What do you think about the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics?

Good with a dash of corruption or rotten through and through?

I find the Institution a really interesting construct in Nimona.  It's hard to judge seeing as we've only really seen things from Goldenloin and the Director's points of view; are there other subsets to it?  What's going on with all the little soldier people?  Is it just the Director in control of the whole thing, or are there heads of other divisions?

I don't like to think of it as rotten through and through; more that they're originally good but the promise of power and control has corrupted it.  I think that they're still there to enforce justice, and they see it as doing the right thing; they're just starting to go about it the wrong way... but that could just be my naivety.  Either way, it's interesting and I'm excited to see what happens in the future, particularly between Goldenloin and the Director.

It kinda makes me think of a medieval FBI, and the Director has become deformed over her obsession with complete control.

Or something, I have no idea. I can't wait to learn more about it though!

And maybe learn about more employees. I always feel bad for the faceless employees that get hurt.

Yesss! More info on the faceless employees (or at least one minor tangent, because it's very Director-centred) would be awesome. It'd be cool to see what they think of the Institution; why they're working for it, and their reaction to the whole mysterious poisoning thing...

Yes! I really liked that bit when Nimona placed the apple in I chapter 6, when we see the townspeople talking about the Institution. Although I'm not sure if it's nice seeing the background characters or just because Nimona is hilarious in that part

I believe that the Institution simply defines order. We could say that it's corrupt, but it may have just been designed that way. Again, the only perspective we have is from Nimona and Blackheart, so we're going to see and assume the worst. What I'm trying to say is that with something like feudal society, the Institution may just be the only thing stopping wars between nobles. If you know Medieval history, there are quite a few wars and kingdoms and their fiefs were always being exchanged at the cost of the peasants' life and well-being. In a sense, the Institution is like a nuclear weapon. It's bad, everyone agrees with that. But it's a power that is a classic deterrent. Though if someone had complete control of the Institution, they could easily enforce their iron will. I'm not familiar with Noelle Stevenson's work though, so I have no idea how complex she writes or if "the good guys are actually the bad guys" is as deep as it is going to get. That's what is part of the excitement with reading new authors who write well, you have no idea how complex they write in the overall plot.

Einah wrote:

Yesss!  More info on the faceless employees (or at least one minor tangent, because it's very Director-centred) would be awesome.  It'd be cool to see what they think of the Institution; why they're working for it, and their reaction to the whole mysterious poisoning thing...

I'd love to see how the soldiers are acting about things as well.