Chaotic Harmony

"I will do anything to save the world." VS. "I will do everything to save YOU."

It honestly reminded me of

Red had ZERO hesitation in that jump.

Oh my god, YEEEEES.

ZERO HESITATION. ZERO THOUGHT. YOU ARE WORTH THE WORLD. I WILL DO EVERYTHING TO SAVE YOU.

I literally gasped when I watched this the first time before I remembered, oh fuck, yea, it was just salt water. But the MEANING was the same.

Red would put themself in front of a bullet for Purple.

And you can FEEL the sting on Purple's face though they have none.

Just wanted to put that out somewhere!

-- 🌙

IT'S AWFUL. Bcos, Green wasn't WRONG.

Like, when Purple said they wanted Red dead, even when they regretted it right after, in the moment, they meant it. And I like that! You can care about someone, and feel hurt by them, and want to hurt them back, and people are so complicated and messy like that bcos you can feel so many things about a person all at once.

Did Purple want Red to fail, to prove a point or something? Maybe. But I'm sure Purple didn't mean it like this.

And that's kind of the beauty of that entire torment sequence? Bcos Green thinks they know Purple and everyone there so well. But you don't. You never do. The fatal flaw of the Impostors, is that they don't seem to really get that nuance about people. That's why Orange and Green got so one-dimensional after they were replaced.

Green underestimating the crew's capacity to change and grow is what tripped them up.

"But Black hated Cyan." Maybe. But Black learned to appreciate Cyan, to try to understand Cyan, and that's how they found the residue in the Ore, and that the Ore was hollow.

"You couldn't trust anyone. That's how this all fell apart." But Purple did trust Green. They trusted Green and Brown to tell them that story about them and Red as interns. That's why Purple knew Green was the Impostor.

I keep repeating this, but just. One of the themes I really appreciate about the show, is that as imperfect and flawed and petty people can be, we have such a capacity for change and a natural need for connection with others. And that when those people die, they take all of it with them. Cyan will never know Black finally tried to understand them. Green won't ever become Captain. If Red had died, they wouldn't develop as the person as they are, and if Purple died, they wouldn't have seen that a friendship with Red was still possible.

Their identity without Purple has attached itself to their "Captain" label. Their job. What it means for them. Any attack on it and their competence is a direct attack to their primary insecurity: that, even if they made the sensible, safer choice in signing the NDA, they were in the wrong for doing so.

That they have always been in the wrong. A trait that Red knows and acknowledges at the end, and it takes an entire crew getting wiped out for them to peel back their cowardice to admit it. Despite the fact they've FUCKING KNOWN THE TRUTH, it's just been locked away by multiple walls of fear, crewmates needed to DIE for it to be spoken aloud.

Like, yeah. Purple has mental walls against Red that could prevent a titan from entering, but I'd argue Red does, too. At least in their Captain persona.

Both of them have these intense, barricaded walls stacked up against each other for different reasons, but the common denominator is protecting their inner self, their identity, and their emotional stability. Purple and Red directly oppose each others insecurities by proving to each other that both their outlooks are flawed.

Purple's idealism and sense of right and wrong doesn't account for overwhelming situations in the heat of the moment; they need to fight and act and PROVE they should be allowed to exist. They have the more morally upstanding view of things, just not the realism connected to it. Then, Red's self-preservence and duty to appease can look at the broader picture, but not the emotional threads they may be burning in the process.

AND!!! NEITHER OF THEM ARE IDIOTS FOR BELIEVING THIS!!!!! Not even Red. Red attaching themselves to the Captain's Handbook is a direct reflection of the fact they don't know what they're doing - not only with their crew, but themselves. Their true purpose.

Because their purpose outside Purple is aimless, insecure, and cowardly. Their heart has always been held by Purple, in the end.

Idk. I think it's important to regard that it's Red's instinct to fawn, cower, and appease is why they made so many stupid decisions in their time on the Skeld. Not that they are inherently stupid, just that they have a lack of social awareness and sense of self to do The Right ThingTM.

i need them thrown into a blender, ysa. they're RIDICULOUS

HI, NECTAR, I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO SEE YOU.

I KNOW, I KNOW!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. That the show itself doesn't frame either them as irredeemable or evil? Yeah, Red is silly and kinda dumb sometimes, and yes, Purple is impulsive and a bit reckless, but it's so consistent with their characters and beliefs.

Red is good at self-preservation. They're the ideal MIRA employee stooge. Keep your head down, follow orders, do things by the book, and you won't risk a thing. I love Red's perspective, bcos they really act like. Someone from a family that had high-expectations or demands, and valued conformity and obedience over developing your own personhood. Their primary trauma response is FAWN and it has gotten them this far.

While Purple is just. They're so idealistic. I will always be a bitch for it, Purple is IDEALISTIC. They've gotten beaten down, yes, but their sense of justice, belief in what is right and wrong, and tendency to ACT is FASCINATING. They'll go down fighting for what they think is right. They can be so clever and brave, but pausing or stopping goes against their core beliefs???

I just. I really love how deeply caring both of them are, but they show it in such polarizing ways. Purple trusted Red to be someone who'd have their back, bcos trust is something Purple gives very sparingly, only for Red to betray them. Bcos for Red, they want to PROTECT themself and Purple, and if bowing out meant keeping both of them safe, then Red will do it. Red is not prideful enough to challenge MIRA over this. Sacrificing themself and Purple over this colony is not worth it.

They're both so, "I will do anything to save the world." VS. "I will do everything to save YOU."

AND YES. I keep yelling about it, but it is FASCINATING to me how Red's identity is so tied to being Captain. Bcos they made such huge sacrifices to get here. It has to be worth it. They can't lose their title and job, too, bcos then what was the point? What was the point of compromising their morals, losing Purple? Nothing would matter.

oh my GOD it took me a minute but my jaw genuinely dropped when i realised i love cameracap so much they're so pathetic

Aren't they HORRIFIC, Anon?

Red is good at surviving. They're smart enough to know when to keep their head down, when to follow orders, why you shouldn't rock the boat or bite the hand that feeds.

IDK I just think it's neat that Purple's isn't just the "smart one" of the two, they're a bit of a hothead, and Red has more consideration of the consequences despite seeming like an idiot. Red needs Purple to get them proactive, and Purple needs Red to reign them in sometimes.

That's such a smart observation, Anon, omg. Yes. Purple is impulsive! They want to ACT, right now, right away! They do better when there's something to DO.

I really loved that moment, you just get a glimpse of how competent Red COULD be if they didn't rely so much on the handbook or prioritize what MIRA wants.

Red may be incompetent in time. They may let their need for being seen as a good captain overshadow their judgement. They are silly and may sometimes seem outright stupid. At the end of the day, however, Red is one of the smartest members of the crew, when they actually put their brains to use.

white if they survived like a couple more hours maybe. They didnt think through preparing for this did they

Their first line in the show is "Just like everyone else [...]", uttered right before bringing up their yacht and sommelier and high paying job handed down by mommy and daddy. They've been so completely sheltered that they've probably never interacted with the lower class directly, to the point where poverty is a vague, distant concept and they just assume the majority of people are like their """friends""" ("cops, influencers, children of politicians..."). Hell even when Yellow vents about corporate practices and Green asks "What's a capitalist?", White gleefully answers "Oh, that's me!" like they've never heard the term used in a negative context. They don't look down on poorer/not-rich people ; they barely even know those exist.

But then they board the Skeld.

Had they not been the first to die, I think it would have been really interesting to see how the events could/would have influenced them. Spending more time around Green, who comes from a worm farm and is the first in their village to pursue higher education ; talking with Yellow and Brown, the anticapitalist union leaders- and then when the imposter(s) start killing crewmates, getting hit with the realization that all their money and networking and business ties mean absolutely nothing.

They can't buy their way out- the murderous shapeshifting aliens don't care about money.

Their parents and associates aren't coming to help.

Even MIRA won't do a thing- as rich as White is, MIRA is richer. They'll cover up the incident in no time.

Brown is actually the first crewmate Yellow told. Brown got a spidey-sense that Yellow witnessed something big and instantly the knowledge beamed into their brain

Abstraction always happens in solitude. It happens when someone is isolated and beyond hope, and then one day, you check on them, only to find they're already gone. The thing that remains isn't them anymore.

AUGHAHGAGHHHHGGH

IDK I just think it's neat that Purple's isn't just the "smart one" of the two, they're a bit of a hothead, and Red has more consideration of the consequences despite seeming like an idiot. Red needs Purple to get them proactive, and Purple needs Red to reign them in sometimes.

That's such a smart observation, Anon, omg. Yes. Purple is impulsive! They want to ACT, right now, right away! They do better when there's something to DO.

I really loved that moment, you just get a glimpse of how competent Red COULD be if they didn't rely so much on the handbook or prioritize what MIRA wants.

Brown's face when Purple was telling them and Green about their past with Red was so GOOD. I think that's a tragedy of the Impostors on the Skeld? When those people die, you lose the relationships you could have built with them. You lose the opportunity to get to know them better, to understand them more. It's like, if Brown died before Yellow got to appreciate them more, they wouldn't have had this close friendship/relationship with each other. I genuinely think that's the point. When people die, you lose not just them, but every part of them and every version of them you could have known. That's what the Impostors were killing.

All that to say, I kinda mourn the relationships they all could have had with each other, especially Purple with Yellow and Brown. They would have completely understood. They would have been sympathetic to this person who wasn't just burned by the system, but betrayed by someone they trusted. It's a testament to how well-written these characters are? That their values and personalities are so impactful in the little time they had that you can see the possible offshoots of their interactions with others if they just had a bit more time.

But time was the one thing the Skeld crew did not have.