Do you have any thoughts on the ghost and price dynamic? Iâve seen a lot of really good posts about them and was wondering what your thoughts are!!!!
(Psych ward and non psych included!!!)
god priceghost my beloved đ«đ« every relationship between these characters barring maybe three are criminally underutilised and it makes me ropeable, price and ghost especially. thereâs two main scenes that i think speak the most when it comes to their dynamic and itâs the âgood to see you again, simonâ line from mw2 and when ghost convinces price to work with shepherd in mw3
that line from mw2 really speaks for itself, it implies so much history. price not only sees the delineation between ghost and simon, knows that thereâs more to the mask than simply hiding his face, he also knows simon; he knows the man behind the mask, knows who he was before it. heâs the only one not to stare, the only one to act like heâs seen him before, and thereâs too much fondness in his voice and too much weight behind ghostâs nod for it to be as simple as heâs taken the mask off around him before
we donât know why 22 ghost wears the mask, not like 09 who faked his death and is protecting his identity; since he was willing to show his face as a show of faith and loyalty, i donât think itâs bc of that. i think something happened that made simon need the distance from his humanity, some boundary to protect him, either from other people or from his own actions. something made him need ghost. and price knew him before that happened
price is one of three people to say simonâs name so far (the others are soap and makarov but laswell and shepherd are implied to know it but donât use it). when soap says it, ghost isnât surprised or angry, he doesnât say not to use it or become triggered by it; ghost is his callsign, his identity, but heâs not a separate personality or exclusively a trauma response (though i love explorations like that). i think price was either there when simon decided he needed the protection ghost gave him or he was the one to give him the idea to begin with (ala valiants brilliant art of price covering ghostâs eyes to calm him down and ghost then adopts the mask)
price is also protective of ghostâs choice to hide simon riley, shown in how he practically bits out âneverâ when laswell says thereâs no picture of him in his file. heâs visibly very proud of ghost, impressed by him but again thereâs that familiarity there when laswell gives him ghostâs file and he laughs (laughs!!) and says âthere he is. simon rileyâ. you Do Not talk about a soldier like that unless thereâs more between you than just superior and subordinate, he doesnât speak like that about anyone else in the 141
how does ghost feel about that? does he resent knowing someone still remembers simon riley? does he cling to it instead? is it freeing to know he can take off the mask around price and be himself again or is it cloying, a constant pressure, an expectation that may or may not exist to discard the safety of ghost and become the vulnerable simon again?
(if it were up to activision, it would probably mean nothing to him lmaoo)
the other moment is in mw3, when shepherd calls them and offers a deal for information. price is not fucking having it; he is pissed, he doesnât trust shepherd, he doesnât want to give him anything much less work with him again. gaz, his protege, the one who theoretically thinks and acts the most like him, is in favour of doing it; he comes at him with logic, saying they do deals like this all time, this oneâs no different. soap agrees with him when arguably he has the most reason to not want to work with shepherd or graves ever again
but price is still saying no. logic isnât enough to sway him. âi am not sending my men on a mission with him. no way.â he is worried for their safety, rightly so when shepherd ordered two of his men killed. and ghost? he doesnât point out how much is at stake. he doesnât tell him itâs the smart move or their only choice. he says, âboss; we got thisâ
he doesnât verbally disagree with him; doesnât try and change his mind. he knows all of priceâs misgivings, likely agrees with most of them given that he wanted to blow shepherd up the second he saw him. but he also knows they need to do this and no amount of reason is going to convince price to abandon his grudge. so ghost doesnât bother. instead, he assuages priceâs worry by reminding him of their capabilities. he tells him that he and soap will be together, lessening the chance of either of them getting hurt, and itâs only then that price agrees to do it
ghost doesnât call out the worry in front of the unit. doesnât undermine him or his authority. he knows price needs the assurance just as he knows a noncompromised leader wouldnât have hesitated to place the mission above his men. but price is compromised; he loves his boys, even if he doesnât know it and would never admit it. he values them more than the mission, more than whatâs ârightâ
and ghost knows that. so he doesnât make him choose
another more conjecture based aspect just while iâm thinking about it, i talked the other day about ghostâs mindset on consequences and how he makes choices not based on if theyâre right or wrong but if he can live with them afterwards, and the tagline in the mw4 promo about lines made me think of mw19 when price tells gaz, âyou draw the line wherever you need itâ
priceâs morality is based purely on getting the job done, no matter how it affects him, how it may compromise or break his personal rules. living with it doesnât matter; he will do it bc he has to. bc it has to be done. he is the unstoppable force
ghost feels like a man who is strict with his inner rules bc itâs all heâs got left; theyâre the only structure he has, the only thing that isnât flimsy or fake. propriety and honour donât matter, only whether he can sleep at night afterwards. he is the immovable object
and now weâre seeing them clash
