‼️Minor spoiler warning for… I think just S1‼️
I’ve been thinking about Arlo a lot lately, and I think I finally figured him out. All of the characters in UnOrdinary have major, underlying themes to their characters: for John, power and lack thereof, for Blyke, protection, and for Seraphina, its freedom. But Arlo is unique in that his most prominent theme, responsibility, is so central that every aspect of him leads back to it. Allow me to elaborate.
According to Arlo, high tiers have a responsibility to lead, and set an example, to work hard and keep order. This is the fundamental philosophy that everything is built upon. When John confronted Arlo, shouting about how all John wanted was to live a peaceful life away from the rankings, Arlo says “Who doesn’t want to live a peaceful life?”. Arlo doesn’t believe he has a choice in anything— that he, along with all high tiers, have been conscripted into a particular role that none of them really want, but they all have the duty to fulfill.
Arlo is an extremely hard worker and he takes his responsibilities very seriously. This is why he resents Seraphina and John— they don’t. To him, Sera and John both ran away from their duties, leaving all of the burden on him. The reason he goes after John in the first place is because he “corrupted” Seraphina. Remember, when Rei graduated, the school was a whole dumpster fire and Arlo cleaned it up all by himself, with no support from the other royals. Then later when Arlo is working in tandem with Sera to lead, the school is “the most peaceful it’s ever been”. Then Sera leaves it all behind. He feels like he’s been left out to dry, and unfairly forced to do everything by himself.
This is reflected also in how he treats Isen at the beginning of season 2: he puts Isen as the press leader, and Isen pretty quickly gets crushed under that weight and tells Arlo he can’t do it. Arlo has none of it, and tells Isen to basically suck it up and fix the problem. He admits that he does set high expectations for others, but “never without a reason”. He smacks the relevant paper down on the table and says “This is for the press leader to handle.” Arlo is delegating firmly because he believes Isen is capable and needs that push, but also because he is sick of working overtime while others sit back.
Even in his relationship with Remi, it ties back to this theme. He protects and looks after Remi because he cares about her, obviously, but a major facet of their relationship is that he feels responsible for her. Rei told him to look after her when she was about to enter Wellston. She’s also younger, smaller, and weaker than Arlo is. Not to mention that she’s reckless and naïve, especially by Arlo’s standards. This ties into my earlier point about Arlo’s kingly duties— he does have other royals helping him run things, so why does he continually lament that he’s doing this on his own? I think it’s because he sees Remi more as someone to look after than as someone he can rely on. Sera however, he did see as a reliable partner and an equal.
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