Lou is an asshole (and that's why I love him)
I like the fact that Lou is actually genuinely evil. Back then, I didn't watch the movie and only saw clips, and I thought he wasn't that bad because everyone said he's just misunderstood. But after watching the movie, I realized that he clearly IS evil, and that's why I love him.
Yes, he was broken and mentally unstable after years of being stuck in the institute, but he chose to be cruel and violent. He berated people, manipulated them for years, tried to murder about 3 times (even mentioning killing the whole population of the uglydolls)
He is not misunderstood. Clearly, he's not a good person, and in the end he only wanted out because he got caught
But here's the thing, he does deserve redemption. If you think about it, his punishment at the end was just an added extra because, essentially, he has been punished his whole life. In the end, everyone gets a happy life, and Lou gets forced to be a janitor and is still trapped in the institute. Nothing changed for him except the extra punishment.
This situation is tricky to deal with because, unlike most broken villains in media, Lou never really had anything. There wasn't a single moment where he truly won. You might think well he got his empire, his looks, his fans, but all of that was just a lie. He's still trapped and alone. He pretended to have everything, but that was just a facade, a ruse, a lie he told everyone and himself (I'm pretty sure he also never even had any friends other than Ox).
So why does he deserve a redemption arc? Because well, he's been punished enough. But his redemption needs time, and I think the movie made the right decision not to forgive him because he truly did not deserve it yet. But say there's a second movie or a series, then he absolutely should be redeemed (this is why I think the movie should've been longer or cut some songs shorter because we barely had enough time to develop any characters and Lou). Because for a movie about accepting your imperfections, not having any sympathy over someone whose whole existence is basically useless (what Ox said: "Dolls don't need you or your training") feels wrong to me.
So yes, Lou is evil and not misunderstood, but he does deserve a redemption arc.
I think of him like Zuko from Avatar. Zuko had Iroh, but there was a time when he betrayed him like how Lou betrayed Ox. I think out of all the dolls, Ox should be the one to help Lou (and the only one can tbh) redeem himself. Lou will certainly wanna listen to Ox more despite him hating Ox the most. I believe there was a deep care he had for the bunny, hence why he was so scared of him leaving.
I think we shouldn't baby Lou. The guy needs to take accountability for his actions. But he also deserves to heal (and that's where my fic comes in mwehehe).
Random rambling segment: comparing Lou to Jax from TADC
Lou and Jax are similar in a way that they're both trapped in a prison, push people away, and hurt them to stay sane. Lou is also similar to Caine in the way that they're both the leader, the first one created and forced to be trapped forever. But in the way Lou acts and cope, it is more similar to Jax than Caine. But in my opinion, I think Lou is better than Jax.
Because Jax isn't the only person trapped in the circus. Whereas Lou is the only one who has to go through being trapped. Jax chose to hurt the people who were trapped with him instead of connecting with them. When Lou met Ox, he thought he finally had someone who's trapped like him (only to realize he's not) and treated him with kindness until the realization. And I think it's a lot harder for Lou to cope and try to connect because eventually everyone will leave.
But I'm not saying this justifies his actions, I'm saying it makes him easier to sympathize with than Jax.
Also, I think Lou is somewhat more human than Caine. Caine is an AI, so he doesn't fully understand human emotions. Therefore, getting everyone's needs wrong (ex. giving them the bodies that suit their database only for them to not like it). Lou understands emotions even though he's not human either. That's why he managed to manipulate everyone, understands and feels jealous towards them and especially Ox. Caine still tried to care for the people in the circus because, as an AI, that was what he was programmed to do. Caine snapped when they took a stand against him. But Lou went unstable faster and hurt everyone, despite nobody really hurting him directly (being hurt from them leaving which the other dolls never would've thought he'd be hurt).
I don't know if anyone in this fandom knows Genshin, but Lou also reminds me a lot of Furina. She's a human who's forced into the role of a god and had to lie and hide her true self for decades (if i remember correctly). What makes it so much hurtful is that she's just a regular person with emotions burdened with the fate of immortality. I always think of Lou like her, a doll, but feels human emotions, trapped in an insane predicament for someone so human to be in.
That's why it's so hard for me not to sympathize with him.
