Gyro Zeppeli, In God’s Domain (my attempt at an analysis of this wonderfully layered character)
in the context of sugar mountains transaction:
then gyro is the 30 pieces of silver.
my friend who hasn’t finished sbr but is very invested in the characters asked me, since we were talking about how gyros sacrificial nature made him something of a ‘christ-like figure’ (literature-wise), if johnny ever had a moment of betrayal like judas did.
initially i couldn’t think of anything, but then, obviously, sugar mountain came to mind. johnny looking away as gyro is taken by the tree. that sentence in itself is a very biblical allegory... however that’s not gyros choice to be taken.
johnny ends up exchanging the life of christ for something he selfishly values more than it falling into the wrong hands (as well as overshadows his desire to walk). therefore, gyro is the 30 pieces to johnnys judas iscariot, his vice, and human weakness.
and then, during the final d4c fight, gyro flips that around. he makes his choice to become the sacrifice. choosing to be fatally hit rather than let misfortune fall upon lucy, johnny, and strangers he doesn’t even know - when he very well could have redirected those attacks.
gyros conflict with trying to control fate ends here. he’s searched for consent to settle his soul, struggled to accept his own shortcomings, and let go of inherited ideologies to find a golden path. the golden path happens to culminate in his own demise; he becomes the detour when he gives himself to the survival of lucy and johnny.
the ball that hit the net - the spaces in between. the coin flip. God’s domain. fate. gyros lived a life dictated for him. it’s why he brashly reached for control in such a contradictory way to his fathers teachings. tried to predict fate. it’s when he finds the space between, using his ancestral knowledge of the spin to attain ballbreaker, yet using it for his own, unclouded purpose, that he truly puts himself at the mercy and at the helm of God’s domain.
although at any time he could have escaped, gyros willingness to suffer and die at the hand of someone who (wrongly) claims a same unclouded doctrine, means that gyro is truly the one who controlled the situation, not valentine. the free will he exercised, as the one who gave johnny a final teaching, means that he found his place as a mentor, friend, spin master, and savior of multiple people, including people he didn’t know - and ultimately gave johnny what it took to defeat valentine. johnnys dead-shot, coldly calculating determination against valentines redirected, entitled chaos. forcing open that space inbetween, the space only valentine inhabited.
it’s why i think gyros story couldn’t have ended any differently. it requires him coming to those final moments to truly see himself as himself. his death is so quiet and beautiful that it’s almost gentle, ending gracefully, claimed by water. and he even says, if that’s how it has to be, he’s ok with it. he’s those thirty pieces of silver returned, another transaction, gifting johnny with a new kind of life.
this is something i’ve been musing on for a while. gyros certainly not a perfect man, he’s not even all that nice. but his combined distaste for authority, spirit of service, and overall kind soul.. i don’t think it’s crazy to analyze him as a ‘christ-like’ figure. in the end, that part doesn’t even matter as much to me as simply gyros richly detailed individual storyline. johnnys character growth is inspiring and relatable, but gyros is utterly fascinating.
i’m writing this at 3am trying not to forget what i talked about with my friend, so hopefully it’s coherent and not too scattered. i may have strayed from my initial thesis but i think i got my thoughts down. if you read to the end, thanks for reading!!
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