Comments | rayne_n_chaos: Question: Is Ethan evil or just naughty?

lucy_ash in rayne_n_chaos

Question: Is Ethan evil or just naughty?

Feb 09, 2010 15:31

OK, I have a question for the group. Is Ethan evil? At first I thought he wasn't because, in Bandy Candy, he shudders when Mr. Trick kills one of the workers. So I was thinking he wasn't big with the killing. But then I thought back to the Halloween episode, where he turned everyone into their costumes. Presumably some people died in that ( Read more... )

Comments 25

rebcake February 10 2010, 00:48:15 UTC

I think a case could be made for Ethan being evil, but it would be in a "banality of evil" kind of way. And wouldn't he hate being associated with the word "banal"! In a way, he is more of a realistic sort of evil, in that most evil people do not set out to be evil, they just want what they want, and devil take the hindmost. The lack of empathy makes him a bit of a sociopath, if a charming one.

In Buffy, the bar of evilness is set pretty high, what with hellgods, First Evil, Caleb, Warren, vampires, et al running about. They are more dramatic than the more common evils for which they are metaphors. Ethan barely registers. But is he less evil than a vampire who is just out for a meal? He actually enjoys the suffering of others (as do many vampires). Isn't that as good a definition of evil as anything?

lucy_ash February 10 2010, 01:54:14 UTC

I must be terribly wishy-washy. I feel like going "Oh, yeah. That's totally it," to everyone's comments.

Sociopath though. Seems like a more precise definition than amoral. Also much creepier.

rebcake February 10 2010, 04:23:24 UTC

I feel like going "Oh, yeah. That's totally it," to everyone's comments.

Yeah, I started to say, "Ethan? Evil? Perish the thought!" But, because I just watched Inglorious Basterds, where the most charming, friendly person can be the worst monster, it came out completely different. *shrugs* Depends on the day, I guess.

sammywol February 10 2010, 15:58:14 UTC

sociopath! that's it exactly.

sammywol February 10 2010, 15:57:37 UTC

er ... Live baby sacrifice to giant snake?! Serving up Buffy to Eyghon? He was far from harmless. However terms like 'good' and 'evil' are, by definition, simplistic and Ethan was an enjoyably complex character. I think he liked his consequences to be entertainingly chaotic rather than up and close gory but he either did not think much about the effects of his actions or he did not care about them. I do wonder how many of those Trick or Treating kids came home ... I wonder if that was when Oz's cousin got wolfed - must check timeline.

mireille719 February 10 2010, 21:05:44 UTC

In the Buffyverse, at least, it seems like "good" and "evil" require a lot more of a commitment than I think Ethan's likely to make. I could easily see Ethan doing something that might look "nice"--because he wanted the person to owe him or be impressed by him, because he was bored and thought it'd be interesting, because he was in a good mood that day and just felt like it, because it'd confuse and annoy Giles....

But I can also see Ethan turning right around and doing something sadistic and horrible, because he wasn't "being good," he was just doing whatever he felt like doing.

liliaeth February 11 2010, 15:04:36 UTC

Considering that Band Candy was all about sacrificing a bunch of innocent babies to be eaten by a demon, I'd say, definitely evil. Since he still had his soul while taking part in it.