I saw this on my tl and just wanted to say that a big part of how mal was written in the books, we didn’t see. first person narration is limiting in that we see the development of other characters through the eyes and bias of the mc, in this case alina.

the beauty of the adaptation is that it allows for the audience to have more insight on the journey of other characters. leigh was a collaborator on the script. if she thought show mal wasn’t characterized accurately, she had the space to voice her opinions.

mal went through shit that we didn’t know bc alina didn’t know. he wasn’t changed. we just only saw him through a one dimensional lens because of alina’s narrative and bias. thanks for coming to my tedtalk.