ok but can we just talk about how deep reggieās abuse of his children goes? like first, we have ben, who has repeatedly established himself to be the kindest and most understanding among his siblings. despite the fact that klaus has been treating him more of a show pony than a brother for most of season 2, ben still tries to be the angel on his shoulder and offers advice when he can. he even lets it slide when klaus tells their siblings that he didnāt travel back with them, even though itās so obvious that the remark hurt, because klaus of all people knows just how much ben misses their family, misses being alive.
but the minute klaus insinuates that he sounds just like their father, he finally shows an emotion that is anything butĀ calm, and even goes so far as to attack his brother. this alone should be enough of an indicator as to what kind of man hargreeves was in life.
oh, and should i add that reggie just upped and decided to turn benās funeralāa painful occasion on itās ownāinto yet another scarring life lesson for the ones heād left behind? just imagine being shy of seventeen and having at least half the guilt in the universe weighing you down, and benāwho is right thereājust wanting to tell all of them that it was ānever your fault, diego, please donāt listen to him, we both know youāre better than that,ā but of course he canāt, because heās nothing more than a ghost now, so yes, welcome to powerlessness.
five goes missing and what does he do? nothing. absolutely nothing, aside from having a painting commissioned, but whoās to say it wasnāt a memorial like benās statue and more of a warning to the other children instead? something along the lines of look at how this brat disobeyed me; do you want to disappear, too?
thereās luther, who even after everything their father has done to themāto him, most of allāstill manages to make up bland, half-baked excuses that he himself is starting to lose faith in,Ā and all that rage and resentment keeps stewing inside him until he reaches his breaking point, rips off his shirt, and yells at his father to look at me! look what you did to me! and itās even more heartbreaking because reggie does look, he just doesnāt care
letās move on to allison. it was mentioned at one point that she was something of a daddyās girl growing up, and even though we arenāt really shown much of their time together, remember when he made her rumor vanya? how she clearly didnāt want to? imagine being so heartless as to instruct a four-year-old child to wipe her sisterās precious memories, all because you were scared of being unable to control her.
and whoās to say there were no repeats after that: of allison turning peopleās minds and bodies against them, every single one under her fatherās orders as part of her ātrainingā, and when allison fails because her conscience has finally caught up with her, who would stop him from hurting her?
definitely not her siblings or grace, and certainly not pogo.
moving on: oh god, klaus. itās really not a no-brainer why his son barely has any respect for him, even going so far as to put out his cigarette in his fatherās ashes as a final fuck you, because who could respect somebody who forced you to confront your worst fears at thirteenĀ with no safety net whatsoever, even as you screamed yourself hoarse in that damp tomb, with only your nightmares for company
later on, when klaus honest-to-goodness diesĀ and meets him for the first time after so many years, whatās the first thing reggie does? insult him. no āi imagined itād be a few more years before you joined me hereā or āare you okay? why are you even dead, son?ā
instead, reggie debunks his accusations as excuses and outright states that he will not accept a single one. instead, he reminds klaus that he isāand always will beāhis fatherās greatest disappointment, that him never achieving his full potential was klausā fault and his alone.
and when klaus chastises him for being so harsh on them and leaving luther on the moon as an easy out for his shortcomings, whatās his greatest takeaway? that he should have burned every single package luther sent back to earth instead of keeping them under the floorboards.Ā
no apologies, no owning up to his mistakes whatsoever.Ā
he just deflects his childās accusations, and even attempts to gaslight klaus once more into thinking that everything he did was to make them stronger and how dare you disobey me, i made you children what you are today and this is how you repay me? what a bunch of disobedient and ungrateful brats you all are indeed
donāt even get me started on vanyaās treatment at his hands. otherwise weāll be here forever.
and then, we have diego.Ā
time and time again, diego has proven himself to be tough and capable; whose soft interior is something of a privilege bestowed only to those he truly cares for. and even though heās come so far in life and helped so many people, the minute reggie takes a shot at him with a few select words?Ā
nope, never mind, heās eleven-years-old and back at the academy again.
the man sitting in front of him may not be their father just yet but itās the exact same words heās heard for most of his life, the exact same weaknessesĀ gleaned from a single glance, and even in an alternate timeline, his father just knowsĀ where to strike, every observation landing dead center like diegoās precious knives.Ā
(and judging from his siblingsā reactions, this speech is just a rehash of something theyāve all heard before, but it definitely doesnāt mean that itās going to hurt their brother any less.
no, it will hurt moreĀ because heād actually thought he was finally untouchable after all these years.)
i mean, just look at him: at the way his shoulders shrink inward subconsciously, the excited light in his eyes fading, his stutter reappearing. and despite the fact that he has spent a decade away from this bitter old man, it only takes a minute for his hard earned self-worth to crumble, and suddenly itās so clear to us just how deep his self-esteem issues go:
because aware or not, everything diego has done and said so far (āheās an asshole; iām amazingā) has simply been his way of coping with the fact that no matter how many acts of heroism he performs as an attempt to live up to the āperfect superheroā mold reggie forced them to fill at such a young age, their father will neverĀ view them with anything less than contempt, not even luther who barely had to work for approval and their fatherās twisted version of āloveā because he used to be hisĀ loyal lapdogĀ favorite, and that is the real reason why iām gonna hate this jackass forever, in this essay i will
