Jon’s desperation for absolution is part of what makes Jonelias so viable, by the way. If you even care.
@ichabodcranemills No promises that this will be entirely coherent, but.
I complain about Jon being pushed into murder by Martin, but I think that with a bit more buildup and if it had been handled as something incredibly fucked up it could have been a very good plot point. It’s beautiful how Jon continues to fight for what he thinks is right even if it means going against himself and his allies, but he’s fallible and (despite also being monstrous) human. Martin is both a symbol of easier times as the last member of the original crew and the only one who stays with him.
But Martin still doesn’t really accept or understand Jon. In truth, the only one who does is, ironically, Jonah. This isn’t to say Jon doesn’t hate, or at the very least want to hate, Jonah. It’d be boring to me if Jon simply let himself be led by him; their dynamic needs that push and pull. But there’s more to their relationship than just animosity, and I think we see a sign of that when Jon literally asks Jonah to validate his humanity (God! Normal behaviour). Given that he’s desperate enough to ask Jonah of all people if he’s still human when he’s just confessed to murder, I strongly believe that if season five hadn’t decided it hated Jonah and everything that is good on this earth and had given the two of them some time to interact we could’ve seen a Jonelias corruption arc (Jonny wouldn’t have dared, but you know what I mean).
And it would have been so good! If everyone’s doom had been explicitly tied to Jon’s hopeless loneliness, it would have been a far better way of addressing everyone’s hypocritical treatment of Jon than whatever it was we got. Because:
Suffering replicates itself—in fact, the entire podcast is an example of that, since Jonah was so desperate not to be a victim he hurt so many just to escape.
Your best effort to get out will lead you deeper into your fate, which is Tragedy 101. Everyone was so harsh on Jon because they thought they could punish the monstrous out of him. What if that very decision had led to the worst outcome?
I’m going insane just thinking about it. I don’t even know if I fully addressed my original point.
