Jade Harley: Action and Inaction (Patreon)

CALLIOPE: space falls back. it yields. hosts the play silently.
CALLIOPE: then, it roars to life when its time comes, showing all who is really the master.
CALLIOPE: and so too when the time comes, it collapses in on itself, taking all else with it.

Not the most reassuring words for everyone's favorite Dog God girl. Jade Harley, one of the most powerful characters in the entirety of Homestuck, and at the same time, one of the characters with the least agency. From a young age, she was used by Vriska as nothing but a tool to practice her powers, putting her to sleep. On Prospit, her mind was hazy and mixed with memories and vision to the point of blurring who she was. And it doesn't get better from there. A three year trip, isolated with relationship issues? An alternative trip, where she falls into depression, alone, by herself. Arriving at the new Session, only to be Mind Controlled, then put to sleep.

The fan reaction towards Jade is pretty much unanimous, specially after seeing she follows this exact same trend in the Epilogues- "She deserves better." And honestly? Yeah she does! She absolutely does.

And today, we're going to discuss this lack of agency, and the themes her arc presents to us.

Through the entire comic, Jade is pushed into hardship after hardship, having to deal with all manners of things controlling or manipulating her way in one way or another. Which is ironic, because, presented as this mysterious psychic girl that seems to have all answers, our first impression of her is that she actually holds the key to understanding and winning the game.

This is a recurring theme with Jade, she always seems to hold the key, but precisely because she holds the key to everything, it limits her every move and her role, in the game, and outside of it. The mixture of her not wanting to spoil her friends on what she feels will be a lovely reunion, and her Vriska-induced narcolepsy making it hard to recall exactly what is it she's supposed to be doing or saying at any given time, presenting her quite differently of how she becomes afterwards in the comic, how she develops. With the only Sprite capable of facing Jack Noir, she tries to take the responsibility upon herself, only to end up disappointed that her alternate can't get her shit together. Upon Ascension, she and the rest of the Betas are held back, needing to wait, powerless, for three years until they reach their destination- Even worse after the Retcon, where she ends up spending those three years practically alone. She holds the most power when she finally arrives at the new Session, and because she does, she's quickly controlled and manipulated to do the Condesce's bidding.

And once the Epilogues come? In both Meat and Candy, she's held back as well. In Meat, being used as a Proxy for Alternate Calliope to influence the events on Earth-C. But in Candy, this 'holding back' comes from something else entirely.

We'll get to that, though.

With so much power, the narrative twists her role into that of an object. A McGuffin if you will, something that could turn the tides of the battle depending on which side she's on in the battlefield. And one of the keys to understanding how Jade feels about all of this, is her awakening in [S] Collide.

For the first time in thousands of pages, Jade, fully powered as a God Tier, and not controlled by the evil villains, has the agency to do whatever it is she wants in the Session. Sure, she's got the task of stopping Bec Noir and PM, intervene in their fight as the only one able to match up against the two of them with her powers, but so does everyone else. There's the fear, that she will become controlled again, there's the risk that the Condesce will realize and use her again.

Still, she wakes up, greets her friends cheerily, and heads to meet Bec Noir and PM head-on... In her own way.

Jade dealing with her dogs is an anti-climax, and at the same time, one of the most important parts of her Character Arc. The girl that has been oppressed and held back the entirety of the comic, the Goddess with the most destructive power out of anyone in the Session, barring an awakened Jake English, with full control over these powers of hers and the ability to burn, shrink, teleport and smash anything she wishes with a mixture of Space and First Guardian powers. And what does she do?

She plays with her dogs.

Because that is who Jade is. She has the power. And the narrative wants her to use it, one way or another, in pivotal moments... But she doesn't. She attempts to pacify Bec Noir and PM, using her powers exclusively to keep up with them and bring them around for a 'walk' through the Session. Jade's powerful. She's extremely, terrifyingly powerful. But she does not want to use these powers for anything grand.

She just wants to be herself, love her friends, and have fun.

Jade's battle is one against the narrative forces that hold her from acting, yes. Casting her away, isolating her from her friends and not letting her have what she wants. But once she's given free reign to actually go wild, she doesn't. She would be completely justified in fighting back against Jack and trying to erase him completely with her powers, before warping around to help in the other battles, but... She sees him as part Bec, and tries to appeal to that part. Be kind. Tame him.

And then, the Epilogues. Even without her First Guardian powers, the Witch of Space is still inherently, terrifyingly powerful. She cannot teleport infinitely, but she can still warp and move at the speed of light. She can shrink and grow anything she wishes. She's the one who manipulates all matter. In the awful political state of Earth-C in both Epilogues, she could easily help turn the tides. In Candy, during John's outburst when he's calling Jane out, knowing she is in the wrong, knowing all the awful shit she's pulling, and being in love with Karkat, what would it take, for her to shrink her and her clown down? Stash them away, take them out the picture. What can an army of drones do against one able to shrink the Whole Planet? She could have sided with John. She could have faced her then, helped Tavros Crocker out. Conflict could've started, stemming from it, yes, but at that point conflict was always inevitable.

But just like how Roxy deluded herself in the belief that everyone could end up getting along until it was too late, so does Jade feel that she shouldn't intervene in those matters. Even when in the end, she joins the resistance with Dave, she still sticks to her assigned role in an isolated area, away from the conflict. At any point she could refuse Karkat's orders, and head into battle. At the risk of her own Heroic Death, sure, but if a fight for people you love, for freedom, for equality, isn't one worth risking your life for, then what is?

Jade suffers, because the Narrative casts her away as too powerful of a tool. But that is a falsehood. She's made into a tool because of her power and her relevance, but when given the freedom to act, she does not want this power and relevance. She doesn't want to use them. She doesn't want to go all out. All she wants is the people she cares about to be happy, even if she fucks up in the way to try and achieve it, even if there could be many better ways to do it.

The tragedy of Jade Harley is of one given a power she doesn't want, and then being punished for it.

Excited by sharing the game and Prospit and all the good things to come from the game with her friends, she ends up lost, watching everything falling apart, and confused with all of her Vriska-forced naps. Managing to set up a way for everyone to save themselves even with the Scratch, she's forced to wait alone for three years for a choice she didn't make. Given the chance to save her ecto-relatives, she jumps to it- And is immediately mind-controlled and used as a weapon. Forced to sleep through most of the set-up of the final battle. And once she finally regains control over herself, she merely plays with her Dogs, reunites with those she loves, and attempts to simply do what she want- Show her love to the people she cares about, and spread that love around in her own way on Earth-C.

She's not perfect of course. The turmoil and conflict going on in the Earth-C landscape, alongside her own pushiness to try and make Dave and Karkat reach a conclusion regarding their relationship that she already finds evident, end up making everything awkward and driving Karkat away. She's a practical, sciency gal without a good grasp on socializing and relationships, but her innermost desires, and what drives her forward, are tied to this love she harbors deep within.

Would Jade be happier if she stopped holding back, and directly acted to put a stop to something herself? Helping fix the political landscape in Candy before it got off the rails, would her relationship with Karkat and Dave have fared better? In my opinion, yes, yes it would. But it's her choice, to put her foot down, and her turmoil, what holds her back from doing it.

It seems so unfair, for the girl with so much love to get so much shit, to be held back so much. But in a way, I can understand the way the narrative treats her, and how it holds her back. I don't empatize with it, and I would love to see Jade break away from these chains, but I can see why she'd be held back like this.

The narrative is rightfully scared of a Jade that'd stop holding back for her friends. She's being punished for a power she didn't want, a potential she doesn't want to use. She wants to lead a happy life. And ironically, by holding her back from this life because of what she could do, the narrative is only building up towards this boiling point. Candy is a dark, depressing and messed up Timeline where everything goes wrong. Jade holds back, she's inactive, even while not being controlled in any way, she is still taking a step back from any sort of relevance and position of power.

But Jade deserves better. And the instant the narrative gives her a chance to seize it, if she springs to action, the moment it becomes too much and she gets tired of this treatment, of being cast away?

The forces conspiring to hold her back are going to regret having put her down for so long.