Do you mean you didn't need to read the comic strip to accept Maiko or that you literally didn't read the comic strip prior to 3x1 and didn't feel any confusion at the established relationship in that episode?
I've never actually read the Lord of the Rings books *blushes* but I'm suprisingly OK with Rose and Arwen being the hero's prizes simply because as characters they're never given a personality or agency beyond being the hero's prize and the heroes are defined from the start as wanting these particular prizes. "Lord of the Rings" has no subplot of Arragorn falling in love with Arwen. He's always been in love with her from the first moment his character is introduced. It's not part of the story any more than, say, Sokka making the boomerang is part of his story. He's always had the boomerang.
The conflict/confusion with contemporary romances like Maiko is that Mai is not introduced and is certainly not defined as Zuko's anything. (Unlike Ty Lee, she's not introduced as Azula's either). And the same goes for Zuko: it's not part of his character profile that he's in love with Mai. The falling in love bit is part of the story, maybe not the most important part but it's certainly not the done deal that Arragorn/Arwen is.
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Date: 2008-10-03 10:34 pm (UTC)I've never actually read the Lord of the Rings books *blushes* but I'm suprisingly OK with Rose and Arwen being the hero's prizes simply because as characters they're never given a personality or agency beyond being the hero's prize and the heroes are defined from the start as wanting these particular prizes. "Lord of the Rings" has no subplot of Arragorn falling in love with Arwen. He's always been in love with her from the first moment his character is introduced. It's not part of the story any more than, say, Sokka making the boomerang is part of his story. He's always had the boomerang.
The conflict/confusion with contemporary romances like Maiko is that Mai is not introduced and is certainly not defined as Zuko's anything. (Unlike Ty Lee, she's not introduced as Azula's either). And the same goes for Zuko: it's not part of his character profile that he's in love with Mai. The falling in love bit is part of the story, maybe not the most important part but it's certainly not the done deal that Arragorn/Arwen is.
So much word on the GoF to epilogue theory.