Oh man, and Cassandra was probably Caps first kid! So he raised her to the best of his ability but probably fell back on what he learned as a guard, but wasn’t able to provide for her emotional needs. Like, not in the neglectful sense, but in that he doesn’t strike me as the most emotional guy. Which is why their reunion goes so badly because he meets her as the Captain, not her father, while Rapunzel is always so close to getting through to Cass (also thank you for the addition it was lovely).
The real tradgey of the situation is the fact that the Captain clearly raised Cass with as much love as he could. When you compare four year old Cass with the kid Cass in “You’re Kidding Me!” the difference is night and day. She’s so much more confident, rambunctious, and so unapologetically a kid that it hurts to see how meek and lonely she was while living with Gothel.
Heck, the Captain probably babied the heck out of her in the first few years in an effort to shield her from the sadness of her reality. He made a vow to be her safe place, and in turn inspired her to be like him. Of course, this too had it’s drawbacks, because the at the start of the series, we see the Captain struggle letting his baby girl be exposed to danger, even though he trained her to be one of the best fighters in the kingdom. He finally let his precious daughter spread her wings by going on this quest with the princess, and look what happened.
His duty of being the Captain of the Guard conflicted with his desire to protect Cassandra, which led to him leaning on his guard persona when he finally confronted her, which of course led him no where, so what does he do? He retreated completely in his doting dad side by wishing for a second chance to raise his daughter with all of his heart. This of course is also the wrong answer. He can’t give up on his Cassandra, but at the same time he can’t bring himself to fight her.
Here’s hoping he plays even a bit of a role in the finale, now that he can confront her not as the Captain of the Guard, but as a concern father.
Also, I glad you liked my addition to your absolutely well written analysis. I always get a bit nervous adding things to other people’s post. Thank you. ^_^