#fry talks cod

[oilyfry]

It's sweet how genuinely nice and bantery Soap is with Roach, and just how much their relationship mirrors Soap and Price's.

You can tell Roach is Soap's favourite. Soap doesn't show that level of affection or friendliness towards other TF141 members. Roach's significance to Soap becomes clear just by listening to the comms and chatter in Act 1 of MW2, plus reading the entries in Soap's journal where he mentions being impressed with Roach. Also, it's really interesting that Soap pays close enough attention to notice that Roach has a field journal, too. I wonder whether Roach keeping a journal was just a coincidence, or if he was looking up to Soap, like Soap looked up to Price.

Damn. Every road leads back to Price, huh? Price's impact was so profound and transformative that Soap essentially sought out a high-achieving sergeant that reminded him of himself and recreated the exact dynamic he and Price used to have. Honestly, considering Soap's covert issues with perfectionism and confidence, Roach is way for Soap to project on him & appreciate himself through Roach. Taking Roach under his wing, seeing him improve, Soap proves to himself he is indeed a competent officer and worthy of filling Price's boots. I mean, Roach being a skilled operator reflects well on Soap (and definitely strokes his ego...)

That's one of the reasons why Roach's death affected Soap so much. Because in Soap's mind, losing Roach means that all the inadequacies he sees in himself, those he singles out in the journal, are true. To Soap, failing to protect Roach means he failed at something he worked so hard to become and embody, his definition of a perfect leader—he failed at being Price.

[oilyfry]

what I love about mw3's ending is that it's a good one, just not for Price. Price is the ultimate loser by the end. Makarov is right to say he destroyed Prices world. Wrecked Europe. Caused a war. Targeted and killed 141 men he personally knew, then civvies in the London attack. Then he takes his only support and closest ally, Soap. Oh and before that he kept Price in the Gulag for 3yrs, ensuring he'd never live a normal life if ever got out. Price was tortured in there for sure.

Sure Price kills Makarov, a win yay, but we know what happens to dead terrorists. They become martyrs. Makarov will live on as a inspirational figure for Russian and other Eastern block nationalistic radicals. Makarov's lackeys will continue his work, whatever his business in Dubai was. Price won't be there to stop them.

Doesnt matter if it's been sanctioned or if Price went rogue(which I believe he did). The Dubai op will be covered up regardless. If Price doesn't die on the atrium due to his injuries he will be executed for murder/terrorism in the Emirates. If he were extradited to the UK (very unlikely) he would get dishonorably discharged and court martialed and locked up for life. Back home he'd be a dangerous liability. They'd write him off as insane and wash their hands of him either way.

One of the main drives for Price and Soap was that the truth had to come out, the truth about Shepherd, about his ties to Makarov, maybe they even wanted to spill the beans on everything that's been going on back in 2011 with the first aborted missle launch. it was important to Soap. to let his men's families know how and why they died, and he was frustrated by the red tape, the fact he couldn't. But it won't happen.

The public won't know who really killed Makarov. Yuri will be depicted a sole perpetrator in the media for the sake of public relations, and that would be the easiest route for both govs to take since he's dead and an (ex)ultranationalist with very close ties to Makarov. Could be easily played off as internal power struggles within the group.

And so Price dies with the truth lying in the mass grave next to him.

[oilyfry]

I wonder who has him so smitten. Hmmm.

[oilyfry]

I've seen some people are annoyed about Price being apathetic when he finds out Roach and Ghost are killed, and that it proves he's Bad and Evil. Bruh. Soap doesn't show much more emotion other than disbelief trying to reach them through comms either! The only difference between them is that we have the journal to know how Soap really feels. With Price we have no point of reference. The man is an enigma. So how could you possibly claim to know what he feels? It's a reach. And it doesnt even make sense since Price KNEW Roach and Ghost BEFORE he was captured (op kingfish, hello?).

Also Nobody and i mean nobody seems to consider, yet again, a crucial aspect of their characters is that THEY ARE ELITE SOLDIERS TRAINED TO BE RESISTANT TO EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS at least when in the field which we see throughout the games (the exception being Price's reaction to Soap's death and his subsequent unraveling but I digress). and at the time of Roach and Ghosts death, Price and Soap have a lot on their goddamn plate: announced traitors by their country, Interpol's issued a red notice for them, one of their closest allies (Shepherd) just turned out to be a traitor working with the very terrorist they were hunting. And they've got shadow company AND ultranationalists to worry about as well. Does this seem like a good time to be making heartfelt eulogies?

ANOTHER TRUTH BOMB PEOPLE IGNORE

Price has spent the last 3 years locked up in a remote penal colony, work camp/prison/whatever... Do you know what gulags are? Do you know their history? Do you know what Price must have been put through as a person who the game explicitly tells us Makarov hates most? Imagine the kind of toll continuous torture and isolation takes on the human psyche. THREE YEARS OF IT. Ok.

And EVEN if Price didnt 'care' at the time? so what. cut the old man some slack... he gets to be emotionally blunt and a little crazy. As a treat

[oilyfry]

idk . a trilogy of loyalty and devotion, sacrifice, and unbreakable trust, brotherhood, no questions asked, no matter what is done, and somehow the relationship is largely disregarded by the fandom at best, and at worst interpreted as pathological and abusive. boggles the mind. it doesnt matter whether you view them as, however you wanna bite Soap as a character, Price is inextricable part of him and is ALWAYS going to be in the way. you cant consider Soap without Price and vice versa. Soap molded himself after Price. the impact he had on Soap cannot be understated. Soap wouldn't be the captain he is had it not been for Price's mentorship, Price would still be rotting in the gulag had it not been for Soap. the mw trilogy which starts with Soap and Price, ends soon after Soap's gone.

Their lives are interwoven in such a way and to such an extent you could not talk about one without mentioning the other at all. Their relationship is not subjective, not even up to interpretation because it's as explicit as it can be, it's always there, if not at the forefront then in the background, in the cutscenes, in the gameplay, in Soap's journal. Erasing Price from existence you're erasing what makes Soap Soap.

I'm not saying people aren't allowed to dislike Price--but Soap isn't you. He would still die for that man. That's what loyalty is to Soap. he values it above ethics, above all else, how much of his devotion is a part of that debt he feels is debatable, but the unshakeable trust in Price he exhibits every step he takes is absolutely not. Soap would follow that man to hell and he has.

As a soldier Soap gave his life away in a sense but he specifically entrusted Price to use it. nobody forced Soap to do it. he is not coerced by anyone. its him, its all him, doesn't matter if as a result of insecurity. ultimately it's Soap's choice. When he hands over command to Price he hasn't been bullied into it. HE'S RELIEVED and glad to have Price back. When he keeps the m1911 for 3 years it's not because Price told him to. Soap is not a passive agent in the story. He's a perfectly capable leader and soldier and at the same time prefers being under Prices command. why is this so hard to accept? why can't Soap be competent, experienced and still prefer to be the follower? why does trust equate submission to some people? why can't Soap simply choose Price without people characterizing him as a helpless doormat and Price some kind of telepathic master manipulator (which couldn't be further from the truth)?

I really don't get it. I dont understand 'loving' a character by cherry-picking the lore you personally like and aligns with your values and straight up ignoring the parts you disagree with... this is the opposite of love to me. its selective and conditional. and to be clear I'm not talking about having headcanons like, idk fav foods or music or whatever, but those that drastically disregard canon and ignore a relationship central to the character and entire text. its so so dishonest and insulting to the character as well as his writer(s?).

if you don't like a character as it is and have to ignore canon, or their defining traits, strengths and weaknesses, to me it seems like you do not in fact like the said character. you like your own version, stripped of the parts you're uncomfortable with or find unattractive, which leaves you with a sterilized, abridged homunculus closer resembling an oc than anything else...

[oilyfry]

how I think Price reacted after reading Soap's journal seeing the drawings and entries mentioning him and the villa claras he had no idea Soap had started smoking and how much he sincerely respected and admired and looked up to Price and the insecurity and guilt and doubt Soap kept hidden on the pages while he should have to come to Price as his CO or even as a mate to talk it through yet didn't but worst of all that Soap died thinking he owed Price his life even though it was the other way around. and now Price could never set the record straight and Soap would never get to see the end of the war and live in a world where Makarov was just history and and and:

[oilyfry]

smh Nik put him down like a sack of potatoes

[oilyfry]

hiiii it's fryyyy back again with a bad og cod mw take I saw while repeating the mistake of venturing into a character tag but sometimes i cant help myself. in this edition, the hot take is basically Price could have been made into a villain so easily…. wow ok.

First of all, let's get a few misconceptions out of the way.

Price didn't 'nuke' America.

It does seem like a bad thing doesn't it, Price letting the nuke launch instead of stopping it, especially when it’s the exact scenario he and Soap try to prevent in mw1. But Price never intended for the missile to hit America--he detonates it in the atmosphere above Washington DC. the US Army is losing badly at the time; The Russians have taken the White House and overrun the area, they have all but entrenched themselves there. The explosion creates an EMP shockwave which, true, affects both the American and Russian side, but it’s not the same as dropping a nuke, not even close! An emp doesn't cause deaths directly but disables electronic devices: eg aircraft, comms systems etc.

Considering the fact that it's mostly Russians taking heavy losses from the EMP, that in response they retreat and the Americans manage to take back the White House, repel Russians entirely and end the invasion, this wasn’t even remotely a bad call… anyway.

Distrust=/=thinking someone’s a traitor.

IF Price suspected Shepherd, he wouldn't say anything prior to loose ends because it doesn't make sense for Shepherd to be a traitor. Moreover, would you accuse a decorated army general you and your allies closely worked with for years without any issue of being a traitor based on zero evidence and bad vibes alone? Also, can we take into consideration that Price has been imprisoned and out of the loop for 3 years. How would Price, who's been a POW and undoubtedly been through torture/other trauma, sound like if he accused Shepherd of treason out of the blue and without any solid proof? He'd be dismissed, deemed as crazy and/or benched.

(and if Price was convinced Shep was a traitor why would he keep it a secret tho? To get himself and Soap/Ghost/Roach killed while Shep escaped with proof of his involvement in orchestrating ww3? Make it make sense…)

I'm surprised the op didn't bring up the actual hard to defend decision that Price makes--going through with the assault on Hotel Oasis in Dubai. But OK.

How does Price compare to the other villains in the story?

Hm. he's not a terrorist who bombs malls for breakfast and dabbles in human trafficking on the side/doesn’t stage a violent coup of a democratic government/arrange a false flag operation out of spite which causes ww3 to break out. Price actively does the opposite of what a villain would do. he saves civilians (all 3 games, eg mw1: intervening when ultranationalists are about to off a grandpa in the russian village), sacrifices himself for the team (staying behind in op kingfish), he doesn't betray anyone, anything he does is driven not by hidden agenda or selfish goals but by duty/'greater good' or however you wanna call it, you know what i mean... do any of the actual villains in the game display similar qualities? (no)

Price is not a paragon of morality. it could be argued hes not a good person. but with all the facts laid out--would Price, in this setting, in this particular story, and in all honesty, make for a good villain?...