Why Jax is written terribly and what a well written example of the cycle of abuse actually looks like.
Spoiler warning for tadc final !! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched it.
I will be comparing Jax to Marina from Takopi’s original sin, a series that is widely regarded as good representation of the cycle of abuse. The reason for this: both characters are the same TYPE of character. But only one was done right. Both Jax and Marina are portrayed as bullies in the beginning of their respective series. Neither of them really show any regard for how they effect the people around them. The shows actively keep thier backstories a secret. Both of these characters also die. The main difference between them being that Jax has no friends while Marina does.
(Essay under cut)
Section one - cycle of abuse
The reason Marina works so well is because the show makes 0 effort to redeem her. The consequences of her actions are put on full display. We see exactly how her physical abuse traumatized aya and effected her development. The show goes into extreme depth about the damage she’s done. Because of this, her backstory of abuse and neglect does not feel like a sob story or a sad attempt to redeem her. We are shown the raw and disturbing reality of the cycle of abuse. Marina learned from her mother that physically hurting others was how she should express her emotions. This is made very clear. Although her mother has the ability to be nice, she is shown to constantly take her emotions out on Marina in the form of domestic abuse. Despite none of it being her fault. We see something simaler in reverse with aya after Takopi kills Marina in self defense. Aya learns to kill people that hurt her.
Tadc on the other hand - goes into little to no details about how Jax actually effected the other characters. Sure, most of them dislike him, but we never REALLY get to see how it REALLY effects them. Although not really physically abusive like Marina, Jax is primarily verbally abusive. Many people look past this because of how the show pokes light at it. the terrible things he says and does are actively portrayed as funny. He is even considered the « comic relief ». When we finally DO learn about Jax’s past we don’t actually get very much detail. We are not shown anything at all. It is implied that he grew up in an abusive household but we are never given any details. This means that the viewer has absolutely no REAL context for why Jax acts the way he does. We do not see the cycle of abuse unfolding in front of us like with Marina. We don’t see the root, only the result.
Section 2 - death
Both Marina and Jax die in their respective universes. When Jax abstracts pomni is literally used as a tool make the audience feel bad for Jax. It’s as if the show wanted to redeem him but didn’t know how, so they just used his moment of vulnerability to try and make us feel bad for him. It feels like a sad attempt at the « doomed by the narrative » trope. He is never confronted by any of the characters for the things he had done. He instead, gets to die in Pomnis arms while she comforts him. Like ????
TOS does the opposite. In fact Marina’s death is pretty underwhelming. It isn’t till after she dies that we are introduced to her backstory.
Section 3 - final messege
In the end Takopi realizes that humans are much more complex then they seem. He has seen the awful, evil parts of Marina and Aya. He has also seen the vulnerable parts of them. The final message is that people aren’t as black and white as they seem. People don’t become bad people for no reason. That doesn’t make them any better. They also all have a chance to become better people, but that is up to them and no one else. Takopi cannot help them. They have to help themselves. And in the end, despite still struggling, they do start to get better. Aya and Marina are able to relate to each other and end the cycle.
This realization is never made in tadc. There is no real character development in Jax’s arc. The cycle doesn’t end and the show makes no effort to hold him accountable. It uses the other characters as tools to make the viewer feel bad for Jax. There isn’t any real depth, just a brief explanation of his past. We don’t actually know what happened !!! It’s super vague. If circus Jax was actually portrayed as the abuser he was and we actually got to see how his actions effected others, I do genuinely believe he could have an ending simaler to Marina’s OR alternatively he could be an example of someone who did not break the cycle, while real world Jax could be someone who did.
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
stormborns
discoholicmusic
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
titsay
romaincrisis
