Catch a Demon By His Heartstrings

In the last issue of Demon: Hell is Earth, Jason Blood and Madame Xanadu had a conversation in the lull in the middle. Jason admits to fearing that Etrigan is going to overwhelm him, which isn't a new for him. He mentions that the two of them - Blood and Xanadu - seemed to drift apart after he stopped letting Etrigan out, and her response is essentially that yes, that's true. Because she saw it as Jason not trusting that the two of them could control the Demon. Jason was treating it as his burden to bear when, if they were a couple, it was a responsibility they'd share.

Although I figure there's a decent chance Jason was worried she'd decide she liked Etrigan better and Blood would become the third wheel. You know Etrigan would try his damndest to make that happen, just because. Which makes me envision Jason and Etrigan as Betty and Veronica, which leaves Madame Xanadu as Archie, my apologies to her. Which makes Merlin Reggie Mantle, or Jughead?

That wasn't really where I was going with this. A less charitable interpretation of Xanadu's comments would be she liked having both boys interested, and resented Jason for cutting Etrigan out. Seems unlikely, but as Drax might say, it might sound like the Madame Xanadu I know. I haven't read that many comics with her in them, and DC characters are an unfathomable mystery!

Shortly after the conversation, as Etrigan tears apart mutated horned lizards, Jason and Xanadu observe and discuss how a sword is never safe, but it can be managed, controlled. Tying in to Jason's concerns of losing control, and Xanadu's remarks that the two of them together could handle the situation. That's a dangerous assumption to make.

Setting aside that Jason can't count on Madame Xanadu always being there to help him, Etrigan is not a sword. Swords can't think for themselves, don't have their own motivations. Etrigan is no genius, but he's old, and cunning, and spiteful. You can't rely on the situations where they need Etrigan being ones where he'd always want to help, or have no choice but to do so. And as long as he has to option to refuse to help simply for the sake of being difficult, or out of spite, "controlling" him is going to be hard to do. A sword, when you go to draw it from its scabbard, doesn't typically refuse to be drawn. But Etrigan might. He might simply repeat the phrase and revert to Jason Blood, or turn around and go do something else.

Granted, if Blood dies, Etrigan dies, but underestimating the demon's potential for spite seems dangerous. The two of them have both certainly contemplated doing that often enough. Madame Xanadu could try using approval/disapproval as a carrot/stick situation, but that's only going to sour things over time. Unless demons enjoy being played with like that, and assuming she's actually willing to do so (doesn't really seem like her style, but like I said, it might be).

There are going to be times they need Etrigan, and it would certainly help to be able to convince him to help. But thinking they can control him just seems like the first step in setting themselves up for an unpleasant surprise down the line. Still, seeing if the can pull it off for the duration of this adventure is the main thing keeping me invested in the mini-series.