#meanwhile none of the lov say anything to Touya about it

[problemswithbooks]

On Hawks, I think his wasted potential is in his use as the Endeavor supporter. He should have been allowed to have been more hurt by the reveal. When your idol turns out to have a lot in common with your abuser(s) that should be upsetting. Ya know. He was kinda blocked from being more complicated for the ease of Endeavor's redemption arc. In that sense he was robbed. As were other characters but him especially.

Oh, I think Hawks and Alicent have wasted potential, but I was more frustrated with people saying "x character has such wasted potential because they weren't written the exact way I personally wanted".

Many of the complaints I see about Hawks being wasted as a character come from people who wanted him to turn villain or be portrayed as a corrupt Hero. They aren't arguing about what could have made him a better character in the direction Hori decided to take him in.

As for being stuck as Enji's cheerleader, I do think it needed more set up to work better, but I understand why Hori went the direction he did with it. It's not just that it eases Enji's redemption arc, it also cuts down the amount of time he needs to spend on the manga, keeps the the Todoroki sub-plot more centered on the family, while also helping not rehash the same arguments/growth other characters have already done in this side plot.

Also, Hori has a tendency to tell, not show due to his rush to get this story finished. He wants to reiterate for the audience that Enji is trying and is helping during the AfO fight. Having Hawks be the one to think about how Enji is changing, or tell AfO about how Enji's attack was successful despite his regeneration, is an easy way to make sure readers understand Enji's arc. It's clunky, but I will admit that what Hawks says about Enji is far more backed up by what we're shown then what some of the villains have said.

I think it would have been nice to get more interactions between Enji and Hawks post first war. Having one scene at least where Hawks talks to Enji alone, wanting even more conformation on his change, or asking what made him change at all would have actually gone a long way. Heck, having Hawks reply to Enji steadfast desire to be better by saying "maybe I gave up on my parents to soon", only for Enji to tell him he had/has no obligation to forgive or help his parents would be even better.

It would make Hawks' support of Enji feel more earned. Then he's not just supporting the Hero Endeavor, but Enji as the better person he's trying to be. It'd also be really nice to have Enji help Hawks for once, even if it was just with some words. There relationship has been more one sided since the end of the first war arc, and I think that makes Hawks talking Enji up, feel even worse.

Enji showed genuine care for Hawks and worried about him at least twice during the fighting. Given it was his son who burned Hawks to the point his wings were permanently damaged it makes sense he'd feel guilty. A nice call back to that hospital scene after the Highend fight would have been brilliant. Enji doesn't hold a grudge against Hawks for putting him in danger back then (because now he'd know about the spy thing) and Hawks wouldn't blame Enji for Touya burning him. Also maybe just throw in Enji hyping Hawks in some way during the AfO fight.

I don't think Hori had to have a huge, long drawn out thing with Hawks being super upset with Enji. He just had to have some sort of scene between them that showed that Hawks was hurt by the reveal, but have Enji win back his trust in someway. Then just continue that so Enji shows just as much faith in Hawks during the AfO fight. It doesn't feel like a one sided relationship that Enji didn't even have to repair that way.

And this sort of fix still keeps Hawks in the story the way Hori wants. He's can still hype Enji so the audience is reminded about his arc/ contributing to the AfO fight, but it's just better set up and organic. It's not changing Hawks entire role in the story.

#ask #thanks for the ask :) #Hawks #bnha #bnha spoilers #mha #i do get why Hori skipped over so much stuff #but it still blows my mind that we never get clear conformation if anyone knows what the HPSC did to Hawks #or any reaction to hearing he was a spy #And it does feel weird that we don't get more reactions by characters to finding out about Enji's abuse #and this is just as bad on the villain side as the hero side #if not worse #like none of the lov say shit to Touya after the reveal #like at least Hawks does ask about Shoto's scar #and some of 1A comfort him #meanwhile none of the lov say anything to Touya about it #like toga even talked to him after he burned down her house #The only villain who mentions it is AfO #in the end it really didn't feel like a big deal #and is kind of the reason I wish the reveal had been done sooner #like before the lov destroyed everything #so we could have gotten a bigger focus on it and it's fall out #as it is its kind of a tiny thing compared to the world literally ending #no wonder no one cares about it everyone's just trying to survive at this point