LONG SR discussion post: Jade and Mantel's season two arc
I love how I can go a whole boring weekend with zero desire to write up anything... but the moment the weekday starts and I actually have shit to do, my brain's all "Oh hey, you're busy, perfect. Time to write nine paragraphs worth of Shadow Raiders meta, go!"
*headdesk*
Been meaning to do this write up for ages and only now has my brain decided to cooperate with me. Naturally. WARNING: END OF SERIES SPOILERS.
So I had always assumed that Jade’s “bargain” with Mantel (first referenced way back in “Ragnarok Part 2”) was the Alliance’s use of the Battle Moons in exchange for Jade using her good standing with the Alliance to leak inside information to Mantel.
Very few details of the agreement were given on screen, but this explanation seems to fit best with what we do see. And it explains everything about how disturbed Jade was when Tekla offered her the data crystal in “Girls’ Night Out”. It was clearly an expression that said “Well fuck. Things just got a lot more complicated…”
It put Jade in a difficult position: 1) Take the data crystal, keep it out of sight and hope for the best. Or 2) Refuse it. And then possibly be forced to explain why if Tekla forces the issue. A confrontation Jade was clearly not ready for given her skittishness around Graveheart just a few episodes earlier.
So she went with option 1. Which worked out well… for a while. Jade managed to keep the data crystal safe and out of Mantel’s way up until “Divided We Stand”. Apparently wearing it around her neck and rarely removing it.
If Jade’s loyalties to the Alliance were strong enough to keep the Alliance defense codes to herself for what likely was several weeks (“Divided We Stand” was only three episodes after “Girls’ Night Out”, but it’s clear that some time passes between episodes)… then what happened to suddenly change her mind and hand over that information to Mantel?
We don’t actually see the handover in “Divided We Stand”, but we know it happened (Jade suddenly isn’t wearing the data crystal when she enters the Aurora bridge). And we know from the Jade/Mantel conversation prior that Mantel was stretching the boundaries of the bargain much further from what Jade had initially agreed on.
My guess is that, during that unseen meeting, Mantel threatened something to force Jade’s hand. Possibly pulling Rock from the Alliance? Given the tense situation and the refugee state of the Fire people on the Battle Moons, such a thing would have had massive negative repercussions for the Alliance. I can easily see Jade deciding to give the codes up in a desperate bid to keep Mantel’s interest. Unfortunately, she and several other Alliance members wouldn’t be around to ensure that Mantel didn’t abuse his newly gained tool. But there was no way she could have predicted that.
And thus, everything went straight to hell.
The only thing that doesn’t quite match up is the explanation Graveheart gives Tekla and company when the cat is finally out of the bag in "Ascension": “It was the only way she could convince Mantel to use the Battle Moons in our fight against Remora”. Er, well, that’s partially correct, I guess… sort of.
It is highly unlikely that Jade lied to him when she confessed (off screen again, stupid rushed finale) and Graveheart would have known immediately if she had tried anyway. So most likely explanation? Graveheart is over simplifying on purpose, feeding everyone a party line to spare his girlfriend more pain. After all the shit Mantel pulled before his death, I definitely wouldn’t put this past him.
Thoughts? Anyone?
*headdesk*
Been meaning to do this write up for ages and only now has my brain decided to cooperate with me. Naturally. WARNING: END OF SERIES SPOILERS.
So I had always assumed that Jade’s “bargain” with Mantel (first referenced way back in “Ragnarok Part 2”) was the Alliance’s use of the Battle Moons in exchange for Jade using her good standing with the Alliance to leak inside information to Mantel.
Very few details of the agreement were given on screen, but this explanation seems to fit best with what we do see. And it explains everything about how disturbed Jade was when Tekla offered her the data crystal in “Girls’ Night Out”. It was clearly an expression that said “Well fuck. Things just got a lot more complicated…”
It put Jade in a difficult position: 1) Take the data crystal, keep it out of sight and hope for the best. Or 2) Refuse it. And then possibly be forced to explain why if Tekla forces the issue. A confrontation Jade was clearly not ready for given her skittishness around Graveheart just a few episodes earlier.
So she went with option 1. Which worked out well… for a while. Jade managed to keep the data crystal safe and out of Mantel’s way up until “Divided We Stand”. Apparently wearing it around her neck and rarely removing it.
If Jade’s loyalties to the Alliance were strong enough to keep the Alliance defense codes to herself for what likely was several weeks (“Divided We Stand” was only three episodes after “Girls’ Night Out”, but it’s clear that some time passes between episodes)… then what happened to suddenly change her mind and hand over that information to Mantel?
We don’t actually see the handover in “Divided We Stand”, but we know it happened (Jade suddenly isn’t wearing the data crystal when she enters the Aurora bridge). And we know from the Jade/Mantel conversation prior that Mantel was stretching the boundaries of the bargain much further from what Jade had initially agreed on.
My guess is that, during that unseen meeting, Mantel threatened something to force Jade’s hand. Possibly pulling Rock from the Alliance? Given the tense situation and the refugee state of the Fire people on the Battle Moons, such a thing would have had massive negative repercussions for the Alliance. I can easily see Jade deciding to give the codes up in a desperate bid to keep Mantel’s interest. Unfortunately, she and several other Alliance members wouldn’t be around to ensure that Mantel didn’t abuse his newly gained tool. But there was no way she could have predicted that.
And thus, everything went straight to hell.
The only thing that doesn’t quite match up is the explanation Graveheart gives Tekla and company when the cat is finally out of the bag in "Ascension": “It was the only way she could convince Mantel to use the Battle Moons in our fight against Remora”. Er, well, that’s partially correct, I guess… sort of.
It is highly unlikely that Jade lied to him when she confessed (off screen again, stupid rushed finale) and Graveheart would have known immediately if she had tried anyway. So most likely explanation? Graveheart is over simplifying on purpose, feeding everyone a party line to spare his girlfriend more pain. After all the shit Mantel pulled before his death, I definitely wouldn’t put this past him.
Thoughts? Anyone?
