That fills me with no reassurance whatsoever. Were he an egotistical power crazed villain, or even just a mindless knight Templar doing what he thinks the gods want, well that’s bad, but its manageable. there are ways around this, such people operate within the rules their god, or if they lust for power they only do things for their own advantage and ONLY that. Now we know something else about him. he can feel guilt and compassion. Such people often feel obliged to “make up” for the guild or protect their loved ones by doing something really STUPID. there is a reason governments put career driven people and dissolution’s people with no family commitments in charge of intelligence agencies; people who when they feel guilt or compassion and are better able to delay or overrule it are better guardians of society because they seldom have a secret agenda to “make it all right”. they might have a secret agenda to steel all your government secrets, sell them and retire of a tropical island on a pile of gold, but that at least is something you can plan for. The don’t BSOD at the wrong moment and decide that overthrowing their employer “for a higher power” will make the guilt go away.
It was explained already that Jhalm was a good man. Digger merely constantly keeps ending up in situations that shed darkness upon her, and that troubles him.
And Jhalm is honest and sincere in his following to the gods. However, that won’t stop him from doing what he sees as right, and removing a threat to those he guards. The problem with a good man is that most of the time, he will react badly even to the greys and shadows of the world.
I don’t know if I said this somewhere else (it’s not in the next couple pages anyway), but Jhalm’s guilt might explain part of why he is so rigid about some things. Frankly, I’m impressed with the man for admitting that something was his fault anyway, since he doesn’t seem the type. I think he kept Murai in the Veiled because it was the mission for the Veiled that screwed her up, and he thinks that the least they can do is look after her.
I’m not disagreeing with you, BR, about the possibility of Jhalm BSODing at entirely the wrong time, but that’s my PoV about his motives regarding Murai. And even if having guilt and compassion makes him less predictable, it also makes him MUCH more human.
Jhalm remains firmly one of my favorite antagonists. And his relationship with Murai – like most relationships in this comic – is rich and deep on both sides (his and hers).
But goobing aside-
Being unpredictable doesn’t mean being unstable (and vice versa, too) – if Jhalm has been unpredictable, then we’ve been bad at predicting his actions: the explanations and motivations behind them have been clear and consistent. (For better or for worse.)
“The fatal flaw in every plan is the assumption that you know more than your enemy.”
A little more depth to Jhalm, and on the positive side no less …
😉
That fills me with no reassurance whatsoever. Were he an egotistical power crazed villain, or even just a mindless knight Templar doing what he thinks the gods want, well that’s bad, but its manageable. there are ways around this, such people operate within the rules their god, or if they lust for power they only do things for their own advantage and ONLY that. Now we know something else about him. he can feel guilt and compassion. Such people often feel obliged to “make up” for the guild or protect their loved ones by doing something really STUPID. there is a reason governments put career driven people and dissolution’s people with no family commitments in charge of intelligence agencies; people who when they feel guilt or compassion and are better able to delay or overrule it are better guardians of society because they seldom have a secret agenda to “make it all right”. they might have a secret agenda to steel all your government secrets, sell them and retire of a tropical island on a pile of gold, but that at least is something you can plan for. The don’t BSOD at the wrong moment and decide that overthrowing their employer “for a higher power” will make the guilt go away.
It was explained already that Jhalm was a good man. Digger merely constantly keeps ending up in situations that shed darkness upon her, and that troubles him.
And Jhalm is honest and sincere in his following to the gods. However, that won’t stop him from doing what he sees as right, and removing a threat to those he guards. The problem with a good man is that most of the time, he will react badly even to the greys and shadows of the world.
I don’t know if I said this somewhere else (it’s not in the next couple pages anyway), but Jhalm’s guilt might explain part of why he is so rigid about some things. Frankly, I’m impressed with the man for admitting that something was his fault anyway, since he doesn’t seem the type. I think he kept Murai in the Veiled because it was the mission for the Veiled that screwed her up, and he thinks that the least they can do is look after her.
I’m not disagreeing with you, BR, about the possibility of Jhalm BSODing at entirely the wrong time, but that’s my PoV about his motives regarding Murai. And even if having guilt and compassion makes him less predictable, it also makes him MUCH more human.
Jhalm remains firmly one of my favorite antagonists. And his relationship with Murai – like most relationships in this comic – is rich and deep on both sides (his and hers).
But goobing aside-
Being unpredictable doesn’t mean being unstable (and vice versa, too) – if Jhalm has been unpredictable, then we’ve been bad at predicting his actions: the explanations and motivations behind them have been clear and consistent. (For better or for worse.)
“The fatal flaw in every plan is the assumption that you know more than your enemy.”
I think there was a typo. How does something shine so day?
Day=bright? In can’t-find-the-proper-words-for-it speak.
Awww, empathizing!Jhalm! Dangerous, but sweet.