Problematic because: "Tried to end the world because of his obsession/love/hatred for a woman who he kind of didn't even know all that well, ended up framing his best friend for his crimes and positioning himself as a tragic hero and then used this to try and end the world a second time"
Propaganda: "Honestly one of the best twist villains of all time imo. So much clicks into place and gets recontextualized when we learn how things really went down in the past with him and Oswald and Lacie, and the reveal about him is such a well executed emotional gut punch. Also he's just a super well written character in terms of the way his sort of empty sense of self and nihilism is written, I think his obsession with Lacie is also written well in that she remains a really interesting (and morally grey) character of her own instead of simply become a lost tragic romantic figure (their relationship isn't even straightforwardly romantic and the way Jack himself oscillates between equally obsessive and broken attachment and resentment for her & her memory is also very fascinating), his dynamic with Oswald is also super interesting, he's just a great character and a great villain"
Problematic because: "He’s a video game publisher living off the same Fortunato/Ligodone fortune as the rest of the family, uses drugs heavily, cheats on Julius, gives Frederick cocaine when Frederick is already spiralling, and after a blackout believes he killed Julius’ cat Pluto. Instead of telling Julius, he hides the 'body', cleans the scene, and tries to secretly replace Pluto with a lookalike cat from Verna. Then he gets trapped in the whole Black Cat hallucination spiral - dead animals, destroyed apartment, Julius trying to get through to him, Leo seeing things Julius can’t see, and finally Leo charging at the cat with Thor’s hammer and falling off the balcony. The real Pluto appearing afterward makes the apparent cat death not on him, but Leo’s instinct is still the important part - lie, cover it up, replace the victim, deny everything until the walls come down."
Propaganda: "He’s not Roderick, he’s not Madeline, he’s not even Victorine with the illegal human trial or Frederick with the pliers - he’s messy, charming, indulgent, unserious, and clearly using drugs and sex and jokes to avoid sitting alone with himself for more than thirty seconds. His death isn’t punishment for some grand empire-building scheme, it’s punishment for cowardice and denial. He thinks he did something horrible, and his first move is to protect his comfort, not Julius’ trust. The cat is such a small thing compared to the Usher body count, but it tells you exactly who Leo is under pressure. He’ll panic, he’ll lie, he’ll throw money at the problem, he’ll buy a replacement and hope nobody notices the difference. There’s something very pathetic and human about it, which makes him a good problematic character rather than just another doomed rich guy."
kianamaiart
stormborns
titsay
