Adaleen Grant may not be trying to get her husband to become a king (or a prophet), but damn if she isn’t going to make sure he keeps his position as one. However, whether she actually believes her husband is a prophet is a mystery. She will announce in one breath that he is the prophet so people are lucky to be in Roman’s presence (or bed), but then she will mutter that she has to save him from himself.
Whatever Adaleen is, she is a pragmatist at heart. I don’t think her actions stem from religious fervor, though. I think they come from a pathological desire for power. Let’s take a look at some of the things Adaleen has done [lately] to maintain her position as Roman’s one and … well, many.
1. She has thrown Nicki under the bus several times, starting when she let her daughter be married to a much older man when Nicki was a teenager. All for the greater good, of course.
2. She heavily insinuated that it was she who tried to have Alby killed in a bathroom. It’s obvious that Adaleen knows that Alby is gay, and she is determined not to allow Alby to usurp her husband’s power. Even if it means doing away with her son.
3. She uses money stolen from the compound to bribe Rhonda out of town, hissing at her, “Nobody really cares about you,” which feeds into Rhonda’s worst fears. She then sends Rhonda to a fate that will probably be worse than Rhonda would have met at the hands of the prophet.
4. Adaleen plants Nicki in the D.A.’s office so Nicki can steal evidence willy-nilly. Nicki feeds Adaleen the names of the witnesses so Adaleen can thwart them.
5. Adaleen kidnaps Jolean’s son so Jolean will refute Kathy’s testimony about how old they were when they were married to Ron. After Jolean testifies, Roman walks free.
I’m not really sure which is more impressive: The ways in which Adaleen gets information and manipulates people into working for her or her complete lack of moral ambiguity when it comes to sending Rhonda to her doom or coercing Jolean’s testimony. Adaleen doesn’t seem to have a sense of the greater good at heart: Her goal is to keep Roman in power, no matter what. This, of course, protects her own power.
What I am curious to find out is whether she would choose Roman or herself, when push comes to shove. She has shown that she is capable of betraying her children, so why not the prophet himself? The major difference between Adaleen and Lady Macbeth is that Adaleen, so far, doesn’t seem to feel any remorse for what she has done.
Clacked by Jen Creer
on Feb 09, 2009 @ 16:09 EST5EDT
