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[astridv]

I just saw someone call Grant Ward an "egocentric dick" on tumblr. Like. How can you watch the show and get that particular impression of the character? The man has a lot of issues, but being egocentric is about the least thing he can be accused of. (I'd guess that he has an underdeveloped sense of ego, but I know not much about the workings of the human psyche, so.)

Comments

[cryptolect]

Hiya, I just followed you because I hear you give good rec, I hope that's OK.

My guess would be that they meant egocentric in the sense of being arrogant - in the early episodes when he was all 'I walk alone' I think he threw out an initial vibe which could have been arrogance; 'I'm everyone's type' etc. etc.

I think your interpretation is more likely and more interesting in the context of the whole 'why did everybody join Hydra' question which has been gnawing at my brain since CATWS.

[astridv]

Hey, welcome. I hope to be back with regular recs soon. (In the meantime, I have most of the older redcs compiled in single posts, you can find them listed on the main page of my journal.)

My guess would be that they meant egocentric in the sense of being arrogant - in the early episodes when he was all 'I walk alone' I think he threw out an initial vibe which could have been arrogance; 'I'm everyone's type' etc. etc.

Yeah, but that would still be completely wrong. Him saying he's everyone's type may come across as arrogance on the surface, but it is not different from Natasha's "What do you want me to be?" These are people who were forced to learn to pretend to be someone else, whoever they needed to be to get the job done, or just to survive. The price is that they have lost the feeling of who they are themselves. Ward's line, if you look beneath the surface, is not arrogant, it's sad.

'why did everybody join Hydra' question which has been gnawing at my brain since CATWS.

I'd bet money that Ward doesn't give a rat's ass about Hydra, he's in it solely because of loyalty to Garrett. Now, Garrett doesn't care about Hydra's mission either, he said as much himself... he wanted to play for the winning team. Simple opportunism, he's in it for himself. My current theory is that he's slowly dying (that plate in his side!) and needs the wonder drug to fix his body.

[cryptolect]

Oh, I agree with you; I just could see why someone might have taken the superficiality for the reality.

I suppose there could be as many reasons as there are individuals, it just seems like such a major undertaking, to recruit so many people to an alternate organisation and keep it secret all that time... even with a reasonable amount of suspension of disbelief. I guess I'm assuming that they presented it as something that was really no big deal, more like office politics or something, a change of approach to the same problem, a bit like the speech Pierce gives Fury. Which would fit with the points you make about Ward and Garrett I think. So maybe I've answered my own question :)

Anyway thank you for your kind welcome and the opportunity to chew the fat a little.

[amanuensis1]

Ward's always been my viewpoint character, right from the first episode. Quietly good at his job, prefers to work alone in an "introvert vibe" way, rather than a "I'm such a dick" way. Felt kind of "everyman agent" who's solidly competent at what he does. (This is part of why the recent changes have ached so much!)

[princessofgeeks]

No, you're right. That's not how I would describe him. Yeah, he obviously has issues, but not those. That would be more of a Tony Stark criticism, I think.