was talking with friends yesterday about character arcs in ii and how they're really good actually. i remember we mentioned knife's arc and how he has genuinely changed, but he still does things that are bad! i brought up the whole "i can't protect you anymore" thing he said to suitcase because that's very infantilizing towards her, especially after what she had to deal with cobs saying to her (the whole "grownups are talking" and "sound it out" shit that he only said to suitcase and not knife). suitcase does not need knife's protection and she says so herself after knife says he can't anymore. knife is a much better person, yes, but he is not a perfect person because no one is. it's something i really like about the show because when someone grows and changes to be better, their old self doesn't just go away completely. "i can't protect you anymore" doesn't come from a place of malice- knife's intention is good, yes, but intention doesn't matter as much as the actual action and its consequences.