Characters Can't Possess Culpability

[unspeakablehorror]

I have long had an appreciation for a wide range of characters regardless of whether I find them very relatable, or how they treat other characters I may like, or if I think they are moral individuals. I don't think it's good for people treat characters as if they actually did anything right or wrong or had any choice or agency in their narrative choices when the writer chooses all of that, always. Like, a character isn't necessarily a better character the more moral they are. A character is a good character if they fulfill a worthwhile narrative purpose. That purpose might not even be the original creator's intention for the character, but a reinterpretation of them. Also, bad characters aren't bad because they're evil, they're bad because they're badly written in some way. Both good and evil characters can be bad characters. It's also okay to like bad characters, or dislike them, or like good characters, or dislike them. The quality of a character does not entail an obligation for people to feel a certain way about them.

When critiquing a character, one should never forget that they're not critiquing a person, but a fictional creation. Therefore the actions of that creation can only be evaluated in the context of how they contribute to the wider narrative, and what they might imply about the intended or unintended themes or messages of that narrative. It's not like a real person who can be judged on their own words and actions.