I swear Captain Curly remains one of the most willfully misunderstood characters I’ve seen in recent memory.
No, he is not a “tragic hero” in any sense. It’s not at all Anya’s fault that she didn’t tell him about what happened immediately, and him becoming Jimmy’s next victim via his disability doesn’t excuse his lack of action against that man.
He is also not a “villain” either. I could certainly call him an antagonist from both Anya and Jimmy’s perspective, but in truth he’s actually just as morally gray as Swansea (and possibly not even as bad as he would’ve been if he were the captain instead). Outside of breaking the news to the crew about being laid off + him becoming severely disabled all of his actions don’t technically impact the story in a major way.
What makes Curly so uncomfortable isn’t that he’s good or bad, it’s that he’s YOU!
He’s what happens when an ordinary, kindhearted person suddenly realizes their longtime friend raped a stranger they only barely know. When someone finds out that that stranger had been trying to ask for their help and they couldn’t read between the lines until it was far too late. When someone tries to be friendly and honest to their associates only for that attitude to end up failing everyone, and when they make one little mistake that costs them everything in one fell swoop.
If you do whatever you can to be a people-pleaser, you’re Curly. If you prioritize your own feelings in the immediate moment upon learning someone close to you did something bad, let alone unspeakable, you’re Curly. If you honestly think you’re too good of a person to ever make these kinds of mistakes in your work environment, you better believe you’re Curly.
Basically what I’m saying is that if Curly were a woman she most likely would’ve made the exact same decisions without fail. THAT’S what’s so scary about this character.
theartofmadeline
yousharknotpass
