Okay, everybody talks about how much of a breath of fresh air Apollo is for Klavier. But can we talk about how much of a breath of fresh air Klavier is for Apollo? It *is* Turnabout Serenade Season, after all.
One of Apollo's first experiences with real loss and betrayal was Dhurke shipping Apollo off to America, saying he'd come back for Apollo, and never showing up. The person Apollo believed in most in the world let him down.
So when Phoenix Wright -- the guy he projected a lot of his unresolved Dhurke feelings onto, the guy he idolized enough to decide to take up the mantle of defense attorney despite his past... When that guy turned out to be a liar too, no wonder Apollo punched him in the face.
Not to mention he discovered Phoenix was a liar IMMEDIATELY after finding out that Kristoph, his boss -- another person he respected -- was a liar *and* a killer.
All men who weren't who they said they were. All men Apollo had believed in that turned out not to deserve it.
And so, reeling from all that... he immediately, upon his very next case, meets a man who looks like a caricature of his liar boss, turns out to be his liar boss's brother and his courtroom enemy, and just OOZES false charm and rock-star glamor. He takes one look at Klavier and probably thinks, "Well if this isn't the most fake mf I've ever met."
Except then it turns out Klavier is actually smart and super capable in court. Apollo's starting to respect him, but he doesn't want to, because he definitely doesn't trust Klavier yet.
(pulled from the Turnabout Corner Transcript)
- Apollo: (Grr... Never underestimate a Gavin is the lesson here.)
When he goes to Klavier's show, Apollo looks for every excuse to write the guy off. It's why, even when Klavier has a (totally understandable imo) blow-up and complains about his show and the terrible day he's had, Apollo wonders if this ugly side is "The real him."
(pulled from the Turnabout Serenade Transcript)
- Trucy: Mr. Gavin sure is irritable today.
- Apollo: Maybe this is the real Prosecutor Gavin we don't get to see in the courtroom.
But the thing is... it's not. And Apollo keeps seeing little hints of that. Klavier is a good man. Through all those layers of dazzle and fluff Apollo starts to see the opposite of what Phoenix and Kristoph and Dhurke are in Apollo's mind. Those men turned out to be complicated and dishonest. But Klavier, for how dishonest and complicated he seems... is pretty simple.
(pulled from the Turnabout Serenade Transcript)
[After clearing all Talk options and correctly presenting Igniter:]
- Klavier: I believe that covers everything I'm at liberty to talk to you about.
- Apollo: Oh.
- Klavier: Thanks for dropping by... Herr Forehead.
- Apollo: Thanks...?
- Klavier: Why, you gave me so much information! That igniter, for instance...
- Apollo: Oh. That.
- Klavier: I've never met an attorney so forthcoming with the prosecution. It's a big help. ...Or perhaps you're just a tad naïve, hmm?
- Apollo: (...I guess I could have hid it, but somehow, showing it felt like the right thing.) I could say the same... to you, Prosecutor Gavin.
- Klavier: ...?
- Apollo: Thanks for the information. About the, er, strange lump of plastic. The one that Mr. LeTouse was investigating.
- Trucy: Hey, that's right...
- Klavier: I've been thinking, Herr Forehead. We encounter many incidents in our lives, all of us. Not all of them simple.
- Apollo: ...Especially not the ones where people are killing to song lyrics.
- Klavier: That is why I try to at least remain simple inside. And I keep a simple goal: to discover the truth.
- Apollo: ......
- Klavier: That's why I like to keep relations civil, ja? ...That is all.
- Apollo: ...I can live with that.
- Trucy: Um... Mr. Prosecutor?
- Klavier: Fräulein?
- Trucy: Can I ask you why you sing in a band?
- Klavier: Ah. Because I want women to turn and look when I walk down the street.
- Apollo: That's pretty simple, too.
And Apollo starts to think about the loss Klavier has had to face because of dishonest people who let him down. He thinks about Daryan and Kristoph, and realizes Klavier is closer to being Apollo in this situation than he is to being like them. And Apollo begins to really respect Klavier. He begins to *believe* in him.
That's why, when he sees Klavier starting to show a fawn response when Kristoph shows back up in the final trial of AA4, Apollo reaches out to him across a courtroom, even when they're supposed to be enemies.
(pulled from the Turnabout Serenade Transcript)
- Kristoph: Take a moment to consider everything you've built. Your reputation as a prosecutor... your fame with the masses. You could lose it all, Klavier.
- Trucy: Apollo! Did you see that? He's trying to press Prosecutor Gavin!
- Apollo: Prosecutor Gavin! Try to remember... ...what's really important to you!
And the most surprising and wonderful thing happens -- Klavier doesn't let him down. Klavier rises to the occasion in a way so many of the men in Apollo's life haven't.
And isn't that refreshing.