I'm having Feelings™ about Bravo so im gonna dump it all in here. Enjoy.
Anyway, I think Bravo is one of my favorite villains of all time, if not THE favorite. The part I love most about his character is how well the story balances his tragic backstory and how his actions hurt others.
Because, no doubt about it, his story is a tragedy. He builds up all these impressive skills and just when he's been welcomed onto Hermitcraft, into a new chapter of his life, he gets thrown face-first into literal hell. He's forced to learn the rules of this new world all by himself, with no other overworlders to talk to and as far as I know, no other friends. He's stuck like this for presumably YEARS.
It gets worse when he meets Atlas, who reveals that Bravo's arrival wasn't just a coincidence: it was caused by a player. Someone trapped him here, in hels, but revenge isn't all he's focused on. More than anything, he wants to get back home and get his old life back; capturing Tango was more so Atlas' goal than his.
But when he gets back to the overworld, he sees that Tango had not only ripped Bravo's life away from him, but also took it for himself. All these people rush to defend him, despite the pain he has inflicted on Bravo (from Bravo's perspective, anyway), and on top of all that, he can no longer trust Atlas and is left alone, once again. But this time, he brings Timmy along, which is better than nothing.
In the end Bravo finally understands that Tango hadn't done any of this on purpose, and was just trying to do the same thing he was. So Bravo is left with all this anger and hurt with no one to redirect it on. He's back in the overworld, and Atlas has been defeated, but what now? He can't go back to Hermitcraft: they've already taken Tango in and likely aren't fond of him, given what he's done. And he can't just move on, it's not that simple; he's spent years in hell, and there isn't any reversing what has already been done. His entire life and person has been torn apart for seemingly no reason, besides the possibility that the universe decided to sacrifice him for the good of everyone in Hels.
Plot summary aside, It's driving me nuts just thinking about how all this has affected him. Yeah, he's a villain, but frankly I think he's done better than the majority of people would in his same situation. And he still has his morals! He hates the needless violence in Hels; He stands up against Atlas when he tries to kidnap Jimmy, even though Jimmy had hurt him prior; He tries to help Timmy with his starvation even after coming back to the overworld.
Bravo didn't have to help Tango, the person he had spent so long hating. He (probably) could've taken off running the moment Tango arrived with a portal. But he stayed to help, even though Atlas could've captured him like he knew Atlas had captured Tango before.
Bravo tries to do the right thing. He has morals and avoids fighting with Tango's allies, who are overworlders. He has had so much rage festering inside of him for so long, but doesn't take it out on anyone besides Tango, who he had believed was responsible for this whole mess. The closest he came to something of the sort is when he tried to change Timmy to be more like Jimmy, though it was clearly his own way of coping.
But it still hurts them. Bravo still hurts Tango, Jimmy, and Timmy, despite his typically good intentions. He's still a villain, and the narrative doesn't let you forget it. Many stories tend to coddle tragic villains, refusing to let them take proper accountability for what they've done. But despite Bravo being an incredibly tragic character, the story doesn't coddle him the slightest. It shows him at his worst without making up excuses for it, and shines a light on what it has done to other people. While Tango eventually forgives him, he isn't magically welcomed "into the squad" or whatnot, instead left on his own for the main characters to heal, partially from what he has done to them.
Conclusion: Bravo is an impossibly well-written character and still be rotating him in my mind like a rotisserie chicken until the end of my days. Thank you so much for blessing us with such a thing <3
thanks so much for sharing this. it couldn’t have come at a better time for me. life has been so busy as i prepare to move (again) to work at a new hospital (again), and i’ve been so frustrated that i haven’t been able to write as much as i want to. and that preys on inevitable fears that people are losing interest in my work, esp when i do manage to write something that doesn’t get the engagement i hoped for.
but this right here? this was a great reminder of why i do this. bravo is such an important character to me and it means the world to know he had such an impact on you. it was challenging to make an oc that was also sort of based in canon without just writing Tango LiteTM. and it was so important to me to balance his tragedy with his own shortcomings and accountability and unapologetic villainy. i wanted people to be feeling sorry for him one moment and then screaming at him in the next, and your analysis captures that perfectly.
you’ve completely hit the nail on the head regarding his character and purpose in the story, and i’m so excited for u to see what’s next for him (if ur willing to stick around for who knows how long til i get that written, that is). much appreciated <3
