An analysis on Tubboâs POV in the Exile Arc on the Dream SMP
This is all Roleplay, what the characters did does not reflect the actorsâ state of mind and personality.Â
TW: emotional manipulation
Following the event of Tommyâs suicide, there were a distinction between Tommyâs emotionally heavy streams in Logtedshire and Tubboâs more light-hearted streams in LâManberg. While Tommy spiralled down to depression, Tubbo kept himself busy with various projects for LâManberg. He kept a friendly relationship with Dream and didnât come to visit Tommy because he didnât think Tommy would want him there and to not anger Dream.Â
In contrast to Tommyâs open emotional spiral, Tubboâs pain was a lot more subtle because it was hidden under a facade that he put on, not to fool the audience, but to convince himself that he had a reason to do what he did. He was forced to make a choice between two opposing ideals that couldnât be reconciled: his loyalty to his best friend, who would give up the world for Tubbo, and his loyalty to his country, who was already still hurting from various wars. Either way he chose, it would hurt him deeply. Either way he chose, it would end up with someone other than himself getting hurt also.Â
So he chose the option where the fewest people get hurt, namely himself and his best friend. At least, that was his justification.Â
When people feel this kind of pain between clashing ideals and choices, they would do things to reduce the pain. There are usually two roles in this type of scenario, a âperpetratorâ and a âvictimâ and how people react to the situation depends on which role they internalise for themselves. Tommy, clearly, identified himself as a âvictimâ, which manifested in the way he was in disbelief that Tubbo exiled him. But Tubbo identified himself as the âperpetratorâ, the one who made the decision and the one who caused pain. (This is not a discussion on whether or not their identification of their roles are the correct and objective interpretations of the situation, because their situation was not clean-cut into âvictimâ and âperpetratorâ and neither of them are completely at fault or without fault). Â
There are usually two ways a perpetrator react to situations like this: they either deny or justify what they did, or they own up to what they did and then tried to move on as fast as possible. Tubbo clearly did not deny nor move on from what he did, because he expressed regrets at exiling Tommy. So he tried to find ways to justify it, because it hurt and he wouldnât be able to deal with the pain without an attempt to reassure himself that what he did was necessary for LâManberg. That was why he spent so much time on different projects, being a lot busier than he was before the exile. It was both a way to keep his mind off the exile and to reassure himself that he really cared about LâManberg. Tubbo was desperate and lonely, and we didnât see it because he hid it so well behind the presidential facade. He exiled Tommy for LâManberg, so to strengthen that justification, he put everything into building and improving LâManberg.Â
This also explained his attitude toward Dream and Technoblade. He exiled Tommy to appease Dream, so he couldnât immediately turn on him because that just made the exile seemed pretty meaningless and unnecessary. Dream even provided Tubbo with more materials to justify his choice, by officially recognizing LâManberg, following their rules, and even being friendly and helpful toward Tubbo. Dream was a master manipulator, and he was using Tubboâs pain and loneliness and uncertainty to drive it in deeper that what he chose was right, and that exiling Tommy was the best choice. He manipulated Tubboâs pain to drive Tubbo and Tommy more apart. Dream also put himself as a not-immediate threat to LâManberg, and everyone in the cabinet, not just Tubbo, could see that. But Quackity and Fundy wanted a fight: and who else was a âthreatâ beside Dream? Technoblade.Â
Now hereâs the thing about justification: people go to great length to justify their choice, and it is a slippery slope downward to more and more extreme choices. For Tubbo, it started with exiling Tommy to keep the peace, and it moved to agreeing to execute Technoblade violently and without a fair trial. Quackity and Fundy, with their hatred for Technoblade and their wants for vengeance against him, provided Tubbo with more justification. They reassured Tubbo that this was for LâManbergâs safety, and that killing Technoblade was the only option they had. Tubbo had already lost his one and only support system, and it was exhausting to be forced to make nation-changing decisions over and over again, against forces bigger and more powerful than he could take on. But it was all for LâManberg, and Tubbo had no other choice or power but to descend down that path that will ultimately destroy the country and what it stands for. Â
He did all of that, and still he didnât feel justified enough to be allowed to see his best friend.Â
Then the events Dec 16th happened, and everything turned a 180 and now the Butcher Army are fighting Dream. One of Tubboâs biggest inner conflict was to appease Dream or to be with Tommy, and now he doesnât have to appease Dream anymore, he could go see Tommy. He finally felt like he made a decision that was *enough* to let him see his best friend whom he wronged.
Except Tommy wasnât there anymore. And Tubbo was left with more regrets and no chance to say goodbye.Â
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