#not su

Vi tells Vander that her whole life she's known that she's worth less than the people of Piltover and she doesn't want Powder to think that way. But she's also not great at supporting Powder. Which isn't her fault, because she doesn't know what support looks like. When she goes to comfort Powder after the failed heist, her goto method isn't to praise Powder for her intelligence or survival or her ability to know what's valuable. Instead, she tells embarrassing stories about everyone else. Vi doesn't know how to say "you're amazing". She only knows how to say "well, we all kind of suck."

But Silco knows how to praise and Jinx desperately needs that. Jinx is an inventor like Jayce and Viktor, but she doesn't have wealthy patrons. She doesn't have an old ass yordle telling her she's valid. There's no institution to support her through her failures - it's just Silco. So he has to be there to encourage her, to push her, to tell her that her skills are rare and valuable and just because she can't punch a guy in the face doesn't mean that she's worthless. Vi tells her someday her bombs will work, someday she'll be worth it. Silco tells her every day that she's worthy, and that everything she does is leading to greatness.

His support allows her to grow up with confidence. She's an extremely active character - which is rare for female characters and for characters with mental health issues. It would have been so easy for Jinx to just be locked away in her lab, the shy broken genius desperate for love and validation. But Silco gives her love and validation, which means she doesn't spend all her time aching for it. She wants more. She's able to be extremely active in the story and her pursuits because of his support, and because he's a really amazing father.

The show is focused on the idea of whether or not there is a "base violence necessary for change", and people on Silco's side believe that's true. So, you know, if he and Jinx were wealthy in Piltover, yeah. He'd be a bad dad. What she would need would be therapy and meds. But they aren't in Piltover. They're in Zaun, where medicine is made out of shimmer.

He's doing what he can to help Jinx survive in an unfair world. I honestly can't imagine how Jinx's life would be better if he had discouraged her from making bombs, defending herself, etc. What kind of life is there to be had in Zaun? What is the best case scenario of living "peacefully"? Is it really better than fighting?

Odds are good that, without Silco, Jinx would have ended up in prison, or just as another child working in a factory. I feel like he made her life way, way better by existing, and the only way you can really come down on all this being negative is if you think that, like... all revolution is just inherently evil and that oppressed people should never be violent.

I saved this for last because it's a bit speculative, but I think it's also worth noting that... yeah, Vander's not exactly perfect. He decided that a revolution wasn't worth fighting because he saw a battle go poorly and decided Zaun would never win. Even when Silco tries to convince him that they have the tools to change that, he refuses to accept they have a chance. Vander tries to stop the people of Zaun from unifying and fighting. When Vi asks him what they'll do when the enforcers come back to take the kids away - probably to prison - he says he doesn't know.

It's never said directly, but I'm pretty sure that the deal Vander made with the Enforcers is something along the lines of him giving up information on the patrons of his bar in exchange for his children not being arrested - provided they don't aim too high with their theft. He's literally given up on anything but working with the oppressive government in the hopes that he'll be able to keep his family alive. He's a broken man. He doesn't believe the world can get better.

Silco's life is rough, but when Jinx is with him she's told she's worthy. She'd told that she deserves better, that one day people will see how amazing she is, and that she should have more than the leftover scraps of Piltover. The way they support and care for each other is the only way that they could get up every day and not be completely broken down - like Vander and, to a certain extent, like Vi. Even Vi can only dream of things getting better by her and Powder leaving Zaun and never returning.

Silco and Jinx have to believe in themselves to believe that change is possible - otherwise it's just hoping that one day the government will just stop being cruel to them. They are co-dependent, but they don't have a choice. Who else is there to rely on when the whole system has failed them?