“ROYAL played by WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER
What a great honour and privilege it was to work and play with you. You are so kind and gentle-hearted and goofy! Picking your brain was always great.
The change in setting that comes with (almost) every episode serves as a window into Cora’s state of mind. And previously, we have seen her move from state to state just barely holding on. Royal takes her to the underground railroad station in Tennessee so that they might make their way to Indiana. Here, the train is unlike anything Cora has seen before- harking to what lies ahead: A whole new world she did not know could exist- The black body in its element: creating, growing, learning, with agency, in love. The richness and mind of a freed black mind.
“Everything on Valentine was the opposite. Work needn’t be suffering, it could unite folks. Children might thrive and prosper. A mother raise her daughter with love and kindness. A beautiful soul like Caesar could be anything he wanted here…” (novel, pg. 277)
There is a natural disconnect between the Cora and Royal. Cora is running from the trauma of the past and worried about the future. She believes that no one can understand her because of what she has been through and has resolved within herself that Royal can never understand her as he was born free. Experience has taught her that nothing good lasts and so finds herself living in this constant space of tension which is why she pushes Royal away. She withdraws until he is able to gently and respectfully coerce her out of her shell. She struggles to understand why he cares for her. In Royal, she recognizes the missed opportunity in Caesar, which greatly scares her but gradually opens up and makes herself available to him.
I, as Thuso, had to open myself up to connecting with you, William, on a deeper level just as Cora had to open herself up to Royal- thank you for making yourself a safe space, a person worth trusting and opening up to. Thank you for trusting me as well: we share similar scars,which made me feel very understood in the moment.”
