From your reply above: Ciel chooses Sebastian because Sebastian is the right choice for him, but that it is the right choice is a kind of proof of how dark Ciel himself has become. and then from this one: we see Ciel coming back to himself there, in all his uncompromising will and bitter intelligence, and he's beautiful, in a kind of pure and crystalline way that he wasn't when he was agonizing over Aberline and the possibility of treating the world and other people in it as if it were all real and they all mattered
...and I think it's because Abberline halts Ciel in his tracks -- makes him think twice, really -- but the Ciel that's captured us, as an audience, was a very active and engaging Ciel. A second-thinking, uncertain, frustrated, helpless Ciel is right up there with humiliation squick, I find -- because he's just churning his wheels, going nowhere. When he kicks himself back into gear, he's active again, and there's nothing quite so fascinating as a character with active, fast-forward, agency. This is one reason villains are often far more interesting than heroes, because it's the villains who are acting on the world, while the heroes are just defending, reacting, as it were. The villains are doing stuff, for much longer than the heroes, who usually spend most of any story stumbling around just trying to figure out what's going on.
Ciel stumbles a few times before that, but he's always pushing forward -- and then, late in the season, there's two episodes of nothing but crawling. That was enough, and I think the pacing was executed brilliantly: by the time he does pick himself up and start moving again, we're just so freaking glad he's doing something that the something itself is almost an afterthought. CP sometimes repeats an old supervisor's saying: "do something, even if it's wrong", which definitely applies in fiction.
IMO, the one unforgivable action on the part of a character isn't a real-life crime (ie murder or whatever) but a complete lack of action: to be completely passive. And Ciel had been essentially passive for two episodes, so the sharp snap back into activity -- even if it's wrong -- is still a welcome relief. And that's part, to me, of what makes it beautiful beyond any (later) intellectual realization that his choice was quite cruel. (Realistic and pragmatic, as befits Ciel, but still cruel.)
I think, in a way (and I do intend to speak to your bit about the space for redemption/freedom from the contract) this is what calls Sebastian's attention all over again: that clarity of purpose. So much came close to breaking Ciel, but it was Abberline that ironically came the closest. It seems reasonable, knowing human behaviors, that the final straw is one that isn't shaken off quite so easily. But Ciel manages to do it, and that makes him a being of incalculable strength, in a way. Resilient beyond his years and his kind... even if his ultimate resilience is also incredibly cruel. It doesn't really matter whether he's right or wrong; he's doing something and I think it's the 'doing' part that really attracts Sebastian's respect.
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Date: 1 Sep 2011 02:20 am (UTC)...and I think it's because Abberline halts Ciel in his tracks -- makes him think twice, really -- but the Ciel that's captured us, as an audience, was a very active and engaging Ciel. A second-thinking, uncertain, frustrated, helpless Ciel is right up there with humiliation squick, I find -- because he's just churning his wheels, going nowhere. When he kicks himself back into gear, he's active again, and there's nothing quite so fascinating as a character with active, fast-forward, agency. This is one reason villains are often far more interesting than heroes, because it's the villains who are acting on the world, while the heroes are just defending, reacting, as it were. The villains are doing stuff, for much longer than the heroes, who usually spend most of any story stumbling around just trying to figure out what's going on.
Ciel stumbles a few times before that, but he's always pushing forward -- and then, late in the season, there's two episodes of nothing but crawling. That was enough, and I think the pacing was executed brilliantly: by the time he does pick himself up and start moving again, we're just so freaking glad he's doing something that the something itself is almost an afterthought. CP sometimes repeats an old supervisor's saying: "do something, even if it's wrong", which definitely applies in fiction.
IMO, the one unforgivable action on the part of a character isn't a real-life crime (ie murder or whatever) but a complete lack of action: to be completely passive. And Ciel had been essentially passive for two episodes, so the sharp snap back into activity -- even if it's wrong -- is still a welcome relief. And that's part, to me, of what makes it beautiful beyond any (later) intellectual realization that his choice was quite cruel. (Realistic and pragmatic, as befits Ciel, but still cruel.)
I think, in a way (and I do intend to speak to your bit about the space for redemption/freedom from the contract) this is what calls Sebastian's attention all over again: that clarity of purpose. So much came close to breaking Ciel, but it was Abberline that ironically came the closest. It seems reasonable, knowing human behaviors, that the final straw is one that isn't shaken off quite so easily. But Ciel manages to do it, and that makes him a being of incalculable strength, in a way. Resilient beyond his years and his kind... even if his ultimate resilience is also incredibly cruel. It doesn't really matter whether he's right or wrong; he's doing something and I think it's the 'doing' part that really attracts Sebastian's respect.