I hate that 21 is working for The Monarch again

He’s a sweetheart and we all know it so he should be safely tucked under the wing of Brock and Shore Leave

But should he? Or perhaps the better question: would that be better for him as a character?

(Apologies in advance for the long post I think you can guess who my favorite character of all time is though. :’D)

Consider the sort of person Gary is. Who is he? What does he want out of life?

He’s a geek. He’s a big kid at heart. He’s the sort of guy who you could probably call at 4am to come pick you up on the side of the road or ask to help you move furniture at a moment’s notice and he’d be there (possibly with some whining and/or berating, but no hesitation in still doing it regardless). But what else?

What does he call himself? What is his most consistent identity that he created for himself, the one thing that wasn’t given to him by anyone else but carved 100% from his own desires?

The Viceroy.

And what is a viceroy? It’s both a butterfly that co-mimics the Monarch (contrary to older beliefs, the species mimic each other rather than one copying the other entirely), and it is a person who serves in place of and on the behalf of a monarch. Ignoring the character-Monarch implications here for the moment, it’s a person who carries out someone else’s orders, someone who can and does lead but for someone else’s cause.

When Gary was by himself, what happened? Well, first of all, he kept using the Viceroy name even when he was specifically breaking away from and angry with the Monarch, showing that it isn’t explicitly tied to or because of him but a thing that he associates purely with himself on his own.  

Second, Brock and Shore Leave were, at best, friendly enough once they got over being annoyed at him. But they weren’t eager to take him in. Weren’t even offering. He’d certainly have taken it, but it wasn’t an option. So if you want to resent anyone in this situation, I mean, that would be a good start.

And the final thing that happened was…. nothing, basically. Because when given all the resources of S.P.H.I.N.X. on a silver platter, he used them, or did his best to, sure. But after losing that, Gary doesn’t possess the drive to work his way up of his own accord. He doesn’t even know where to start. He resorted to doing the only thing he knew how to do, and was resentful when that went largely unnoticed, but never stopped because what else could he do??

Meanwhile, why did he go back to the Monarch? Was he just giving up? Was he resigning himself to his fate? On the contrary. He went back because he saw evidence, without anyone making a big show of presenting it to him, that he was missed and appreciated. That even after being gone a whole year, they hadn’t changed his room, were still keeping it available for him. That after so long, they still held onto hope he’d come back. That even after he abandoned them, they still considered him their best Henchman.

Brock and Shore Leave are the sort of people who place a lot of importance on independence. Brock coddles the boys a little at times and of course is Rusty’s bodyguard, but in most environments? Both carry their own weight and expect others to do the same. Gary doesn’t do well carrying his own weight. He goes to extremes, either coming to a total stop, or wanting to carry a whole team’s weight. That is to say-

Gary’s ability to succeed is directly proportionate to how much other people are counting on him to do so. If he doesn’t feel like his contribution is needed, he’s less likely to make one at all. When everyone around him is just as competent as he is if not moreso– regardless of what competence level that is– he stagnates. As a shitty henchman among other shitty henchmen, shrug??? As a cub scout among other cub scouts (to reference a particular interview with Doc Hammer), shrug??? He wasn’t the worst ever but he never excelled.

When someone is counting on him, when someone NEEDS him? As “not only a henchman, but a leader of henchmen”? As the eagle scout teaching little cub scouts? As #21 of 1? Gary does excel.

And it’s not just about where he’s doing the most good. Gary is happiest when he’s benefiting someone else. He gets the most sense of validation. Whether it’s being 24′s friend, the Monarch’s henchman, or Sheila’s confidant, knowing that there are people in the world who will come to him and entrust him above anyone else even some of the time is the absolute best thing for Gary.

Admittedly, it’s not the healthiest attitude in general to place all of your feelings of self-worth in other people (of course I have the most room to talk ahahahaha), but that’s the sort of person he is.

And let’s be honest? That’s probably a large part of WHY he comes off as such a sweetheart- that ever-eager never-ending desire to be helpful.

Gary was miserable on his own. Gary was torn before that, still pretty deep in his grieving process and trying to figure out who he even was on his own, but also in the process of kind of becoming the sort of person he’d always wanted to be?, but also struggling more than ever with sorting out his feelings, etc; more confident, but rarely truly happy with things. And Gary as part of OSI would still be in a conflicted place, enjoying the comradery and making a difference, but always wondering if they really wanted/needed him around or were just kind of tolerating him, etc.

Gary, since he came back, has actually been happy. Not 100%, not all the time. But even in the lowkey moments, he usually feels content. There’s still the elephant in the room with his romantic feelings and all the associated awkwardness, but that… seems like about the worst thing in his current situation and it’s like.. mildly bitter? He’s not afraid of the Monarch like he used to be; averting a meltdown is no longer a safety concern but more of like, a mild inconvenience that he can actually deal with pretty well.

There’s even like.. When he first came back, in the opening of Gargantua-2, he is incredibly nerve-wracked if you watch/listen for it, he’s working so hard trying to be as overly-helpful as possible, trying to prove himself and/or compensating for being the only henchman left. But even that’s faded these few episodes? He’s comfortable now. He’s gone from “I’m carrying all the bags for everyone and better let me make sure it’s safe!!!” to being able to sigh and openly comment on things that bug him, from going out of his way to show off his mad break-in skillz to just casually tagging along and knowing when to break out his inner badass without overdoing things.

And having the Monarch to support, to give him a sense of direction? Having the opportunity to finally bond with him as equals, as they’d already started to do a bit in season 4 but now have a much better ground to do so? Having someone to tell him “nice work!” and “excellent job!”, and someone who needs him not only for protection but at times just to function– to drive him places or help him get a ride, etc? It gives him purpose and, again, validation.

Being back with the Monarchs– not just being with them in general but specifically having the perspective shift that came from being on his own and then returning, now knowing that he’s not just here out of obligation, but because he chose to be, because he’s appreciated here– is absolutely one of the best things that could have happened for Gary as a character.