This is your sign to talk about something that's been going around in your head and you haven't talked about it because nobody asked yet.
So if anyone said "who asked"
Iām so Ninjago brained rn and I need to talk about Garmadon or Iāll explode gchchcch
What makes Garmadon such an interesting character to me is how.. lost he seems
Garmadon struggles to understand himself, and while he might be stubborn enough to insist that he got his shit figured out, (no seriously he insists on that A LOT, at least outwardly) he absolutely hasnāt got his shit figured out at all
But itās really his thing isnāt it? Garmadon is always said to have a ādivided soul/heartā, and that is genuinely one of my favorite things about him
To me, part of the reason why he insists on the fact he understands himself perfectly (aside pride) is the fact it really scares him
Thereās a big divide between what Garmadon is, what Garmadon insists he is, and what Garmadon wants to be
And Garmadon was dealt a pretty shitty hand from life overall, which just contributes to how he perceives himself and by extension his actions at any given moment
Garmadon, if I may say, is very morallyā¦unstable, I even dare say that Garmadon doesnāt exactly understand or aligns himself morally to any side, whether good or evil, despite what he says or believes he is, because heās been on both sides and at this point of his life, he just doesnāt really understand what side heās really on and I just really love how that impacts his actions, itās almost like heās just winging it at this point, tho tbf, he was always winging it
Because on one hand, you can understand how Garmadonās life and all the shit that happened to him (my man canāt catch a break) affects him morally, mentally, emotionally and even physically (bitch got a gaping hole in his chest damn)
On the other hand, you canāt deny that Garmadon isnāt a full on good person, nor is he exactly a full on bad person, and I think trying to specifically put him in one box or the other fundamentally misunderstands the complexity of his character and the intricacies of his actions
Then you stop in your tracks and realize how very inconsistent his actions are depending on what version of him youāre talking about?? Are we talking about Lord Garmadon, Sensei Garmadon, or Emperor Garmadon? Cause depending on who we talk about, Garmadonās actions change dramatically, itās almost each version of himself is a completely different person, which I think always just hammers in the idea of his divided heart
And even then, each version of himself got their own struggles and issues depending on their circumstances?? Lord Garmadon was bit by the Great devourer that made him lose his morals bit by bit, Sensei Garmadon has to live with the guilt and ghosts of his past, and Emperor Garmadon didnāt even choose to be brought back like that, he was very much forcefully returned through a corrupt ritual that literally made him almost just an undead zombie, a disgrace to who he used to be, barely grasping onto what made him the person he is
But what I love dearly is how the one thing that stays very consistent about him is his undeniable and genuine love for his family, somehow, he always goes back to square one, not even being the undead powerful Oni was enough to tear him away from the deep love he has for them
Now donāt get me wrong, Garmadon isnāt some innocent misunderstood guy who means well (most of the time at least, sensei Garmadon never did anything wrong and I love him), heās a warlord who killed, terrorized, and hurt so many people, both innocent bystanders and his own family, heās done horrible things, and while life constantly threw him under the bus, that doesnāt magically absolve him from the many literal war crimes he committed, and outright abuse/neglect towards his son, brother and wife
But what you gain from seeing Gramadonās struggles is simply a different perspective, and an understanding as to why he does something or what his own thoughts are in the moment, cause to Garmadon? Conquering his realm is obviously the only way he can save it, and many other things he personally believes that are not necessarily true in reality
You sympathize with his struggles, but you can still understand that all the horrible shit he did is still his own doing, his own bad choices when he couldāve chose to be a better person or to make better decisions, but thatās the thing, to Garmadon, these bad decisions make sense, they seem to him to be the right ones when theyāre not (and Garmadon understands that theyāre not deep down, that heās making a bad decision after a bad decision, but thatās doesnāt make them any less sensible to him)
Leaving Lloyd behind after making sure heās safe? What can he do when the venom in his veins twisted him to such degree, heās evil, his son isnāt, he doesnāt want to be a bad influence on his pure hearted son (completely disregarding how that could hurt Lloydās mental health in the long run)
Using Overlordās condensed evil to infect Ninjago? Itās so his family can finally see things from his perspective, to create a world where he can be understood and seen, where he can become a member of his own family again, he even says it outright āyouāll see what I see, feel what I feelā
Conquering Ninjago? Itās to keep the Oni away from his home, heās seen things in the departed realm that scared him enough to believe that heās doing Ninjago a favor, that him terrorizing Ninjago is better than the darkness the Oni would bring upon it
His reasonings/motives arenāt completely and utterly nonsensical, but his methods definitely are, thatās why his perception of himself is very important to understand his actions on a deeper level
What Garmadon does in real time contradicts what he truly wants most of the time, and I believe that is definitely to an extent because of his divided heart
But again, heās always pulled back by his love for his family, the only reason Emperor Garmadon (whoās the most ruthless weāve ever seen Garmadon be) even tries to redeem himself is just because he wants to understand, and be a part of his own family again
What I really love about the Garmadon comics is how well they explore Garmadonās inner struggles and the way he perceives himself, heās lost his way again and heās trying to find it again, he wants to be a better person, despite the many horrible actions he committed, he still goes back to trying to be a better person, and I dare say accept himself that heās always pushed back against
Heās lost, and thereās nothing to guide him back except for the deep rooted love in his heart for his family, for his brother, for his son, and for his wife
He might not be the best at fixing his mistakes, but heās trying, and thatās really the important part, heāll get there eventually <333
