....I chose to focus this comment on May, not just because she's one of my favorite characters but because I didn't believe I could stop myself from giving out spoilers otherwise. I was so excited at the first glimpses of Ash and Tilly a while back that I almost shouted out that they were in lesbians with each other. Not yuri themed fanservice like they keep doing with Wendy and Nightingale, but a genuine relationship.
May is my absolute favorite character because she's so beautifully complex in the way she is written for jest being a minor character. They showed more of here in this latest chapter than they have with her big, dynamic scene (that had most things taken out of it but I digress) that lead up to her role as the antagonist in the Cinderella play. Being the antagonist there also was also in line with the letter she just wrote to Petrov, who we find out has been supporting her along with the rest of the Honeysuckle family as her patron.
May struggled to be herself and felt like she was always acting. Even when not on stage, she was the great Star of the West and had to live up to that standard no matter where she went. In border town, she was still renowned but with a mostly uneducated populus, she didn't feel as heavy a need to keep up the act in front of anyone but the man she was in love with, Sir Eltek, and his wife, Irene. The two of them not only knew her, but Irene looked up to May as the experienced actress she strived to be. While with them, you could see May's inner turmoil of wanting to make Irene fail, wanting to take Sir Eltek for herself, but she didn't due to her pride in herself and her pride as an actress. She also came to genuinely like Irene more than just tolerate her as Irene did her best to become a better actress under May's tutelage. May was still jealous of Irene but seeing how naturally she and her husband acted and how deeply they loved each other, May put all her feelings into the antagonist role in Cinderella. She let out all her harsh rebukes and treatments toward Irene under the guise of acting as the villain. In doing so, she felt it her last hope to get Sir Eltek to see that she was was the better one and Irene was just a hopeless girl who had no backbone or skill.
When none of that worked and when Irene proved herself to really be a budding star as her nickname, Flower of the West, showed, May decided that she should give up on her love right then and there. That jealousy of how naturally the couple acted didn't disappear though. When with Knight Carter, there's a stark difference in now and how she used to act. Before, she acted confident, if a little mean spirited, the image of a diva on top, taking what she wants because it all belongs to her anyways. Now, she is more quiet and demur as if in deep thought as she is reevaluating her life and experiencing many things for the first time. Through her general time spent in Border Town, practicing for the play, and being around Sir Eltek, Irene, and even Sir Carter, May began to feel more and more empty as she realized she had no one and nothing but the act she kept up. She wanted to challenge that but needed to figure out who she was off a stage first. We see her taking up that challenge with the letter she just wrote to Petrov but also in the fact that she hasn't yet fully accepted Carter. She joins him for outings/dates but hasn't fully accepted him as a lover yet.
....I chose to focus this comment on May, not just because she's one of my favorite characters but because I didn't believe I could stop myself from giving out spoilers otherwise. I was so excited at the first glimpses of Ash and Tilly a while back that I almost shouted out that they were in lesbians with each other. Not yuri themed fanservice like they keep doing with Wendy and Nightingale, but a genuine relationship.
May is my absolute favorite character because she's so beautifully complex in the way she is written for jest being a minor character. They showed more of here in this latest chapter than they have with her big, dynamic scene (that had most things taken out of it but I digress) that lead up to her role as the antagonist in the Cinderella play. Being the antagonist there also was also in line with the letter she just wrote to Petrov, who we find out has been supporting her along with the rest of the Honeysuckle family as her patron.
May struggled to be herself and felt like she was always acting. Even when not on stage, she was the great Star of the West and had to live up to that standard no matter where she went. In border town, she was still renowned but with a mostly uneducated populus, she didn't feel as heavy a need to keep up the act in front of anyone but the man she was in love with, Sir Eltek, and his wife, Irene. The two of them not only knew her, but Irene looked up to May as the experienced actress she strived to be. While with them, you could see May's inner turmoil of wanting to make Irene fail, wanting to take Sir Eltek for herself, but she didn't due to her pride in herself and her pride as an actress. She also came to genuinely like Irene more than just tolerate her as Irene did her best to become a better actress under May's tutelage. May was still jealous of Irene but seeing how naturally she and her husband acted and how deeply they loved each other, May put all her feelings into the antagonist role in Cinderella. She let out all her harsh rebukes and treatments toward Irene under the guise of acting as the villain. In doing so, she felt it her last hope to get Sir Eltek to see that she was was the better one and Irene was just a hopeless girl who had no backbone or skill.
When none of that worked and when Irene proved herself to really be a budding star as her nickname, Flower of the West, showed, May decided that she should give up on her love right then and there. That jealousy of how naturally the couple acted didn't disappear though. When with Knight Carter, there's a stark difference in now and how she used to act. Before, she acted confident, if a little mean spirited, the image of a diva on top, taking what she wants because it all belongs to her anyways. Now, she is more quiet and demur as if in deep thought as she is reevaluating her life and experiencing many things for the first time. Through her general time spent in Border Town, practicing for the play, and being around Sir Eltek, Irene, and even Sir Carter, May began to feel more and more empty as she realized she had no one and nothing but the act she kept up. She wanted to challenge that but needed to figure out who she was off a stage first. We see her taking up that challenge with the letter she just wrote to Petrov but also in the fact that she hasn't yet fully accepted Carter. She joins him for outings/dates but hasn't fully accepted him as a lover yet.