#siltposting

And then when Mercer says "You're bleeding, Beast" it's such a perfect summation of Carpenter it makes me insane.

All her life, until about 9 months ago, Carpenter has been this near-biblical figure of divine wrath. She's on a holy quest to avenge her family. Her Nana and her brother are martyrs, and she has spent a life striking back against the authorities. She's been mythologized by Faulkner already before she's even died. Even before he literally writes her into the verses, before they even met, he'd heard stories about her. Hell, you could argue she mythologises herself- creates the idea of Sister Carpenter, buries Mallory Glass behind her. Starts buying into her own hype. In the big fight she has with Faulkner about who Mason actually trusts in Season 1, she brings up her past pilgrimages and victories.

Like two kids in a field making up the Beast that Stalks in the Long Grass, an imaginary friend to protect them from the horror of killing their bully, Mallory Glass made Carpenter up to shield her from her shame and fear and horror for killing that boy at Nana's house. Not only that, but she succeeded at their goal- she became the Beast. The Trawlerman's attack dog.

But it's not sticking anymore. She *is* bleeding, faith and violence seeping out of her like blood from a wound after the heart has stopped. She's ashamed and exhausted. She doesn't want to be on her righteous quest anymore- it's not helping anything and she can't pretend that it is. If we know two things about Carpenter, they're that she's tired but she wants to help. She wants to be useful. Mallory Glass is dead and gone and there's too much baggage to run from being Carpenter, but she can change what being Carpenter means. She can help instead of harm for the first time in a long time.

Of course, Faulkner fucks that up. Faulkner who's never had a sister. Faulkner who gives as good as he gets when they argue. Faulkner who Carpenter cannot lose, so no matter how much Carpenter refuses to do violence, she will always, always, break that rule for Faulkner. They hated each other on sight and only got slightly better over time. They would die for each other. They make me completely feral when I think about them. I have many many thoughts about Faulkner but they will have to be their own post.

Which brings us to Mercer. Mercer-and-Gage are parallels to Carpenter-and-Faulkner, but part of what makes this scene so absolutely delicious is that it forces Mercer into the spotlight and makes us consider her a foil to Carpenter in particular.

On the surface, it seems like Mercer is a mirror to Faulkner, and she is. Like Faulkner, Mercer is a fanatic devoted to a self-made faith. She writes the story of the Beast with the same sense of grandeur Faulkner declares himself Prophet. They both believe themselves destined for divine favour, and both shatter like glass when this turns out not to be the case. Both have tied themselves to sinking ships.

Her connections to Carpenter, on the other hand, run under the surface. Like Carpenter, Mercer was raised without family (save Gage) or community. She becomes a near-deific force of violence in her quest to become something greater than a scared little girl. She starts believing her own hype. Gage's flute is the huntmaster's horn and Mercer is the hound, in much the same way as Carpenter is Faulkner's guard dog.

Gage is also a fascinating mirror to the terrible twosome, of course, and like Faulkner deserves their own post. They are, however, missing an experience that ties the other three together. Mercer may have nearly lost Gage as kids, but it hasn't really been the other way around until now. In the same way that Carpenter cannot stand to lose Faulkner, Mercer cannot even think about losing Gage or she spirals.

Most interestingly to me, this makes her opposite to Faulkner, despite their otherwise very similar personalities. Faulkner has guilt about killing his brother and damning his sister, but he follows through. Mercer has a body count in the hundreds, but the trauma of nearly losing Gage means she will never be as ruthless as Faulkner, who at this point has only killed another person directly once.

No wonder Mercer is so afraid that Gage is losing faith in their god. Without the Beast, they are lacking a fundamental understanding of each other. Mercer looks at Gage and sees something she almost lost once and cannot bear to be without. Gage looks at Mercer and wishes she would get lost, at least a little bit. Give them room to breathe and think about something outside the Beast.