This is the first moment I've had to sit down and write this post, though I did jot down some thoughts in a notepad the day after it came out! I'm referring to those now for what I wanted to discuss because my brain is mush.
I like that the chapter opens with Isfan waking up; he didn't see how Jaswant and Farangis etc reached his side and so neither do we. Thumbs up for Arakawa's pacing as usual (and also glad we don't immediately leave Isfan in the wake of him defeating Shapur; just because he won that battle doesn't mean his struggle isn't continuing, and it's important on a broader level than Isfan alone so I'm glad Arakawa brought it into focus where Tanaka didn't).
(Also, for those concerned about Isfan's eye — looking at this panel, the outline of his eye is visible beneath all the blood. Obviously can't say for certain that there's no permanent damage but I'm leaning towards no because I think it would have been signposted like with Kishward's arm. So I think he'll recover fully but for now he's limited to one functional eye.)
(ALSO also this isn't in my notes but I'm. Obsessed with the bandage? The act of bandaging? The bloody wound as metaphor? I don't have time to write an essay and this could be sleep deprivation talking but I mean, I'm thinking about Isfan's grief and self-blame/survivor's guilt because how easily 'I should have died in his place before the castle gates that day' translates to 'I should have died that day in the mountains because that way this would never have happened, and after all I'm only a gholam's son' and how that bloody wound represents it. I'm thinking about how that blood clouds his vision. How after Jaswant shows him a different angle of looking at things, he ties the bandage over that wound. How early panels show him from his wounded side then we switch to seeing the other side of his face as he listens to the clarity of Jaswant's words.
I enjoyed how forthright Jaswant was! Look at his body language, his self confidence in his position (reinforced visually with him initially standing tall over a kneeling Isfan before empathetically crouching beside him — the conversation manages to feel both private and public, mirroring how this is both a personal matter and one that reflects on the country as a whole). You can tell this is a matter he feels strongly about, and one with personal significance.
Isfan's grief is also part realisation that with Shapur's death, there is no more family who cares for him in this world. 'He cared about me, as a brother should...' contrasted with his father, who turned a blind eye to his wife's attempt to murder Isfan and his mother. And not just that; if he returned home they would feel no joy knowing he survived when Shapur didn't. Just like Jaswant once did, Isfan is questioning his place in the world.
Thankfully, having found his place at Arslan's side, Jaswant is in a great position to lift Isfan up. The fact that he opens with a reference to his country's king being the son of a gholam paves the way for this conversation to reveal itself to be about more than Isfan's individual struggles, but about the future of Pars and what someone like Isfan can represent (the watching survivors who are hearing these words are presumably gholams or azat at most?). I very much appreciate Arakawa wrapping this into Arslan's plans for the future of Pars. She's working well with the materials she's got.
Again, I'm going quietly feral over this.
Feels like his glance at his brother's head here (his own face in profile with the bloody side visible) is an acknowledgement that the shared dream of riding through battlefields together is now an impossibility. He cannot change the fact that his brother is dead. Nor can he alter things so that his father and Shapur's mother will somehow accept him. But he can choose to ride towards a better future for Pars with pride in who he is.
If, in the last chapter, we saw Isfan catch up with his brother when he defeated him, now we are seeing him go further, beyond where Shapur had the opportunity to go. He still grieves, his wound is still there, but his path is resolved and he's moving forward.
Predictably, I loved this moment.
Kubard watching out for Isfan from afar but not inserting himself into the situation is very on brand. From his vantage point up there I think we can assume that he saw Farangis and Jaswant's party approaching Isfan's unconscious form, and knew they'd arrive in time to take care of things (as we see in the beginning of the chapter, they must have killed some flying apes that they feared had attacked Isfan).
I'm curious to see where Kubard goes now. To Arslan as well, I assume. Will he bump into anyone else along the way? Would love to see him meet Sam again!
And now for Vahriz! I expected we'd get two chapters for this fight but I gotta say I am not at all disappointed with how it was handled. What I was most curious about is what Vahriz's angle would be, what will lie beneath his harsh, tainted words. When we get into the conversation, it becomes clear — he wants to know that Pars is in good hands.
Okay, so this reveals two things. One is that what Vahriz really wants Arslan to prove him wrong. This is a test; he wants Arslan to prove to him that he has the makings of a great king, that he can indeed entrust Pars to him and the retainers he's gathered, that Arslan can in fact save Pars from the Snake King.
The other thing that is revealed is that these traits — decisiveness, ruthlessness, and physical/military might — are the traits that Vahriz valued in Andragoras. Vahriz has served Andragoras loyally since before he became Shah. He must have thought Andragoras was the right choice for Pars; better than Osroes.
'Thus did the relationship between the brothers drastically sour, and discord spread throughout the court. If one were to compare, the sympathies of the courtiers lay in large part with the valorous warrior Andragoras, rather than the weak and ailing Osroes. Naturally, those who sided with the younger brother incurred Osroes’s displeasure, and were expelled from court, exiled to provincial cities and border regions. Vahriz, too, was relegated to a fortress at the western border with Misr.'
(Book 1, Chapter 2, part iii)
That said, Vahriz must also have been aware of Andragoras's weaknesses. His obsession with Tahamenay, the secrets of the royal line that Vahriz knew and wrote of in that letter to Bahman, and (after their defeat at the Battle of Atropatene) overconfidence in military might and refusal to listen to concerns of his retainers. Vahriz mst have seen all the ways Arslan is different to Andragoras. He must have seen potential in him even back then, and that's why he asked Daryun to swear loyalty to him and him alone.
However, Vahriz died before he saw Arslan grow into the person he is today. It's no surprise he wants to see proof that Arslan is capable of being Shah.
So Arslan proves himself by giving a direct order. An order from a ruler to a vassal. An order that someone like Andragoras would not have hesitated to give; an order issued with the expectation that it will be followed. But, as with so many things in this series, it's more than that.
It's underpinned by Arslan's understanding of his own responsibility to judge and decide, which he learned from listening to Narsus. It's cemented by his knowledge of Daryun's loyalty, given to him freely regardless of his lack of royal blood. That Daryun knows who he really is and stands firmly by his side anyway is what gives him the right to issue that order.
And we can all see it, right? That even if Arslan hadn't given that order, Daryun would have killed his uncle for Arslan's sake. Arslan gives the order not to force Daryun into doing it, but to share the burden of what must be done, to shoulder the responsibility even though it's not his hand that wields the sword.
So while decisiveness was also a trait Vahriz saw as a positive of Andragoras, in this case it stems from Arslan being everything Andragoras is not.
Vahriz's praise feels as though it's for both Arslan and Daryun. After all, Daryun promptly following Arslan's order is the culmination of the oath Vahriz had him swear before Atropatene. We'll see if he has any more last words next time.
Aaaand as soon as we cut to Tahamenay I went 'oh FUCK'. I'd been waiting for this, it felt like it was set up for this, and here we are; Andragoras is the new host body for Zahhak (not pictured: Kaykhusraw's crumbling remains discarded... somewhere? Not gonna lie, it would be kind of amusing if Hilmes stumbled upon them and recognised them, Zandeh would be so horrified though).
ZAHHAK SPEAKS (I think that was on the bingo cards? I guess we'll soon be crossing off 'Tahamenay is kidnapped by Team Zahhak' too)
So the Snake King is well and truly back now, fully cognizant where before it seemed like the snakes were in the driving seat. It's not surprising that Zahhak praises Andragora's body. I imagine he, too, must favour physical might and was likely even more uncompromising. So Andragoras-Zahhak is the final boss, just like in the novels. But who will defeat him? Will Arslan be able to wield Rukhnabad in the end, or will it fall to someone with royal blood like Hilmes?
(I have a bit more stuff I want to ramble about but this is everything directly related to the chapter I think? Apologies if I don't reply very promptly to reblogs/comments, I am super busy still so just dumping this here and running away.)
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