Jax isn't some deep or morally grey character, he's just pathetic. [This isn't TADC hate]
I don't feel bad for him, I don't necessarily want him to abstract, but I still don't feel bad for him and I don't think I ever will.
He's corny, he's destructive, almost all of his suffering is a consequence to his shitty behavior, and most of all, he's not on the same level as a lot of super villains out there. Believe me, he'd like to THINK of himself as "the funny one" the one who always is the rage baiter and never the rage baited, but he's not, Jax has shown that he will overreact whenever the other circus members either retaliate or make him the butt of the joke (The maid costume and Ragatha unintentionally using cartoon logic against him) He's the kind of guy who would mask blatant sexism or racism as "dark humor" and call you a snowflake if you asked him to explain the punchline of his "joke" but when someone else makes an offensive joke at his expense, he gets all butt-hurt about it for the rest of the day.
Does he have reasons to be the way be is? Yes, but I personally don't think he's going to get a redemption arc, I don't think the other circus members will actually forgive him, they just have to tolerate him for the time being given their situation, and I don't think he's supposed to be this "deep character" who will grow into a better person after his victims "find it in their heart to forgive him" Jax isn't exactly a pure evil villain, but he is insufferable and it gets to a point where trying to defend him is just exhausting when you know he's probably just going to relapse again.
To me, Jax reminds me of the cesspool that is the negativity of social media. Real people will harass strangers online the same way Jax will abuse Gangle, real people will rationalize cyber bullying children on Tiktok the same way Jax will rationalize his abusive behavior.
"You know none of this is real, right?" Is on an identical level to "It's not THAT deep!" They're both excuses that try to pass off the harm that was caused as everyone else's problem for not "getting that it was a joke"
Similarly to Jax rationalizing the way he treats people for the majority of the show with the "nothing is real" excuse, people can justify telling a stranger online to KYS because they can hide behind a screen with a multitude of excuses, maybe its because its an unhealthy coping mechanism in order to have some kind of control over something or someone, maybe its because they're behind a screen so its easier to verbally abuse strangers without remorse when the victim will most likely be unable to fight back, maybe its because of their own insecurities that the idea of another person having the confidence to do what they can't enrages them to their core, because when they try too hard to be "different" or "mature" by labeling anything they don't personally like as "cringe" you'll see a rise in miserable people who are too scared to engage with what they want and who they want without fear of being ridiculed for it, worse yet , you'll see a rise in bullies now that they have a "socially acceptable reason" to ruin someone's life.
Anyway, back to Jax, that's what he ultimately is at the end of the day. He's a bully that would rather make his struggles everyone's struggles by making their lives so much harder than they already are, he doesn't contribute much other than negativity in general. At this point, the nicest thing anyone will be able to say about him is that they don't think he deserves to die, because most bullies like him aren't actually evil enough to deserve a death penalty, but they're terrible enough that people will take joy in seeing them be humiliated.
While I do believe that the Jax hate is a little overblown since A: He's not real and B: He is being thought as Gooseworx's blorbo, it's not exactly unfounded, he's an obnoxious little shit who reminds a lot of people of mean spirited jackasses they know at school, work, at home, etc.
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
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