King's Quest Omnipedia
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King's Quest Chapter II: Rubble Without A Cause (aka King's Quest: Rubble Without a Cause) is the second chapter of the new King's Quest: Adventures of Graham.

Background[]

In chapter two, Goblins have kidnapped everyone in Daventry, and a newly crowned King Graham must learn to be the leader the kingdom needs. The second chapter takes place five years after the first and introduce new characters as well as furthering the stories of fan favorites like Olfie, Amaya the blacksmith, Wente the Baker, and the Hobblepots. Players can even find out a little what the goblins are doing with all those stolen mattresses (last seen in the prologue of Chapter 1).

The preview image at the end of Chapter 1 shows Graham surrounded by Goblins in the rain.

Notes[]

  • This chapter pulls its inspiration largely from The Princess and the Goblins. But also from other general fairy tale, mythic, and legendary goblin stories that inspired such works as the Goblins in The Hobbit as well. With goblins living in underground kingdoms ruled over by a Goblin King.
    • The second major story is influence from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, which is focused on in the prologue of the story and explained in the final act.
    • Third are fairy tale references come from the Goblin's general love of fairy tales and reenacting those stories. So a number of fairy tales and fantasy stories are referenced including Sword in the Stone, Gingerbread Man, Hansel and Gretal/Evil Witch, Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Pigs, Jack and Jill, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstock, Goldilocks, Princess and the Pea, Frog Prince, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, and others. As the new series takes the 'fractured fairy tale' approach the context of the references are often turned on their 'head'.
    • Last are references inspired by fairy tale events form earlier King's Quest games (in particular references to KQ1, and some foreshadowing to KQ3). There are a few references to pop culture as well, but fewer than than the first chapter.
    • The games references to 'fairy tales' not coming true, is more of an allusion to popular idea of neo-Grimmificaiton. "Darker and Edgier" attempts to reimagine and retell classic fairy tales in a darker way: on one hand returning the stories to their more original form before they were 'sterilized' and 'cleansed' during the Victorian era with forced morality lessons. But also neo-Grimmification also attempts to reverse even more modern "Disneyfication" of fairy tale by removing the 'perfect endings' where every one is happy, and lives 'happily ever after' everyone has love at first sight, and there is very little 'character growth'; but at the same time applying modern philosophical and psychological concepts and ideas to the story sometimes as far as making them a thriller (where the characters minds and motives are discussed and deconstructed over the course of the story, choices have real consequences, and minds are fragile things). This falls under modern concept of Fractured Fairy Tales but put to the extreme, much in the way Maleficent re-invents Sleeping Beauty's story or Into the Woods ends with a darker note for almost everyone involved: reinventing the motives of villains and often the heroes. Turning everything on its heads, but also make 'choices final', no happy ending unless you work to make them yourself (even then something might go wrong) and depression can set in. This concept is repeated in Chapter 3 (where it is most clearly seen) but becomes more subtle in later chapters (other than Graham's discussing mortality and his legacy the latter of which is also introduced in this chapter, and even themes of five stages of grief shown by various characters). In this chapter however it is introduced in order to explain the Goblins obsession with fairy tales, and trying to use them to control ever aspects of their lives, rather than living their own lives and making their own choices. By telling this story Graham was attempting to give a moral life lesson to his own grand-daughter that she could control her own 'fate' and 'destiny'.
  • According to Chapter 5, Chapter 2's story was abridged and embellished to some degree. There was a second act he left out between escaping the prison, and his time in the castle involving other things including goblin's riding giant rats.
  • There was a hidden Mysterious Cave Entrance that can be found in the First Chapter which is noted to be 'foreshadowing' it foreshadows elements from this chapter. Daventry castle and the moat monster is also said to be foreshadowing (but is mostly dropped, it is referenced briefly in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5). There were still more mysteries of the cave, and questions why Manny was sending goblins to steal beds, and other things, that were never fully explained.
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