TMA would be so much better/more interesting if The Lonely wasn’t one of the official fears.
Like omg Martin if he was actually explicitly Web aligned rather than just toeing the line?? Maybe if he was like an actual villain I’d be able to ??tolerate?? maybe even like him, but god his little hypocritical indecisive act was so infuriating by s5.
I reckon he could’ve actually made a good Prentiss-esque villain working for the Web, with a compelling backstory and therefore motivations in how his mother’s manipulation etc has like actually turned him into something cruel (Maybe not cruel, but, like, something definite and fleshed rather than the unclear character he became by s5.)
ALSO the lonely is just boring like as a fear in general. Like… ok?? You’re scared of being alone? It’s not exactly the Vast is it…? I just feel like there’s less opportunity for diversity within the fear itself, so it becomes easily the weakest fear. Like even The Dark gets, like, deep water and lack of knowing, The Lonely just gets being lonely, and it’s a boring fear, like it doesn’t even hold anywhere near as much potential for supernatural personification of the actual Fear, which is kinda the whole point of them??
i agree, i feel like the lonely is somewhat tame compared to the other fears, and it kind of hindered martins growth as a character. I feel like the aftermath of the lonely arc wasn’t shown enough for it to be significant to martins story. like it was more of a pause, rather than an actual development? he didn’t seem to change much afterwards, definitely not as much as if he had become aligned with another fear.
Martin’s growth is hindered because he never escapes his fear, and neither does Jon. That’s the tragedy of the finale: Jon couldn’t escape his fear of not knowing, and Martin couldn’t handle his fear of losing Jon. It got them both killed in the end (or inconveniently discorporated, at any rate.)
And that’s why I don’t think Martin works as an avatar of the Web. He wasn’t afraid of being controlled, he was afraid of losing Jon, although, that’s pretty clearly the domain of Desolation. That brings me to my biggest gripe when it comes to the fears: the way Desolation and Corruption are portrayed leaves them with so much untapped potential.
Why is Desolation the church? Anyone who’s been around religious zealots knows that their biggest fear is being corrupted. The need to be pure is what drives their bigotry. Imagine a church dedicated the purity of turning everything to filth! To me that’s way more interesting.
Whereas the Desolation, I mean, that’s a fun loving, avoidant, party-til-you-drop kinda fear. That deserves a charismatic pyromaniac of an avatar who burns things down not because it’s a “cleansing fire,” but because fire is FUN. And imagine Martin as an avatar of the Desolation, burning down his relationships over a fear of loss. That’s more tragic to me, personally. And it would still work with the finale: while he’s not burning down his relationship anymore he’s still desperately trying to save them, driven still by his fear of loss, but it’s too late. In the end they go up in flames anyway.
Anyway, I agree. The Lonely is a bit weak. But it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as imagining The Church of Corruption.
UGH desolation and corruption are so easily in my top fears and I agree they could’ve been sooo much more than they were.
Also why was The Desolation JUST given a fire aspect when it could also be so well represented in so many other ways. Like, sure Agnes is my queen but pls The Desolation could be so much cooler than it is 🤧