Why do I never see people talking about Impulse in 3rd Life?
The perfect mole is one that no one trusts, after all. We've all noticed that but..
Impulse was the one to start the chants that led to the Cactus Ring.
Impulse who Grian and Scar had killed by his own Day 1 ally - Bdubs. Impulse who was betrayed by the only person he felt he was trusted by. Impulse who laid everything down for Bdubs and Cleo because they were his Day 1 Crew. Impulse who lost every single ally because all he wanted to do was help the Crastle.
Canary curse this, Beansanity curse that. Let me tell you about a much more subtle and less noticed curse haunting the Life series, and also im gonna tell you because I'm not coping with Double Life ending, and I want to make others suffer the same realizations I had.
Let's talk about the Bridle Curse. Let's talk about Impulse.
(Btw if you wanna know why I chose the name Bridle Curse then just scroll to the bottom there's an explanation. But you could also read the post and try to figure it out yourself ;) )
Impulse is, for the most part, a pretty all bark no bite guy. I'm pretty sure he ranks as one of the lowest in terms of kills. 3 kills in 3rd Life, no kills in Last Life (unless you count that time Scar died to the lava trap outside of the Southlands and the assist on the Bdubs Wither kill, then he'd have 1 and a half), and no kills in Double Life.
(Btw this is more reason for him to GO OFF HIS ROCKER ALREADY COME ON IMPULSE YOU HAVE AT THE MAX 4 AND A HALF KILLS OVER 3 SEASONS. GO CRAZY. MURDER.)
All in all, Impulse is a chill man, here to fuck around and find out.
But the thing that's fun with him is that in every single Life season so far, he's always had a sort of "purpose" or "goal". Something that defines his entire season, something everyone remembers.
In 3rd Life, his purpose was to be a mole/spy to gather information for his allies, the Day One Crew. In Last Life, his purpose was to help Grian summon the Wither, going so far as to straight up head to the Nether and get a new skull after he failed at getting the already existing third one. And in Double Life, he was a homewrecker with Bdubs. All of these things are what he is remembered most by, they were his purpose in a way. Of course, almost every single member of any Life season usually has their POV defined by a certain role or goal. But it's here where Impulse diverts from the average.
He always loses his red life soon after his one defining thing can't continue anymore.
Think about it. In 3rd life, he was the mole, the traitor inside Dogwarts. When did he die? After Dogwarts was brought to ruin and (almost) every Red Army soldier lay slain. You can't continue being an inside man when there are no more major enemies to infiltrate. And even then, he had already shown his cards. He was never gonna be able to keep his schtick going, no one trusted him. His purpose was fulfilled, he had served his role. Bdubs betrayed and shot him not long after.
In Last Life, he was part of the Southlands, but his big season-defining act was the Wither. Gathering the skulls, passing them around, and finally helping Grian summon it. When did he die? Right after the Wither was sent back to where it once came. His entire role surrounded the Wither. With it gone, and no chance in hell to summon another one, he had no more use. He got shot by Scott seconds after.
In Double Life, we got him and Bdubs being homewreckers. Spreading gossip, trying to lie, (despite Impulse being just, a horrible liar, especially when put on the spot), and break up other pairs. When did he die? Right after the last attempt of the series to separate a pair. They've escaped, and they're digging a staircase out. And one last time, they try to throw suspicion on someone, by throwing it on Scott against Pearl. It fails, obviously. The Divorce Quartet were too close, ironically, and they're the only ones left. The possibility of Impulse persisting in his purpose was nonexistent. Not long after making it to the surface, they're found by Pearl and slaughtered, with Bdubs accidentally delivering the final blow onto Impulse.
Every time Impulse's purpose is completed or irrelevant (or both), he falls.
BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE! THERE'S MORE.
If you pay close attention to the little list I just made, you may notice another pattern. Impulse is not only killed when his role can no longer be played but he's killed by the purpose itself OR by the person who GAVE him that goal.
Who gave him the mole role in 3rd life? Team Crastle. Who killed him in the end? Bdubs, the last surviving member of Team Crastle. What caused his death in Last Life? Two arrows from Scott, who wouldn't be there if not for the Wither, and would not have taken those shots without it. Who gave him the homewrecker role in Double Life? Bdubs. Who killed him in the end? Bdubs.
(Speaking about Impulse's LL death...I mean, come on. What more evidence is there for the universe to want you dead than being killed by someone who broke the rules to do it. Scott wasn't red, and Impulse didn't attack him directly. Scott shouldn't have shot Impulse, logically. I'm just saying, sounds like divine intervention to get rid of Impulse after his purpose was complete. No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist stop looking at my board of red string like that-.)
Impulse is a tool. He's a tool that performs one single thing and is then discarded. He does what he does, and when he has run out of benefit, in the eyes of the universe (and in the eyes of his allies, consciously or unconsciously), he's thrown away. Broken. Never given a proper chance to fight back. Ambushed, caught off guard, and denied a choice. Whether that is to be a man on the inside, to summon an eldritch abomination, or to sow seeds of distrust, it all ends the same. When he can no longer do it, the curtains fall. He's more useful dead than alive.
That's his curse. Cursed to only do one noteworthy thing, and die shortly after, by the very hands that used to wield him.
It's ironic how he didn't pick up horse riding until Double Life.
You'd think a one-trick pony would gravitate towards them.
(I called it The Bridle Curse cuz a bridle is the face thing you put on a horse. It's a tool used to steer horses. I couldn't decide if I wanted to name the curse after the tool concept or the one-trick pony concept so I just combined them. And I mean, Bridles are very specific to horses and has like, one purpose...I'M TRYING HERE OKAY COMING UP WITH NAMES IS HARD. Feel free to suggest like, another name if you want.)
Impulse's 3rd Life Series broke my heart. This is what became of that finale in my head. Betrayal really does sting when you're on the recieving side of it, huh?
