INDEXING: REFLECTIONS episode #1, "Forbidden Doors."

I like Ciara too; I doubt her story is anywhere near as under control as she makes it seem, but then whose is? That's an area where Indexing is very much an analogy of real life; our life is our story, and we may think everything is under control, but life has a tendency to rise up and slap that notion right out of us. In the opening scene it mentions that this is Ciara's 'first day;' clearly this isn't referring to her first day with the ATI Management Bureau, so I'm assuming it means she isn't there just to review Henry's team, but monitor them as well.

I am a little suspicious though. Ciara's situation is very similar to Henry's, in fact one could argue that it's worse. She's a Bluebeard's Wife married to and living with her Bluebeard, which to me would be like Henry living with a prince. One would think under those circumstances she would be the last person assigned to review Henry's team, because she could be sympathetic to her -- the very thing they seem to be worried about in Henry's case. Is this a setup, or is there someone upstairs who wants a sympathetic person supporting the team?

I absolutely loved how Henry responded to the question about why she chose to go by a male name, and especially whether she experienced emotional distress over being called by a boy's name. "No, why would I?" For her it meant nothing, but for Gerald that one small victory, and especially that display of support, meant the world. I wish I had a sibling like that.

Thank you, Seanan, for your wonderful talent and imagination, and thank you for portraying the transgender as what we are, people who just want to live our lives and be happy. It's not something one sees often in mainstream media, and we do appreciate it.

Ooooh, all of these are very good points! I'm wondering too.

Something that I was thinking about while reading this: how fairy tale can one choose to be? For example, Henry can't choose her looks, but she can choose to dress like an MIB rather than wear a stereotypical dress. How much flexibility is there? Ciara can dye her hair (and why does Bluebeard's wife have blue hair, anyway? Tried Googling for that and got nothing) but can't resist the pirate shirt. Sloane can sometimes choose to not poison drinks....

About the blue hair and the pirate shirt - What if Ciara is really the Bluebeard, and her husband is the wife in this version, so to speak?

It can't be ... I mean that would be ... devious. :P

Okay, I like devious, but if she's the Bluebeard, why does she have the key, and he's telling her not to look in the garage?

If Ciara looks in the garage, her tale will activate and she'll start killing spouses, beginning with this one? I'm thinking full role reversal.

I think Seanan is more devious than any of us can imagine, and I can imagine quite a lot.

Or I could be on completely the wrong track. This is so much fun!

I'm tempted to say that doesn't hold together. In that scenario, Ciara is essentially both Bluebeard and the wife, and her hubby just some poor guy from outside the Index. That would mean the narrative pulled him in and is making him act out the part of Bluebeard.

But....

The narrative did try to drag Andy in with the Frog Prince, and was behaving in a much more aggressive manner at the end of Indexing. Maybe that was due to Birdie ... or maybe that's what the narrative wants everyone to think. Not saying I am ready to buy your theory, but I'm not prepared to reject it either. We shall have to wait and see!

OOOH EVEN BETTER.

I can't offer an authoritative answer, of course, but my take would be this: the narrative does whatever it can to pull you into the story, and one way of doing that is to make you stand out in the 'real world.' Maybe there's a limit to how far one can 'defy' their story; Henry can't do anything about her physical appearance (She could color her hair, but really, what would be the point?) but she can dress the way she does and go by a name that doesn't even hint at 'princess.' Ciara can bleach her hair to hide that particular manifestation, but maybe that's the limit of her defiance.