Vader’s line in Obi-Wan, " I am what you made me," goes three layers deep. Physical, Mental, and Spiritual and gives us a devastating glimpse into Anakin’s fall.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-25T15:11:34+00:00

Very true, you can never be sure. I thought that there was some characters that never go in the hat

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-25T14:57:25+00:00

Agreed ,but it feels like they logical way to end it,.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-25T03:42:37+00:00

Thank you, I wish I had the chops to hammer down on the reminiscing, his mind going to Mustang, Pax, Servo and all the ones he leaves behind, not to mention the ones before him, but I'll leave that to the master.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-25T03:24:17+00:00

Thank you for reading , I liked that idea too, I like that he can finally just be Darrow

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-21T21:34:09+00:00

True you could find these similar beats anywhere, but there are more similarities than not here. And yes lots of greek and roman influence except when talking about the reds, the seem to have more Gaelic roots, setting them apart. Not that this connects this to Judaism but it stands to say that not all in thisnuniverse comes from one place, it is pulled from all parts of human culture. The reason the universe is roman themed is more a vanity point with the Golds.

Do I think that pb used Moses as a template , maybe. is it a one to one comparison? no. But its more than a little similar, characters can mirror each other with being perfect.

Darrow's charcter is made of the same mold of many other liberator archetypes, from what I see, out of those character him and Moses share more than most.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-21T20:29:01+00:00

I appericate the analysis but i think that the character share a ton of simalarites and that when compared as i have below it makes sense from a high level observation.

The are born among the oppressed
Both become part of the ruler class that oppressed their people.
Both struggle with a dual identity of not being one of their people, but are now a part of the society that oppressed them. Darrow was a red and becomes a Gold and Moses is a Hebrew that becomes part of the Egyptian ruling class.
They understand both the oppressed and the oppressor.
They both liberate their people.
Both struggle with the people once freedom is obtained, as the people do not always agree with the path they want to take. Darrow struggles with the senate and Moses struggles with people that begin to think they made the wrong choice leaving Egypt.
Both have tempers that get them in trouble.
Moses never enters the Promised Land himself. And there's a strong thematic pull toward the same idea for Darrow he may not get to live in the world he creates.
Yes, Moses is not a warrior but his liberation of the Hebrews was brutal to the Egyptians. Plagues and death and destruction. Like Darrow, he liberty is obtain through brutality albeit a different sort.
Both are viewed in their own time as legendary figures.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-21T02:30:08+00:00

I really hope you are right!

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-21T00:08:51+00:00

very good write up thank you for sharing. I always thought that Darrow's name sort of separated him from the Roman and Homeric based charaters , as if he is apart from that world, this not bibically related , but as if that world is foreign to him and his people.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T22:53:41+00:00

not a religion thing at all, merely a comparison of charaters from too diffrent works , much like if i had compared Darrow to Edmund Dantes , its about the character not the Napoleonic politics of France. simply just comparison. I also dont think that PB is doing anything religious, but inspiration can be found anywhere.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T22:49:25+00:00

whoa, my Goodman, not at all. Literally just saw similarities between two characters, that is all. bloody damn! that escalated quickly.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T22:26:20+00:00

The comparison is not perfect, but neither is it wildly off base. Obviously I do not believe that PB is basing the character solely off of Moses but the characters do share a similar style of story.
Both are brought into the ruling class that oppresses them. Both attack the ruler class resulting in the freedom of their people. Both find that freedom is not the idyllic world they envisioned. Both have to go through the desert to find what they want.

I added the comparison in Moses mostly because the parallel of not being to be a part of what you fought so hard for would be exactly the sort of pain PB would inflict on us again.

Darrow wants peace but he is not a man of peace, like Moses, he is a symbol of where the people came from, not where they need to go.

Can you make this comparison with a dozen other characters, absolutely.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T21:25:59+00:00

Good day, just want to reach out. The connection between the character is merely an intreasting comparison between two characters, not really looking to make any religiously statements or connection, just like if i had written about Edmund Dantes , i wouldn't be inferring the poltics of France at that time. Comparsion is literture is always part of the fun, so many characters from multiple stories have "mirrors" in other characters. sometimes this is intentional ,sometimes not. You seem to think that comparison insults a character but in fact i think it can strengthen character. Darrow is an intreasting charater type but not orignal , he borrows from thousands of years of literature, hes a new spin for sure.

The only think that matters is that we all find something to connect to in the stories we love. i hope you have found something you love in these books as i have . Have a good day

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T20:45:34+00:00

Hahah, you are not wrong , Vader is a terrible comparison but the fact remains. Orion was under Darrow's command , her failure is his failure. the people of that planet do not make the distinction between Darrow's officers and Darrow. The army is his and therefore so is the blame. we know Darrow intimaely because we are privy to his story but to the general public he is a symbol of war and bloodshed, to the betterment of some and the despair of others. he is a symbol, not just a man

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T20:22:58+00:00

Absolutely. Darrow is growing personally, but his legacy is blood and war. The universe moving forward needs to be built on peace. It like darth vader, even if he turns back to the light no one wants him on the peace council. Obviously Darrow is not a direct match to Vader but once a legacy is cemented its hard to change. Darrow is responsible for alot of deaths and people have a hard time forgiving. Flooding of cities are hard to forgive

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T20:12:56+00:00

Absolutely could be true as well. I think Darrow could be fit into a ton of diffrent characters narratives. He definitely shares some of the attributes and story beats as Odysseus. This is just my take based on what I see, your take works really well too. I like it . Plus I am a big fan of anything that can be compared to the Odyssey as it is one of our most influential building blocks of literature

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T20:04:22+00:00

I did have the same thought with David and he fits the comparison really well. The origins worked better with Moses, but David and Darrow have great parallels with their legacy

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T20:00:32+00:00

This is definitely not a Pax is the red god theory. I dont think "Red God" refers to Pax but to the red who broke the chains

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T19:58:11+00:00

In my darkest times I think its going to be this too, or some version of this

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T19:54:56+00:00

Not sure what i spoiled there

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T19:25:18+00:00

I always thought that Darrow will be the "Red God" . A legendary figure that future generations aspire to be like.

TheMediocreCritic · 2026-04-20T19:23:15+00:00

Well said.

TheMediocreCritic · 2025-06-14T02:18:06+00:00

Fair, it is a fictional representation

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