For you kids at home, a “foil” is a character who has traits that parallel another character. Usually, the two character’s arcs are intertwined in order to create a type of balance between traits. Think Will Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow, or Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. The two characters are necessary to each other’s development, but they are also so opposite that they are usually at odds with eachother.
Vriska and Gamzee have the unique situation that they literally both have two totally separate arcs that the fandom follows. And they are foils in BOTH TIMELINES. Both timelines have an instance where one’s existence is intregal to the other’s personal growth and development as a person, and they always are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Disclaimer: EXTREMELY LONG POST UNDER THE CUT.(with images)
Gamzee isn’t even remotely close to Joker aside from being a clown that has killed people why the fuck is this so common?!
If anyone is Joker, It’s Lord English. Think about it: A selfish sadistic mob boss trope that kills for fun and causes chaos for kicks, who tempts people with grandiose promises and uses it to manipulate and abuse them, who makes good people into monsters, and always seems to get out unscathed? LE is Joker. He’s the mastermind with no motive other than the pain of others.
Gamzee on the other hand is being manipulated and tricked into thinking he’s more important in all this than he actually is. He’s enamored with LE, and as such doesn’t even realize how little control over his fate he actually has. He lets LE do whatever he wants with him and just smiles through the obvious abuse like it’s no big deal. He does things he would have never done without his influence just to please him, even at the risk of his own health and safety. He has plenty if motivation other than violence to be doing what he’s doing, and under all that there’s a good person that he used to be that a good chunk of the audience wants back. Are you seeing who this sounds like?
Gamzee isnt the Joker at all. Gamzee is Harley Quinn.
So last month, I created an essay that checks in at about 200 pages long on Docs and shared it with some friends, but never posted it here. I’m gonna do that now.
To summarize, it’s an essay deconstructing Gamzee; taking a long and hard look at his actions, motivations, and the subtext surrounding his character. He’s a character most people take at face value, and this paper is an attempt to change that.
