Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia ‒ Episode 12
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia closes out its season run with a reunification, a small rebellion, and a sense that the story really starts in the finale's final moments.
Following Sitara's lead, Sorghaghtani rejects the offer to marry Töregene's son, Guyuk. Instead, she gifts the men and territory that Boraqchin intended to take from her while staying in Tolui territory to raise her sons. Sitara, with Shira in tow, infiltrates nearby territory to find Töregene and ensure her safety. There, Guyuk invites his mother to come live with him away from the Mongolian court politics. It's a safe choice, but reunited with Sitara, Töregene is revitalized to bring down the empire with her. Outside the ger, Ögedei questions Sitara on her knowledge of the stars' movements.
The episode summary suggests very little happened in this finale, but beneath my simplistic regurgitation of events is substantial character work. Sorghaghtani and Töregene's choices represent a quiet yet steadfast rebellion against Boraqchin's machinations. The witch may have convinced Töregene that her moment of revenge was at hand, but it was merely a ploy to move her off the chessboard. Töregene has affirmed that she will remain in play, and as we see at the end of the episode, she moves up considerably in rank among Ögedei's wives. Likewise, Ögedei accepts Sitara as Töregene's lady-in-waiting; she will likely swap alliances far less in the future. We see Sorghaghtani raising her children, showing the Tolui household is not done yet, as she hopes her sons will take up their father's position and become a strong "quiver" of their own.
Then there's Ögedei himself. Among the popular idea of Mongolians, Ögedei has always seemed level-headed, with an eye on financial dominance and success instead of military prowess. When he speaks to Sitara outside the ger, there's a modicum of regret. He enters a bet of sorts: that he can bring prosperity to the Steppes and, in turn, happiness to Sitara and Töregene. He doesn't say this part, but his demeanor and tone suggest that it is his way of making amends for the subjugation of their peoples. Töregene and Sitara choose vengeance.
What is the right way to move forward? The writing suggests it's more complicated than forgiveness or revenge through a conversation between Sitara and Ögedei. The Khan asks Sitara if she is knowledgeable in the movement of the stars, and Sitara, who only a moment ago admitted that she's not clever at all, takes on a boastful demeanor, claiming she is. Drawing on her studies from classical and religious sources, Sitara asserts that the stars' movements are directional guides set by Allah and the result of the heavens orbiting around the Earth.
Ögedei finds this interesting but, in a tone that annoys Sitara to no end, tells a Mongolian folktale that, in its simplest form, claims the Earth is just another moving part circling a central point. He has no scientific basis for this assertion, and because Sitara has the diplomacy of a sheep, she responds aggressively to his suggestion. But Ögedei is right, isn't he? While the Earth may not literally be on the back of a horse tied to a heavenly pillar, it is a moving object through space, circling the sun. The interaction suggests that Sitara still lacks wisdom, regardless of her knowledge, and cannot consider alternative explanations.
Ögedei seems to be cut from different cloth when compared to Sitara and Töregene, and I think that stems from him living out a completely different worldview. He doesn't engage in large emotional displays of any kind. It's likely frustrating that the man seems to sit above anger and even grief. He views everything in the scope of the largest picture and seems unable to truly relate to the emotionality of the two women whose families and people he has directly and indirectly slaughtered. He wants to bring prosperity and happiness to his people because he believes it his beneficial and right to do so.
If we take several steps back, Jaadugar is as much about women's rage as it is about history and culture. When we think about whether Sitara and Töregene should forgive Ögedei or the empire, whether they should make amends, accept their station, and make the best of the confines put upon their freedom, we are asking them to bow to oppression. Regardless of what it looks like, these women (and many others within the empire) are not in charge of their destinies. They could die at the whim of another power-hungry leader, for being somewhere they were told they can't go, for attempting to flee to freedom, for loving someone else, or any other selection of arbitrary circumstances. In the course of this story, we've never known a free Sitara, and it's been a decade, if not more, since she was taken from her mother.
From this view, there's something more nefarious about Ögedei and his kindness, while lacking any semblance of true empathy. Töregene's rage may have spurred him to refocus his efforts, but she is still little more than a memento to him. She's a memory of a moment when he got a new idea, not a whole person. She's a woman.
Rating:
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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