I said I wasn't going to get started on the topic of Aveline ruining Carver's chances with the guard but I lied okay, it's Carver Hawke defense hours.
Here's the thing; it doesn't matter if you believe Carver was or wasn't fit for the guard. That's a different debate that I'll get to. What matters is Aveline's in no position to tell the guard not to accept his application. Why does she think that's her right to judge whether or not he's fit?
Carver should've had the chance to prove himself one way or another. If it turns out he's not a good fit, then let him fail. Let him learn from it.
"Oh but failure could mean lost lives-"
Aveline doesn't get to talk shit about failure and the people. Plenty have died on her watch yet she still believes she's a good guard and Guard-Captain.
"maybe Aveline's protecting him, Carver could die while on patrol-"
Carver could die working in the Bone Pit, or serving as a templar, or when he's running around with Hawke. Carver could trip and fall down a set of stairs and die. In fact, he can die in the Deep Roads, somewhere he wouldn't have to go if the Hawke's weren't desperate.
Either Carver fails as a guard, or more likely, he succeeds and proves himself worthy of it.
But let's be real, Carver probably kept getting rejected due to being a Fereldan with a past of smuggling/mercenary work and Aveline only reaffirmed the decision, either because they asked her what she thought or she stuck her nose in unprompted.
But what irritates me is that she admits to telling them not to accept his application, and then has the balls to call Carver too proud to take up a trade or find another line of work.
Carver tells her, "And who would take on a Fereldan apprentice? Maybe in another year I could work my way up to pissboy." He has a good point here. Aside from the guard, the only other place Carver could work and use his skillset is with the Templars. Or go back to mercenary/smuggling work.
And Aveline doesn't even have a real answer for him. No suggestions, no encouragement, nothing. Just "Fine, let's crawl down some holes. Good bloody luck for your sake."
Also, if you do the Mark of the Assassin DLC in Act 1-
Aveline: You should see if any of the noblemen are looking for new men-at-arms.
Carver: Are you trying to get rid of me?
Aveline: It's a role with some autonomy. A good fit with your training and... tendencies.
Carver: After serving King Cailan? You want me to suffer some poncy git who needs two servants to wipe his own ass? I'll find my own way, thanks.
Aveline: I wish you would.
You wish he would?? Aveline, he was trying to find his way into the guard, a position he'd make a good fit for, and you helped deny him of it because YOU didn't think he would be good enough, I just-
If I haven't made it clear yet, I firmly believe that Carver would've made a great guard. He wants to help people, to be a protector. He's loyal, and despite what Aveline claims, he can follow orders and take his duty seriously. We see him do incredibly well with the Grey Wardens, after all. If he were a guard, he wouldn't have to go down into the Deep Roads with Hawke, and I think he would've been okay with that! He's so hurt and bitter when you leave him behind because that effectively tells him, "I don't need you." Carver's spent the whole first act telling you he wants to go on the expedition aka that he wants to be needed.
But if he were a guard, he would be needed elsewhere. He'd be in training as a recruit. He'd look after Leandra while you go. He wouldn't be backed into a corner with no income and only the templars left as his chance at forging his own path and providing for his family.
He doesn't get that opportunity, though.
By the way, if he becomes a warden, you can get this banter:
Aveline: I'm glad you found a place with the Wardens.
Carver: Well, it's not the city guard, but it'll do.
Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you.
Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I?
Aveline: Well...
This banter makes me want to scream.
Aveline's just... she's so insistent that she's right. She's someone who will double down rather than entertain the idea that she's wrong and it's not just with Carver and the guard, it's with everything. The "my beef with Aveline" list gets longer and longer every time I replay da2, I swear.
Say what you will about Carver, whether you think he would've been a good fit or if Aveline's right and it wasn't for him, he was denied a chance and it cost him so much in the end. He either dies, or he joins the templars where he deals with Chantry's bullshit trying to brainwash him with "mages aren't people" and "magic is a cancer in this world", or he's infected with the blight and becomes a Grey Warden, forced to serve the rest of his life fighting darkspawn, tormented by voices and nightmares.
I will never not be bitter about this.
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If you could redo Calzona how would you have them end up?
Oh God, WHAT A GOOD QUESTION.
Okay, so Calzona fell apart for me when they stopped acknowledging what they’d given us in If/Then (arguably one of my top episodes). IF they were telling us that Calzona was endgame, THEN they needed to honour that. (I wished.)
So, toss out all the bullshit about Arizona cheating because of the miscarriage. That was total crap, in my opinion - Arizona needn’t have gone through an additional trauma to have made a mistake. If she’s a human character, she makes bad choices and can understandably be a bad guy sometimes. Nobody is perfect and nobody loses value because their choices don’t always align with proper morals. Also, her wanting to be pregnant after not wanting kids at all? Crap crap crap, total bull crap. That was a leap for me.
I would’ve had them take a break from each other somewhere. Arizona had been through so much trauma from the plane crash and her amputation and needed to figure her shit out. The cheating was her trying to FIND something and what she needed to find was a bunch of therapy.
And honestly, so did Callie. She was so clearly experiencing caregiver burnout AT THE SAME TIME as experiencing grief over losing her best friend. Still have her find out she couldn’t have another baby and like… let her work through that. With her own, separate therapy.
I don’t remember even watching the stuff with the custody battle or them dating other people. But if they took a break, no custody battle? Date other people, whatever. And then when it came down to either of them wanting to move somewhere else… sparks fly?
Like, if they’d just been taking a break and hadn’t actually gotten divorced or anything, they could’ve sat down to discuss things regarding Sofia. Arizona would’ve been further ahead in her career and more capable of making changes. Callie would’ve been feeling more herself. They wouldn’t have battled uselessly over their child, so they would’ve been equally invested in her wellbeing and known what she wanted better.
A dinner could’ve become two. Or three. Wine at one of their places after Sofia had gone to bed. And maybe they could’ve realized that they wanted to try again now. That their family together was ultimately going to be better for all of them.
Then they would’ve moved to New York together and lived happily ever after and spawned yet another Grey’s Anatomy spin off for ABC to mine money with for 4000 seasons. Big Apple Anatomy: Life in the Med City.
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