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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Anyone remember when we all hated Jaina?

Discussion in 'Literature' started by LaraNotsil, Oct 23, 2002.

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  1. WraithLead

    WraithLead Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2001
    Do i remember when we all hated Jaina?...Well...yes...like it was yesterday...wait......it was yesterday...and it hasn't changed in the past 24 hours either...

    Not fair, stealing my thought like that. Now what am I supposed to say?

    I like her better before. I don't mind the fear, I am just sick and tired of it being beat into my head all the time. "Why get a glass of water, that's just one more thing I'll miss if I die..." Come on.

    Seriously, though, I don't hate Jaina. I think she has been written poorly enough so that now I don't care enough about her to feel strongly enough to hate.
     
  2. Jon_Snow

    Jon_Snow Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2001
    I think that Jagged and Kyp handle their grief?s well. I think that it?s rather obvious that Kyp and Jag both feel the loss of those around them as hard as anyone, but they don?t let it cripple them. Jagged has lost multiple siblings in battle. He knows exactly what it?s like. Kyp killed his own brother himself. Jagged has lost people under his command before, and Kyp has lost multiple iterations of the Avengers. Part of their greater maturity is because they are older and have been dealing with it longer. Kyp has been dealing with grief and loss since he was what, ten? It?s the same thing for Jagged, out there in Chiss space.

    But look at other characters in the Star Wars universe, and see how they?ve handled grief. Luke Skywalker lost his foster parents, his first mentor, and his best friend from childhood within a period of about a week, and then went on to be the leader of an elite unit of pilots that surely took casualties. He held up pretty well, in part because he had friends to go to who could support him. Leia lost her entire world, and she held up pretty well, thanks to support from her friends. Han Solo lost his surrogate mother, and lost his share of friends. He didn?t rely on friends to support him, he internalized his grief, but he didn?t close himself off.

    Jacen, who had pretty much the same upbringing and opportunities as Jaina growing up, hasn?t become closed off like she has. He?s been in the refugee camps, seeing the suffering that the war has brought first hand. He?s lost his younger brother, just like Jaina has, and he?s feeling Chewbacca?s loss just the same. He lost Vergere (hopefully ;)), his mentor. He?s been tortured by the Yuuzhan Vong in ways that Jaina can?t imagine. And he?s still strong.

    So many people in the NJO have lost so much, but Jaina is the only main character retreating into a shell. She doesn?t seem to me to be well suited mentally for the environment of a battlefield. She says that she?s trying to protect people around here, but she?s just trying to protect herself. If she doesn?t care about anyone, it won?t matter when they die. But that philosophy is lacking in compassion, and it leads to some very bad places just as inevitably as hate or other forms of despair.

    Jaina has no hope. She might believe that the war can be won, but I don?t think she?ll ever be able to leave the war.
     
  3. goldbubbly

    goldbubbly Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2002
    not everyone holds up so well during tough times. and they go through tough times on a much larger scale than we did. having characters that break down and loose hope in a story makes it more realistic and adds...character.
     
  4. Jon_Snow

    Jon_Snow Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2001
    Does it add character? It certainly does. Is it more realistic? Probably. Does it reflect well on Jaina?s character or indicate strength of character to me? Not at all.
     
  5. J_K_DART

    J_K_DART Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2001
    Hmm, on Jaina - I'm equivocal. Bearing in mind I'm a fan of most characters, that's still saying something, I guess.
     
  6. Thief

    Thief Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2001
    "Remember when"? You make that sound like I don't anymore -- which, I assure you, is simply not the case.

    I think ToP put it best when he said he'd rather read a novel about Jean-Luc Picard's goldfish than about Jaina Solo.
     
  7. Jon_Snow

    Jon_Snow Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2001
    Hey, that goldfish is actually Q is disguise.
     
  8. jaya02

    jaya02 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 12, 2002
    i still like Jaina's character. always have, always will. and it's not just some blind faith, or what have you. yes, i have noted some of my fellow JCers many...uh...ahem..."concerns" about the discerning changes in her character over the past few novels. but, i, unlike many it seems, realize where the fault lies. it is the editors which let the repetitiveness of her "oh, i'm gonna die" into DW. it is the editors who let her become a goddess. it is the editors who agreed to let the authors do whatever they wanted to her character.

    and i, unlike the majority it seems, like most of the changes. it's interesting. no one would buy it if Jacen suddenly started losing faith in everything and closed himself off from everyone. so naturally, the authors had to pick Jaina. and you have to admit, it has given many NJO fans somethign to rant about, which seems to satisfy them immensely. :)
     
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