About a year ago, I posted a Shadowgast fanfic on AO3 called "Silence and Shadows". It came out pretty well, and people seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since then in terms of what we know about Essek. Turns out, my interpretation of his motivations was WAY off.
Even so, I still occasionally get comments on it, which is wonderful! A reader recently asked me a question about what my thoughts are on the past few episodes regarding the Essek reveals, so what the hell, I'll post my response here.
While I was delighted to learn more about Essek's background and motivations, I am disappointed that Essek only floats for the show of it, that he's a traitor, and that he is also evil-aligned. But I am excited that he thinks of the Mighty Nein as his friends, and that he trusts them. And because of that, I am terrified that they might betray that trust.
Up until befriending them, Essek has kept to himself. He avoids social interaction, doesn't seem to see the value of connecting to people, and has remained isolated by choice because of it. Now he's opened up. He's entrusted secrets to what may very well be his first friends ever. And half of the group is talking about how he needs to be punished for what he did.
I'm not going to get into the whole, "well, yeah, because he's a WAR CRIMINAL, he shouldn't get away with it" debate. People do shit things. Sometimes they change, sometimes they don't, sometimes they can be rehabilitated with kindness and understanding, and sometimes punishment is the only way they learn. All I see is that Essek used to shut himself away, didn't care about anything but his research, and put on a show to hide who he actually is––and now he's confided his worst secrets in what he thinks are his friends, and is offering to join them for a time to "do some good in the world".
Assuming he’s being sincere in that offer, there are three possible scenarios I take from this:
A) The Mighty Nein bring Essek along for some of their travels. Maybe visit Alfield (and frickin' check in on Bryce, come on people!). In interacting with common people, Essek is able to see how they live, how the war has affected them, and how his actions have caused direct suffering. Maybe he starts to care. Maybe he starts to change. Maybe his alignment slowly begins to shift now that he is seeing the world beyond the cage he built around himself. Â
B) The Mighty Nein distance themselves from Essek. They don't take him up on his offer to join them, they decide he's too dangerous to keep associating with, and they basically leave him on read. Essek sees that their friendship was conditional/transactional, which is something he totally understands. It's disappointing that the Mighty Nein weren't the companions he hoped they would be, but at least they didn't rat him out or turn on him. He leaves it at that, and returns to his research and former shady business, once again isolating himself. He doesn't get better, but he does get worse either.
C) The Mighty Nein fucking turn on him. Essek now he realizes what a mistake it is to trust people. There's no point in reaching out to the world if it's only going to lead to betrayal and ruin. Essek not only isolates himself again, he is more inclined to descend further into the path of evil. One day, the Mighty Nein have to stop him, and he is forced into battle with the people he once thought he could trust.
I'm hoping to scenario A.
So basically, what I've seen these past few episodes with him is that he has a soft side, and that he's open to change. Yeah, he's lived for a century, but that's young for an elf. A twenty year old human sees the world very differently than that same human at age forty. Personalities , priorities, and actions change over time. Essek is still young and inexperienced, and I think he's at a point where there are many different paths available to him. The Mighty Nein has a chance to guide him towards one far less destructive––especially since he strikes me as someone who very much wants approval. The collective opinions of the Mighty Nein have grown important to him. He's likely willing to do the good deeds – maybe not because he wants to be good, but because he wants to show his new friends that he can be. We saw how Beau's outlook shifted as she began to care about the world around her. There's no reason Essek can't change in the same way.
And those are my thoughts.
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