#moral compass

btw, this is not to say that our fandom has not already recognized Nat's imperfections or debunked the "moral compass" allegations. in fact, no one has done this better or with more nuance and love than my moot, and I highly suggest checking out her gray morality post and her post about Nat's avoidance.

up until now, however, we've only ever seen her on the edge of violence. she had the knife at one point during Doomcoming, but she didn't use it. she threatened Jackie after Jackie made that comment about Nat being "mayor of poundtown," but she didn't follow through with it.

she also shoves Misty and cusses her out when she discovers the black box, but she quickly stops herself from harming her any further and even teams up with her (and Van) to use parts from it to fix the transponder.

there are many instances, in fact, in which Nat teeters on that edge of violence without going all the way there. let's also not forget that she initially came after Lottie with a tree branch when she first escaped at the compound.

and yet, I was reminded today that we already know she can and has gone over that edge. we just haven't seen her do it. we've only been told she has.

which brings me to the infamous mugshot photo...

when I first saw this, I assumed she'd been arrested for some petty crime— public intoxication, drug possession, or something of that sort.

but... isn't it possible (not certain, by any stretch, but possible) that we are going to see her completely fall from her position as "moral compass" in a really dramatic way?

I know that if I had a character like Nat, whom I had last placed in the position of "hero" (meaning, literally atop a mountain, calling for rescue)— and if I were writing a show that had "gray morality" as one of its central themes— I would be painfully tempted to knock her as far down as possible just to make a point.

in fact, I can almost hear Bart and Ashley in my head, saying, "oh, you thought she was a hero, huh?" while twirling their metaphorical mustaches.

I know, I know 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

it's fine if you disagree.