Names and Symbolism
Spoilers for S6E99, Generation of Vipers
I loved the symbolism of the names we've gotten over the past few episodes! There's a lot of meanings here that hint at some neat ideas for the rest of the story arc. I thought it might be fun (for me at least) to do a recap of our cast of characters and what the future might hold for them.
So we start with Jameson Locke's five children: Patience, Brutus, Mordecai, Bonaparte, and Haman. Haman and Mordecai as a pair are interesting. Both names can be found in the Biblical story of Esther where Haman, a prominent noble in the Achaemenid-Persian Empire, seeks to kill all of the empire's Jewish subjects after an insult by Mordecai, a prominent Jewish elder. In the Biblical story, Haman does not succeed and, in fact, is hung from the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Although we don't necessarily know that Haman Locke orchestrated Mordecai Locke's death, he did get one over on him, as we'll come back to later.
We have Bonaparte Locke, in what I assume is a reference to Napoleon Bonaparte. I'm not exactly sure yet how the actual Napoleon's life could foreshadow what happens in the story - maybe Bonaparte Locke will lead what is ultimately a failed attempt to acquire another company before being booted from the board of directors.
Patience Locke lives up to her name, of course, as she waits patiently for her father to return. And Brutus Locke of course brings to mind Brutus and Julius Caesar. He too is colluding with outside forces in the hopes of bringing down the man in charge. I wonder if we'll get an "Et tu, Brutus?" moment later on.
The names of some of their children are interesting too. We're hearing about Nathaniel Locke again, years now after his death. Brutus comments that he had been the first one suspected to be the prophesied son. Similarly, there's the Biblical Nathaniel, who was the son of Saul, the first king of Israel. The Biblical Nathaniel would certainly have been raised to succeed his father as king one day, but instead he's usurped by an outsider, David.
Solomon Locke, or Jonah Hellbender is even more fascinating. Starting first with Jonah, that could be a reference to the Biblical Jonah, who spent three nights in the belly of a whale after trying to run away from a task God had given him. Has Solomon already been metaphorical whale food those years he stayed with Granny, or his three nights in the belly of the beast still yet to come?
And as for Solomon - well, the Biblical Solomon was the son of David, the unexpected king who succeed Saul. King Solomon was the wisest of them all, leading the Kingdom of Israel to new heights, including a fabulous temple. But, Solomon was also the last king of a unified Israel. The succession battles of his sons were so bad that the kingdom split in two, Israel and Judah. Perhaps the Locke family will finally split for good after Solomon's generation?
One reason why the kingdom split after Solomon's death, according to the Bible, is because of the discord introduced by foreigners: Solomon had a habit of taking wives and concubines from other countries that didn't worship the same god. It seems like we're flirting with that here, given the prophecy, and Rachel's status as a true outsider of the Green. Her name too, is interesting, when considering the Biblical character of Rachel. The Biblical Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, or Israel. In the Bible, Jacob promises his father-in-law Laban that he'll work 10 years of unpaid labor in his fields in exchange for marrying Rachel. Laban agrees and 10 years later, the wedding takes place. But, Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Rachel's older sister Leah that night, and Jacob ends up working an additional 10 years to finally marry Rachel. Maybe it'll be a bit before we hear wedding bells ringing in the podcast.
I hope y'all enjoyed this nerd out with me. The next episode is up so I'm off to see just how close some of these predictions might be!