The chronicles of Project Horizons : chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the very definition of "Beware of what you wish for". I wanted to see BlackJack react to her first kill, I admit it but the way it was delivered in this chapter is abysmal. Self-pity during the whole chapter that gives me flashback to LittlePip and an aggravating trope of self-pity fueling anger so much that it intimidates people... By god, it's contrived.

Let us elaborate.

So this chapter follows the hard decision of killing forty helpless, mass-murdering, psychopatic, shells of foals and we have a scene that shows us how Blackjack is evolving and showing us how many people she killed even going as far back as the first unicorn she killed by simply leading him to the death chamber. My first issue is the way the scene is framed, it is shown that Blackjack had always realized her murder but only justified it by I was following orders, trying to showcase the Milgram's experiment in a sense. However, the issue is that the difference with the Milgram's test subjects were that they weren't conditioned all of their life to believe in a system that was so tightly made that no one questioned it but the victims of it like the males.

It's a conceptual flaw for me that only reinforces the special snowflake syndrome that I noticed back in the first chapter. Blackjack is not acting like she lived all of her life under a Stable without ever questioning her environment (as P-21 pointed out and how we noticed she was acting, she was a non-confrontational pony.) Why is it a conceptual flaw ? Shouldn't Blackjack rightfully thinks she killed someone ? Well, it's about how it was framed : for the BlackJack of the Stable, it wasn't murder, it was protocol. Something that was the norm. She could feel a bit sad about it but no more than that because it was normal for her. Here, it's like she lived there two days and was forced like a soldier to obey. I think that it makes her characterization from the Stable less and less prevalent, really making it anecdotal when it should be a deep ingrained belief.

As for the first kill recognition... It's too little too late. BlackJack realizes she's a killer, okay that's a plus but so what ? What did she learn ? Why is she a killer ? The chapter doesn't answer any of this and is too busy wallowing in self-pity (when funnily enough this same scene was done far better back in chapter 3). Yes, Blackjack is a killer and she seems very distraught about it. So, will she stop killing because it disgusts her ? Well, no we have still 71 chapter to go, can't do that even if it could be a very interesting way of showing her difference with Pip : a non-lethal pony. She could use things like a poison needle gun that paralyzes for example. Sure, it's dangerous but it's a moment of character realization that should have been done back in chapter 1 or 2.

Blackjack is a killer and she has no intention of stopping. Next question : Why is she a killer ? Because she needs to ? Bullshit, she could back to her Stable, her mom, if alive would open it for her. Hell, even the idea to kill Sanguine isn't that motivating a goal since as I said earlier, she doesn't ask for informations on Sanguine when she arrives at an information hub ! So, is she a killer because she has no choice in the matter, her environment forces her to be so ? Well, P-21 seems pretty content to just hang around with just a couple kill under his belt. Is she a killer because that's the only she's good at ? Well, wasn't her whole deal about protecting ? I think there are non-lethal way of doing so.

Is she going to think about a way to make peace with herself in the long run ? I'm sure she will. Will she stop killing people she deems evil or that appears red on her E.F.S. ? Probably not. Here's another issue, Blackjack asks herself the very important question : Who am I to judge who deserves to live or die ?

Indeed, let's explore that question, shall we ? You're a security mare who, thanks to a plan so dumb it's surprising it worked, is forced to live outside your area of comforts after having killed a good 80 ponies now. You have no attachment to the Wasteland and you have no core set of values aside from protecting people when you feel like it that drives you to do things right even after Watcher tried to goad you into being more than you could actually be. Yes, on all accounts, you have no right to be judge, jury and executioner. And yet...

BlackJack kills slavers because she's very upset you see and because they are evils. So, after a whole spiel about how killing is horrid that she even go to the childish extent of "Kill me P-21, I'm a bad pony" in her head (a stupid habit she has that is downright juvenile.), she murders ponies horribly because she is mad... at herself for killing ponies. It's irrational but not necessarily illogical. However, it makes this character an insane hypocrite and the worst part is that... P-21 and Glory do nothing to make her swallow her fucking pride and own up to her mistake... even P-21 ! The guy who slapped her in the face and told her that there was no time for self-pity is now letting her wallow in self-pity ? What because unlike Scoodle it isn't her fault ? She is so self-centered at that moment that she could have died and let her supposed friends die too in the attack of Slavers.

Now, is BlackJack allowed to feel like she does ? Of course she is. I'm not trying to write the character for Somber. Here, I'm showing how this chapter badly handled the first kill realization by both conceptually weakening BJ but also by only making her whine and be a hypocrite because she's mad at herself. It isn't compelling to see a character whine and ultimately do the same shit they are whining about. Just saying "I'm awful" and trying to do nothing to better yourself don't make you better. It actually makes you worse. Does that make BJ compelling to follow as a hero ? Not for me since I hate Littlepip's level of hypocrisy. However, perhaps it's only a phase though I'm not holding my breath.

Also, let's mention the trope that is cemented by the footnote : BJ intimidated Archie and Splendid by being very mad at herself and suddenly becoming Miss Badass and making the both of them shut up like kids that are being grounded. Of course, it works perfectly well with those two factions that we barely know because of course they are pushovers that let themselves be walked over by the first bounty huntress a little mad. Hell, the ones she is being mad don't even deserve it, so it's not even funny to watch. It's awkward and perhaps it was meant to be but from the way it was framed, down to the funny footnote, I don't think it was meant to be so... obviously stupid.

As for the rest of the chapter, I don't have much to say aside from Bottlecap exposing her whole life and ideals to a mare she barely knows because she looks a bit distraught after having to kill kids. But then again Bottlecap might be the most well-realized character so far. She has a core set of values which is that she wants to facilitate trade to make the world a better place and she doesn't want to compromise her values too much. She had actually a very interesting moment that was only cut short by BlackJack readiness to go kill for her. Because let's be clear : she's hesitating but I have no doubt that after one day or so, she'll be ready to kill ponies by the hundreds just like Pip did in her time.

I hope I'm wrong and I have to at least say that at the very least, PH is reflecting a little bt on BJ's actions. It is the usual "I'm a monster for no solid reason and killing is so horrible. Let me continue to do so" trope but at least it is there. As for the strange moment of levity where a drunkard BJ successfully fought off Deus, I have nothing to say about it. It felt strange and if it broke the wallowing in self-pity... it really didn't mesh well with the rest of the chapter. One second you have BJ shaking as she drinks cola and the next you have a super drunk BJ who successfully fight Deus without being killed or durably injured.

At the very least now things are getting somewhere : A bounty on BJ's head. Perhaps now she'll have a real reason to kill people. To protect her hide and her friends.

Closing thoughts : A really lame chapter but with perhaps a promise of going somewhere soon ?

EDIT : I also should mention that Morning Glory, the pegasus who was almost unable to kill someone is now happily decapitating raider corpses to analyze their brains. Fascinating progression.