I've read some things on tumblr and twitter about Angelo and Corteo and Nero, and after episode 11 I just wanted to rant a bit and tell you my opinion.
I think we can say with certainty that everyone in the fandom is sad about Corteo's death. Episode 10 destroyed me, smashed my fucking heart to bits and then burned them. I was really sad. But after that episode I started reading some posts in which people wished for Corteo to be still alive so that Angelo could get his happy ending after he took his revenge on the Vanettis. And until that is a prompt for a fanfiction, it's okay. But in canon?
Yeah, my reasoning is obviously not the absolute truth and everyone has the right to interpret the actions of every character. But I want to explain my point of view, so let's explore that possibility: let's imagine that Corteo is not killed in episode 10, and in the end Avilio is successful and kills every last Vanetti. Now he can go back to Corteo and they can live happily ever after. Right?
Weeeeeell... let's say that there are several reasons for which, imho, the last part of that scenario is ideal at best and total bullshit at worst:
First of all because Angelo would still be involved with the mafia, be it the Galassias or anyone else, so Angelo and Corteo would have to live their lives on the run or accept to keep being part of the mafia for the rest of their lives.
But let's say we want to ignore that. Let's say Angelo planted a bomb and killed everyone, and there's no one preventing him to live his life in peace.
Angelo himself stated that he had no reason to live before the letter. He didn't see Corteo for the most part of those 7 years, and lived his life as a reject, with no wishes and no feelings. During the anime (so far) he lives for revenge, and he has stated that the letter gave him back a reason to exist.
But when he's finished with his revenge, what's left for him?
Because after he takes his vengeance, his parents would still be dead, they are not coming back; his guilt for not holding Luce back would still be there, 'cause it's gonna haunt him forever. He'd still feel responsible for it, he'd still feel empty, he'd still feel lonely, he'd still be carrying the weight of that night on his shoulder, except the weight would be heavier because in those 91 days of revenge he committed lots of crimes and stained himself with all kinds of sins, making himself just as horrible as the people who murdered his family.
So if he felt like that before, how would Angelo feel after his revenge? He's human after all, he's someone who's lost everything to an injustice, and committed much more injustices in the attempt to make himself feel better. Wouldn't he hate himself? I, for one, think he would probably be suicidal because of all the reasons I just mentioned. Not to mention that, from the start, I always thought that Angelo didn't want to live at all. He didn't seem to have that will. He lived for that day he lost everything, because of that day. He was, and is, desperate. Even the whole revenge mission was a suicidal one from the start.
But, yeah, let's say Angelo survived his revenge and didn't kill himself right away. Corteo would be there for him and he would be able to shower him with love and affection and care. But would Angelo want that? Would he want to be with Corteo, which he considers his childhood friend and brother, which he cares about (in his own way)? Or would he feel guilty and unworthy because of everything he has done, like killing tons of people and getting his best and only friend involved with the mafia? Considering everything he went through, would he really want to live with someone and be happy? Would he be able to be happy?
As much as it's wonderful to think that love fixes everything, it's not like that. People who are depressed and suicidal don't just "become happy" because they are loved by someone. So it makes no sense that vengeance (which, for the record, doesn't help coping with someone's death at all) and Corteo's affection would "fix" Angelo.
Moreover, Corteo does not have the means to really understand Angelo. That's also what I like about him somehow: his affection for Angelo is great because although he does not understand Angelo, although he cannot share his wishes and values, he still cares about him so deeply that he is willing to sacrifice himself for his sake. Corteo showed a blind loyalty to Angelo, and as much as I love and appreciate his strength, I also recognize that this is his limit.
And, because of this limit, Corteo cannot really help Angelo. He can try, but he can't really succeed because he doesn't have it in him. Corteo is not broken, not as much as Anglo is, at least, and he can never fully emphasize with how Angelo feels. He can never do that, because his character is different, the way he reacts and sees things are different, and their perspective of the world are different. And that's not a bad thing in itself, but in this case, it means that there's a limit to how much he can share Angelo’s feelings and thoughts. Corteo accepts everything about his childhood friend, and that's more than most people would do, but Angelo is broken and flawed and he can never be whole again. What Corteo wants (what he wanted when he asked Angelo to come back to him) is for Angelo to return to his former self, and that's impossible. No amount of love and dedication can ever bring the Angelo he knew back.
And this is why I don't think that scenario was ever remotely likely to happen.
To be honest, what I though from the beginning, what I always thought right from the first episode, when I saw what Angelo was like, was that Angelo was a person who lost everything, and he had no reason to live. He found that reason in revenge, but that's only temporary.
So, when in episode 11, Nero said "I'll give Avilio a reason to live", I was surprised, but mostly I was happy to see that finally someone understood Angelo. Finally someone figured out what Angelo really needed. Of course, Nero figured that out for the wrong reasons, because he thought Avilio was only suffering heavily after he killed his own best friend, and that was true, but not exactly the whole story. Either way, he did. He was the only one in the whole anime who really understood Angelo.
And, I don't know if Nero still wants to give Angelo that reason now that he knows everything, I don't know if he still can do that, I don't know if he had even found the right reason for Angelo, I don't know if it would have worked. But Nero tried to understand Angelo and succeeded, probably because by now, he's just as fucked up and broken as him.
And with this I am not saying that Nero can fix Angelo. Angelo can't be fixed. But if they both really are broken in the same way, maybe Nero really can understand him, and he really can give him something to live for. Or maybe not.
