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sullustangin · 3 years

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Okay, strange question for Theron. I hat does he believe in. Beyond duty and doing things for the greater good.

That’s a good question! It’s going to get long, so some of this is beyond a cut.

Theron was raised as a Jedi until adolescence - his belief system is rooted in the existence of the Force. It exists in all living things, and some people can access and use it, while others cannot. The Jedi are the good guys. He was also raised as a citizen of the Republic. He believes in the Galactic Constitution, which bars slavery and grants all sentients certain rights. The Republic is a representative government with elections and enfranchised people choosing their leaders.

Duty and the Greater Good

“Duty” and "The Greater Good” concept have to be defined with Theron, because he is not a lawful character. He’s a neutral, leaning chaotic character in D&D terms. Lawful characters go by whatever society approves of; chaotic characters have their own internal compass. Neutral considers both. A great example of this is when Director Trant of SIS and Jace Malcom the Supreme Commander of Pub forces tell him to get the job done and basically ignore the fact that two planets full of people are going to be sacrificed to do it. Lawful characters do as the authority says.....and Theron decides to go rogue and disobey with a Jedi in order to at least save the second planet. His “greater good” is a lower death count, rather than guaranteed Republic victory. I would argue that Theron interprets his duty as belonging to a larger galaxy rather than exclusively the Republic and its political/military objectives; he is pro-Republic, no doubt about it, but there are limits. He’s also pro-Jedi, but there are limits -- some of them can be real asses. I discuss his alignment further here.

Going into Forged Alliances in SWTOR, we have a man who works for the Republic and endorses the ideals of the Galactic Constitution. He knows the Republic is not perfect. He does believe the Jedi are “right,” but he does have some issues with their attitudes toward non-Force users. They are not perfect. We get some very vehement statements in Annihilation about Theron’s experience with the Jedi after he was found not to be Force sensitive: the arrogance of the Jedi, how they looked down on non-Force users. He even applied this metric to Satele in their first real conversation with each other. I discuss this more here. This doesn’t make him anti-Jedi, but he doesn’t view them with the same rose-colored glasses he did as a youngling. Individuals aside, he follows the Light Side of the Force.

The Dark Side decisions that a Pub can make to please Theron in Forged Alliances/Shadow of Revan involve deceiving the Empire -- first, by destroying the Revanite cyborgs on Rakata Prime; second, by setting up perimeters around the Yavin base that track Imp movements just a little bit closer. The blowing up of cyborgs rather than fighting them is to prevent Lana and the Empire from scavenging them later. It’s not about killing them -- they as individuals are already dead. You have to kill them to get to the next room anyway. It’s just a matter of whether you give the Republic an edge by not permitting the Empire the opportunity. It’s a chess match. On Yavin, it’s about the Republic having more information than the Empire here as well. These aren’t traps or weapons that would hurt Imps -- it’s just about having more information. That is his duty to the Republic as an SIS agent while still supporting a cross-factional alliance to defeat a shared “Greater Bad.” So while dishonest and Dark Side and ‘anti-Jedi’, Theron still does things in support of a government that has the Galactic Constitution while doing no direct physical harm to the Sith Empire’s operatives (a rather Light Side-y solution).

What else does Theron believe in, besides all that?

Theron believes – most of all and with the most optimism -- in the future. We saw that at the end of Lost Suns. We see that when he chooses to save civilians on a planet he’s never met. We even see it in his Dark Side decisions in-game; he anticipates that the war will resume against the Empire, and he wants the Republic (and its Constitution) to have the best odds winning. I believe that Theron would rather have a rough life himself and save others in the future from the same work and suffering he’s gone through. Does he do it like a Jedi? Nope. He isn’t honest or honorable all the time, but he draws the line of sacrificing innocents or excessive for a cause. Does he do it like a traditional agent of the Republic, taking orders without question? Good Lord, no. Trant complains about that all the time in Lost Suns and Annihilation. Theron is Trant’s best agent, but half the time, Trant wants to throw him out a window or down a trash compactor because he doesn’t do things by the book.

I discuss in that alignment post how beat up Theron gets because he does things that are “right” in his mind, but not protocol. Theron fights for a brighter future. Based upon what he’s willing to do personally to ensure that happens, his life comes second to those yet to be born and a better galaxy for them. Call it Jedi virtue, call it a zealous belief in the Galactic Constitution -- Theron does it (and he meets his end that way in the Nathema Conspiracy, if the player chooses that path). This is also partially why he doesn’t have an SIS partner. Theron might be assigned to another agent, but he wants to do all the work himself, his own way. Trant has learned it is pointless to assign Theron a partner because the partner is left out and doesn’t even know when Theron gallivants off. His risk, his way.

So to be very specific, Theron believes in the future for others, not necessarily himself. Theron has a certain lack of selfishness paired with stubbornness that makes him put himself in danger because he believes there is some greater cause; he, the individual, doesn’t matter as much. We see this in other SIS agents -- they’d die in the line of duty without much of a second thought. I read about Lana’s early experience in the Talay initiative, and the SIS agents she encountered were particularly devout.

For Theron, that duty isn’t just to Republic or SIS -- it’s for the better future of the galaxy as well. We can also use this as part of an argument that suggests why Theron isn’t shown romantically involved with anyone unless he gets with the player. Theron thinks it would be nice if he survived to see this great future he wants for the galaxy and the Republic, but he understands he may not live to see it. That’s not fatalism or pessimism however. He knows what Jedi did during the Fall of Coruscant. He was always told by Ngani Zho that he was so loved by his mother that she had to give him up, so she wouldn’t have divided loyalties when it came to the good of the Republic. His personal happiness doesn’t rank very high here; it is virtuous and right for individuals to make choices that cost themselves something rather than others. Theron doesn’t like to be selfish.

During KotFE Theron leaves the Republic after they’ve accepted the political fiction that Saresh is out of office. Everyone knows she’s pulling the strings and promoting constant warfare against the Sith Empire, while bending the knee to Zakuul the entire time. They are oppressed, but she gets to have her little wars. Theron joins the Alliance because it is resisting an oppressive power that the Saresh doesn’t seem interested in throwing off and that the Empire can’t seem to throw off. In KotFE, you have Theron as a companion. He does NOT accept Republic memorabilia in order to raise influence -- I don’t think that’s an oversight, since Lana takes Imp memorabilia with enthusiasm. Theron believes in the Galactic Constitution and all of its principles – but the Republic is failing to do that right now by tolerating Zakuul and their systems of slavery. If you recruit Bowdaar, you do so by Fight Club or “Eternal Championship” or whatever, and it runs off slaves and people owned by others. This was what Theron worked against during his career in SIS prior to the whole Korriban thing….and now the Republic tolerates Zakuul’s use of it, as long as Saresh has her little wars with the Empire.

By KotFE, Theron no longer believes in his duty to the Republic, but in the Galactic Constitution. Now that the Jedi are gone, he doesn’t believe in them as much as the broader, greater good that the Republic never fully reached for due to its conflict with the Sith Empire.

This also brings us to the idea that Theron believes in the player. When all the things he valued in the Republic and SIS went to dust, he went to the Alliance, knowing that a key element was the rescue of the player from carbonite. Somehow, he thought this person – this key figure that he had worked with previously – would be able to head an Alliance that would save the galaxy one last time from the Sith Emperor.

With KotET, the player can decide whether they are a peacekeeper Alliance or a new Empire. Theron supports the player and doesn’t make any move to leave or go back to the Republic, regardless of the decision (a flaw in writing, in my personal opinion, but it is what it is). This is the game’s mechanic, but we may also interpret this as Theron’s belief in truth: we are what we say we are. A benevolent empire may not have elections, but it has a greater good in mind. The Republic claims to support all of these ideals in its constitution…but it doesn’t under Saresh. Even with a more brutal Eternal Empire, there is truth in advertising. We are doing this, that’s the way it is. We’re not hiding behind some Constitution that’s pushed to the wayside in favor of continued war with the Sith Empire. I know this is spinning the wheels hard to try to make it work, but Theron has to have rationale for staying, and it’s not provided in game. In Onslaught, we see a return of Theron’s temper; players who permitted high casualties on Corellia had Theron stomp out on them in anger. That is consistent with what we’ve seen previously, but the writing had made him somewhat of a sycophant to the player character for awhile; it was a good surprise for character development, bad if you were romancing Theron since you don’t get a smooch off him for that ending.

Now, if you go all Light Side for Theron, then it’s more easily explicable as to why he stays with the player – the Alliance does what the Republic will not, and he rather be in a place that does what the Republic should be doing, rather than be in a Republic that’s all talk and no action. He’s happy to return home to the Republic, if you make that choice in Onslaught. He’s also accepting of remaining independent. He only expresses concern with an Imperial alliance because he doesn’t want his home ground to dust....and all the people in it. All those little individual futures that we as Alliance commander can control -- and if we’re working to make them better, that coincides with Theron’s own beliefs.

Does Theron Shan believe in love?

The virtue of love, in the sense that one cares for the good of others and the galaxy, is approved of by Jedi. The idea of having someone, of bonding to someone and wanting to maintain that relationship – and the associated fear of losing that relationship – can lead to the Dark Side. Now, Theron may not buy into that as much as he did when he was a kid, but it might stick in the back of his mind, since unless the player romances him, he remains single. He’s also devoted to his ideals and his work, his duties. He’s a self-admitted workaholic -- that sort of kicks romance and personal love down the ladder of priorities.

On the other hand, Theron hasn’t been treated well by ‘love.’ Ngani Zho loved him… and left him without telling him the truth. Zho also told Theron all the time that his mother Satele loved him so much that she had to give him up….and we have yet to see her ever admit that to him, face-to-face. We can argue that the latest patch, Echoes of Oblivion, points toward that happening, but even then, she only indicates that to player, not to Theron himself. We saw Jace Malcom’s rejected paternal overtures in Annihilation and then alienation from Theron during Iokath. Player choices decide whether that relationship is recoverable or not.

In an unromanced game, Theron is alone, but not necessarily lonely. We can view this as sort of a holdover from his Jedi youth and as his adult life as a spy – love is a good thing in the galaxy but attachment is not, given the risks he takes. There is no suggestion that he’s romantically involved with another NPC, unlike other games or even the Lana/Koth thing -- which is ultimately left up to player interpretation as to what exactly that was.

This next bit is more subjective, because it’s how I’ve interpreted the Theron romance to this point on neutral/Light-leaning characters, specifically a smuggler. I think prior to the playable character, Theron believes in love, but once again, not for him personally. If the player romances him, it’s a whole different bantha wrangle.

Love is difficult. Being mutually attached is difficult for Theron, because most normal people want a certain back-and-forth, a certain amount of information sharing before they really commit. Theron can’t give as much as they can. Hook-ups are physically satisfying, but emotionally lacking.

I know some authors have him as a someone who slept around a lot, while others have him as a serial monogamist. Many just don’t discuss the idea of him being with anyone else besides their playable character. I’ve written him as someone who can get hook-ups, can do a relationship or two seriously, but also has long spats of celibacy mixed in because he’s busy working. The greater good isn’t going to happen by itself, so Theron works at the cost of his personal relationships. Because of being a spy and the issue of his parentage, he can’t disclose his work routine or why he’s come back with a new scar – it’s easier to let the relationship fall to the wayside than explain. Where are his parents? Who are his parents? Easier to let the relationship go than explain.

Theron is a consummate professional. Even in the era of KotFE/KotET, Miot and Koth refer to him as ‘stiff’ or ‘stuffy’ and not knowing when to “not work.” His duties come before his personal desires. This is why we have to get through all of Rishi before we even get to kiss Theron, plus another few weeks/months on Yavin before they playable character and Theron hook up. However, if we take a look at the player’s path from Korriban or Manaan (Pub and Imp side encounters with Theron), it’s a courtship over the course of a half-year or more. There are a lot of headcanon explanations for this, ranging from playable character inexperience, demisexuality, “behind the scenes” action that emphatically states that they were hooking up long before we saw them, and so on.

I took what I saw on screen to be a signal of Theron’s professionalism -- no time for lovin’ until the job is done -- but also his attachment issues. I’ll do another post on this later, but I’m writing him with the label “fearful avoidant attachment” in mind. Basically, Theron wants to be attached to someone, desperately, but he is terrified of it. I don’t blame Satele for this one – this is all about Theron not only being ditched by Ngani Zho, but also then being dismissed from the Jedi Order because he wasn’t even Force sensitive to begin with. Suddenly, the father he knew and the way of life he thought he was going to follow til the day he died – gone. Now he has to integrate with ‘normal people life’ where you’re supposed to do the personal life attachment stuff that Jedi frowned upon. In my fan fic, Theron confesses that SIS and his duty to the Republic – more accurately, to the future – take the place of the Jedi order. He attaches himself to that more readily than individuals.

The playable character changes Theron; he says that in his “I’m back at SIS” letter. He’s more open to teamwork and reaching out to Satele. Again, fans have run with this, including having Theron in a relationship with the player until the Eternal Fleet incident, having them just hook-up and leave it at that (particularly if Imperial), or something in between. Ziost marks a time where Theron is both relieved and embarrassed the player is there to catch him when he falls. The last we see of Theron in-game Pubside prior to Popsicle Time, he says he won’t hesitate to reach out (unlike what he did this time).

Then we get the “For When You Wake Up” letter. It reveals that Theron is in love, whether or not he wants to openly acknowledge it yet. He doesn’t send a letter to an unromanced player stating that the fact they’re still alive is “the thing that keeps [him] going.” And he’s also worried, nervous, or even scared that the feelings are not mutual -- “I don’t want to presume.”

The Theron romance starts in KotFE the night of his arrival. The kiss can be a tentative “let’s try this,” and then dating starts. I took it as “let’s go back to my place” and a full-blown committed relationship starts between Theron and my smuggler. There are other interpretation in between. Any way a person shakes it, Theron had been holding on to his Yavin hook-up for five years in his heart. Based upon letters you get throughout these two expansion pacs, Theron still has workaholic tendencies. He still struggles with the writing of words and expressing love publicly – but he is attached, and painfully so, as we see in Chapter 12, when the player goes on an impromptu camping trip with Marr and Satele. In my interpretation of all of that, love is still difficult – but not because of the reasons Theron had prior to Eternal Fleet, when he was fully committed to SIS and the Republic. It’s because in order to save the galaxy from the Sith Emperor, the player may have to be sacrificed for the greater good. Theron can’t step into their shoes on this one; he can’t take their place.

After the main KotET chapters, we see the Traitor arc and all of its flaws – but also the consistency of Theron’s character, if we remember how he believes in a better future, even if he doesn’t get to live to see it. That does include potentially sacrificing his romantic relationship with the player and possibly his life as well. If the player chooses to kick Theron out of the Alliance, the question of where he goes next is valid – he won’t go back to the Republic, and he’s not an Imperial. Where is Theron Shan, in those player universes?

If Theron (and his romance) survives to Echoes of Oblivion, we see a letter that is downright gleefully sweet. His mother isn’t dead, and it’s because of you that he has a chance to try to make something of that relationship…again. I’ve expressed my skepticism about this, since this is the exact set-up we had prior to Eternal Fleet, and then Satele ghosted Theron. We’ll see; I may be a bit of a cynic or an angstmonger. The point is, the way the romance is written to this point, Theron is happily in love with his partner/spouse. Love is for him, after all.

Even without the romance, a living Theron in the Alliance (or whatever it is now) in Echoes of Oblivion is one that has attachments to friends and potentially family again. There is a future -- and he’s in it. That may have been more than what Theron was anticipating when we first met him at 23, nearly 17(!) years ago.

#swtor #theron shan #headcanon #character analysis

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