The Penultimate chapter before the finale arc is out and I have some things to say about it! Allow me to elaborate on some stuff if you please!
Rock Bottom: First and foremost, because this has been an issue that has been raised I want to address it. May I begin with, please do not be rude to other reviewers if you disagree with them. I can understand the desire to defend my writing choices, but I don't wish to create a toxic discussion environment. Always remember to be respectful, trust me, don't worry about my feelings being hurt at this point. I'm a grown man, I can defend my own writing decisions, although your passion is commendable and I do appreciate it, I would just as you be respectful.
Now then, Zek, I have personally been concerned with my direction with him and have been doing my best to manage those concerns. I knew he was going to take center stage in this story a lot more than last time because it was Varvok who needed to do the most changing to redeem himself and even then there would be some extra steps after. Zek was the tougher nut to crack and I knew it would take a lot more to get him to change. But to get there, I'd need to take us through his story and watch his evolution, of a sort.
I knew that would rub some people wrong, Zek is a lot and little of him goes a long way. I was concerned about him taking over the story, even though he was a principle character. In many ways, Remnants is his story, as Shepard has already gone through his self-doubt arc and his purpose in this story is to face the challenge of being an arbitrator between opposing factions. To prove his way is workable in the Halo Universe. A tall order, but to see it work, I still needed to show Zek's resistance to it and show how its overcome.
I always suspected a few people would be annoyed by this. As much as I love writing Zek, I know from experience that just because YOU love a character, you should never assume everyone else is on the same page. I feel like that's a constant issue in some stories these days, people making assumptions about what the audience will accept. I try not to, I am constantly on the look out for what fans of these franchises will take issue with. Remember how this whole story series started? There are still people who write me saying they can't abide the Normandy defeating a Covenant Battlecruiser the way they do. But I also know that if they can get past that, more than a few find the rest of the story engaging.
Zek is his own obstacle here, because I need him to get worse before he can get better. I tried to limit that a little by showing his side, his perspective, placing you in his head space. So even if you disagree, even knowing he's wrong, you understand. I feel you can understand something without approving it. That gets lost so much in story-telling today. Far too many people seem to think that a story trying to frame a degree of empathy for a character means they're also asking you to agree with them. They're not, the framing is there to just show the character's perspective so you will understand their dimensions. Not that the story is on their side. So many people get screwed up with this because they can't reconcile that two things can be true at the same time. That someone can have a good reason for being how they are... and still be wrong.
Zek's reasons for how he acts are simple, he doesn't trust anyone to have his best interests at heart except himself. And ultimately, due to his degree of self-loathing and denial of his own self-loathing, he doesn't really like himself all that much to begin with and can't/won't acknowledge his failures. That's no excuse, but it is the reason. Only by completely failing, by absolutely coming to the realization that a good chunk, if not all of this, is his own fault, can he be a better person.
As noted by others, Zek does borrow a lot of Edward Kenway, especially in this regard I admit. Because both needed to fail at their one singular goal so hard that they had no choice to recognize that failure and commit themselves to fixing it. Zek is lower than ever now, everything he hoped for, everything he said mattered to him, he absolutely failed at being true to or achieving.
And thus, as any good story does when dealing with redemption, Zek hitting rock bottom means he can only go up. There's no other for him other than to lay down, give up, and die. And while he could do that, and many in real life do, it's not nearly as satisfying as seeing someone make up for their mistakes. Because in the end, we all feel people can be better than they are. We want them to be because we hope WE can be that way.
So I acknowledge that getting Zek to this point required a lot of focus on him. That was going to come with consequences no matter what I tried. But I knew I could achieve it, I knew I could pull it off. I wouldn't get everyone, but I'd at least get most people there. If watching Zek be forced to acknowledge his mistakes has been satisfying for you, thank you for sticking with it. If not, well, sorry, maybe I'll have better luck next redemption arc I go for. I like to think I've gotten good at this though, people seem to like Nelanax now, and more people hated her initially than Zek.
Kasumi & Retz - Good Buds: I've really enjoyed having Kasumi and Retz paired up a lot. And it was nice to see the full culmination here. Their friendship started out with a lot of lies and deception on Retz's part. Now the shoe is on the other foot with Kasumi lying and not trusting him, and he's cool with it. He accepts it, admires it even.
I don't often see many male-female platonic friendships in stories, so giving Retz and Kas a chance to pair up and become real friends was great in that respect. And it was all to get to this moment really, the moment when Kasumi played Retz and he congratulated her deception. The Spymaster himself was outplayed. And Retz is nothing if not a fair sport about these things.
It took me a bit to figure out which book Retz would be reading. It had to be something I'd suspect Kasumi would have in her library. I settled on Crime & Punishment when summary matched Retz a little too well. It felt like the most sensible thing. Also, Kasumi strikes me as someone who would have Russian Novels on her shelf. Not because she's pretentious or anything, she just really like prestige stuff. She's a really good thief after all, she only steals the best.
I probably should've had Tali meet with Kasumi too, given their friendship, but I wanted to focus on the Jackals here as their perspective was central to everything here. I needed to sell the frame of mind they were all in, from Zek on down, and make people believe it. So I had to spend time wisely here. Maybe next chapter.
For now, I just wanted to reiterate how nice it is that I've managed to craft the sort of platonic girl-guy friendship that I wish we had more of.
A Real "I'm Sorry": Years ago, I had Taq explain why forgiveness isn't something that's just owed to you because you say you're sorry. That's true then and still true now. Sorry isn't always enough, but it's especially true if you don't mean or its insincere. Zek's humbling has finally taught him the truth. He wasn't trying to apologize to Taq because he understood what he did wrong. He was just trying to do it because it would make him feel better. And it wasn't until now he realized how he was going about it wrong.
So here it was, the moment Zek actually says Sorry for real. And it's an actual apology, one that comes from the heart and is accepting of the truth of it. That Zek hurt Taq, he hurt her in a way that was painful and long lasting. That his excuses don't matter, he can't change it or resolve it. He can only acknowledge that he did wrong by a person he loved. And Taq is right to not forgive him if she wants, but Zek needed to acknowledge her pain. To prove he understood more than anything, which was what Taq wanted.
In return, Taq tries to help him face some of his self-doubts. She never actually hated him, she just couldn't like him because it was pretty obvious he didn't even like himself. That was the core issue behind why he left her. So this was what Taq was hoping for, not because she wants to be with him again, because she wants to see a Zek that actually can understand the harm he's capable of causing so he won't do more of it. And the best way to help him do that is to try and show him WHY he's even a pirate to begin with.
Do Zek and Taq have a chance to start over? That's complicated. I don't think they can ever REALLY start over. But they can at least try to be better friends. It starts with Sorry, we'll see where it goes from there.
A Bit of Shepard's Past: I'll point this out, in case you forgot. Shepard has spoken of his drinking problem before, but I never specified it to a great degree. I've tried to give my Paragon, not an edge so to speak, but I feel Wade Shepard is a little more compelling as a truly pure Spacer War Hero, if he is just a little broken inside. I think what made him a good hero in the end, is he knows what it feels like to feel helpless. Maybe not against an enemy, maybe not against any great tangible obstacle, but something just inside that emerged there at some point.
I think it was the only thing that could truly break through Zek's stubborn skull. And it had to come out here, when Shepard's tried everything else. Because it's hard trying to be friends with Zek and doing so didn't get him anywhere. So here Shepard attempts to appeal to Zek's failures by acknowledging his own. He didn't do it earlier because why would you share that pain with someone like Zek? Only now, when the pirate leader has felt true failure did it feel appropriate.
Eventually I might actually reveal more of exactly what happened with Wade Shepard. The Skylian Blitz, his time in the service, what precisely went down in Mass Effects 1 and 2, but for now, it's better to give it in pieces than in full lore dumps. But, I'm always willing to answer questions about it. Not like any of it could spoil future parts of the story. They all happened in the past. I just don't say anything in case people want to be surprised when it comes up naturally.
Zhoc and Zek - Parallels: Showing Zhoc's viewpoint was part of me trying to give you an empathy framework. Because as horrible as he is, he does genuinely love his sister and miss her. He's really only this bad because she's gone, she kept his darker elements in check. She truly loved him and without anyone like that in his life, Zhoc became just the worst sort of person. It also sets up a few other things for the future, but we'll cover that soon enough.
It was also important for Zek's final revelation. That he and Snarlbeak aren't that different, they're both suffering from pain and loss. Zek has never really come to terms with his father's death in a healthy manner, but he internalized it. Zhoc externalized his sister's death and made it define every interaction and action he had. While Zek used his father's death as an excuse for his mistakes too often. Zek's mindset was self-destructive, but Zhoc's was on outward destruction, hating everyone and everything, blaming them for the loss of the good things in his life.
It's only by recognizing this that Zek can truly change. To see himself in his enemy for once and to understand the cautionary tale it represents. Zhoc let his sister's death turn him bitter and hateful, turn him into Snarlbeak. Zek let his father's death and subsequent passing on of Dread Feather's legacy to make him feel inadequate and a failure before he even started. Zek has finally recognized that led him to a bad place, Zhoc thinks wallowing in his grief like this will help him.
There's been a bit said about how heroes reflecting their villains can feel a little cliché these days, but there is something to be said about villains being used to help develop heroes. To give them a lesson, to enable their evolution. That's what I really liked about Arkham Origins, the forgotten Batman Arkham game. Batman's rogue's gallery are all dark reflections of him in that game, lessons for him to use to become a better crime fighter, by seeing the darker aspects of himself in his enemies. Zek is finally doing the same here and it will help him be a better person if he lets it.
The Tale of the Fallen Serpent: I'm not sure if I was inspired by last chapter to tell another little story from the Halo Universe itself. This time less a myth and more a fable or fairy tale. It came to me while writing the chapter that it would be interesting if there was a greater purpose and meaning behind the name chosen for Zek's ship. The idea of the fallen serpent fell resonant. A predator brought low, trapped because it reached too high and made a mistake. But it could escape if it only kept trying, no matter how difficult the path, no matter dangers lay ahead, laying down and dying was no the answer.
I suppose looking back on it, the story feels similar to the kig-yar being promised a chance to return to the stars post-Raider and mindwipe. But in general, it just feels like something the kig-yar would tell their kids. That there might be times when you fall flat on your face cause a scheme or plan falls through, but don't be a quitter, because that's worse than failing.
It was a fun little story to tell and it was nice to give Zek further context behind his personality, philosophy and why his ship is named the way it is. Not that everything has to have deeper meaning, but something like the Fallen Serpent I think deserved it since it has become a staple of the Chronicles at this point.
Roll the Ol' Chariot Along: I wanted Boz to sing a shanty song to lift the crew's spirits after Zek abandoned them. This felt appropriate after I tried out a few. It keeps the theme of the chapter in mind. Yeah, times are tough, we haven't had the best day, week, or month, or even year, but if we can just keep going, if we can just keep pushing, we'll get by. Felt appropriate for the scene, feels more appropriate now.
Boz probably looks absolutely miserable to you all right now. Sorry for that, he's usually such a happy fellow, but this has hit him hard, as you saw in the BBR chapter. It's probably the most development he's had in a while in fact. All he wants is to be a good morale officer, he wants to make people happy and he's failing. Because how can he do that when he feels so low, when he's let everyone down. It's a vicious cycle really, he betrayed his audience, now he can't do his job as good anymore because he's depressed about that, thus he's failing his audience again because he can't be happy and thus make them happy.
Knowing this chapter would not get an accompanying BBR section, and that it would likely be a while before we see BBR again, as we'll have to conclude the story before we finish things off for Boz, see this section of the chapter as some connective tissue between this story and BBR itself. Even Juk shows up, giving his wildest stupidest conspiracy yet, along with some prominent Fallen Serpent crew members.
And of course, Boz gets his greatest moment of triumph, knocking that idiot Juk out with a single solid hit from a mug. And then he falls flat on his face, because this is still Boz and he's a clown at all times. Even if he's a sad clown. Don't worry, Boz, I'm gonna make this little depression cycle worth it for you, you'll see. As I said, you have to hit rock bottom before you can grow back up.
Honestly, I think Boz's scenario is similar to my own right now. I've found solace in the words of Bo Burnham's song "Content", like Boz I'm just doing what I can. Getting up, sitting down, getting to work on stories. May not always help, but it couldn't hurt. Sitting down, writing jokes, singing silly songs. I might be gone for long periods of time doing that, but I'll always come back with something. Because, hey, gotta keep busy or you'll never get anything done.
I hope at least Boz's position and eventual return to glory can help you find some similar solace.
The Shipmaster They Were Waiting For: Everyone wondered what Zek would have to do to win back his crew. And the answer is actually very simple, the same he did before when he got them follow him in defecting from the Covenant. He gives them the choice to follow him and argues for why, honestly, earnestly, without appealing to their greed or avarice. He appeals to what they really all want, what he wants, freedom.
The Fallen Serpent was without a compass, I've been making that clear for a while. They were all after the Astral Cutlass, but with no clear direction or reasoning as to why. Just the promise they'd be legends for it. Zek wanted it for an escape, but never told his men that was why. Therefore the search became hollow other than being a search for the sword. And after they got it, what then? Even if everything worked out, would they have known what to do with it?
The Syndicate was right at the time to not fear Zek getting the Cutlass, because they recognized he had no ambition beyond himself. And the crew of the Fallen Serpent were picking up on that. Zek wasn't giving them a greater goal, no purpose, no direction. Just get the Cutlass, get the Cutlass and... profit? It wasn't enough anymore, they all knew that but just didn't think they had any other real options.
Now that Zek's back, he's given them a direction and he 's made his case for it, he's argued passionately, with resolve, conviction. He's no longer just doing it... just cause. He's doing this for something bigger, something inspiring, something that gives the Fallen Serpent a true purpose. And while they're still skeptical, even concerned, the fact Zek is offering them the choice as well as providing something better than "Get me the Sword because I want it!" Now it's "Help Prevent Our Legacy from being Abused like This!" That speaks to them on a deeper level.
It's not that easy of course, there's still animosity, Zek still has to prove himself to the crew again, but the first step is taken. As I said, it started with Sorry and grew from there. Zek is trying to love himself again, and if he can do that, if he can give himself purpose, maybe he can do the same for his crew.
I would like to think that was convincing enough for all of you as a reason for Zek turning things around, without it being too saccharine. I'm hopeful that if you still have doubts, they'll evaporate once Zek actually proves he's on the level beyond just words.
Well in any case, I'm done for now. Look forward to more chapters in due course. We're almost at the end everyone. I hope you're ready for Operation: First Strike, because it's gonna be a wild final ride.
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