I rewatched a playthrough of Black Ops: Cold War and like... I feel as if there was a huge missed opportunity when it came to Bell and Mason. Like you took Mason - a man who has *been brainwashed to be a sleeper agent* and put him in a game with Bell but don't even consider exploring that dynamic more? That's crazy work and that's why I want to ramble about it.
I'm making the assumption that everyone was pretty caught-up on a majority of what Bell went through in order to *become* Bell, which means that Mason is very much aware of the torture and and the MK-Ultra et cetera, et cetera. IIRC, there is a *very* brief moment where Mason expresses some sympathy for Bell (but I could be wrong), and I really think that that's a majority of his feelings on it: sympathy.
Mason can't even stop himself from trudging back into those memories when he goes to Mount Yamantau. There's a part where, if you pick up some crossbow bolts (which apparently were canonically shot by Hudson in B:O1), Mason *sees* the numbers. He can't get away from it no matter how hard he tries. Of all people, Mason knows the type of turmoil Bell suffered from when they found out that their friendships, their motivations, their whole life was a lie. And I believe he feels a real, deep-rooted sympathy for Bell. But! I don't think he feels the need for justice.
After all, Bell is a Soviet. Bell was betting on the opposite side, and what they're doing - whether they like it or not - is helping Mason's side. And I wonder if, combined with that sympathy, there is some kind of sense of vengeance. Because *finally*, someone who had been a part of a sleeper agent operation under Perseus knows what that feeling is like. They finally understand that burning frustration to trudge alongside Adler because, let's face it: what other option do they have? Like Mason had Reznov, Bell had Vietnam. Like Mason had Hudson, Bell had Adler. There could have been so many opportunities for Mason to establish this kind of relationship with Bell that's just so purely bittersweet. I feel like they had plenty of moments with Hudson very vaguely referring to Bell's status before the player discovers it, but imagine the kind of tension that could have arisen if it was between Mason and Bell instead?
There's definitely the obvious "why keep the ex-sleeper agent unsupervised on a mission the current sleeper agent" answer but I don't care. I wish there was more Mason and Bell. The mission with Woods and Bell, in my opinion was great and one of the best ones in the campaign, so WHYYYYY did they hold out on Mason and Bell???
This has been my TED Talk I hope other Black Ops fans agree with me on this
