Source
r/gunnerkrigg•
statix37

Subreddit Re-Read, Chapter 5: Two Strange Girls

Hi! Welcome to the r/gunnerkrigg re-read of Gunnerkrigg Court. Here, we go back to read and discuss the comic's archives from the beginning, one chapter at a time, to remind us of past events and better understand the story. New threads go up around 10am EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays (usually) and the newest will always be stickied.

Read Chapter 5

Watch Tom's video

Has re-reading this chapter given you renewed insight on a certain character? What minor developments or foreshadowing did you find interesting? Did something happen in this chapter that you forgot about or didn't realize was important until now? Did Tom's video teach you anything new?

Besides discussing the chapter, I also welcome any feedback regarding the re-read series.

Posted Feb 4, 2016, 1:53 PM UTC · edited

1316
youngmarshall•

I feel bad about not commenting on the rereads because this is such a great idea and something I want to be part of but I have nothing at all to say about the early chapters. I'll see you guys at chapter 14.

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

Chapter 14 is definitely where things start to get exciting. Thanks for reassuring me that the low comment count on these threads is just because the story doesn't have much going on yet :p

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

I haven't been following the previous re-reads...partly because I'd already re-read them recently, and partly because I haven't spent so much time on reddit lately. And also because once I start talking, I don't stop. I don't wanna spam all the threads lol.

They are a good idea though, and I do like them.

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statix37OPI can't believe they let me be in charge of something.•

We get to meet Zimmy and Gamma! Yay! Tom is really good at introducing characters - only one or two at a time as to not overwhelm you, and usually leaving you with a good idea of who the character is.

You know that thing movie super villains do where they monologue their plans or reveal their weaknesses for no good reason? Reynardine just did that. He probably could have pulled a Hetty and just not let Antimony know about his control over him, or just stayed hidden away. Is this deliberate, or just Tom still trying to find his story-telling chops? I can't figure out what Renard's motive for just revealing this could be.

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ArgentStonecutterEmergency Mustelid Hologram•

He probably could have pulled a Hetty

I think one thing that's clear is that Reynardine is not Hetty. ^^

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Zimmy outed him, he was probably afraid of what she might do if he didn't cooperate. Trapped in a soft toy, without Annie allowing him to do much, I doubt he'd be a match for her if she threw an etheric tantrum.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

I've always found it interesting that both girls just have a Greek letter as a name. Like an experiment would. Like Project Omega. I mean, Zeta is supposed to be human, but she could be an engineered human, where someone, perhaps the Court, fiddled around and either somehow lost her, or thought she came out wrong so abandoned her. And Gamma tunes in with her so nicely, it's like she was part of an earlier experiment, which fits in with the age difference, and their frequency compatibility. Zimmy is an etheric distorter/reality distorter, and Omega is the Court's attempt at being gods - a more sophisticated Zimmy/Gamma would certainly be gods. Currently, she's just a demon. And since Zimmy and Gamma were part of "Alphabet Soup", is there a Delta and Epsilon out there?

If I've done it correctly, I believe the sign above Z&G reads "Risk Insect", which is odd. (edit: could also be Danger Insect, which makes more sense - could be a library section on dangerous insects)

Oh yes, and what's with Kat's kitty obsession in this? I don't think it's ever come up before?

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catbat272•

zimmy's my favorite! i'm curious what her 'abomination' was, given that in most other things she is secretly a pretty decent person under her rough exterior.

also, is gamma calling zimmy stupid, or annie and kat stupid, in page 73? it seems to be zimmy from the direction she's facing, but that seems out of character once we get to know her better later on.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

I think she's calling them stupid. Remember, we find out later that Zimmy "translates" for her, but does so wrongly because she doesn't want Gamma to make other friends. So Gamma is left with the wrong impression about everyone, so, being a teenager, is probably automatically defensive and antagonistic to new people.

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catbat272•

yes, looking back the obvious explanation is that she is talking to zimmy about them, i am not sure how i missed that. and that explanation makes sense, i'd forgotten about that! do you happen to remember which chapter that's revealed in?

although then it is odd that zimmy "translates" for gamma, but doesn't seem to understand annie's polish in this scene. probably (certainly) i am overthinking a pretty unimportant detail.

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LamenardoFlame Shadow•

Here.

I think at a later date Tom clarifies that they don't 'speak' in English or Polish, but they communicate outside of an actual language. Zimmy doesn't speak Polish, and I'm pretty sure Gamma doesn't speak any English, and the Court obviously doesn't care too much about education of certain students, as long as they're under their eye.

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catbat272•

thank you! that makes a lot of sense!

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Neurokeen•

Little things to note again, without referencing the video, so if Tom mentions these himself, sorry for the repeat:

Aisle 113 in the library.

Regarding the author's note on p73:

Zimmy's real name is Zeta, but she doesn't like it.

We see a poster in the background of p72 just before that with zeta on it.

Was this the first chapter where Tom started using the bismuth symbol everywhere? It appears on p71 on an aisle marker and p75 on the banner.

Also, funny that Kat's project in this chapter is really about protein synthesis, given what we later see her doing.

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IndorilMiara•

Also, funny that Kat's project in this chapter is really about protein synthesis, given what we later see her doing.

Holy crap I wonder if that's intentional. Could he have planned and done foreshadowing that far ahead?

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Neurokeen•

I wouldn't think that details like Kat eventually synthesizing entire limbs would necessarily be planned in advance, but it is good to see that she at least was displayed as having biochem chops in addition to just being a crazy mechanical engineer in the chapters a little ways ahead.

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Faren107•

Oh hey, Kat's messing around with biology stuff at the beginning of the chapter. I never noticed that, the comic always seemed to focus more on her mechanical skill, but this helps explain her experiments with the Tick-Tocks and when it came to building Robot's new arm.

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