Fuckkkkk istg yall it is soooo Sick and Twisted (/j) just how much btas jervis’s behavior makes from the perspective of someone like me who has experience being the Undiagnosed Autistic Person/“Weird Quiet Kid”, whos struggled socially and tends to be drawn into fiction... (Tbh im almost tempted to say hes audhd like me considering the beginning of MaaH implies he is often Not Quite Doing His Job)
Like…gee wiz guys, i wonder why the undiagnosed autistic (possibly audhd) man ,who has likely been told growing up that he was being "rude" or that he was "speaking nonsense", or felt he was constantly misunderstood (if we go audhd route possibly struggle with time blindness too) might relate to a character like the hatter from AiW (outside of just looks of course)...truly a mystery /j
(its also made me wonder about some of his behavior like hey jervis, whyd ya move to gotham? it wasnt that you were trying to flee and leave your past behind in london right? is that also what you were doing in worry men? Trying to flee from reality by chasing a fantasy? jervis have you every heard of autistic elopement-)
legitimately i feel like the best way to understand btas jervis is by thinking of him as an undiagnosed autistic man whos been masking his whole life, whose social isolation (and general sucky life) caused him to cope by drowning himself in fantasy and escapism to the point where he started to see his reality like one would a story or narrative. Most people are just...characters, to him. tropes and whatnot. but with the power of his cards...suddenly, he has Control over his surroundings. he has control over Reality. And suddenly, he can make these characters anything he wants them to be. He knows, in reality, that this is his boss Dr. Cates, but now shes playing the part of The Queen of Hearts, as thats the role he has assigned her to play in this act. (this is probably also why he got rando street thugs to dress in tribal gear in Worry Men, it doesnt matter that they arent Really from south america, theyre just here to keep up the illusion/appearances)
of course, alice was the exception, but also not Quite. I think jervis not only became obsessed over Alice because she was nice to him, but also because of something he says in the beginning of the episode:
"Oh Alice, sometimes, I think you're the only one who understands me."
He thinks Alice understands him. and for someone like jervis, wouldnt that be the most precious thing of all to try and keep? Its why he couldn't just let her go, because that would mean losing the person he believes could "get" him. The one person he though he could let in...
But at the same time, as much as jervis holds her in special regard, he still doesnt seem to quite see her as a Person. From the way he refers and speaks of her, it almost feels like hes put her on this pedestal, an innocent who could do no wrong in his eyes. The Love Interest. (He also calls Billy her "boarish beau" despite having probably never even met the guy. 100% he just Assumed he was a jock stereotype just based on his picture on alices desk)
And tbh, you do tend to see this story in media: Nerdy Guy crushes on the Sweet Girl, who has a Jerky Boyfriend. And in the end, the nerd ends up with the girl. and i bet yall thats 100% what jervis thought was going to happen after their ""date""
But the thing is: Alice isnt a love interest. and although billys behavior in the beginning of the episode seemed jerky, in the end of the episode he gives off the vibes of being an alright guy. Because this isnt a story, these arent characters, these are real people that are just trying to live their lives. But jervis cant see that, because of his warped sense of reality, and him being stuck inside his own head.
And in the end, as much as jervis believed alice ""understood"" him...Did he even understand Alice? does he know her, really? on the date alice suggests theyve never even spoken outside of work. Did he only fill her house with flowers bc he always saw that flower on her desk? or from the framed photo of her and billy having flower details on the bottom?
-- "Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter’s remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. “I don’t quite understand you,” she said, as politely as she could."
There was also the back of that figure that detailed him struggling to understand people, which again just sounds like another check off the autism list
also a bit irrelevant but i think i figured out why Jervis dressed Billy like the Frog footman instead of bill the lizard:
Hatta....opposes the Frog on the board.
Jervis you GOD DAMN NERD-
