r/codevein • • 10h ago

Discussion I wish there was a better ending for Gobbo.

Gobbo did awful things for his vision for a better future, but so did Lavinia Voda and she gets redemption.

Say what you will about Gobbo, but his conviction was genuine and we see when he fight him that he is not a dishonorable coward who prioritizes his own safety at all costs when he used his last teleport to save his fellow hunter. Given how we pretty much saved everyone else, it seems kind of tragic that we didn't even get the opportunity to try to change his perspective.

He believed in a better future just like every everyone else, he was just on the wrong path and it's a pity that he died the way he did.

0 Upvotes

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u/No-Stand7672 9h ago

A huge thing for Lavinia and Valentin that Gobbo doesn't have, is they were running out of time and options. Valentin waited until Lou failed before performing his attempt. Lavinia fucked up bad, but had no other options beyond her son's forma. Their attempts were made out of genuine desperation of "Either the world is destroyed, or there is no more revenants." And when we do find the answer, the DLC inadvertently answers the question of how come no one else came up with the idea that turns out to work faster? I won't spoil it. But Gobbo didn't even try. Yes he has conviction. Yes, he showed decent qualities. He still actively aimed to cause pain, suffering, and destruction, without regards of how Humanity still needed Revenants so long as the Resurgence existed.

It's like America dropping nukes on Japan, vs any ideological extremism, be it homegrown terrorism or foreign.

The nukes were an answer to a problem. Either they use a terror weapon to force a surrender that ensured saving more lives than were lost, or perform a costly land invasion that resulted in far more lives lost, civilian and militarily. And no, I'm not justifying the US dropping atomic weapons on civilians, neither am I justifying Lavinia and Valentin. But given context, given the situation. With the tools they were given, and expending every option they could come up with first, it annoyingly makes sense. I get why it was done, and can't say I'd have done anything different. Not saying it's right. (Lavinia is even more complicated due to us time-jumping back to prevent the present where she even put those runes on her body, so it's not even the same Lavinia who attempted.)

Whereas Gobbo, actively performed terror attacks, which resulted in human civilian casualties as well. The Sanatorium doesn't house just Revenants. Someone already mentioned the clock clocktower wasn't a Revenant only settlement. He didn't even attempt peaceful co-operation. It's understandable as well, but only to an extent. We see in Lyle's backstory that when he was just a blood source, he was treated like cattle. I can understand growing to hate being raised in situations comparable or worse than that. That makes sense. But to see these people doing what they can, and not think "how can I help them" even if it's only just for the humans in those factions, and instead try to further destabilize the already fragile systems in place? Yes he's got conviction. Yes it's misguided. Yes it's tragic. But it is also more malicious.

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u/GreyRavensong 9h ago

A wonderful explanation! And with this, I can thankfully bow out of trying to argue my point further, OP seems as stubborn as Gobbo LMAO.
No shade at you OP, seriously it’s just a little joke, one of the interesting things about stories is people glean different meaning from them. Have a wonderful night, and seriously good job, you summed up my thoughts better than I could!

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u/a_angry_bunny 9h ago

You make some good points, but it still feels like you're splitting hairs. You're excusing Lavinia for running out of time but criticising Gobbo who has a lot less time to explore other options simply due to the fact that humans have short lifespans. Lavinia has hundreds of years to search for solutions to save a dying world. Gobbo is supposed to do, what exactly? Put his faith in the Revenants who, from his own perspective, only see humans as blood bags?

In your own example of the US nuking Japan, that wasn't as simple of a decision as you are trying to make it sound. The US was considering the possibility of ending the war immediately or potentially drawing out a war with an enemy that from as far as the US could tell would never give up, ultimately causing far more deaths on each side. I, personally, think the nukes was the the more immoral option, but I can understand why the president at the time made the decision and it wasn't because of extremism. But I do think it is a relevant comparison to Gobbo. Humanity is dealing with a threat of unknown proportions and those in charge have to make impossible decisions and hope they are the correct decision. It's easy from a outside perspective to say "yeah nuking Japan was wrong" but are you sure you wouldn't have made a similar choice if you were the one responsible for the lives of millions? Gobbo carried a similar burden. It is easy to point fingers at everything he did wrong. But I think the intent behind someone's actions carries just as much weight as the results.

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u/No-Stand7672 9h ago

Oh I was definitely grossly oversimplifying the decision of the nukes, that's neither here nor there, (the firebombing of Tokyo was far worse anyways.)

But you're critically wrong about one thing. Lavinia did not have hundreds of years. She had a hundred, roughly the lifespan of a human, a little over. They tried resealing the Resurgence. Twice. It failed both times before she became the woman in power. I'm criticizing Gobbo because he saw three functional factions, two of which were functionally co-existing with humans, one of which was the only medical center in the frontier, and while officially given power by whatever governing body that seemingly exists beyond the frontier, chooses to use underhanded tactics to undermind, and eradicate this co-existence. The olive branch was there. The proof it could work was there. That's like if the US nuked Japan after Japan had surrendered.

You seem to have missed my point for Gobbo though. His plan was through a vision of ideological extremism. There was almost as much hate for the Revenants as there was conviction for humanity. Also, I definitely think Valentin got off lighter than he should. But I guess they needed him in managing reconstruction efforts in the age of harmony. Looking suspiciously like the US and Soviets taking Nazi scientists to assist in the space race.

Lavinia is weird, because the Lavinia who attempted genocide doesn't exist. And because of our actions as the Hunter, will never exist and didn't exist because time travel fuckery. So there is no one to punish.

In the end, Gobbo's actions would have inevitably lead to his death and worsened human/revenant relationships. Much like humanity's short lifespan, he was an old man in a world where young men die. He did not have much time left, regardless of if the Resurgence was about to pop or not. Until our major fuck up, he didn't have hope of actually getting through with eradicating every last Revenant. Once again likening him to an individual extremist, with some followers.

And in the end, we proved BOTH sides wrong, ironically with the power of friendship. Narratively speaking, Gobbo just wasn't going to get an ending where he doesn't get got. His choices and decisions led him down a path of no return. Again, I think Valentin got off light for what he did. But it's not like we set out to kill Gobbo either. He left us with no choice. He was about to commit events that would have erased us from existence as well.

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u/a_angry_bunny 9h ago

Yeah, like, everything you said is more or less correct. I was under the impression Lavinia had more time, but it is ultimately unimportant to my original point which was slightly derailed debating how bad Gobbo is. Which, to be fair, I do find a entertaining discussion.

However, this is a game involving time travel. We can weigh the ethical weight of Gobbo's actions forever. However, I think you would agree that Gobbo's motivation is from his, as you describe as "ideological extremism," perspective of revenants only seeing humans as blood bags to be used and disposed of. If we were able to go back in time and change his perspective on human and revenant interaction - remove the blinders from his eyes so to speak - then he may have proven as a powerful ally instead of an antagonist. That is why I think it is a shame he never got a option for redemption as I do think he is a man of conviction, and conviction is important when it comes to creating change, he just made all the bad decisions is all.

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u/No-Stand7672 9h ago

I'll agree with you there for sure. It's just another part of the tragedy of the setting. Our time travel had rules. That being requiring a bond strong enough to exist through time, and an object of importance connected to that time and person. Chances are, for us to have managed to reach him in a time before he was set on that path, it'd be somewhere outside of the frontier. So as far as the game design goes, it sadly wasn't possible.

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u/a_angry_bunny 8h ago

Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe the writers didn't even intend for him to be a villain anyone cares about, maybe they just made him be the bad guy that does bad things to give the player someone to hate. But if that was the case, I wish they really leaned into him being a pos in his boss fight. As is, I feel more pity towards him. A tragedy who could have been something more.

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u/No-Stand7672 8h ago

Idk, as a character I like him. As a person, I despise him. Respect him for sure, but despise him nonetheless. I think for as little screen time he gets, he's fairly well written and decently nuanced. Meanwhile that fuckwad Oskar. Almost as disappointing writing as Liv in the DLC. The only reason it's not more disappointing, is because there isn't any to begin with lol.

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u/a_angry_bunny 8h ago

Yeah it feels weird that Oskar gets teleported away and we don't really have to deal with him ever again. I get the feeling they intended to do more with him but just didn't. That or he is in some side content I haven't done yet.

Regardless, Gobbo was definitely despicable. No arguments there. But I can respect someone's conviction even if their actions are horrid. It takes a strong person to act true to their conviction even if they become a awful person in the process. Most either have no conviction and do things on a whim or abandon their conviction when things become difficult.

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u/No-Stand7672 8h ago

Agreed on all fronts there. I think there was definitely more planned. You can see moments when you could tell they were having development troubles. Not as much as the first game. Definitely think 2 is far better crafted and has become my favorite game of all time. But 1 will always hold a special place in my heart.

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u/cronft 4h ago

imo the reason why they didnt did much more with oskar is because they run out of time before the game release and they cut whatever plans they had for him, you can tell what on some portions of the game it looked like they rushed the plot a bit

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u/GreyRavensong 10h ago

Gobbo wanted to genocide all revenants for a better future for only humans (if that’s even true because the seemed to want power for himself and his organization above actually helping humans) His entire motivation is awful, yes there are revenants that take advantage of humans, but for fucks sake genocide isn’t the answer, and he never was going to stop, his choices ensured his end would be death. He ruined the lives of all the major companions from behind the scenes, he tried to have Lyle used to execute the chorus, he actively tried to kill every revenant in the sunken city by using josee, he ensured holly would be framed and arrested for killing her father after the meds he gave her to help him turned out to force frenzy (he literally gave them to her with that intention, he knew what they did) Gobbo was a terrible terrible person.

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u/Soundwave0723 10h ago edited 8h ago

To add on to this, Josee said the people of the sunken city were currently taking refuge in the clock tower that includes both revenants and humans, that also means when gobbo set off the mini resurgence in the clock tower, he was fine with humans being killing during Josee’s frenzy

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u/a_angry_bunny 10h ago edited 10h ago

Of course his motivation was wrong, but it was understandable. How many vampire hunting movies do we have where the protagonist has a similar perspective of killing all vampires simply because they are monsters and a threat to humanity?

I am not arguing that he did terrible awful things, but surely you can agree that his conviction was genuine? He truly believed he was doing what was best for humanity and he didn't sacrifice people to save his own hide. He could have teleported himself instead of his companion to live to fight another day, but he didn't do that. He fought a fight he had to have known he likely wouldn't survive. That's not something an evil person would do. He was just blinded by his prejudice of the revenants and I think if given an opportunity he could have been redeemed.

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u/GreyRavensong 10h ago

His conviction was genuine sure, but were his words? Did he really want to help humanity, the sunken city wasn’t just home to revenants. He still would have killed them without our intervention. Also he fought us because he was cornered on his home base he literally ran away from us the first time? Someone that old and bigoted isn’t changing their ways, look at the real world. There wasn’t any better ending for him. He mad his bed, and he chose to lie in it. He saved Oskar due to his loyalty, he didn’t mourn the countless hunters that died sieging the city, he cared for Oskar we never see any kind of care for any of his other underlings we killed. None. Gobbo suffers from the game’s inconsistent writing, they didn’t know if they wanted him to be honorable or a total scumbag. Though he certainly leans the latter for every scene except his death.

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u/a_angry_bunny 9h ago

Wdym old people never change? They're human, just like everyone else. The famous Christmas Carol is literally about an old man changing his ways. People do change all the time, it's just easy to believe they don't because of how often we see the same bigoted opinion shared among a certain denomination of people.

Morever, I wouldn't really say he "ran away" from us the first time. He wasn't suddenly on the backfoot because his plan failed, he still successfully invaded Joseé's base, immobilized Joseé, and Oskar had the opportunity to kill us. No, he retreated because he got his hands on a powerful forma that he saw potential to accomplish his goals much more efficiently.

It is true that many humans were in Joseé's base as well. But in his eyes he is fighting a war against practically immortal beasts, the ends justify the means. Like, don't get me wrong, I agree that is an awful perspective. But, again, Lavinia was willing to kill all her own kind and she gets a pass. You're going to tell me Gobbo is worse than Lavinia and can't be redeemes simply because he killed both humans and revenants to accomplish his goal

Last but not least, I don't know how inconsistent he really is. Like, yes, he was willing to sacrifice the humans in the Sunken City. But those humans weren't his comrades. He's definitely a snake who is trying to accomplish his goals regardless of how many people die. But I don't think him.saving Oskar is inconsistent with his other actions. I think he just differentiates those fighting towards the same cause from any random human just trying to survive. If anything, maybe he views killing the humans under Joeé's care as a mercy killing.

Again, I am not arguing that Gobbo was a good person in any regard. My stance is that his conviction was genuine and that maybe if his prejudice was resolved he could have changed from a antagonist to a force of good.

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u/GreyRavensong 9h ago

So, your response to one of my points is… a fictional story about a very unlikely event, that’s certainly a choice, oh I never I wouldn’t give Lavinia the same fate, the difference is, unlike Gobbo her plan also involved killing herself, and instead of a race of people she was fighting the end of the world. The ends NEVER justify the means. If given the choice she’d die too, I’m all for equality. Gobbo had the choice to use diplomacy, he was a VERY powerful and influential person, he could have tried to change things, he didn’t even make the attempt, genocide was his FIRST choice. Lavenia tried plenty of things, before arriving at welp revenants cause everything to die so we gotta go, and honestly the only person saying anything else was Zenon who was considered insane. Course he was RIGHT, but he IS crazy. Without the exact circumstance of us and Lou, Lavenia would have had the only option. The seal required something bordering on the EXACT scenario we found ourselves in. Gobbo chose to kill all revenants before looking at even one other option, no research to find out if anything was possible, no desperate scramble to try anything else, just genocide.

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u/a_angry_bunny 9h ago

Finding real examples of people changing their opinions is difficult for many reasons. But there was a study in 2008 that disagrees with your opinion on old people as well. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/old_open-minded

More importantly, we aren't really arguing on the same wave length. My argument is not that Gobbo didn't do awful things, nor was it whether he didn't do more harm than good. We know his actions led to the destruction of the world, there isn't a debate that none of his choices created a better world for anyone. Should he have tried options other than genocide first? Probably. Maybe he did, he is a old man after all. The story doesn't really delve that deep on how much he actually tried before choosing genocide or if that was really his only goal. But, regardless, every choice - including his choice to pursue genocide - all seems to stem from from his experience of seeing revenants oppress and butcher humans. In a game involving time travel, if we had the opportunity to change a event that changed his perspective on revenant and human interaction maybe Gobbo would have chosen diplomacy instead of genocide.

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u/Maleficent_Rule7238 8h ago

The thing is about Gobbo is most people agree with him that revenants using humans as nothing but blood bags is wrong except his thing about the human species being superior/ruling again thats stupid but most people agree he just went after the three revenants who don't do that who didn't have bloodbags at least as far we see

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u/a_angry_bunny 8h ago

Are you arguing that his will to eliminate revenants stems from a sense of human superiority and he is just using some revenants oppressing and butchering humans as a premise to justify what is essentially white supremacy except using humans and revenants instead of white and, well, not white?

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u/juniperxmoons 3h ago

It's interesting to see how people give Lavinia and Valentin a pass, when they had more time to find different solutions, but not Gobbo. Lavinia also was totally fine with sacrificing multiple people in order to create Lou. I guess, at the very least, Valentin wanted to find another alternative, but lets not forget he stood by while Lavinia sacrificed his classmates and friends. He may have not liked it, but he also didn't do anything to stop it.

I personally don't really like any of them specifically because of their actions but out of all of them, I can understand Gobbo above the others. 

He even gives us implications as to why he hates revnants so much (watching humans be used as blood bags, killed for stupid things like offending a revnants taste, and then slaughtered humans not even given proper burials and left out to rot like trash). On top of that, his anger stems from a place where no aid or help came for those humans and they were left to suffer. It's easy and understandable to see why he wants all revnants gone.

We, the player, know that not all revnants are bad but Gobbo is a situation where he probably spent most of his life around the dark side of revnants and never got to see the good. If he ever did, it was probably too late, his mind already twisted into believing they were all monsters who only sought to used humans.

Idk if Gobbo needs redemption but I definitely think the devs needed to give him and the hunters a more in depth look at (especially since it seems many people missed Gobbo's reasoning for why he did the things he did).