Hi Domi, I wanted to ask you: what do you think a true redemption for Mr. Puzzles would have looked like, and how could it have been carried out without him losing his own personality or his core motivations?
Oh, what an interesting question! *rubs hands evilly*
Well, first we need to understand what kind of redemption we're talking about for Mr. Puzzles. If we're talking about the most common "he becomes a good guy and joins the main cast," then that's practically impossible.
I personally believe the most redemption Puzzles could achieve (especially if he maintains his Puzzlevision era character) is neutrality toward the SMG4 crew. He wouldn't try to ruin their lives, wouldn't hatch new plans to kill them, and would finally return to filmmaking and, despite such competition, try to make it in the world.
And even then, he wouldn't have achieved this on his own. Puzzles needs someone who understands moral standards and sets a healthy example for how to interact with society (after all, he locked himself in his room and had no friends, which is why he doesn't understand most social norms). But to do this, he first needs to see this person as an equal, so that he respect them and listen to them (hi narcissistic personality disorder). Basically, he needs a friend who can explain how to behave in society and not be a parasocial freak who spends all his energy on unsuccessful attempts to get rid of people who ruin his life.
He won't be able to become completely good or an "innocent angel." No, he will still commit cruel acts, he will still be impulsive and irritable, he will still try to achieve creative control. But all his energy will be spent not on killing anyone, but simply on trying to show off the remnants of the art that existed before the memes, and with it, achieve some popularity.
Looking at everything that's happening in the show, I'd say Tari is a good fit for Puzzles's redemptive companion. Meggy, while she has a strong moral compass, wouldn't have worked well in a duo with Puzzles, and they mostly bickered and argued. He needs someone calmer and more "stable," someone who can listen to his latest rant about how his show is so much better than SMG4 /silly
Damn, I've already said so much and I'm starting to worry it might sound unrelated, but I was really glad to finally talk about this topic teehee