He could've been a symbol of healing and hope and a source of advice from someone who's already gone through what they're going through.
Very good point. It was handled so poorly that it initially didn't occur to me. They could try a story like this but honestly, I'm sort of confused as to why this plot point for Halsin was ever needed in the first place.
I think they should cut this part from his backstory since it is not handled with the respect it deserves and because it does not add anything to his character.
I really tend to agree with this here. I actually like "Quest Halsin" for lack of a better term. All the stuff with the Druid's Grove and his quest in Act II were nice enough. "Companion Halsin" feels like a completely different character. Like, where did the guy who likes books and whittling duck figurines and who is academic and researching the tadpoles go? Of course, anyone can have trauma and if they really want him to have it, then as long as it's written well and respectfully, I don't mind. But it feels like they abandoned whatever character traits he had before and just shoved whatever they felt could be titillating or justify his hypersexuality in its place.
This doesn't feel like they even thought it through. No other part of his character seems to have been written with this in mind. People's experiences inform their choices and that would absolutely impact him even if he's healed from it. Mostly I just see people shrug and say it happened a long time ago so obviously he must be better. Or that the druids would have been supportive and helped him. That just seems like a lot of headcannoning in order to fit this into his story. It's never made clear that he has a strong emotional support system in the grove. If anything, he seems sort of isolated in his leadership position. And "it was a long time ago, get over it" is something that is too painful for me to be able to interact with, so hopefully someone else can explain why it's not great.
