Gubbus

Miura is actually clever as fuck making his characters extremely flawed and human.

Griffith, although somewhat manipulative, was not born evil, or a rapist. He was a kid with a dream, one who had ambition he wished to chase. So, he did.

I think naively, he did not expect the cost of chasing that dream until certain things happened, ie the death of that child with the toy soldier, his men dying for his cause, or selling himself for Gennon for funds. I think over time ambition warped him to the point where it was just too fucking painful. Like Guts, who post-Eclipse, shoved his trauma down and hyper focused on revenge because facing his reality and sitting with it is too painful, Griffith did the same with sacrificing the Band to get rid of his humanity, his feelings, his pain.

So, the two scenes I'm looking at today:

Charlotte + Griffith

Okay, so rereading this over, this is very dubious concent. Yes, Charlotte did initially say no. And Griffith ignored it. Yes, that is a red flag, but also keep in mind Charlotte is highly infatuated, hell, in love with Griffith. So I suspect there's quite a number of things running through her mind at his sudden appearance in the middle of the night.

1) Surprise!Griffith busting into her bedroom during a storm awaking her.

2) She was terrified of Griffith dying during battle, even though the war was over, she was upset he had not come to see her sooner to talk.

3) Holy shit this man I love kissed me

4) Her thoughts on purity and being a noblewoman, and a virgin: Most likely she does not know the specifics of intercourse, but she knows sex before marriage is considered taboo, and she is the Princess, so she is expecting to maintain honour and her purity. Her saying "no" could mean a few things. 1) She's scared, understandably so because it would be her first time 2) She's saying no to maintain appearances of her status, giving in immediately would not be seen as ladylike. Showing resistance intially would show Griffith she's not "easy" in a sense. (THESE ARE NOT MY PERSONAL BELIEFS AGAIN, THIS IS ME TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HER THOUGHT PROCESS) Should Griffith had stopped when she said that, or checked in with her? Yes or course in a perfect world where consent was explicitly stated, but this is a fiction with a narrative and Griffith has a specific motivation to do the things he does and this is no exception.

...Bringing me to my next point. After sleeping with Charlotte, you can see him sitting in the fetal position while Charlotte sleeps, digging his nails in skin and leaving marks much like he did after sleeping with Gennon and talking to Casca about it in the river. 

Yes, he was  crashing out because the person he cared about most left him, almost with clinical detatchment, and Griffith kind of sees that as Guts never really cared about him in the first place (which is obviously not true). This is why he's doing what he's doing, but I think the real reason he's self harming here again is because much like how Gennon used his money to buy Griffith for the night, Griffith is using sex and manipulation of Charlotte to work his way to becoming King. He is doing exactly what his abuser did. Using people for gain/satisfaction. I think that moment of post-nut clarity is a moment of self hatred that he's stooping that low to obtain his dream. He's had similar hesitancy with sending Guts on his assassination mission, though he knew it was necessary. But after it was done and he heard the news, he smirks because that step closer to his dream is a much stronger than guilt. He's basically at the point where he feels he feels he's so close to actually realizing his dream of becoming King, it becomes a classic case of sunk-cost fallacy. If he stops now it'll be all for nothing. He also states multiple times that "they chose to fight for me" because that lessens the impact of responsibility for their deaths. Anything where a situation isn't won with diplomacy or fighting the enemy makes him feel the brunt of responsibility. And he obviously hates that. He even asks Guts after he traps the Queen and the noblemen in the fire to perish, "Do you think I'm evil?" He clearly has a conscious. He just tries his best to rationalize it a a necessary evil.

Fast forwarding post Griffith rescue:

It's been over a year. Griffith has been tortured in every way possible. He's been alone in the dark, alone with his thoughts, ones he most likely replayed over and over trying to figure out what went wrong. He starts analying every little detail. Self blame. Blame on others. Memories get distorted over time. Griffith needs a scapegoat for the pain. Who better else than the one who hurt him the most? Guts.

It doesn't matter Guts and the Band risk life and limb to save him. In his mind Guts ruined everything, everyone abandoned him, his dream is dead. There is nothing to live for. During his rescue he observes Casca and Guts getting closer. They don't need him. They never did. Of course he notices Charlotte still loves him but that means nothing to him. He never loved her to begin with, and his chance of marrying her is completely gone. 

Anyway, onto the Casca + Griffith scene:

This one I think can be interpreted in multiple ways, and I don't think any of those intepretations are wrong.

Casca is changing Griffith's bandages. He notices her hesitation, her trembling fingers. Casca, his most loyal follower, one he never let close but never left his side and always looked at him with admiration, now looks at him with sympathy and sadness. And she's now involved with Guts, the one who Griffith now blames for everything. Even if he has nothing, he was always supposed to have Casca. And now she's planning to leave him too.

So, he throws himself on her.

Here's what I think is happening.

1) A desperate attempt to convince her to stay despite his broken state. Griffith isn't an idiot, he knows Casca was in love with him, but he was just never interested in that way. And now that she has eyes for Guts? He's potentionally losing the unwavering support. He's trying to finally recipocate her feelings in an attempt to change her mind. After all, throwing himself on Charlotte worked and she was in love with him as well, it should work with Casca too, right?

2) Trying to regain a feeling of power. This also ties into the previous point, and yes it is creepy and "rapey". Perhaps he's upset at Casca in a way as well. Throwing himself on her could also be seen as a way to show he still has power over her, much in the same way as "you belong to me" with Guts. Showing her he isn't as completely feeble and pathetic as she thinks he is.

...And even though this triggers Casca she quickly realizes he's not strong enough regardless, and that trigger is overridden, the attempt is rationaized as potential misinterpretation, her still lingering admiration and idolization of him winning out. Not to mention the guilt and sympathy she feels. I think Casca interalizes a lot of unnecessary blame on herself, considering she thinks of herself as Griffith's sword. So even though she's now in a relationship with Guts, her guilt compells her more to stay and take care of Griffith. Her crying outside the carriage after I think is mix of emotions. Sympathy, exhaustion, the realization this Griffith will never be the same Griffith she new, the conflicting pull of leaving with Guts and her loyalty to Griffith and the Hawks, and probably the fear of whatever he was potentionally trying to do when he climbed on top her. She might have been gaslighting herself out thinking about what just happened, especially with her idealized version of him, her Griffith that saved her when she was young from being raped. Her perfect Griffith, her savior, her hero. Her idol. He could never possibly do...*that.*

Of course Griffith witnesses and overhears her talking with Guts, and in despair hallucinates his old self. He takes off in the carriage chasing that ellusive castle. He crashes then dreams. 

He dreams of Casca. He dreams the potential if she stays with him. This is him trying to accept what giving up the dream and accepting his new reality might look like. At least that's how I see it. In the dream Griffith looks like his old self but he is immobile and does not move from where he sits. Casca talks about the peace of living with him, and feeds him soup. I think Griffith still sees himself as he was, hence why Miura drew him like that, but the lack of movement and having Casca feed him in a domestic like scene makes me think this is what Griffith thinks life will be like if Casca stays and takes care of him. He's imagining what it would be like to allow himself to be loved by her despite not feeling that way, what life could potentionally would be like going forward, now that his dream is dead.

But after he crashes the cart he remembers. He breaks his arm, remembers how pathetic and broken he is and without his charm, his charisma, his silver tongue, his ability to wield a sword he is nothing. He is not worthy to be followed or loved now. Now everything comes crashing down, the pain of leading those for nothing, the pain of people dying for him.

I think this is why he didn't let anyone close, and keeps them at arms length, but keeps people in his orbit with charm and charisma. Anyting closer would hurt too much. The child dying hurt too much. Guts broke through the barrier, and him leaving shattered him. Him losing his autonomy hurt too much. Casca and Guts leaving him again hurt too much. Living hurts too much. But he can't even end it himself. 

So, given the chance to remove the feeling of pain, to regain control again? It looks awfully tempting for someone at their lowest. After all, it felt like his world was ending around him anyway. They were all leaving him. The dream was dead. Everything was for nothing.

But sacrificing? That would *mean something*.

He'd regain his autonomy. He'd obtain his dream. The Band? They left him anyway. If if they hadn't yet, they will. That's how he saw it. Sacrificing them would be what they wanted, right? Serving towards Griffith's dream. That's his rationalization for it.

He's been transforming even before activating the Behelit.

The Casca + Griffith rape scene:

It's fucking awful, I hate rereading it. As Femto, Griffith has given up human emotion. He is all ambition and pride now. 

Raping Casca in front of Guts? It's a message to them both, a show of power. And this time he has no sense of remorse or guilt for it. He gave up his humanity.

How dare you leave me. You were there to help me obtain my dream. I own you. 

I do see Griffith using Casca more as a message to Guts though. Casca never really mattered to him as much outside of being a tool of loyalty. Guts though? Guts meant everything. Whether you want to interpret it as platonic or unrealized romatic feelings. 

He stares at Guts through out, wanting to maximize the emotional pain. Wants Guts to feel how he felt. To have something he loved be ripped away. To feel powerless, to feel like nothing.

Exactly how Griffith felt.

And Guts doesn't completely understand why Griffith did what he did, because the Guts in Griffith's mind isn't the same Guts. It's the one he interprets of being evil and taking everything away from. And now he wants Guts to feel the same way. Like how Guts now chases revenge, Griffith doing what he did was also fueled on revenge.

Berserk is a tragedy built from a series of  misunderstandings and the flawed human condition and duality of man.

Anyway, tldr; pre-Eclipse Griffith is morally grey like Guts. He's not a monster. He does some fucked up shit for sure but he has reasons for doing then. Does that excuse his actions? Of course not. But painting him under one brush as someone who's just evil for evil's sake completely misses the point. He's just another character following what he thought was the best option out of his situation when there was no other option in his mind. 

Griffith is just as complex as Guts. 

...But Femto/Neo Griffith is still fucking evil. 

And contrary to popular belief, I actually dislike Griffith. But it doesn't bother me that people like him or have him as a favourite. But for both sides, those that like and hate him...I wish they'd see him as multilayered and complex like the rest of the characters in the series.