It’s been common, especially recently, for stories to depict Harvey Dent as primarily a politician, particularly one with greater ambitions like becoming Mayor or Governor. Whenever I see that, I always want to show those writers “Eye of the Beholder,” where Harvey is depicted as having already achieved his highest career ambitions. He just wants to do his job, because it’s the one thing that’s holding him together.
I far prefer this take on Harvey over him being a grandstanding political figure focused on career advancement. The Law is what matters to him, the thing he clings to more than anything else to give him a sense of order and structure.
He’s not in it for the money or the prestige or his future. He needs this job for his own sanity, something to which he’s been drawn “all my life.” What kind of child decides to become D.A., and that kind of person holds to that dream without ever growing past it or changing their mind?
All that is so much more interesting to me than him just being a politician, even when he’s not depicted as corrupt. But it requires approaching him with a level of complexity, care, and insight that most writers don’t want to do, especially when they just want him as a tragic figure and/or an antagonist.
