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I'm gonna be that annoying person and say that Eli will survive this because the author already foreshadowed that she will be joining that competition with Leslie. She's also a pawn of that snake empress and we all know snake characters are somehow so calculated that everything works out for them until just before the end. While the king is so useless and can't even annul her engagement with his son. How can he even run a country when he doesn't have a say in such a small matter, I wonder?
Lastly, I can't put my finger on Leslie's personality. Is she the innocent, shy kid with low self-esteem because of the abuse she went through for years? Or is she this strong, independent kid filled with anger? Like she was this poor kid shaking from shock as she learned and faced betrayal for the first time and the next scene she not just satisfied with the marquis being caught, but she also wants to go down the basement and see him to his demise. I feel like the author gave her two drastically different personalities and isn't doing a good job with transitioning from one to the other.
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She’s the shy innocent kid with people she cares about because she’s not sure if she deserves their love. And she constantly worries that they will get hurt because of her (like in this episode). She’s strong and filled with anger with those that have hurt her or her family, because she’s a very righteous kid. I don’t think she wanted to go to the basement to see them be tortured, she just wanted to go see her mother so that she could tell them about that snake ass maid. I agree sometimes it can be inconsistent but to me it makes perfect sense? Real-life people constantly fluctuate in their personality and actions, and she’s a kid on top of that, one with a lot of trauma too, which can make her actions and reactions unstable. Hope that helps :)
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The way you explained it makes a lot more sense.
I like consistency in the characters and natural transition between different personalities, so if confused me seeing showing two different sides (at that part I mentioned about going to the basement, it was to see the marquis and she mentioned him with wanting to see his demise).
Even at the beginning, it didn't make sense to me that a child who was severely abused and neglected for 12 years!! to suddenly one day decide she's had enough and starts showing this overpowering personality. Compared to real life that almost never happens especially with children. I would understand if she was this poor weak child who lost all self-esteem or if she grew up to be this rebellious child who hates everyone. But, to have both of these personalities didn't seem to be consistent.
Anyway, it just throws me off a little because she's showing two drastic personalities, but it also makes sense the way you explained it, and children who went through a trauma could show such complex emotions and characteristics. It would have been a really deep and interesting webtoon if these complex emotions were portrayed better in the story, but unfortunately, the author's focus seems to be on the events/drama rather than the emotional development of the MC.
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I'm starting to feel conflicted about reincarnation stories of characters that were originally bad.
Seeing the outcome of the head maid - which she deserved - and then having all the servants apologize to her made me think: Do characters who were originally bad/evil deserve a "second life" and redemption through these reincarnation stories??
Because if we're being unforgiving to anyone who mistreated the mc and requesting compensation, then Chloe also deserves to be punished. Remember the original Chloe falsely accused a kitchen maid of stealing to shift the blame to her when she herself screwed up. Then got that innocent maid severely punished she still has scars from being whipped.
If we want to punish all those who did wrong, doesn't Chloe also deserve punishment in the eyes of everyone who doesn't know about the reincarnation? But she's not the same Chloe, so going back to the original question, Do characters who were originally bad/evil deserve a "second life" and redemption through these reincarnation stories??
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Also the Duke, he was also the one that wronged her and cast her into the life of abuse, whether she was the real chloe or not. But we dont see him being accountable for it other than getting a little jealous at the prince. Because its isekai, if you are the MC and ML, the authors will write in total favor of them and never address anything that might give them a headache to think about even when things are morally dubious.
Because this was made for entertainment, a cheap shot at getting attention from the readers and the gratification of revenge. Thats why it always start out as very controversial, a modern girl becoming an unloved wife or a villainess. Every plot is different when it starts out, but they all become the same lackluster indulgent daydream at the end. Meeting minor villains, always triumphing over small issues and punishing the minor villains unfairly and finally being rewarded with lavish things by a husband.
Another manga is Villainess turns back the hourglass. She was someone that was evil enough to pull out a tongue from a maid she didnt like. Sure she was encouraged to become evil by the previous protagonist. However, she was not free from blame as she was the one that chose to be evil, only knowing to change after her reincarnation. The story is interesting and I was interested to know how such a controversial plot will play out in redeeming an irredeemable villain. But no, its the same,
things go her way all the time,
MC always a step ahead of the minor villain,
MC torments the minor villain and that leads to her death,
MC meets a rich prince that dotes and lavishes her with gifts etc etc.
No addressing on the complexity of her past actions as an evil woman and redeeming herself and improving her world view, everything was blamed on the minor villain and the MC becomes the same thing the minor villain was in her wish to destroy the minor villain and her entire family. Only the writing changed it and make it look like MC is right all the time. The only saving grace was that the minor villain did incite a rebellion that led to her house falling. She was already going to be executed for that and not cos of the MC. Butttt the MC saved her and framed her again just to have one last laugh, and this was just beating a dead horse just for readers to be mindlessly satisfied.
As long as the story satisfies the reader by making sure the Main leads are always safe and ahead of the game and the minor villains are always unfairly punished for slighting them, the authors can write about stories with complicated openers like transmigration and court intrigue without having to think too much about how lacking the plot is as the story to progress. Because the viewers are all here to see the MC getting favored and spoiled by the plot, not the quality of the story. If the plot was truly deep, it will make isekai writers have a harder time trying to actually write a compelling story that makes sense
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I don't think so, the duke wasn't the reason she was treated like trash. It's because of her! She was a liar who bragged about things she didn't have, avoided her responsibilities, blamed others for her own mistakes, and falsely accused those weaker than her of things they didn't do. Nobody likes this type of person, even the kind maids would be blind to follow someone like that who could easily blame them when she made a mistake. The original Chloe deserved punishment and that kitchen-maid deserved justice for what happened to her. But like you said, the author just wants to avoid any unfavorable looks toward the MC and made that kitchen-maid to be forgiving. While the other smaller villains deserved punishment even after repenting like those who followed the head maid.
Also the duke is not drastically different from before it's just that Chloe is the one who is different. When he tried reaching out to the original Chloe she was so uncomfortable around him and purposefully avoided him, so he decided to give her space, but when she finally reached out to him he was quite welcoming.
Other than that, everything you wrote summed up these types of stories perfectly.
I found it interesting at first, but the more stories I read the more conflicted I became. Some manga/webtoons like the "Miss Not-So Sidekick" and "Cheating Men Must Die" show how messed up these types of stories are.
I really really dislike inconsistent characters and the system can be when it comes to the MC. Either by having the ML behave completely out of character when faced with the FL (as if he was charmed with a spell, it was mentioned in "Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku" I've seen it happen in many manga/webtoons), or the FL overlooking all the terrible things the ML did just because he turned a new page. Although now we're seeing it with female leads as well.
With reincarnation stories of bad characters, like this one, those who originally had a bad character, they don't really deserve a second chance and I can't see how the people around them just ignore all the terrible things they did in the past so easily, authors just make them so forgiving to the MC to avoid unfavorable discussions.
While with re-born stories, like Doctor Elise, the difference between her before and after character is like the difference between night and day. People can change to some extent, but for her to go from this overall possessive, jealous, short-tempered, and evil character who hurt others to this empty-headed, shy, innocent, and kind-hearted person doesn't make sense to me. At least have her be this quite and mature girl who went through a lot in life and learned from her mistakes.
For "Villainess turns back the hourglass," you're completely right! I haven't finished reading the novel yet, but one thing I admire about the story is that the MC's character is consistent from beginning to end. She WAS and still IS this evil selfish woman. So I would give them that at least.
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You know who pisses my off the most? That ugly ass ex-first prince aka Claude's older brother. I'm sorry, but that type of guy could rot in hell for all I care. He's the main villain not Jaenette!
He's been screwing with his younger brother since they were still princes. Now he's ruining Athy's happiness and causing her harm in the process. He's also trying to kill his younger brother using his own daughter whom he cast dark magic on. He doesn't care if all these innocent people die just to get at the king. What is even his motive??
That kind of guy doesn't deserve a happy ending, I hope he meets with his demise soon enough.
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ML: a douchebag jerk who mistreats & is terrible to others
FL: that's it, I won't forgive you
ML: I'm sorry *cue sad backstory*
FL: okay I forgive you *blush*
I've seen these same events happen in so many mangas/webtoons and I can't help but wonder how dumb the FLs are to always disregard all the terrible things the ML did in the past just because he had a sad story.
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I'm reading the novel and this story is honestly worth it!
One of the few, where the FL is smart, has common sense and her actions are so satisfying and fitting to what's happening. The ML is cold, but unlike others, is actually very loyal to his queen despite all she did in her previous life and has a good reason for suspecting her at first. Highly recommended, can't wait for the updates.
The fact that she's forced to lie in order to survive living with her abusive mother makes me sick to my stomach ( T﹏T )