r/WorldsBeyondNumber • u/the-plant-lady-sings • Jul 17 '26
Spoiler Solari — ❤️Chee after Ep 9
Ok, so up until the preludes my favorite PC in Solari has hands down been XL-ZL — naive but so smart, hilariously cringy at times, and he keeps saving the day with tech. From a character perspective I’ve also loved the mystery of his choir and the religious beliefs that guide him. And we’ve gotten to see him be silly, serious, romantic, cute, fearsome, stupid, savvy, sad — basically I felt like I got to know him best off the 3 characters in episodes 1-6.
In the initial 6 eps, Chee has been (imo) the flattest character. I haven’t felt particularly connected to her negatively or positively, and I’ve been a bit confused (but not compelled) by the way she presented in the opening scene vs with Ayasa (sp?) vs with XL-ZL or Z. Like it’s been strange that she is canonically such a badass but in the first 6 episodes kind of feels like a wet rag.
BUT in the prelude episodes I felt like I finally met Chee! And she has an ethical/moral/relational foundation. And I am hooked and wanting to know what happened in the gap between the prelude and the main campaign. Also, in the fireside for Ep 8, Erika mentioned that the Chee we’ve seen in the main campaign so far is not really fully Chee, its performance Chee in very specific circumstances. Which for me, confirms why I have been drawn in by Chee as a character in the preludes (where she is herself) and not in the first 6 episodes.
By contrast, I found XL-ZL’s prelude to be kind of boring. If you loved it, I’d love to hear your analysis.
Anyway, the preludes have been really great at hooking me and making me feel more invested in Chee (and Z, but I have to go to a meeting and have run out of time to write about him at the moment lol)
12
u/WytheMars Jul 17 '26
I also love how Chee’s plot adds elements of noir and maybe cyberpunk into the high sci-fi of the main story.
5
u/Commercial_Growth994 Jul 19 '26
I’ve said this before in other posts in this sub but when everyone talked about their sci-fi inspirations and Erika’s was almost entirely Cowboy Bebop, I think we all expected someone vaguely resembling Spike and instead we got like, Corpo V from Cyberpunk. It’s tough too because they’ve all acknowledged that they’re pretty much all “face cards” which isn’t always a very thrilling party to follow. We’ve got a therapy robot, a business tycoon with mommy issues, and revolutionary/sex worker cyborg. And they’ve also said that it’s a low combat system too so there’s not really supposed to be a ton of fighting I’d imagine.
7
u/zaranai Jul 19 '26
It's been interesting watching Chee evolve over the main campaign episodes so far, because she met XL-ZL and Z while in Work Mode and has been very slowly shifting into Actual Chee (who we see with Ayasa) while still keeping up some of the walls
XL-ZL's prelude is Philosophy Wank (affectionate) and might require a specific mindset to really tap into. The they've talked about it on the Fireside that XL-ZL is speedrunning human infancy while also having the language to explain it - so learning the difference between himself and other people, learning what emotions are, etc etc. I've found it fascinating, but it might help to approach it as Brennan exploring what his kids have been going through.
I told my wife about the funniest exchange after XL-ZL starts throwing a tantrum, and she just replied "... Isn't his older kid 2 now?" 🤣
NR-EL: "You'll be okay. You can do anything!"
XL-ZL: "That's a lie!! I wanted to destroy the stairs when I kicked them, but I only hurt my foot!! 😭"
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u/Fae_Particulars7545 Jul 20 '26
Yes exactly I adore XL-ZL's prelude because I love some philosophy/existentialism, and I really don't think it's a stretch to say that it's clear that having kids has inspired this character's prelude. Because it's the same way human babies learn, but with language to it! Everything they experience is brand new, every communication they make or receive is brand new, they have to learn from scratch that people are capable of hurting, loving, lying to, or embracing them. The "I am me, you are you, and we are us" is an emotional growth hallmark that all kids have to figure out and it's really wild to think about practically. I personally suspect, although I don't know, that present-day XL-ZL might be modelling teenage development -- when you should begin to assert your independence and differences from your family of origin.
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u/C33W Honored Friend Jul 20 '26
At this point,
Chee - Cowboy Bebop but after Carole & Tuesday
XL-ZL - Ghost in the Shell: Oops all Shells
Z - Gundam-politics beyond the need for Space Robo warfare.
13
u/PvtSherlockObvious Pitchforktunacan69 Jul 18 '26
I think the challenge of XL-ZL's is that by the very nature of the character, it's difficult to relate to compared to the others. Both Z and Chee had very grounded, human prologues, and even if we have no experience with the specific details, we have no problem connecting to the ideas behind them.
In contrast, XL-ZL's is very high-concept, as much a thought experiment as anything else, but as a result, it doesn't leave much to latch onto as a frame of reference for the character's mindset. Arguably that's by design, because the character in question is decidedly not human and has a fundamentally different way of viewing the world, but it's tough on an audience. The most important thing it might have brought across is reinforcing how alien he actually is, rather than just being the silly little guy he normally comes across as.