Unlike last week, this week was a bit rough in terms of getting the roundup going. Instead of getting started early, it’s going up on the same day as it was written. I had a bunch of long articles to write on the gaming/geek blog, totaling nearly 7000 words written. While I’m glad those beastly articles are finished, they did eat into the time I would have spent writing for TWWR. So I’m going to try a new format I was saving for after the New Year. A roundup where I skip the recap and just go straight to my feelings about the page. I’ll see how it works out.
This will also be my final roundup until 2024. I’m taking the holidays off and I’ll be back on January 8th. When I return I’m fairly certain that Repeat will be finished, so I’ll share my thoughts on the ending then.
Africa | Page(s): 350 | Patreon
It turns out that Faida has been lying to Africa and all the predators she gathered at Hyena Hill. The matriarch didn’t gather others out of the kindness of her heart, but because she wanted warriors. While it’s unclear if she believes the end of the world is coming soon or not, she very much wants revenge on Baba Bes, his pride, and Chui. Thinking about it, everyone she invited to join her clan (aside from her hyenas), lost someone dear to them for a variety of reason or were vulnerable. Sabra lost her kits and needed a safe place to nurse Mondo. Safari went slightly insane after losing his sister. Africa was hurting after Binti was murdered by Bes, and she needed help finding Mosi.
At some point, I suspect Faida wanted to put her plans in motion, including having Africa take her place as clan matriarch should she pass on. However, those plans suffered a setback with Sabra’s death, and she saw Safari as essentially useless after his leg injury. It’s a pity that Faida’s true intentions weren’t as selfless as they originally appeared. At the end of the day, she may not be evil, but she is manipulative. A revenge plot against the lions and Chui seems like a fool’s errand destined to end in tragedy. Hopefully Africa leaves after putting the pieces together. She has two sons and a sick brother that need her help.
Repeat | Page(s): 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255| Patreon
Forgiveness is hard, and I’m not surprised that Passer couldn’t find it in their heart to even consider forgiving Lun. After all, Lun did a lot of awful things. What is surprising is that we learn that a gene for different colored eyes runs in Passer’s family, and that even after knowing the mismatched eyes myth was just a lie, they considered burying Blue for this reason. In this sense, because their old pack is gone, all of their pups got to live. It’s dark.
Sol returned to Tilter without issue, and I’m glad that was resolved rather quickly. Whatever pack Sol was born into doesn’t really matter, as they were able to return as promised. It is a bit amusing that the Sun god has come back mostly pink, but that they’re still impossible to wake up. This version of Sol seems to be a lot happier, smiling way more than they ever did for the majority of Repeat. Perhaps they were reborn into a loving pack again? Or perhaps a few cycles of being closer to mortals has literally given them a sunnier disposition? It’s heartening that they still remember Tilter, but a bit tragic that Babble is starting to fade from their memories. Ironically, Lun has all of their vivid memories.
As they return with Tilter to meet Lun, the issue of forgiveness comes up to a degree. Sol is instantly hostile, and the Moon god seems remorseful. The difference in their posture is telling. Sol stands ears erect, tail up, while Lun has their head and tail down. Tilter still has to nudge them to apologize, and other than remorse it is hard to tell what Lun is thinking. Meanwhile, Sol howls sadly, and I can only wonder if this will be the moment Dawn leaves Lun, or if the two gods will actually have a proper conversation outside of fighting for the first time ever.
To Catch a Star | Page(s): 411, 412, 413, 414| Patreon
It’s weird to see Takedown with normal, almost kindly expressions. It’s also extremely confusing as to why he’d bother to save Backlash from their Lost father. Was it instinct in regard to fighting the Lost? Does he actually care for Backlash in his own twisted way? Either way, saving Backlash from their zombified father earns Takedown awe and respect that he seems to feed on. This is likely why he allowed his younger brother to follow him around. Even if you’re a psychopath, having your own personal cheerleader to boost your ego is likely a great feeling, especially when everyone else in pack are distant.
These set of pages also confirm that Backlash did indeed stop hanging out with Tussle and Sweep after he was accepted by his older brother. Although Takedown never physically abused the younger wolf, there was plenty of emotional abuse that Backlash seems to have internalized as normal. I’m guessing that if he had hung out with his two former best friends, they would have seen the red flags. Though not hanging out with Backlash may have saved their lives, as Takedown seems happy to kill or harm anyone that threatens to take away his narcissistic supply.
As for the large plot, Tussle is on the verge of revealing how Backlash’s former pack was able to find them so easily. We the audience knows that Takedown has the orb that tracks the Sun, aka Lupi. I do wonder how Backlash, Shadow, and Lupi will take it once they know the orb has changed paws. Last they knew Hearth had the orb and they don’t know Scorch took the item back only to have it stolen. Will they fear that Takedown or someone in the Dusky pack has harmed or killed Hearth? Or will they confront Backlash’s older brother directly? I feel like this story has slowly been building between a Shadow versus Takedown confrontation, and now may or may not be the time for that build up to come to fruition.
The Order of the Black Dog | Page(s): Issue 27, page 23| Patreon
This page asks more questions than it provides answers. We were all confident that Julia managed to fully break free of The Black Idol, but is she truly free? Or is she still a part of the idol, but has only temporarily regained her shape prior to her off-planet experience? To be fair, I didn’t expect Tazim to drop a bombshell so hard that it shakes everyone’s confidence, including Julia’s. Of course the god drops a huge hint and refuses to elaborate as he leaves the girls out in the cold.
I think right now the better question is if Rhoda actually refuses to return to her body, or if Tazim is just full of shit. I suspect it may be the latter, as this god isn’t beyond messing with people. Of course that question will go on the back burner, as Mel and Julia have a date with the Kenazil and a scheme that may or may not work.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 248| Patreon
The plot returns to Antaras, and as expected he doesn’t give a crap about Gitta or Prue, but he is interested in finding Helevise. Which means the caller is extremely important to his plans, and he can’t let her go just yet. She knows things that Eve won’t tell him, and whatever those things are can only be related to whatever plan the Northerner buck has cooked up. We know that after Iralee’s chat with Helevise, the younger doe seemingly convinced her mother to talk to Antaras about setting Eve and Loss free. The bigger question is where has the old doe gone, and why hasn’t she talked to Antaras yet? Considering the conversation on this page, the old doe might be right about the buck not listening to her. Once he finds her, will he drag Helevise along for his own selfish purposes?
On a cuter note, Usma’s halv is an owl named Hoot. Hah.
We receive a badly needed scene change. We’re back to the Southspear outlaws and their quest to start a rebellion against the Solar Stag Tribe. Iberon and Siqhaala have a conversation about Ranach. It reeks of an apologist’s take on Ranach. By that I mean, the old Meteor Tribe jarl is the closest thing this story has to a proper villain. Yet, he’s literally be allowed to escape and get away with rape and murder, finding a new tribe to hide amongst. Even though Southspear’s viscountess was aware of the wrong doings of the Meteors, she allowed Ranach to say. Since then, he’s gotten to sleep with nearly every male in the tribe, and has slowly pushed his own agenda of revenge against Solar Stag (and possibly his former tribe) on Lykenia. Instead of telling him to get bent, his ploy actually works, and Ranach is given the resources to start a rebellion.
In short, it feels like redemption for this awful dog is coming, and this page only exists to placate members of the audience who are rightfully suspicious of Ranach. The page is saying “No, can’t you see that Southspear doesn’t trust Ranach, and Iberon is only sleeping with him to keep a closer eye on someone he doesn’t trust?” I don’t buy that one bit, as Kique as an author has a bad habit of warping the story to accommodate his favorite characters.
The plot resolution that I would like to see is Iberion finding out that Ranach tried to kill his brother Rogio. But having high hopes for plot resolution in Home is a dead end. Nothing is ever resolved to a satisfying manner in this story. So what I suspect will happen in the future is that Iberon will either fall for Ranach for real, or he’ll find out the truth, but die before anything meaningful happens.
Have a great Christmas and New Years, everyone! I’ll see you on January 8th.
Have a good holiday! See you next year! And, I hope I don’t come across as nit-picky, but a small correction for your segment on To Catch A Star- Takedown /has/ physically abused Backlash. Pages 373 and 374 show him biting Ash’s face to get him to stop howling. (Takedown seemed to show resentment for his mother this early on, too. Getting rid of both parents in Ash’s life probably/definately left Ash with no frame of reference to help him determine which adult figures were good role models. Despite all the red flags, he had nothing to compare his mistreatment to in order to realize the abuse he was facing)
Thank you! You too!
No worries, I appreciate the correction. Now I feel like I bought into Backlash’s denial of Takedown’s physical abuse as well. Heh!