Olrox has a person he loves. And she knows who it is.
This isnāt a vague threat anymore. Erzebetās telling him that heās on a much shorter leash now and that Mizrak is going to be put in harms way if he doesnāt behave. Drolta would kill him. And then it would be over. He cannot. Let Mizrak. Die.
Heās been willing to compromise on his morals before for Mizrak, been willing to bow to colonizers and let the world burn for Mizrak. What is a brand that will fade quickly enough? What is the damage to his pride in the face of losing Mizrak forever? He can compromise once more if it means Mizrak will live. He *must* live.
The whole scene is *there* because it shows that when push comes to shove, Olrox will do *anything* to keep his boyfriend alive. Itās what he values absolutely above all else and when heās forced to choose, Olrox will pick Mizrakās life every time.
(This does also serve as setup to the s2 finale and the Olrox/Mizrak shenanigans there)
TLDR Olrox let himself get branded to keep Mizrak safe, not because he was just being a doormat. The writers were very intentionally showing that heād compromise every other moral and belief- including not playing nice with rich colonizer assholes- to the end of not letting Drolta get near Mizrak.
That is all, thank you for coming to my ted talk, and grab a cookie on your way out šŖ
