kid-az: Three word….. three words only to describe him…
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!?!!!
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aveture: Even if he does earn freedom I feel like he might never learn to truly function as a normal healthy adult. Just... jesus.
That's the saddest part of Zov's whole story, imo...the fact that even if he does escape and somehow gets access to the best resources available, he will still have to fight a steep uphill battle for the rest of his life. :(
Realistically if he escaped, I think he would be imprisoned or permanently institutionalized in an asylum. But if we're being optimistic, I think he could climb his way up to an at least somewhat functional state. Here's my reasoning...
The fact that he shows interest in art and music is a good sign, it means he still has a soul in him somewhere. It's badly damaged for sure, but it's there. Having a soul means he has the potential to feel love--whether for a person or purpose. His interests are all non-violent in nature and could be helpful outlets for him to express himself.
I have a feeling Zov doesn't enjoy violence; it's just something he's used to and happens to be good at. It's a job to him. A chore. It's some bullshit he has to do to put food in his mouth. He is incredibly desensitized to it which is not good, but he doesn't really take pleasure in it either, which is good. That sets a solid foundation for him to move away from violence and pursue other things, like education and the arts, which he seems highly motivated to do (if only his master would let him...).
I think with intensive therapy, the right cocktail of medications, and a lot of soul-healing (perhaps with the Order of Love and Light?), Zov would come out relatively okay. He would definitely be haunted by some powerful demons, and he would struggle a lot in life, but he wouldn't be a total lost cause. I'm not optimistic he could ever have a functional romantic relationship or raise children, but he might be able to hold a friendship or two. He is able to respect his master and refuses to attack him, which shows that he's not totally out of control of his actions.
I don't personally see him as a "villain" or an evil character, because he takes no joy in the terrible things he does. He just doesn't know anything different. His future was doomed the moment those slavers got a hold of him, and they molded him into something monstrous; something far removed from what he could have been under better circumstances.
He's the type of character who makes you say "oh god there is no hope, just burn it with fire" at first, in a similar vein as characters like Dario or Goryx. However, there is a pretty big factor that separates those villains from Zov, and it's the fact that Zov doesn't want to be evil.
He is evil only out of ignorance, not greed or true malice. Dario and Goryx made themselves into monsters, but Zov was twisted into one by someone else. I don't think his soul is truly monstrous. If he was removed from his horrible environment, he would behave much differently.
Meanwhile you can put Dario or Goryx in any type of environment and they will still act like degenerate bastards, because their evil comes not from circumstance, but from within their rotten selves.
Anyway thank you for coming to my TED Talk
(This is of course just my personal opinion. I think there are actually many different ways to interpret this character and they are all valid!)
