@desa:
! I expect it will be like Natsuo. With a fearful Mom slowly realizing that manye he's not so bad anymore. I'm fine with the sister I think each represent a different way to approach the situation. Distance with Zuko, Resentment with the brother, reconciliation with the sister. And I think the mother is fear.
! I have zero patience with a reconciliation between mom and dad because most likely I will not feel confortable with a work a fiction reconciling his victim with his abuser. I am all for an asshole improving. I am very dubious on the asshole recieving forgivesess from those he abused. If Flamebeard gets happily married to a new person good for him. If he becomes a couple again with the mom I will hate it.
! It's kind of like I hate that ultimately the author decided Bakugo didn't need to actually apologize and actually Deku always admired him instead of acknowledging Bakugo was a dick and should do a proper apology and that he terrified a classmate for his own pleasure but as now improved.
! I can gloss over a lot but evrytime the mom is bring in the redemption arc I get testy about it. I want her good with her kids. Leave Flamebeard out.
! I too would prefer to see Rei interact with her kids than have her role solely be a foil to Endeavor's redemption arc. That way she can actually feel like a character and not solely be forced into drama for the sake of drama after everything she went through.
! And when it comes to stories about victims reconciling with abusers, I'm usually cautiously open to it. Depends on the circumstances. But mostly because creators often go for broke with complete forgiveness and focus much more on the abuser's drama than their victim as if the former's guilt/self pity is more important than what they're putting the victim though.
! While we are on the subject, I strongly recommend checking out a manga called a A Silent Voice. It's a redemption/friendship manga about an elementary school kid who bullied his deaf female classmate and years later in high school is filled with guilt wants to atone. The manga surprisingly treats bullying even that early very seriously and it's a very thoughtful and heartwarming story analyzing what it means to find redemption and be a good friend. And amazingly enough, their relationship never spins into a cheesy forced romance. It got a movie a year or two ago as well. I know school bullying is usually a far cry from domestic abuse involving adults though.
! And I completely agree with Bakugo. I used to like him but Horikoshi still doubling down on his assholery and praising him for the smallest things at this point is getting on my nerves.
@Nectar:
! Ending talking about heroes never killing reminded me of All Might casually talking about how he thought he killed AFO the first time. Yeah, he wasn't conflicted at all about it. AFO made it personal by killing Nana and All Might had no problem taking him out. That may come into play in the future if Shiggy kills Toshinori. Will Deku want him dead or will Grand Torino or Bakugo champion for him and/or themselves killing Shigaraki for revenge?
! Great point. Here's hoping Horikoshi can write a protagonist potentially sparing or redeeming their homicidal nemesis better than Naruto did.
@Riquelme:
I know a lot of persons don't want to see the couple reunite or Endeavor gets forgiven by his son, but from my experience and what I have seen this happens all the time in our society. People do change and some people have the ability to forgive despite the circumstances they were put through, I don't have a problem with him getting forgiven, what I would have a problem with if he is let off the hook without seeing what is actions have caused and so far it has been handled well
And I argue that's one of the biggest problems with our society. Especially in countries like America where divorce has historically been frowned upon and at certain points illegal, women and children tend to have less rights than the patriarchal father figure, and both religious and cultural norms advocating forgiveness and marriage as being synonymous with happiness and virtue.
My issue with couples reuniting after separating for very good reasons like neglect/abuse is that in terms of storytelling it's nothing new whatsoever. It's practically a cliche that happens day in and day out, and is often made by writers who preach naive platitudes about universal forgiveness and redemption without actually researching, experiencing, or knowing what domestic abuse is actually like. Count how many stories you've seen where a character chooses to not forgive someone in a neutral/positive light and I guarantee you it's not more than a handful. They're the exception. And when stories about couple reconciliation are the norm, that sends a message to people that it's okay and what you should strive for.
Couples may reunite often in real life, but how many of those on/off again relationships can you say are all that healthy? In fact, many abuse survivors state that they feel often think they deserve the abuse and feel like they should forgive their abuser for no good well-informed reason other than they apologize and seem nicer than usual. Which more often than not leads to them going back to their abuser. Then bam, the abuse happens again at least 90% of the time rinse and repeat.
Because that's the scariest part about abuse. That abusers can act nice once in a while or even a lot of the time to make the people they hurt second-guess their negative feelings. People in those situations deserve to feel empowered by knowing that they can say no and find better options in life than put themselves at risk and stagnate their healing/growth.
The fact of the matter it is impossible for Endeavor to show his wife (or children for that matter) that he has changed and will never relapse. Not only that but having to deal with the victims being reminded of everything they went through every time he shows his sorry face trying to do better. That is the main struggle Endeavor has faced with his redemption arc, why we find his redemption arc so surprising and suspenseful, and something he has come to accept.
Having Rei forgive and get back with Endeavor, no matter how knowledgable and convinced we are as readers that Endeavor has changed because of our omniscient reading POV, is telling readers that it might be okay to give abusers a second chance. And that's quite frankly nasty and scary as hell to me. Especially because I actually see that happen frequently with both my family and friends. And even then very little of them deal with someone on the level of Endeavor who treated his family like eugenics experiment for vicarious life goal satisfaction and punched his kid so hard he threw up. His wife is in a mental hospital because she was so traumatized she mistook her son for her husband and scarred him for life with boiling water. If you heard about a couple like that getting back together in the news, would that seriously make you feel the slightest bit comfortable?
Also, keep in mind that getting back together isn't the only option for Endeavor and Rei to possible reconcile. They can be, you know, just friends. They can tolerate each other around their kids. They can call each other when they need help. Why do so many people think that getting back together romantically is the only way forgiveness can work for an abusive relationship?
That, and it's just plain unnecessary when Endeavor has multiple family members? What benefit does it add to the story to have every single one of them forgive Endeavor rather than taking the bold creative route and exploring different facets of tolerance/forgiveness with each character? Considering how Fuyumi and inevitably Shoto will end up forgiving Endeavor, wanting the same out of Natsuo and Rei (and let's not forget that if Dabi is Touya, he could potentially get redeemed and forgive Endeavor too for all we know) only limits storytelling potential rather than enhancing it in any meaningful way.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk accusing you of romanticizing abusers or anything. I know you're being honest and optimistic. But you even said in your comment that "some people have the ability to forgive despite the circumstances they were put through". Key words: some people. I agree with that strongly. And Horikoshi should keep it as that. Having all the people we like and sympathize with in this story forgive guys like Endeavor is not only toxic, but boring and unrealistic. Shoto's arc of forgiving Endeavor probably isn't even close to finishing as of now too. Why do we need more "let's let bygones be bygones" level of forgiveness on top of that instead of more nuanced and thoughtful story variety?