Something that's been on my mind for a while now that I haven't seen anyone talk about is how by letting Reese give in to his anger, he immediately becomes a worse person. I want to preface this by saying I understand wanting to hurt someone who has hurt you, especially for so long in such a way that he was hurt, and I do not blame him for wanting that or even fantasizing about it. But by letting him go through with it he seems to develop this kind of vigilante mindset about anyone he deems a threat, and this is amplified especially if the player character is romancing him, what with him running off to kill Tabitha even if the MC tells him not to (which is getting into something I will get into in a moment). Allowing yourself to simply give in to your worst instincts and hurt people will, and with him does, make it easier to hurt people. Violence becomes more and more of a viable option as reacting with violence has now gone unpunished, or even been encouraged. He is drunk on his newfound power and ability to fight back, and by killing his mother and finally being free, whether he knows it or not, violence has been enforced as a valid way to protect himself, or to get what he wants. I do not think I need to explain why this would make one a worse person. This is also a completely unsustainable way of existing, as violence like this is most often punished in the long run and will likely land you in a much worse off position. Though, considering he is a cisgender white man, he might be let off the hook (which is enraging for several reasons that I also do not think I need to get into, but especially from my own experiences). I will state as a side note, that I do not think his alternatives of being locked away or killed are good, as no one deserves being locked up in a room like that and it's tragic for him to die the way he does, but the person he becomes in a matricide/obedience route is going down a disgusting road that I have a few more thoughts on regarding things other than violence.
So, due to all this, he believes he is in the right constantly now. This especially applies to the level of control and possessiveness he demonstrates towards a player character romancing him. This part gets into how I absolutely do not understand the desire to romance this character, but I am aware that I am biased in ways I don't think I need to disclose, exactly. I do think my reasoning stands as character analysis, which is why I am even including this section, not to mention the fact that I am allowed to talk about these things if I want to anyway. As soon as he transforms he attempts to take away the player character's agency. This, personally, is where I start to dislike him (not as a character, but as a person. He is very well written and compelling but if I had to deal with him, at this point I would kick his teeth in). To me this is where he starts to read something like a sad boy who becomes controlling and abusive as soon as you have let him in. To him now, it's his responsibility to "protect" the MC, whether or not they want him to. In his eyes, he knows best, and the MC doesn't, and he's going to do what he thinks is right for their own good. They'll come around eventually, and even if they don't, it's for the best. This is where he stops really being able to listen to anything the MC says. Obviously this can be cut short by the other endings to episode 4, but we're talking about world states where he kills Dr Kelly and goes free. The next time an MC romancing him sees him, he is deeply misguided on how to handle himself around them. He wants very badly to be helpful, which would be sweet if it weren't for the fact that if the MC confides in him, he takes action in a way that strips the MC of their agency in a situation where they should be the one choosing what happens. And then there's the kiss. I (or we) haven't played the section where he kisses the MC when they tell him not to, but I have heard of it, and it ties back into what I've been saying about how he immediately becomes worse after a matricide/obedience ending to episode 4, as well as the aforementioned 'sad boy turns out to be abusive' from above. There is no way to know how he will be in the final two episodes, but I do not think he will be better. He has already proven that now he cannot listen.
To be clear, I do not think Reese is a bad person, but he's taken steps down a road that ends horribly, and I myself haven't seen anyone talk about this yet, so I thought I might as well do it myself as talking about all aspects of a character feels important to me. Especially when it can be read as something like how I read him. Again, I am informed by my own experiences and biases, but that's part of how character analysis works anyway. Parts of his character irritate me as they highlight certain behaviors that are waved away or treated as endearing when an apparently attractive (I am ace I really wouldn't know) white boy is doing them. This is not the fault of the character as his story could absolutely be seen as an exploration of that, which I like to think it is, but that is my interpretation.
baratheonpilled
origamiaround
kianamaiart
