Discussion, anyone?

[checkers65477]

I read my lovely ARC of KoA a year ago and have decided to reread.

Why do you think Gen gave Costis the unwatered wine?

Oh, and: "The queen turned back to face him. "I could hang you," she said. Eugenides looked up at her. "You missed your chance for that," he said."
= teh flirtiness, don't you think?

Comments

[rowana]

Why do you think Gen gave Costis the unwatered wine?

I'd have to re-read to come up with a sensible answer to this, and I just can't work up the energy to rummage around upstairs for my book. :) I don't think I've thought about this before, it's an interesting question. Perhaps he wanted Costis to open up to him, or become less inhibited for some reason.

= teh flirtiness, don't you think?

*grin* Oh yes. Don't you love the friendly banter between those two? :)

[checkers65477]

Don't you love the friendly banter between those two?

The first time I read it, I was surprised and pleased by that. I wasn't sure until later in the book that it was flirtiness, though. But I suspected it when Irene said "Unkingly, in so many ways, My King." I loved that.

[ceecee44]

"Unkingly, in so many ways, My King." I loved that.

I loved that part too. Eugenides and Irene disguise their flirting all throughout the book

[jyms]

the flirting is so smart. as in, both of them are really smart, and the way they flirt is so cool it just makes me want to shiver. the words are chosen carefully; this is not merely annoying mindless flirting! yay! MWT is so clever.

[checkers65477]

Wow, it sure worked, too, didn't it? Costis said what he really thought. Maybe it calmed him down a bit, at first, while they were waiting for the queen to return.

[willow_41z]

Yes, I think he gave Costis the unwatered wine so he'd be uninhibited when he asked all of those leading questions, in order to get Costis in more trouble with the queen.

And the fact that Irene is reduced to threatening Eugenides with hanging is interesting considering that she's trying to get him to assert power as her equal. But yes, it's cute. ^_^

Poor Costis

[checkers65477]

Now, why would Gen want to get Costis into even more trouble with the queen? She already wanted to either hang or torture the poor guy.

Re: Poor Costis

[willow_41z]

It was part of his plan to get Teleus to acknowledge him as king, and for that he needed Costis. Remember what he said about if you want to change someone's mind you start with the person next to him? Costis had to be in a lot of trouble so that the queen would agree to spare Costis in return for Teleus's good behavior. At least I think that's how it went.

Re: Poor Costis

[checkers65477]

Costis had to be in a lot of trouble so that the queen would agree to spare Costis in return for Teleus's good behavior.

Yeah, that's right. And he got Teleus's promise to intervene with the attendants because of the trouble with Costis.

[ceecee44]

I agree that it was Eugenide's plan to turn Teleus around. The King kept pushing Costis and made Costis lose his temper again (with the aid of the wine of course) so Eugenides could have a reason to have Costis work more closely with him. He could have also been testing Costis' loyalty to Teleus, because Eugenides asked Costis if it was Teleus who made Costis hit the him and Costis screamed "NO!"

[checkers65477]

testing Costis' loyalty to Teleus

Yes, and Costis was willing to undergo torture to prove that Teleus had nothing to do with the punch. I suppose he punched Gen in the first place because Gen had insulted Teleus and the guard.

Gen had insulted Teleus over and over but Teleus never reacted. Maybe Gen also hoped Costis would tell him where Teleus's loyalty stood, if he got Costis drunk enough.

[hemisofia]

I must admit, this scene as the opening of the book was very difficult to digest. I didn't understand it until much later. But it's also this sort of ingenuity that makes KoA such a gem!

[checkers65477]

At first I thought it was just a spur-of-the-moment Gen thing, where he taunted someone before he considered what might happen. Like the part in Thief where he made the comment to Ambiades and ended up sitting in the stream with his head ringing. It wasn't until the end of the book that I was really convinced that he had planned it out to see how Costis and Teleus would react, and start on his plan to get Teleus to reduce the guard.

[jyms]

i have no idea. i suppose it was to make Costis talk better. cause Costis, when he is taken under Gen's 'wing' later, doesn't really show his feelings. so presumably Costis doesn't normally insult the King, at least to his face. Costis is like the 'normal guy' who tries to keep off the king's toes and lead his life as normally as possible. so the punch thingy would be unusual for Costis, so Gen couldn't expect him to speak out his true feelings during that partic. scene. Costis was probably very traumatised and feeling very stupid at what he'd done, so i guess the wine served as prodding, to get him to what he was at the time of the 'attack'.

otherwise, unwatered wine is cool in itself. the words 'unwatered wine' somehow just seep in my brain and feel so good. i don't know but it seems to give flavour to the scene.

[willow_41z]

Yeah, they do have a certain ring to them. I think it's the alliteration.