#ch351

I appreciate that none of the people who talk about the Going Merry approach the problem of whether or not to fix her the same way. The Galley La lads make the point that they could theoretically rebuild the Merry, but it wouldn’t be the same ship and the Straw Hats would be better served investing in a better ship for the seas ahead. When Luffy rejects that, Iceburg--the quintessential good leader--points out how irresponsible that decision is for a captain to make. 

Then, after seeing the effects of Usopp getting beat to hell and back Luffy realizes he doesn’t want to see his crew be in a position where they might get hurt or die, so he decides to replace the ship. Usopp, projecting his own insecurities and armed with the knowledge that the Merry is somewhat sentient, refuses to abandon a friend in a state of weakness. 

Now Franky is saying that any ship that can’t sail isn’t actually a ship. Which maybe is an argument that shouldn’t be extrapolated much farther, but even after hearing Usopp admit he knew about the damage and the klabauterman is able to turn his argument on its head: By holding on so tightly, Usopp’s essentially throwing the Merry’s warning and sacrifice back in its face. 

The eyes might not lie, but they can be (willfully) closed, and that’s been Usopp’s problem this entire time

I feel like Usopp immediately going to fix the Merry after Franky shows him how broken it really is is a slight but subtle shift in how he’s been portrayed thus far. During his argument with Luffy Usopp was prideful and argumentative, but right now he just seems...pathetic. You can see how much he’s straining over the weight of his own delusion.