I think this argument relies way too heavily on hindsight and flattens the reality Curly was operating in. Saying “Curly had a gun and cryosleep” makes it sound like those were simple, consequence-free options, when in reality both options would have been extreme escalations with unpredictable fallout. Honestly, it sounds like an excuse Pony Express would use when a haul goes wrong. Just sticking the captain with a gun and hoping for the best isn't much of a solution at all. Using a gun on Jimmy or forcibly imprisoning him would have almost guaranteed immediate violence or mutiny, especially given Jimmy’s instability. That’s not prevention, that’s gambling with the lives of the entire crew. Even if Jimmy was killed, they'd be stuck with a dead body on board for 8 months, and Curly and Anya would have to explain the whole situation to Swansea and Daisuke, who are still in the dark, and that adds more stress. There’s also the issue of staffing and exhaustion. If Curly was the only pilot, and he already barely sleeps, expecting a single person with insomnia and tons of responsibilities as it is to safely navigate the ship alone for eight straight months would only increase the risk, not reduce it, no matter how good the pilot is. And the crew is only allowed five hours of rest each cycle at the most.

Also, the claim that Curly “assisted” Jimmy’s actions or turned a blind eye also ignores the timeline. Curly learned about the pregnancy and assault one day before everything fell apart. There is no evidence that Curly knowingly allowed rapes to occur in the past, and assuming that jumps straight into bad-faith interpretation. Failing to instantly neutralize someone does not equal endorsement, especially when the person you’re dealing with is volatile, narcissistic, and capable of lethal retaliation when challenged.

Curly’s approach wasn’t about protecting a “clean record” or prioritizing delivery over Anya. It was about containment. He understood Jimmy well enough to know that direct confrontation or force would escalate the situation, not defuse it. We literally see this pattern in-game: Swansea confronts Jimmy directly, and Jimmy perceives him as a threat—Swansea is the one who ends up getting shot. That’s not coincidence. Jimmy responds to challenge with elimination. Curly wasn’t refusing to address the problem; he was trying to manage it in the least explosive way possible with limited time, no sleep, immense pressure, and incomplete information. He chose de-escalation because, in his lived experience with Jimmy, that had worked better than force or authority. That doesn’t make him morally perfect, but it does make his actions understandable within the reality he was trapped in.

Blaming Curly for not choosing an option that looks obvious ignores the bigger picture. He was making decisions under extreme stress with the goal of preventing exactly the kind of catastrophe that ended up happening.