TW /CW torture discussion for the whole post:
it stands out to me more every time I watch it that S1 Silver claims that torturing him would be useless, because under even a little pain, heāll say whatever he thinks needs to be said.Ā Itās a very fair argument against torture in generalĀ Ā (if someone needs a practical argument, if the moral one of donāt torture people wthĀ Ā isnāt enough) , but also itās blatantly untrue for him??Ā
This isnāt something thatās proven during the actual torture scene, when heās holding out on naming crewmen (though then too, obviously!) ;Ā itās obvious during the trip back to Nassau from the Urca de Lima, while Silver is Making Himself Essential. We donāt see every time he gets up to give his little News Reports before the Goat Story; but we do see enough to trust that every time ,Ā Ā heās getting clobbered, even to the point where it takes him a while to be able to stand again. Thatās got to hurt a lot and itās got to hurt worseĀ Ā as it goes on and heās got healing bruises all the time, and he still just. Keeps doing it.Ā
My point isnāt āoh look another lieā--of all his lies, this is waaaay the Most Justified-- nor is it justĀ āSilver WTF Are Your Life Choicesā (although. Silver. WTF.) Itās that Silver is fullyĀ Ā aware, even before he starts this, that Itās Gonna Hurt, and he launches into it willingly for days if not weeks. Which means he knows full wellĀ Ā that he can handle physical pain; repeated, regular, increasing physical pain, even. Sure, getting knock-down punched two or three times a shift by sailors is maybe not Torture in the way we see it throughout the show, but ...well, anyone who thinks itās no big deal can do it themselves then. Me, Iāve been Punched For Real maybe twice in my whole life and Iām plenty queasy at the thought. But Silver knows heās good for it; he can take a beating and keep grinning.Ā
Which makes the later Actual Torture sceneĀ Ā moreĀ Ā unsettling to me; heās not coasting in on bluster and hope when the hammer starts swinging; he is reasonably confidentĀ Ā that he can hold out in the face of physical pain. A lotĀ Ā of physical pain. And he does! he even keeps his wits about him! When the rescue comes, after heās been getting his leg smashed to powder for several minutes, heās got it together enough to gloat !Ā Like, obviously he is Not Thrilled about the situation, but up to this point? Heās ok with this! A Minor Setback! The Plan Is Working!Ā
Up til this point at least, Silver is demonstrably wayĀ Ā more unsettled about committing physical violence than enduring it ...
pt 1 I GUESS of Things That Make Me Wonder What The Hell The Backstory Is Here??Ā













