Oh god look she’s talking about Godot again- YEAH I AM, because nobody talks about Godot’s actual strategy and mechanics as a prosecutor!
Because in canon he only does 4 cases (4 of which he loses and one of which… ahem) Godot has the reputation of being a “bad” prosecutor or inept at his job. But I call bullshit! Players are just used to 2 games where every prosecutor is either Manfred Von Karma or a disciple of his (Payne who??). Godot’s prosecution style is totally unique, and very distinct in ways that make him an absolutely perfect “final boss” prosecutor for the original trilogy.
- Chiefly, and unlike the VK prosecutor club, Godot does not care about winning. Sure, he doesn’t want to lose, but it has nothing to do with his “record.” Though he states his desire to defeat Phoenix, he later specifies he’s actually “testing” him and his worthiness to the legal legacy he’s inherited. And for all the flack Godot gets for his winless record, Phoenix really lucked out in all of these cases. Godot actually would have won State vs. DeLite 1, State vs. DeLite 2, and State vs. Byrde had one witness in each not made a stupid mistake at the finish line.
- To that point, and often unacknowledged, there is a specific moment in each case where Godot stops arguing his case and either gives leeway to or actually assists the defense. (EX: He helps verbally reason out Phoenix’s arguments, agrees to Mia’s request to cross-examine Atmey, personally subpoenas and “tames” Furio Tigre, etc.) This usually comes once it’s been proven beyond a doubt that Phoenix’s client is innocent. Godot remains an unrelenting asshole to Phoenix personally and eggs him on about how competently he can prove his point, but he’s clearly not looking to send innocents to jail to stick it to him.
(Hmm. Who else cares about a client’s guilt or innocence and the truth ahead of “winning…”)
- He infamously has never prosecuted a case before 3-2, but multiple characters remark that he’s obviously not an amateur in the courtroom. Gumshoe in particular notes that Godot has skill and confidence to back up his arrogance (via a series of Top Gun jokes) and he’s not just a rookie floundering around behind the bench.
- Also unlike the VK prosecutor club, Godot mostly plays fair. He doesn’t prep or coach witnesses, doesn’t instruct them to lie. He never does anything as cheap as the infamous “updated autopsy report,” or Franziska’s blatantly illegal detention room photo stunt from 2-2. Obviously there’s a few below-the-belt moments (and he clearly enjoys when he can catch Phoenix flatfooted) but those are mostly the result of this goofball legal system being massively stacked for the prosecution anyway.
- The one questionable quirk of his is the fact he tends to take evidence from the crime scene. In 3-2, he kept DeMasque’s brooch to himself without telling the police he’d found it. Gumshoe and the Judge are both appalled at this but Godot thinks nothing of it, remarking that it’s a “rule” of his that “the safest place for evidence is in my pocket.”
(Hmm, which other legal professional we know tends to pocket evidence from the crime scene without telling the police? And what job does he have?)
- Godot’s style with his witnesses is completely different than the other prosecutors. Rather than coaching them or telling them what and what not to say, he tends to let them speak their minds on the stand. For all his cryptic douchebaggery he does have a way with people, keeping his cool with hostile witnesses (Tigre) and building friendly rapport with others (Ron and Kudo especially come to mind here.)
(Hmmm, which other legal professional is used to building a strong rapport and trusting a witness to give testimony…?)
- He’s a world class bullshitter. Like even putting aside the unparseable metaphors and non sequiturs, when his back’s against the wall he throws out some absolutely wild arguments, blatantly ridiculous notions, whatever he can think of, trying to make it stick until the evidence decisively rips it down. The whole mirror testimony in 3-3 is a prime example of this… just blatantly stupid, but he allows it because it forces Phoenix to prove something.
(Hmmm… which other legal professional do we know is a constant bullshitter, desperately throwing outrageous theories to see what sticks…?)
This incredibly funny post by @franbamm and @palant1r is 100% accurate and is one of the best takes I’ve ever seen. Why does Godot’s prosecution feel so strange, so off? Because he prosecutes like a defense attorney. Not just any defense attorney either, but a certain defense attorney, the protege of his own protege, the man he crawled back from hell to do battle with. He’s the best possible “final boss” prosecutor for Phoenix because he’s his foil, both characterization and courtroom-wise.
In order to truly prove himself, Phoenix will have to proverbially beat himself: an inwardly honorable but near-incoherent bullshitting weirdo, constantly flying by the seat of his pants.
