I think it does (understandably) ring a little strange to some people when thorfinn's like "I've descended back into the world of violence because I punched a man in anger"--like, okay, but that guy was being an asshole and antagonizing you and deserved to get punched in the face, and it's not like you killed him. it's just one punch!
buuuuuuut I think similarly you might tell an alcoholic "it's just one drink", you know? like I don't think that's an inaccurate comparison to make. we're talking about a guy who used violence as a vent for ALL his emotions for almost a decade, from the time he was five or six. cheap, extremely easy mood stabilization via harming others.
people (myself included) get hyped up to see thorfinn showing off his fighting skills, especially around people who underestimate him, but the reality is that he's good at fighting in the same way a lifelong alcoholic is good at drinking. it's not a skill so much as a dependency, which is why his journey after that point has so much to do with finding ways to NOT be dependent on it. I love that his next step is to go "it's not enough to know violence is the last resort; what is the first resort?" because, yeah, you can't just go cold turkey on maladaptive coping skills if they're the only thing propping you up. it's hard work, being reborn.
