(thank you @michals and @hucklebunny for indulging in my obvious Luther brainrot)
The manipulation tactics Reginald used on Luther were carefully crafted and wrapped in a pretty bow. Treat him like he’s special, like he’s “important” because he’s number one, make him feel like he’s the most valuable person there because he didn’t give up on “saving the world” the way his siblings did, treat him like his best friend / give him special privileges (like bringing him to his favorite spot to have conversations, despite not doing that with any of the others).
Reginald isolated Viktor away from the family, but in a similar fashion, he isolated Luther away from the family by keeping him so close to him. His ideals are so ingrained in Luther’s head that we still see evidence of that manipulation even long after he’s discovered what his father really did to him. Reginald kept him the closest because he was the easiest one to manipulate and the easiest one to keep his hold over.
And Reginald did make sure Luther relied solely on him. Before Luther’s final mission when he had his near death experience, Luther reminds him that he’s the only one left, and Reginald hears it. He knows that eventually, if he doesn’t keep Luther interested, he’s going to leave, too. His siblings all left— and Reginald knew that eventually, Luther may want to live his life too. And Reginald couldn’t have that.
The moon was Luther’s favorite place — and Reginald used it against him. Reginald knew exactly what he was doing. He forced him into solitary to isolate him, not because he just wanted Luther to feel a sense of purpose, but because Luther was just a tool to him. He sent him to the moon to give him purpose just so that Luther wouldn’t want to actually live his life. If he was distracted by a mission, Reginald could use that to his advantage. And he didn’t care about what happened once he was out of his sight — he didn’t care about the limitations of Luther’s body, nor did he even care to make sure he was comfortable. He wasn’t sending food, he wasn’t paying attention. He was just putting Luther on the back burner to keep him busy until he needed him again.
He literally forced Luther into isolation so he could stop him from living his life and experiencing anything else so that Reginald would always have his perfect weapon there at his disposal and Luther would never question if he should leave.
Reginald cared for Luther as a weapon, not as a son or as a friend. And he made that clear in his conversation with Klaus when he expresses disappointment that Luther found out he was sent to the moon for no reason — he’s not disappointed because Luther is upset, he’s disappointed because his manipulative hold has fractured. He saved his life because he needed to keep his loyal soldier, not because he thought he was doing right by Luther. And taking away his agency and forcing a body alteration without Luther’s consent, one that he is clearly mentally and physically still struggling with, is not “saving him”— Luther finally coming to terms with that throughout season 1 is so important and so necessary for his growth.
