Can we just take a moment to appreciate how exceptionally well written these two characters are?
The way people feel about these characters are proof of how well written they are. I’ve seen both of them get hate and love.
My personal favourite is Reed, even though I always betray him. What I find extremely satisfying and annoying at the same time is how he is perceived. Perhaps I have this wrong, but given the dialogues, I don’t think I have.
I’ve seen people call Reed honest and trustworthy, which I find very ironic and interesting. I don’t think Reed is honest nor trustworthy at all, yet he managed to make a ton of fans believe him and see him as trustworthy. Kinda like Idris broke the 4th wall with his acting on this one.
People call Reed honest and trustworthy due to them comparing Reed to So Mi, who comes clean about actually lying to V. However, I think many people forget exactly how manipulative Solomon Reed actually is.
Alex reminds us after our meeting with Slider, that Reed isn’t really our friend. Through conversations with Alex and So Mi, we learn that Reed recruited them both, with not particularly nice methods. Essentially, join us or die in the street like filth. I haven’t done this ending, but I am very sure that there exists an ending where V is also recruited by Reed after being stripped of basically everyone and everything. Realistically, it is the best job offer one can get with such circumstances. But isn’t that a lot like how you’d expect Reed to recruit, if you consider the circumstances that made So Mi and Alex join?
Not to mention the fact that he constantly shifts his goals of wanting to find So Mi to wanting to save So Mi and then wanting to bring in So Mi to take responsibility. That, and the fact that he keeps not telling V crucial information about the missions constantly.
Reed is one of the least trustworthy companions V meets. One of the most efficient secret agents is obviously not going to be a trustworthy guy, being highly manipulative is a job requirement. I believe one of the reasons why players end up trusting Reed is that he is filling up the missing spot that Jackie left. V isn’t alone anymore and we have someone that we can decide to trust, which can mean a lot in Night City after living as a solo merc.
I believe another reason that players tend to trust Reed, is because of the immense guilt he feels for his actions, despite continuing to do the same work. It appears often in the conversations with Reed and is actively enforced by his grieving facial expressions. In the end, it’s hard to not feel bad for Reed, and I think some people might mistake that feeling for sympathy and ending up trusting Reed more than they should.
I think the character is more than just awesome. I would’ve gone with his ending if I didn’t love the romance of going with So Mi’s ending.
What do y’all think about these two characters? I can tolerate slander for both of them, but Alex slander isn’t tolerated.