DISCUSSION
Why don't fans hold Season 1 Seraphina as accountable as they hold Remi/Blyke?
This post is not focusing on the Royals in particular, I'm focusing on Sera here. I'm not talking about why/why not the royals should be held as accountable as they are.
Instead why isnt Seraphina held accountable like the others (Particularly Blyke and Remi, Arlo and Isen are obviously worse than the rest I think most would agree)? She was self admittedly in the future naive in the same way people dont accept the excuse of Remi's naivity, she didnt reform until the issues directly affected her (Ie becoming a low-tier, different than the royals but still the same issue of them being affected by issues previously only weaker people experienced), she actively supported the idea that might makes right to a degree, could singlehandedly change the system in a way Remi couldn't despite Remi getting looked down on for not doing so but not her.
Ignoring John just generally, Seraphina really didnt do anything for basically anyone else or try to make things better before being disabled, and arguably did some bad things herself, such as favoring John or giving John second chances even when he was in the wrong that she wouldnt afford to other people doing a similar level of wrong.
Im not saying she is an awful person or anything, but why dont people tie her into accountability alongside the rest of the main cast? The only thing she really did different was be on John's side the majority of the time even though she really had the same problems as most of the rest of the cast, and acted (or didn't act) on them as much or more severly than the other main characters at times.
Because Seraphina gets her karma. She experiences what it's like to be a cripple, an actual cripple, and that's what changes her so fundamentally. Especially compared to Blyke, Isen and Remi who don't quite experience the same consequences/experiences. They're barely held accountable in comparison.
I keep seeing people talk about being “held accountable” when what they really mean is punishment/vengeance.
Them having to experience what it’s like to be a cripple, or to be bullied, is having vengeance taken on them. It’s karmic punishment for their actions. Something that is, by the story itself, painted as a very negative thing. It happens when Seraphina loses her powers, and also when she’s kidnapped by the false jokers. Revenge/punishment for the sake of it is bad.
Accountability is recognizing the harm your actions caused and then working to make amends. It’s the reparations paid by Blyke, Isen, and Remi getting to know their fellow students and taking them on the Rowden trip. It’s the creation of the Safe House to prevent the actions they’re trying to atone for from happening again. It’s going out as vigilantes to use the power they’d previously abused to protect others. That’s accountability.
Remi and Blyke (and to a lesser extent Isen) do hold themselves accountable. If not by their words, then certainly by their actions.
What I mean by "held accountable" for Remi/Blyke/Isen (and even Arlo) is that we don't actually get to see them be held accountable by anyone—not the students, and especially not each other.
I think it would have been nice to see some scenes of the low tiers of the schools sharing the same kind of anger and resentment as John does, but for some reason that... doesn't exist and everything just happens to work out. It would have been nice to actually see them overcome that kind of hurdle, but we don't, and their progress doesn't feel as earned.
Take John for comparison. He is constantly held accountable for both what he did in New Bostin and Wellston by not only himself, but everyone around him. Everything he does and has done carries consequences: the students fear him, until they eventually warm up to him. He has to EARN their trust back, wheras the Royal trio seems to have just gained the low tiers' trust right away off-screen. It doesn't match up.
John actively beat and maimed the students of New Bostin and Wellston which is why he’s so feared.
By contrast the Royals only real crimes toward anyone but John is simple negligence of a duty that according to society they shouldn’t even have. The moment they course correct and start protecting everyone they are already doing more for low tiers than practically anyone else in the world of UnOrdinary. There’s a lot less animosity there to overcome.
I mean, early Blyke is absolutely willing to throw down with low tiers (see: him shooting John for touching Remi). Not without provocation, but he can and will
Also, early Isen doesn’t even need to be provoked to throw down with low tiers. We see how he treats John when he interrogates him in that scene early on
I think it’s totally fair to assume that both of them, historically, have about as much to atone for as Seraphina did. And it is mentioned that Sera had to “get back in touch with the school” and do her own atonement, even after her cripple era.
Did you see where I said that Blyke needs to be provoked to throw down?
Isen started physically intimidating and threatening John before John laid a finger on him. Recall that John originally tried to deny Isen his interview in order to go to his class, but Isen threatened him into doing it immediately. Recall that for quite a few minutes before that, Isen was yelling at John, slamming his hands on the desk, physically getting close. Also also, breaking somebody’s wrist is WAY DISPROPORTIONATE to them grabbing your collar!!! And Isen seems to consider breaking John’s wrist as a light punishment, saying as he does it that John is “so lucky he’s friends with Seraphina”.
And in both of these interactions, Isen and Blyke view John as just some random cripple kid. Meaning they do treat him the way they would treat any other low tier. Which is why I use them as examples revelatory of their attitudes towards the hierarchy.
Maybe Blyke didn’t actively make things worse, but he is very willing to send any low tier who sufficiently pisses him off to the infirmary. And Isen is just as willing to abuse any low tier as, say, Cecile. Neither of them are only guilty of negligence, as the previous commenter I responded to claims.
Finally, no it wasn’t as simple as Blyke seeing low tiers getting treated poorly and realizing the flaws of the hierarchy. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken their first vigilante excursion as X-Rei to change how he acted. That’s the clear difference the story paints between Blyke and Remi.
And don’t loop Isen in with the two of them. He hasn’t gotten any individual moral development. Personally I don’t see why I should believe he isn’t still a piece of crap.
Isen didn't threatened John more then he just laughed it off John didn't really care in the moment either and im not saying what isen did was right but if thats the absolutely worse thing he did to a low tier and he hasn't did anything bad since then I dont know what the big deal is since that is proof hes not the same
Because blyke knows him as the cripple of the school thats who everyone knows him as and calls him who dosent know him
I don't think he would have sent him to the infirmary becuase he sent a warning shot right before John became joker John was a asshole to blyke and at most blyke just tried to intimate him.
When I was talking about him and the vigilante thing I was talking about him fellong genuine frustration for the low ranks which he did
Isen his that heroic but he saved the safe house from zeke when John fought blyke and asked if everone was OK and he hasn't done anything that bad since he broke John's wrist
Isen didn’t threaten John, John didn’t seem to care
Idk John seems pretty annoyed to me. And I do think there is an implicit threat there, John comments that he didn’t really have a choice and Isen dragged him there, which Isen verbally agrees with but doesn’t care as he wants to get on with the interview. It’s just that, unlike your average low tier, John knows he’s capable of defending himself if he must.
Alternately, in the same vein, Isen seems to be pretty chill about John grabbing his collar, if pissed off. Does that mean John wasn’t wrong to do it? Of course not.
No, it’s just that there’s a certain accepted reality between them. John is perfectly willing to defend others, but getting into a fight with one of the top ranked students in order to go to class? It wouldn’t make sense, so he doesn’t put up much of a fuss.
Okay I can’t respond to the rest of this in depth because honestly I’m just getting way more worked up than I want to. I hate Isen, that prick, thinking about him and his complete moral bankruptcy and the hypocrisy of the story portrays him always does this to me in a way few other characters in media can. Laugh at me if you want…
If I had to rank, at their worst points, Remi >> Blyke = Sera > John > Arlo
This is the best take I’ve seen from this perspective, well said. Really helped me vocalize why I believed Isen was worse than the other two even though I couldn’t remember the full interaction with him and john.
That being said, I do think this is a misunderstanding of Blykes character, you mentioned multiple times how even though he needs to be provoked, blyke has no issues sending low tiers to the infirmary.
I do think that statement is mostly true, but it’s misleading, as Blyke didn’t see john as some cripple kid hurting his friend, he saw some kid hurt his friend, and gave a warning shot, the least lethal way he had to defend his friend with his ability at the time.
Later we see Blyke do very similar things when john is acting as joker, and again after isen reveals him to them when he TELLS John to hear remi out, in a way that would probably have been seen as threatening if not for the power dynamic.
My points is Blyke will defend his friends FIRST and think second and even then he tries to restrain from unnecessarily harming ppl. The incident with john would have gone the exact same way with any elite, high tier or the like, only difference being blyke might actually try to hit them since they’re bigger threats.
(Theres one moment I vaguely remember where john is talking to blyke, and blyke is just kind of scowling angrily at his weakness that might contradict this but I can’t remember the context)
I think Blyke’s use of his ability is up for debate. Personally, I think it’s sort of unclear, for several reasons… it’s difficult to explain clearly, though I wanted to try. But basically I think the damage Blyke’s lasers are capable of isn’t scaled consistently early on and we honestly don’t have a great idea of how accurate he is either, so it remains an ambiguous incident.
Of course, I understand that Word of God supports the claim that it was a warning shot. I do also personally believe Word of God is worth less than actual canon, where we see John has to duck to avoid the hit. Though on the other hand, I’m confident that Blyke is not a character who would level a lethal attack in a school hallway.
But I’m not sure what you’re trying to say my misunderstanding is. Do you think Blyke would’ve been upset if he had sent John to the infirmary? He approached John directly after the potential warning shot and asked him why he shouldn’t beat him. This is just the same situation as Sera beating up Gavin after he tries to come for round 2 with John. Or do you think Blyke didn’t know John was a cripple? I guess that’s plausible, but he certainly knew that John was magnitudes weaker than him, just as the majority of characters are in the series. And I don’t think it mattered to him, considering that John just hit Remi.
Furthermore, there’s another incident later on where John is getting bullied by two of Zeke’s people outside of his and Blyke’s room. Blyke emerges and shoots one of the bullies, cutting his cheek and drawing blood. The reason he intervened in that incident was because they were being noisy outside his room. It specifically wasn’t to defend John, as he scolds all three of them equally for it. A more minor provocation led to a more minor response, but still a violent response.
I’m not saying Blyke was a terrible person or anything. But he was your average high ranker at the beginning of the story, and there are not so pretty parts that come with that.
We know that blyke’s lasers scale with charge time, although in a comic like format charge time can seem inconsistent. Thats my personal headcannon for blyke’s inconsistent damage output. But it would also mean he has a minimum and maximum damage output, with quick shots being about as weak as it gets. That being said, blyke is implied to already have been extremely accurate from MUCH further distances i.e. volcan incident. That being said, I do recognize that the incident with john is up to interpretation.
I do not think Blyke would have been upset sending John to the infirmary. My point was that he wasn’t doing it because john was weaker than him, to him it was about protecting his friend hence why he continues to act like that even when he knows john is MUCH than him.
That being said, yes I do consider the incident the same as sera beating gavin but with less severe consequences. Despite this Sera protecting john is seen as a good thing while blyke doing the same for remi is used to paint him like an abuser of his power.
I understand that Blyke wasn’t an especially kind person at the beginning, but to me theres a genuine disservice being done to his character. Like you mentioned how he was an average high ranker and not so pretty parts that come with, but the ACTUAL examples do NOT support that. The best you can say is that he was a little threatening here and there, but has blyke ever sent anyone to the infirmary? Unless we’re counting his literal best friend I do not think so. The examples used to paint blyke as a high ranker aren’t valid to me. He fired a weaker shot (you can tell by size) at john ,which didn’t hit btw, after John hit his best friend. And he slightly cut one of the ppl bullying john outside his room for being noisy. The second situation could have been bad if he hurt both the bullies AND john, but no the only damage done was to the aggressors AND they we’re barely hurt.
Early blyke’s not even COMPARABLE to what the series depicts high tiers of doing, he just had a temper, thats it. Despite this for some reason he apparently owes some kind of due justice to the community when he has NEVER ONCE acted out of line and used his power to oppress innocent people. Despite his temper.
The behavior that most ppl associate with high tiers is significantly more common in mid tiers, and zeke. Thats my personal opinion but I fully believe it and to me the reason is obvious, because actually strong ppl feel no need to prove their power, they know it and everyone else knows it too.
Tldr: Blyke doesn’t need to be held accountable because he has done anything to the ppl who could hold him accountable, same goes for remi, isen is pushing it (even though I still consider the incident with john to be mostly an outlier considering how he lead the press later)
Just because there was a chance they could have attacked the lower ranks doesn't mean they did, and in my opinion they didn't, Because it's very obvious that the students don't think that way about them, so their treatment of John like that is probably unusual behavior for them. So yeah, there's less animosity to deal with because the Royals almost never behave like that, unlike John.
This is why Uru stoping the none high-tiers speaking out against the royals was a mistake. While the royals didn’t do what John did they still didn’t stop the bullying that was going on, the none high-tiers had a issue with the ways things was runned yet they couldn’t do anything because they were not as powerful like John to do it.
Without any vengeance they would never have seen accountability. The system was made for violence to be the voice of reason, accountability was never enforced. The fact they didn't even consider their actions before their absolute ass beating by John is proof they would have never taken accountability or even thought about what they did was wrong. Albeit few did see what was wrong with the system but had no will to really change it or stand up against others. Accountability was forced by John and it's greatly thanks to him beating them to a pulp for change to be made to begin with.
Yes? I don’t exactly see how that’s a point against them. Every single character in the story only has the views they do because of violence perpetrated against them: it’s the main catalyst for seeing the system for what it truly is.
What matters is how they responded to that violence: they took the accountability.
John didn’t at first. Other high tiers didn’t at all. Others went and did the same to others that was done to them to feel powerful (think those using ability amps to terrorize low tier districts and the fake Jokers).
Remi, Blyke, and Isen needed a little push to shake off the deeply ingrained values of their society; but that doesn’t, and shouldn’t, make the value of their atoning actions any lesser.
See the thing is tho, that those "Royals" had a friend who saw right from wrong and became a vigilante yet none of them for even a second stopped to consider why (actually a great many became vigilantes and yet they still did not stop to think about why). He saw right from wrong, even with the system in place. See that's the issue they could have at anytime saw what they did as wrong but chose to remain violent. Only till John deep 6'd them did they even remotely try to change.
Tbf they never really been violent (except Arlo with John). Were they inactive? Yeah, definitely. But the worst Isen did was broke John's wrist (which is bad, but in this world it's basically nothing) and Blyke was never violent with weak people. And Remi is... Well Remi.
By this logic Blyke should be considered even either A. When John hopsitalizes him (This is stronger "Karma" for firing a beam at John earlier in the series.) Or B. When he is put through readjustment classes like John was, assuming something similar occurs now, if you for some reason dont think A was enough.
Blyke really didnt do all that much wrong besides being complacent and impulsively violent, he righted his complacency by arguably being the best supporter of safe-house and shouldve karma wise been gotten back when John hospitalized him as he cooled off a lot after that and was shown to grow beyond being a hothead who acts without thinking (Primarily in Rowden he has grown beyond that of himself a lot)
So I have to ask, do you think Blyke needs to be held accountable anymore in that case? Karma has more than been dealt back to him and he has clearly grown a lot as a person.
Genuinely, I think out of the entire Royal trio Blyke is the one who's the closest to "having worn John/Seraphina's shoes". Blyke experiences something similar to how John feels. When John becomes King, Blyke experiences what it's like to be unable protect his friends, crushed under the weight of someone stronger than him, and even the despair of being unable to do anything about it, and the desperation of growing stronger to escape that. That being said, I still really wish the school did more to really hold these Royals accountable, like why did everyone, even those who have been abused by elites such as Zeke, immediately trust them to make the school better? Do you really mean to tell me that no one, absolutely no one, felt like John at all? You mean to tell me that not a single low-tier feels any sort resentment and distrust towards them, and that no problems occured from that whatsoever? There were really no such obstacles in the way for the Safe House to have to challenge head on and overcome? Seriously?
Meanwhile, Seraphina did face that reality head on. While what Illena and co. did was reprehensible and extremely overboard (and therefore more than deserving of Joker's wrath), it did a phenomenal job in truly showcasing the reality behind it all. Because of people like her, they are angry and miserable, and she has to face that kind of misery head on.
I’m so sorry if this comes off as rude in any way or if I’m misremembering something that makes my entire point invalid, but I really don’t get where you’re coming from.
You wish the school did more to hold the royals accountable? For what exactly? What did the royal trio specifically do to warrant any sort of punishment or distrust? Remi says it herself in her conversation with John, they disband any unfair fights they see. We’ve SEEN them do this.
John’s retort to this also doesn’t make much sense? That they are the ones starting fights which as far as I know, isn’t true. He(like you) mentions Zeke as a placeholder for all elites, even though its shown pretty clearly that Zeke is just a bad person, and we repeatedly see ppl hate on zeke, no other elite acts like him so why would the other elites get punishment for Zeke’s sole behavior?
Johne then goes on to mention encounters with blyke and isen, BOTH which violence was initiated BY HIM. Blyke shot at him (I personally still believe that was a warning shot and was never going to hit him) after he HIT remi, overreaction yes but its not like blyke started it. Even Isen broke his wrist when john got aggressive with him and grabbed him by the collar, was isen egging him on? Yes but again the escalation to a physical confrontation was by John. I don’t think we see a single moment by anyone in this trio, that genuinely justifies any sort of punishment.
Unlike early seraphina, who beat up john for being a bit difficult , None of the royal trio escalates to violence first EVEN ISEN😭.
That alone makes any sort of anger towards then extremely irrational like Illena’s anger towards Sera, even so they’re not making ppl join the safe house, they were just doing their own thing, if you wanted to join the safe house you can, if you think they were not trustworthy you just DON’T join😭. They weren’t in anybody’s business, hence what makes johns insistence on GOING OUT OF HIS WAY to initiate violence against an otherwise normal club so very wrong.
She is not accountable for a system she lives in. In fact, none of the royals are. They are responsible for their own actions.
That said, I've never though Remi was in any way or shape responsible for anything that grave? Blyke has his attack almost blowing up John's head, Isen is guilty of lying to John, breaking his arm and digging into his past (which is still not THAT bad), but Arlo is truly horrid. Regardless.
It's because Seraphina's biggest crime is not wanting to take part of an active revolution. Aside from that? She's as far from the hierarchy as John is. In fact, the phrase you show does not reflect her own belief, or she wouldn't ever accept John's point when discussing. She's just explaining the violence, not accepting nor enforcing it.
If what Blyke did was overdoing it to John by firing a beam at his head, logically what Sera did to Gavin was overstepping (Uru explicitly describes what Blyke did as a warning shot im fairly sure) and Sera clearly did a similarly overdone warning shot to Gavin (Even if it was justified after)
People focusing on the head beam thing, it just always seems like Blyke has already made amends for that, he put his life on the line at least twice for John and stuck his neck out for him many more times beyond that, some people dont verbally apologize but instead show their growth through actions. John never apologizes directly for calling Sera a cripple, but he clearly shows he has grown beyond what he has done for that with Sera.
Blyke is not a bad person either, in fact I put him as the second best of the royals. And those specific cases have to do with who can defend himself.
Blyke has no reason to defend Remi, she's stronger than him. He has even less of a reason to shot a warning shot at someone whose greatest crime as of that point is yelling at his friend.
In other words, don't use a warning shot to escalate a situation while pretending you're deescalating it, and let your friend who's stronger than you defend themselves.
Yeah its definitely worse but i think its more an argument for that Blyke being impulsive and hotheaded at the time instead of him being bad remotely at all. He's just overreactive early on.
Also i dont think UnO is about morality.... I dont really care if John or Sera is a "good person" I just want to watch their friendship.... its just soo realistic and beautiful
She did suck (morally speaking) early on (throughout S1 pt1, pretty much). I agree that how much she sucked early on was and is underdiscussed due to fandom bias towards the character, but I don’t think she needs to continue to be in the conversation in the modern day.
The reason we have these unending conversations about the morality of the Royal trio is because the story struggled and ultimately failed to properly address their worse actions during s1, in favor of casting them as the atoning heroes vs the villain John. The reason Sera does not need to be part of that conversation is because we see it all; why she held those beliefs in the first place, why her beliefs changed, and how her compassion for the societally oppressed low tiers grew.
It’s also not true that she didn’t start to change until those issues directly impacted her. She started on the path to changing her morals because of her friendship and conversations with John. After all, the reason she was revealed as having lost her ability was because she intervened for the sake of a low tier, and conspicuously didn’t activate her ability. So factually just she absolutely did try to help people before she lost her ability. The key thing losing her ability did to her was made her value the influence she used to have.
Also, how is “favoring John” or “giving John second chances” a bad thing? She hurt some people because they attacked John, sure. I don’t know how much you can say she is morally wrong for this; she always warns people to back off before she attacks. I don’t see how accusing her for this is any different than saying anybody in the story is wrong to defend themselves or their friends. And she never hurt anyone to give John a second chance, she wasn’t enabling him either. You haven’t actually brought up any valid reasons to criticize her other than what we see in the images…
she wasnt going around being a bully at tis time did you forget isen broke johns wrist and blyke shot his lasers at someone he thought was a cripple a remi is the active queen and had no clue how fucked up the school was
Sera was the active queen for as long a period and also self-described had no idea how messed up things were, she literally says it herself.
Sera "warning" shot Gavin herself with the same power defense dif between herself and Gavin that Blyke has to a cripple. Blyke has also willingly shown he has tried to make amends with doing that.
Im not giving Isen excuses, i think he is actively a much worse person than Blyke or Remi.
Im asking why Sera isnt being held to the same standards, not why/if Blyke or Remi are bad.
Thank you for bringing up the point about Isen being a worse person than Blake and Remi. I’ve thought the same too. Sometimes, it seems as if when Blyke or Remi want to do something to actually make things better, Isen goes along very reluctantly and actually tries to talk them out of it. There’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way.
The only time we saw Sera as queen was in a few flashbacks; it's not the same as being an active queen. As queen, she did everything that was required of her, often to the point of nearly breaking down. Once she befriended John and stepped down, she stopped taking action, and it became Remi's responsibility. The title of "Ace" is not a real position; it was created so the royals wouldn’t appear incompetent.
Additionally, Sera attacking Gavin is not comparable to Blyke attacking John. A cripple is no match for anyone, and even someone as weak as Gavin is far superior to a person who is cripple. Everyone with an ability has natural defenses, and Gavin's ability, "Stone Skin," provides him with extra level of protection. If the laser aimed at John's head had connected, there's a strong possibility that John could have died, if he had been genuinely crippled.
Well other people have covered Sera fairly well so I'll explain at least part of the reason the Royals are tbh Overhated.
Its at least a decent bit of John bias, I've had conversations about the royals here where no matter how much I back up my points showing that every single one of them (Even arlo but I will not defend early Arlo) has become better people than they were at these moments, and their responses were basically nuh uh refuting all my points without any evidence. Since Seraphina is basically always on John's side she doesn't get nearly as much hate.
The Laser shot is so overreacting and always taken out of context. Blyke is Hot headed and fiercely loyal to his friends. From his perspective he saw his friend (ya know the sweetest cinnamon roll outside of Evie) go to help some rando and the guy freaks out. People side with John because we the omniscient readers know that John is having a trauma flashback, but Blyke doesn't, so he purposely misses a warning shot which is noted in story. Notably after the vigilante trip, Blyke does try making amends with John, and that doesn't go well but he still reluctantly helps him a few times before learning he's joker.
Remi is basically sin free because of course she doesn't realize how bad shit is, its her norm. It takes her trips out into the lower districts as a Vigilante to realize that there's a problem, and can you blame a highschooler who lives in a world that normalizes violence for not applying that to her own life?
Isen is also just someone who is just blinded by societal norms, which again people try to apply our values onto these peoples early actions. He breaks Johns wrist, because again, their society normalizes violence and the reinforcement of power through it. The second he learns whats up with John, he tries to stop Arlo, and then protect John where he can. Yes this is self serving fear I won't deny it, he is a realist and a coward who listens to his survival instincts. But his redemption comes when time and time again he goes against those instincts to protect his friends, or in the case of the false Joker incident, literally just the entire school.
Another thing that shows this is at least partially John Bias is how often people bring up the royals "needing to apologize" to John. They won't consider all the good things they've done since these almost all singular incidents valid until their baby boy John gets an apology that at this rate would be a waste of page time. This whole series in the first two series has been about how redemption isn't an easy road, and that it comes in many ways no matter how much of a monster you think you are, and its always been weird that people just ignore that the royals, even Arlo, have all become better people, just because John hasn't gotten an apology. Actions speak louder than words, and the royals are all singing the same tune of redemption.
I think you can argue Isen is genuinely a bad person at times who still doesnt learn, or at least very amoral
The reason i pointed out Blyke though, is because Sera warning shots Gavin similar to what Blyke does to John.
When you point out some people like Arlo did genuinely think about his actions and we see his inner monologue and then suddenly "Well that wasnt genuine, John said he's fake" like... I mean what am i even supposed to argue? We see the guy's thoughts ffs.
Exactly what I mean about the John Favoritism right there Gog damn. I wasn't really referring to you for the Blyke thing, my post is entirely pointed for the people who will genuinely use Blykes Warning shot as a sign he needs to be vilified. Your right Sera does do the same, Sera also blatantly proves Johns point in chapter 6 (absurd how blatant it is so early) that all high tiers basically put down any opinions they don't like with violence, which she immediately glares at him, with a ya know threat of violence, to shut him down.
Isen is Neutral good, maybe Chaotic, he generally puts himself first, and will act selfishly, but if its do or die he has yet to not put himself on the line in the end. If people listened to his survival instincts we just wouldn't have a story. Remi, Blyke and Him wouldn't be vigilantes wanted by the law, and Arlo wouldn't have created the monster known as Joker.
I mean, Arlo really didn’t apologize to John because he felt his actions were wrong or that he regrets it for any other reason than it caused him and those he loves pain. We got a much later apology where he does seem to genuinely regret what he did (and John BLOWS IT OFF ARGHHH BUT IT HAPPENED). It doesn’t have to be about John, if you don’t like him; replace him mentally with uhh Evie or Dylan if it makes you more able to sympathize with the plight of the less powerful person in that scenario.
Sera does prove that point, but she wasn’t about to attack John and it’s disingenuous to imply as much. John does seriously piss her off the next morning after they get up and she just scolds him harshly and leaves. They are very demonstrably friends.
I don’t agree with people who think Blyke’s warning shot needs to be talked about in the modern day, but I understand that perspective. After all, it was unclear that early on in the series exactly how much durability the average, unpowered person had. We also see the same beam he shot near John’s head slice a hole into the metal locker, creating a textual justification for the idea that John could’ve been severely injured because of that incident. At best it was quite reckless of Blyke to aim near such vital regions.
Yeah, if people listened to Isen, we wouldn’t have a story. Society would just be going on as it always has. Continually enabling the strong (like Isen!!!) to abuse their privileges over other people.
Being a High-tier doesn't make you responsible for the school, being a Royal does. Seraphine had the responsibility thrown onto her from the moment she entered the school at her level but she gave it up.
Remi, Blyke, and Arlo all fought and grew to take the title of Royal knowing that it put them responsible for the school yet they failed to properly run it making them accountable for said failings. Since Sera gave up that responsibility, she also gave up the accountability.
One could argue thats morally worse than doing wrong, because it implies youre knowingly handing over responsibility to someone less competent or morally worse than you. (No one is going to argue Sera doesnt see herself as more competent than Remi)
To make this argument, you also have to make the argument Arlo wouldve been in the right to simply hand over the king title to John at John's absolute worst in 144 instead of insisting on not giving John the king title due to seeing John as being a worse leader figure.
Maybe because Sera never cared about any of that in the first place, yeah she’s friends with John, so what? She never said she’d start looking out for other low tiers or cripples. People only blame Remi because she somehow didn’t notice how messed up wellston was, but claimed that it was a somewhat safe place for lower tier students to John of all people. Sera never said she didn’t know, never said she cared, never said she’d try to stop it so while you can say she’s “bad” for it, it’s not really like she cared about trying to make Wellston good either.
Well her whole thing in the beginning is living life as she wants to(it’s only later we see that grow and mature but) we saw that the system suffocates high tiers and was making her miserable. Her story was about not being forced into a way of behaving but being herself. ( her being very lazy just happens to coincide with that) . Also the characters are only like juniors let’s be real here I think that naivety in children is natural.
I do think people are way too hard on the Royals (aside from Arlo and kinda Isen, because obviously). But Seraphina even before the power loss, she was improving as a person. The fact that she genuinely changed her position enough to befriend John without needing to be beaten up just makes her feel more open-minded
But yeah, its also just because she’s the emotional pillar that held up John, and John is the sympathetic main character
On a guess, it's because while Sera certainly didn't step up to maintain the peace, she didn't preach that the school was safe while being totally ignorant to any of the abuse happening among the low tiers.
It's comparing hypocrisy and neglect versus just neglect. Plus, we automatically sympathize more with Sera because 1.) We know why she wants nothing to do with the hierarchy, and 2.) She's the FL / possible LI
Arlo and Zeke was the worst of the high tiers imo. Blyke’s worst crime was shooting a warning shot at John’s head, Remi was naive and impulsive, Isen broke John’s wrist and tried to dig into his past.
Imo the mid tier students were worse than most of the high tiers. They weren’t as strong which is why they treated the lower tiers and cripples as fodder to feel better about themselves.
I dont think John ever wanted Sera to involve herself in hierarchy. Thats why he never asked her to change the system at the beginning when he was getting beaten everyday. He just wants her to be herself without her chains. Thats what i think
You’re right, simply solving their ignorant worldview wouldn’t have been enough.
Maybe it would be enough if they got the shit kicked out of them by John in revenge for their actions. If they created a Safe House to protect others from the abuses of power they once committed. If they organized a fun trip for their former victims turned friends. If they used their social standing to change the culture of the school to be more accepting. If they risked their lives as vigilantes to protect the downtrodden. Then it might be enough.
But shame they “only” solved their ignorant worldview. A worldview they were ingrained with from birth, taught by family friends and the government to follow, and rewarded for adhering to.
I think Blyke begrudingly accepts what he did was wrong and impulsive in hindsight and he has definitely made steps to try to show that even if not directly apologize for it. He's literally taken a major hit for John once during Rowden, and basically saved his life at his own cost in the s2 finale (And himself insisted on not leaving John behind). None of which he had to do and couldve gotten away without doing.
simply because seraphina got suspended and became a cripple, plus she felt as if she deserved to be punished, john felt the same way too, both sera and john have admitted to being bad people
REMI, BLYKE, ISEN AND ARLO NEVER DID THAT HENCE WHY THEY ARE HATED ON MORE
Arlo im fairly certain did admit to be a bad person at some point, and I know Remi confronting being naive in the same exaft way Sera acknowledged her own prior naivity.
Im talking about Sera before becoming a cripple not after.
Actually Arlo does admit to being at least the source of everything that happened at wellston.
144 "Things have escalated to this point all because of ME" he concluded at least he was the source of all the problems in wellston, and actually literally tries to apologize to John.
While not directly admitting to being bad, he is saying he has been the problem.
well i dont consider that genuine, at that point he was thinking about remis safety not johns feelings, plus in the next chapter john called him for being fake
His apology wasn't genuine until episode 295 when John told him about the readjustment classes, which is where he understood why John hid his ability when he arrived in Wellston.
yeah thats true, but this is before, not after also at that moment, notice the conversation was about the trio getting readjustment classes, its not like arlo went there just to apologize to john
its kinda crazy that apology only came up because hes thinking about his friends not much about john. Plus he could have said something like john you didnt deserve to go through that, but he never did
yeah thats true, but this is before, not after also at that moment, notice the conversation was about the trio getting readjustment classes, its not like arlo went there just to apologize to john
That was because Arlo didn't know what the readjustment classes were like until he asked John and then he apologized.
its kinda crazy that apology only came up because hes thinking about his friends not much about john. Plus he could have said something like john you didnt deserve to go through that, but he never did
You're right, but well, both don't get along and they have their reasons that we already know.
yeh but i felt he should have apologized without the context of the readjustment classes, that would make it more genuine
true
I agree, but that's due to the resentment he had with John. Besides, Arlo probably knew that John wasn't going to accept another apology, especially if it came from Arlo himself.
They must have done it that way so that Arlo, upon learning what John had to go through during those classes, empathizes in a certain way or something like that. It's just my theory.
John is very much an unreliable narrator, this is the same John that called Sera a cripple. That called Arlo fake.
While it centered from Remi initially, Arlo is mentally exploring and thinking about what he made John do and realized 'Im the reason this all happened' because he literally talks about how he had been trying to force John into the position. Whether he sees it as morally wrong, he does he what he did at minimum as that he was the one who caused the problems in wellston through his actions.
If you dont consider that genuine, what makes John's apology to Sera genuine? John wasnt even in the headspace to realistically think about Sera at that point. (Im not making this argument im just saying its somewhat hypocritcal to point this out about Arlo when based on John's own headspaces you could say the same thing about him.) And does it really matter if he's doing it for Remi's safety irregardless? He still genuinely believes himself to be the problem there.
johns apology was genuine to sera because in his mind he literally said I DONT DESERVE YOU and hefelt guilty for hurting sera, arlo never had a confrontation about himself like that, hence why his apology was considered fake, he was thinking about remi not john
if john is an unreliable narrator, by that logic so are the other characters
Yes. That is what being a character is. Every character is an unreliable narrator. The same John calling Arlo fake, calls Sera a cripple, he isnt in the headspace to realistically judge others. Arlo himself literally says in his mind '...I'M the one who pushed him... Things have escalated to this point all because of ME' if that isnt self acknowledgement of being the problem what could be, that is literally a confrontation about himself and his actions. Im not literally arguing John wasnt genuine, im saying its hypocritical character assessment to say Arlo wasnt thinking genuine thoughts but John was.
Right. Unreliable narrator doesn’t mean a biased narrator, that’s just a natural part of any character. It’s a unreliable narrator when they are actively misrepresenting events or framing things in an objectively misleading way (I.e. Humbert Humbert in Lolita). It’s really hard to have an unreliable narrator in a webcomic format. For all intents and purposes, Unordinary is reliable narration.
Because Seraphina's change of morals and beliefs was a lot more genuine than the others, she experienced what it's like being at the top and at the bottom. She had the same mindset as everyone else she couldn't care less for the weak, but she first changed when she met John, but that wasn't the end of her growth. She grew as a person again after she became a cripple. She tried helping others even when she was powerless, and when she got her powers back, she still didn't stop helping others.
The other Royals only changed because John forced them to change by sheer brute strength, not by compassion, not out of a need to help. But because a threat bigger and stronger than them arrived, they preached about being the good guys, but they didn't actually do anything to change the system of Welston until John threw the entire school into chaos.
Remi preached about wanting to help others, but she didn't actually try to figure out how she could help.
Blyke and Isen were just both extremely violent individuals who honestly could care less about those weaker than them. Isen broke John's wrist and dug into his past, and Blyke nearly no-scoped John's head off just because John yelled at Remi, not to mention he only became a vilgante not help others but because he lost to John and wanted to be stronger
But what really separates Seraphina from the royals is one thing.
How they acted, Seraphina acts like a spectator at first. She didn't really care too much about others, but at least she was honest about it.
The other Royals were hypocrites, and hypocrites are extremely disliked.
“Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a man in the process of changing”
They started that way because it was how they raised, how the society they lived in told them to act and rewarded them for doing so. It’s not hypocritical to realize the way you were before is wrong and then work to change and become better.
We know that we accept that, we are glad that they changed and people praise them for that.
However, people know what they were like before they changed, and they did criticize them for that. They accepted the change, but they do criticize their old actions.
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u/KeeganKTK Jul 29 '25
Because Seraphina gets her karma. She experiences what it's like to be a cripple, an actual cripple, and that's what changes her so fundamentally. Especially compared to Blyke, Isen and Remi who don't quite experience the same consequences/experiences. They're barely held accountable in comparison.