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Kate Granger's avatar

Sissitrix.... The eyes follow me everywhere. The sexual exploitation of Erin by Allen is exquisitely drawn. I love the raw descriptive style of all your artwork. Working with you is immense fun and truly rewarding.

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John A. Brown's avatar

Firstly, I thank you both for another EXCELLENT episode into your nightmarish universe of horror and madness. Sissitrix--flattered by the reference to my Dali dream sequence info in your note, the the artwork makes great adaptive use of it. Also very flattered by (as you, Sissitrix, stated in a reply to one of my comments on 6 or 7 from last weekend) any "influence" my remarks may be having--I certainly saw some of my thoughts manifest in this installment! Now to my analysis.

This was an innovative episode, relative to the others--far more psychological, and spiritual (I'll get to that in a bit). From a macro perspective, it's the darkest episode thus far--I'll go far, far out on a remote limb here beyond the material and surreal, into the mystic, metaphysical, and, yes--spiritual. Episode 1 saw Erin broken and destroyed as a person, driven by revenge, but, crucially, NOT the righteous, avenging-angel style revenge of the vigliante, whose archetype is the righter of wrongs--a "Batman," or to bring it into the far gritter, real-world of '70s crime-drama, Charles Bronson as gun-toting NYC architect Paul Kersey, angered by the indifference of the justice system toward law-abiding citizens held hostage to a decaying urban civilization. These figures seek to right wrongs, to assume the roles once provided by the law--to do a job "legitimate government," emasculated by society, can no longer do. The difference with Erin is that besides taking revenge on her torturers, she does not want to restore order, bring law, cleanse, or reform--but to enhance evil, profit from it, and take it over for herself--she has no interest in Good (though she has a spark of decency left--which she can never snuff out--her conscience always troubles her, no matter how drowned out it is), but wants to dive into Evil, and actually--immerse herself in it--BATHE in it. As the story has played out, we've seen her slide more and more into the dark. If you recall, in a prior comment I speculated on the pods, their uncanniness, their origin (Sissitrix--you provided some background in a separate piece, about that Peter guy who designed the first fuck factory stuff, AI dildos and other Cronenberg-esque creations one is unlikely to order from the Adam & Eve catalog!), and eerily hypnotic effect on Erin. I submit the unorthodox view that in this Episode, Erin has finally attained her desire of bathing in Evil.

Here in Episode 8, I got a heavy diabolical possession vibe. I know you're not doing a horror show here (in the supernatural sense) but it meets all criteria that subsist within traditional Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theology for how the Devil and demons in general operate to destroy human beings--and you've got them all here, present in Allen, Joseph and the "pod people." Yeah--corny rip-off term, but Erin calls Allen "pod man," so she opened the door! She was love-bombed with the caring and nurturing of Allen's helping with her convalescence, in which she felt more loved physically than when she was actually with Max (the artificial and illusory preferable to the actual and emotionally satisfying). This time, she indulges and surrenders to sadism at Allen's "hands"--and is shocked at the pain, but also loves the pleasure--it's an otherworldly, ecstatic rapture--Allen tells her that Chloe is prepping Max so that he can make love to her later on--but Allen is the real one who loves her--he won't stretch her out too much so that Max won't know. The machine basically rapes her--but again, she derives an ecstatic, whirlwind pleasure from the pain and confusion from being wrapped in its tentacles--it's something she wasn't expecting--the intensity. Plus, it accuses her of her "crimes" while she's being raped and beaten. Afterwards, she's so turned on by the dark power that she wants to be even more sadistic to Chester--and she inflicts pain and torture on him, willfully and eagerly subjecting him to a hellish vengeance. Sissitrix--I like the image of the open eye with the reflection of Erin--great! And Kate--again--brilliant writing capturing the horror and depravity here.

I'll submit that here' in Allen's claws--Erin's sold her soul--"Erin, do you consent?" Bye-bye Erin the human being, hello Erin, lost among the perfectly possessed. The post-pod sex scene between she and Max--and the blowjob in the bedroom--is unremarkable and businesslike--pedestrian, quotidian, cold, and dead--like her soul has become--machinelike. She even tells Bliss that she's become a monster. Further support for the "possession" analogy comes from the fact that Allen and she are now one being--it's in her head, knows what she knows--guides her thoughts and actions.

I'll admit that I'm most likely way off base this time--but I'm calling this one as I see it. I've done lots of study about the medieval and theological over the years--also the occult realms and the obscure and arcane, and this whole situation here in this episode gives me a creepy, preternatural, diabolical vibe. I now yield the floor to your rebuttal or laughter!

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