today on TDP's consistent re-contextualization: the Sunfire elf tribunal in 4x06 (because I was rewatching and noticed some interesting set up / parallels for S7)
1) The dispute being a mourning ritual at all, since arc 2 (like the rest of the show) has an emphasis on grief. This is particularly evident since S7 is going to focus on bringing the dead back into the land of the living and affirming that life-death theme (whereas in S1, we didn't get any funeral rituals outside of S1 in Katolis; S4 comparatively shows two funeral rites)
2) Death being seen as "the dark night" (Aaravos wants to bring about eternal night / is a fate worse than death) and light guiding the spirit through said darkness till it be unified wholly with its primal / the light. Don't even think I gotta include the 6x06 screencaps for that, or the fact that Aaravos has corrupted both the moon and the sun Nexuses in an attempt to solidify an eternal night of literal death.
3) Aaravos saying that his years with Leola couldn't hold a candle to deeper mysteries; Callum refusing to snuff out his Light (Rayla) and therefore not being truly permanently Lost to begin with, no matter what may happen to him with dark magic. This is also interwoven with N'than in the same episode offering to help the group not get lost on the Path of Despair, which... yeah, hi metaphor for depression and hopelessness amid grief.
The fact that possession equals being dead or already dead, as well as dark magic's associations with death... vs light and life. Yeah. Yeah.
4) The emphasis on cruel punishment / rashness in the name of the greater good even when that means tearing a family further apart or the punishment being unnecessary (all around) and the victim(s) not being listened to no matter how much you begged, bargained, or pleaded (looking at you 1x03 Rayla and Runaan as well).
5) The application of accountability as well as the cruel motif rearing its head for the first time in arc 2, as it will become a mainstay
She had every opportunity to consider the pain she could cause. And she did not. She was callous. She was careless. She was cruel.
6) Both Aaravos (whose name means between light and dark) and Lucia (whose name means light) are involved in the trials we see in 4x06 and 6x06 respectively. Because Lucia is not killed and is shown mercy and compassion, she's able to contribute positively as a member of society in a way that also addresses her initial concerns; she takes on a positive purpose after the harm she's caused. She is tasked with rebuilding. Because Aaravos is not shown true mercy, and his daughter is brutally executed, he grows to no longer care about any harm caused, and his life takes on a negative purpose. He tasks himself with destruction. Also typical TDP emphasis on Choices throughout.
7) The contrast of "She is not innocent" being true in Lucia's case and untrue in Leola's case work together to set up Rayla's trial in S7. They also bode well for Callum's character arc. If he does dark magic again, he may not be 'innocent' on that level, but that doesn't matter; he still deserves life and love and to be saved / spared ("I'm not going to kill you"). The same could be true on Claudia's level (and was true for Viren, as he was imprisoned rather than executed).
