Trudy Tective :V
Whelp, after episode 7, I have some more thoughts!
First,
curtana has corrected me about the original story, which I admit I haven't actually reread in a while. The protagonist doesn't think he will become the King in Yellow, just tat he will lead a lineage that serves him. some relevant passages that she lifted for me:
You are speaking of the King in Yellow," I groaned with a shudder.
"He is a king whom Emperors have served."
"I am content to serve him," I replied.
---
"It is a diadem fit for a King among kings, an Emperor among emperors. The King in Yellow might scorn it, but it shall be worn by his royal servant."
---
He pointed to the table, and for the hundredth time I picked up the bundle of manuscript entitled
"THE IMPERIAL DYNASTY OF AMERICA."
One by one I studied the well-worn pages, worn only by my own handling, and although I knew all by heart, from the beginning, "When from Carcosa, the Hyades, Hastur, and Aldebaran," to "Castaigne, Louis de Calvados, born December 19th, 1877," I read it with an eager rapt attention, pausing to repeat parts of it aloud, and dwelling especially on "Hildred de Calvados, first in succession," etc., etc.
---
So, then, maybe it is not Rust - but I still think Rust could be connected into this by more than just coincidence. He could be a blood relative of the family, through his mother, about whom we know almost nothing other than that she is from east Texas (or maybe Louisiana, they sort of bleed into each other culturally), and that she left, disappeared, when he was very young. And then his father promptly whisked him away to Alaska.
Lineage is clearly part of the story, and lineages, especially corrupting ones, are another classically Lovecraftian cosmic horror trope. The Shadow Over Innsmouth and the Rats in the Walls are excellent examples. I think there is definitely room in the narrative for this, and once again
curtana has done some of the math for me - we know Rust's dad fought in Vietnam, and given what we know of his history (had a 2 year old daughter, spent 4 years undercover in Narcotics after she died and before he went to Louisiana and started working with Marty in 1995), he was probably born about 1970 at the latest. That would mean his mother was born in the early to mid fifties at best, if she was young when she had him. And that puts her about the right age to be one of those many children sired by Tuttle the Elder, assuming that there is a direct rather than an indirect link. We known the family sprawls - connecting the Tuttles to the LeDoux was a stretch. So, I think there is room for it.
And speaking of the maid (Mrs. Dolores?), and her ranting @_@ She tells Rust that she shouldn't be talking ti him about Tuttle's "Other Family." Who or whatever they are! And when Rust shows her the sketch book, looks very intently at him - another recognition, and she asks/tells him, that he knows Carcosa. And then when he asks what it is, this is what she says (it's at 38:05 on my file):
Him who eats time
Him who rules
[the wind? soul wind] of invisible voices
Rejoice, Death is not the end
Rejoice, Carcosa...
I have to say, though, I don't think Rust is particularly joyous at the prospect of death not being the end. I think he was rather looking forward to that. I am veeeery curious to see what kind of resolution we might get in the last episode - how can we clear all of this up in only an hour? /o\
I am expecting, and in some senses hoping for, a lot of things to be left unanswered, to be honest. But I'm super curious to see what they are able to achieve, and if we get any sense of how it affects them (or really, Marty, because I'm not expecting Rust to walk away from this, no matter what may come after) in the long term.
I think there is more to be said about sacrifice and self-sacrifice and ritual as well. While Dora Lang my have been drugged (and deluded?) when she talked to Charlie, she said that she was going to become a nun - presumably of the Yellow King. I doubt she understood that that meant, of course, and it is certainly not the case that all of the murdered girls had any idea what they were getting into, or any real informed complicity/consent in their deaths and the other abuses they suffered, as that is certainly not the case. But I do think that as far as the beliefs of the cult go, the belief that death was not then end was important, that they were not being murdered so much as sent along to serve some other role. I think the ambiguity of some of the other deaths - the guy Rust questioned in 2002, even Tuttle - that may be suicides supports this as well. And I keep thinking about Rust's meditations, as well, about allowing himself to be crucified. I think this idea plays into it for him on a personal level - certainly he feels the weight of the perceived debt very strongly after walking out on the case in 2002 - and I am interested to see how this plays out on the show. I'm not sure what he thinks his death might achieve on a larger scale, other than his own end. Do his meditations include the martyrdom aspect of the crucifixtion, or only sacrifice? We don't know what he thinks about it, only that he does. I am hoping for a little bit more on this. But if he is connected to the family, could his end serve some large purpose, for himself? For others? Can they actually end this? I don't think they can. And I still don't know what all he knows about the metaphysical aspects of what...may or may not be going on.
As an aside, he has beautiful handwriting.
And now I have to get ready to go to work, after an icy start to Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday/various cultural variations on donut Tuesday/eat a lot of fatty carbs before Lent Tuesday. Ahh, what timing. Easter! Easter! Easter!
ETA:
longpig Has also pointed out to me potential parallels between the Tutles and the Whateleys of Dunwich Horror fame... I think I was too focused on Rust to see that one.
First,
curtana has corrected me about the original story, which I admit I haven't actually reread in a while. The protagonist doesn't think he will become the King in Yellow, just tat he will lead a lineage that serves him. some relevant passages that she lifted for me:
You are speaking of the King in Yellow," I groaned with a shudder.
"He is a king whom Emperors have served."
"I am content to serve him," I replied.
---
"It is a diadem fit for a King among kings, an Emperor among emperors. The King in Yellow might scorn it, but it shall be worn by his royal servant."
---
He pointed to the table, and for the hundredth time I picked up the bundle of manuscript entitled
"THE IMPERIAL DYNASTY OF AMERICA."
One by one I studied the well-worn pages, worn only by my own handling, and although I knew all by heart, from the beginning, "When from Carcosa, the Hyades, Hastur, and Aldebaran," to "Castaigne, Louis de Calvados, born December 19th, 1877," I read it with an eager rapt attention, pausing to repeat parts of it aloud, and dwelling especially on "Hildred de Calvados, first in succession," etc., etc.
---
So, then, maybe it is not Rust - but I still think Rust could be connected into this by more than just coincidence. He could be a blood relative of the family, through his mother, about whom we know almost nothing other than that she is from east Texas (or maybe Louisiana, they sort of bleed into each other culturally), and that she left, disappeared, when he was very young. And then his father promptly whisked him away to Alaska.
Lineage is clearly part of the story, and lineages, especially corrupting ones, are another classically Lovecraftian cosmic horror trope. The Shadow Over Innsmouth and the Rats in the Walls are excellent examples. I think there is definitely room in the narrative for this, and once again
curtana has done some of the math for me - we know Rust's dad fought in Vietnam, and given what we know of his history (had a 2 year old daughter, spent 4 years undercover in Narcotics after she died and before he went to Louisiana and started working with Marty in 1995), he was probably born about 1970 at the latest. That would mean his mother was born in the early to mid fifties at best, if she was young when she had him. And that puts her about the right age to be one of those many children sired by Tuttle the Elder, assuming that there is a direct rather than an indirect link. We known the family sprawls - connecting the Tuttles to the LeDoux was a stretch. So, I think there is room for it.
And speaking of the maid (Mrs. Dolores?), and her ranting @_@ She tells Rust that she shouldn't be talking ti him about Tuttle's "Other Family." Who or whatever they are! And when Rust shows her the sketch book, looks very intently at him - another recognition, and she asks/tells him, that he knows Carcosa. And then when he asks what it is, this is what she says (it's at 38:05 on my file):
Him who eats time
Him who rules
[the wind? soul wind] of invisible voices
Rejoice, Death is not the end
Rejoice, Carcosa...
I have to say, though, I don't think Rust is particularly joyous at the prospect of death not being the end. I think he was rather looking forward to that. I am veeeery curious to see what kind of resolution we might get in the last episode - how can we clear all of this up in only an hour? /o\
I am expecting, and in some senses hoping for, a lot of things to be left unanswered, to be honest. But I'm super curious to see what they are able to achieve, and if we get any sense of how it affects them (or really, Marty, because I'm not expecting Rust to walk away from this, no matter what may come after) in the long term.
I think there is more to be said about sacrifice and self-sacrifice and ritual as well. While Dora Lang my have been drugged (and deluded?) when she talked to Charlie, she said that she was going to become a nun - presumably of the Yellow King. I doubt she understood that that meant, of course, and it is certainly not the case that all of the murdered girls had any idea what they were getting into, or any real informed complicity/consent in their deaths and the other abuses they suffered, as that is certainly not the case. But I do think that as far as the beliefs of the cult go, the belief that death was not then end was important, that they were not being murdered so much as sent along to serve some other role. I think the ambiguity of some of the other deaths - the guy Rust questioned in 2002, even Tuttle - that may be suicides supports this as well. And I keep thinking about Rust's meditations, as well, about allowing himself to be crucified. I think this idea plays into it for him on a personal level - certainly he feels the weight of the perceived debt very strongly after walking out on the case in 2002 - and I am interested to see how this plays out on the show. I'm not sure what he thinks his death might achieve on a larger scale, other than his own end. Do his meditations include the martyrdom aspect of the crucifixtion, or only sacrifice? We don't know what he thinks about it, only that he does. I am hoping for a little bit more on this. But if he is connected to the family, could his end serve some large purpose, for himself? For others? Can they actually end this? I don't think they can. And I still don't know what all he knows about the metaphysical aspects of what...may or may not be going on.
As an aside, he has beautiful handwriting.
And now I have to get ready to go to work, after an icy start to Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday/various cultural variations on donut Tuesday/eat a lot of fatty carbs before Lent Tuesday. Ahh, what timing. Easter! Easter! Easter!
ETA:
longpig Has also pointed out to me potential parallels between the Tutles and the Whateleys of Dunwich Horror fame... I think I was too focused on Rust to see that one.