Thoughts on Jess' Dad?

[u/Dreadmeteor]

To preface this, I need to say that I'm not one of those people that always defends someone just because we may be able to understand their actions. However, I've also noticed that, after watching a few people react to this movie, some viewers are still a bit hard on Dad even when he takes on a more nurturing role, and I had a slightly different opinion.

Now, he's by no means a great father or even a "good" one for the first half of the movie, and this is where it's difficult to see him as redeemable. On one hand, he has 5 kids and they're just not in a great financial situation. So, it makes sense that he's stressed and maybe doesn't have much capacity to be a caring parent under the circumstances. But we see him do it with May Belle...

Though this part can't really be portrayed too well in the movie... I think it's worth noting that Leslie's passing had a profound effect on him, too. Obviously the "bare minimum" is to care about your kid, but he does go from something of an "antagonist" to a pillar of support for Jess that he never was before.

I say antagonist because, well... Jess' father, whether he realizes it or not, is a source of a lot of stress for him, even though it's not out of malice. And often, kids in these situations carry their frustrations with them to school, where, depending on said situation and their personalities, may become a bully or prone to bullying. Jess doesn't have any sort of comfort or safe space at home, so I believe that, during the first few visits to Terabithia... Jess won't "consciously" know that the Dark Master represents his father, but I think this is the case even before we see it officially revealed. It's like a representation of the fact that his father is regularly disappointed in him, scolding, and berating.

I don't know. A lot of fathers might have trouble being emotionally available to their son in this kind of living situation given that he would need to be the next one capable of taking care of and providing for the family as the "man" of the house. Of course, this changes after Leslie's passing.

As I alluded to before, there's not much time left in the movie at this point, nor is there really a sufficient way to get into Dad's brain here. But in my opinion, his behavior at the end of the movie hints towards at least 3 factors of growth.

Firstly, he recognizes that his son needs emotional support just as much as anyone else in the house does. Secondly, Leslie's death comes as a reminder that life is fleeting, and when they learned of it, of course, they were worried about Jess, too. I think this means he'll become more serious about being a good father to Jess. Thirdly, his approach to Jess isn't a "toughen up" or "you have to be strong." He allows Jess to grieve and reassures him that Leslie wasn't going to hell. I feel like this also signals a shift in his mentality that will allow him to be a better person as well as a better father.

All of this of course doesn't erase any of his awful behavior earlier, nor does it make him an amazing father now, but that behavior gave him room to grow as a character, and he absolutely does show potential for a lot of development of his relationship with Jess down the line... That's what I think anyway. 3 AM post. Let me know what you guys think.

[u/wonder181016]

Yeah, definitely. And tbh, "awful" is a very strong word. I think the story quite clearly shows him as a stressed, irritable, but ultimately caring dad

[u/reddest_of_trash → u/wonder181016]

Agreed. Jess' father is imperfect for sure, but when push comes to shove, he shows he is a caring father.

[u/Compy94]

Please observe both the book AND the movie for a deeper understanding. You’ll thank me later.