Idk why there's discourse around this when we were directly told in s1 itself that he didn't want to help Thornhill
"...It would enslave him to you. And that was scary at first. So you used the cave and the shackles."
And I know what the usual arguments are so here we go:
1. Yes he said he enjoyed hurting them. But there's 3 parts to this:
One, Laurel brainwashed him, this could've been a part of the way she programmed him. If he thought he liked it all, it was less likely for their bond to snap and for him to attack her. He also doesn't seem to have the same appetite for violence in s2 (I'm not saying he had a problem with violence, just comparing the amount of joy he got from it).
Secondly, it is an actual phenomenon that people who are forced to commit crimes often delude themselves into thinking that they like it and are doing it of their own free will as a coping mechanism.
Thirdly, and most importantly, liking violence isn't a bad thing on its own. It's a person's actions that define their morality, and he didn't want to commit these particular crimes. The fact that he likes violence doesn't automatically make him evil, Wednesday's out here scalping people, but you never see someone say she's morally reprehensible.
2. Yes, he threw Wednesday out of the window when he didn't have a master controlling him. But we know a Hyde goes crazy after killing his master.
And there is no comparison with his behavior after Francoise died because she killed herself. The effects on the Hyde will obviously be different when he directly murdered his master vs when she committed suicide. And the effects are also different because when Thornhill died, Tyler got autonomy back after YEARS. And no matter how awful Fran was to him, she didn't brainwash or torture him. The amount of sway she had on his psyche wasn't as much, so of course, he was more in control after his mom died but immediately started going crazy when Thornhill died.
3. Yes he was able to eventually act against his masters and attack them, but in both cases it happens after Tyler perceives them as having abused the master-Hyde bond. It is heavily implied that the bond snaps from his side when he feels like his master has betrayed him and taken advantage of the bond.
But until he reached that breaking point, we know Tyler had no choice but to follow direct orders because he almost lets Wednesday's werewolf kill him because of his mom's order. Hunter Doohan also added that he was specifically directed to act like he would have actually saved her if he wasn't under direct orders when Wednesday was being buried.
This holds true with Thornhill too. Her notes clearly state that he lost his old personality and had no free will.
4. Further in this scene, Thornhill orders him to attack Wednesday but Wednesday tells her that he isn't going to, and initially Thornhill is confident that he'll "do anything" for her but when he doesn't immediately act on her orders she walks over to him and feeds him lies that we know are the same ones she used when she was grooming and brainwashing him.
This pretty much proves that Thornhill knew he didn't want to do the things she was making him do. That's why she was constantly re-enforcing her conditioning. Plus, he also must've done something for her to actually believe him breaking free and helping Wednesday instead is a real possibility.
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
izzy806
janainaart
origamiaround
tangentwithtanner
theartofmadeline
