Arte – 09+10 [Naughty Child | Katarina’s Dinner]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the first (makeshift) double-header post covering Arte. While I couldn’t cover these two episodes in their own respective posts, these were the show’s most adorable and heartfelt episodes and I feel that it would be unfair if they don’t get proper write-ups. So, the following are essentially two separate full-length episodic reviews posted under one title. Yes, that’s right! Two for the price of one!! Come one, come all.

Starting off with Episode 9, Arte is still facing difficulties in tutoring Katarina. Even though she’s well-versed in public etiquette and mannerisms, she refuses to behave as expected in front of her parents. Katarina tells Arte that there’s no formal education regarding etiquette that she can teach her so, it is best if she just leaves her to minding her own business. By that, she means dozing off in the middle of the day.

As Arte spends her nights wandering about the palace and wondering how to get Katarina to listen to her, she sees some light peeking out the window of Katarina’s room in the middle of the night and wonders why she isn’t asleep. The next day, for a change of pace, she asks Daphne to give her directions for the church but she offers to accompany her instead. There they meet some local artisans who call out Arte for being a female artist (that’s a first, right?). Upon listening to them moan about their disapproval, Arte bursts out laughing as she realizes that no matter where one goes, some things never change and that maybe, Venice wasn’t that foreign to Florence at all.

Later that night, she again sees the light turned on in Katarina’s room and goes over to check up on her. She knocks on her door but only hears some crashing and hushed yelps in response. She walks in to find Katarina surrounded by a pile of cooking books. Arte realizes that this is something Katarina wanted to keep a secret and feels guilty for not letting her have her wish. On the other hand, Katarina feels that she is done for as now, Arte was surely going to snitch to her father about what she saw, but to her surprise she never does. She just shows up in her workshop clothes and suplex-ing her to a chair whenever she tries to fall asleep. Arte even apologizes for invading her privacy last night and that is what makes Katarina trust her without reservations.

She tells Arte that she wouldn’t mind telling her about why she acts the ways she does and Arte listens as slowly, the walls of defenses around Katarina come crashing down to reveal a little girl, just as sad, lonely and vulnerable as anyone else.

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The next day, Arte accompanies Katarina to Yuri-san’s home where Katarina prepares a meal for everyone. Arte is surprised to see Katarina smiling and enjoying herself like this as she is never this happy at her own home. She asks her what made her get interested in cooking and Katarina recollects a memory which holds on to fondly, of being sickly and in bed and of Buona and her son, Gimo feeding her bread soup. For all the extravagant meals she’s had, she remembers that simple dish more than anything else which just goes to show that she believes a dish tastes only as good as the love poured into making it.

Later on, Arte finds out from Yuri-san about how Katarina’s father hated the fact that he had a daughter, not only because she was ill-behaved but simply because she wasn’t a boy. When it comes to most fathers and their children, boys are a blessing from the moment they are born and girls are forever a burden.

Katarina’s father sent her away to live in the village when she was but a child. He sent the bare minimum of servants and money for her care but it turned out that Katarina didn’t need a whole lot anyway. She had Buona, a house help to tend to any of her needs and she did so happily, like her own mother would have. And for the longest time, that’s who Katarina thought of Buona to be. When the time came for them to part, Buona told her that she already had a mother of her own because that’s what a dutiful servant is supposed to say to their employer’s daughter. Naturally, upon hearing that, Katarina lashed out at her. It’s difficult to blame her for what she said. It’s difficult to expect from her to not wish for closure even though life rarely lets us have it. It’s difficult to expect a child to understand how not all things are always black or white, right or wrong. It’s difficult yet also, so very easy.

Arte tries to find a way to help Katarina reconcile with her past and after finding the whereabouts of Gimo, asks Katarina to accompany her to go see him. The two sail away to the island where Gimo is supposed to be living and even though Arte loses the address to his home, Katarina ends up finding him on her own. Gimo tells her that he cannot see her (which breaks her heart) but promises to do so once she becomes independent and finds a place of her own in the world (which mends it again).

They go back to the palace and for a few days, Katarina doesn’t come out of her room which prompts her father to come to the conclusion that even Arte wasn’t enough to discipline his daughter and he decides to be rid of her services. But just when he’s about to do that, Katarina comes into the room and cordially requests her father not to make Arte go away. As always, he wouldn’t have listened to his daughter but this time, her mother Sofia herself intervenes and suggests that they let Arte stay as it’s for Katarina’s own good. Her husband doesn’t notice her shaking hands or her quivering lips because the men who are able to make their wives feel that way at the mere thought of voicing their opinion rarely do but he’s lost out the majority vote and so, he begrudgingly agrees.

Sofia apologizes to her daughter for not being the mother she deserved and admits that she doesn’t know how to be her mother at all, though in all fairness, only a few of us ever do. Katarina hugs her because she too doesn’t know how to be her mother’s daughter but the two hold each other as right now, it’s the only that matters the most.