Alfira: I thought she had a sort of "writer's pet" energy, everything from her outfit to her song and everything else. It's like the game felt desperate to make me like her. I found her to be sickly sweet. And then I did a Durge playthrough. In spite of less than stellar initial impressions, this writer's pet has grown on me quite a lot.
Ethel: I wasm't sure what to make of her at all, I couldn't make up my mind if that bland granny energy was just setting her up to make you paranoid about how nice she is or what! I like her now, absolutely reprehensible person but I enjoy her Vicious Mockery and "playing pirate captain".
Barcus: I thought he was whiny, annoying, and an idiot. I probably would be too if I had been strapped to a windmill for hours. I still think he's a bit dense for not seeing Wulbren for what he is but he's grown on me.
Gortash: He's so very creep coded, I instantly didn't like him. My opinion of him shifted slightly when he appeared to follow through on his deal, then I laughed at his betrayal and the Absolute NOPE-ing him. Garbage person, written and presented well enough to instantly come across as garbage. In a way though, I wish he was pretty. I think there's some really unfortunate implications about a band of supermodels killing sll the ugly people. Otoh, ew lol. Sexy Gortash is not something I want lol.
Isobel: Felt too much like we were supposed to like her at first, which was a little offputting for me. I grew to like her more when she joined the camp though
Kagha: I found her annoyingly "video game-y" and as I've been through more dialogue options with her, she's been less and less sympathetic to me. She was radicalized by a LETTER! "Dear mistress druid, you should become a racist piece of garbage. Hugs and kisses, your local evil druids." I mostly try to save her still, but fml with that kind of gullibility, Halsin should examine her head and make sure there isn't an open hole for her brain to fall out! I did like how she is tied to the Absolute plot by a book in Moonrise, though.
Ketheric: Complete consistency here. His backstory is a reason he turned evil, not an excuse or justification for it. He ultimately made the conscious choice to spread his pain to others. Sucks for him, sure, but empathy=/=sympathy. Talking to Isobel made my opinion of him slightly worse, as there's some decidedly queerphobic undertones to her version of the story, and we all love our moon lesbians, right?
Mayrina: I figured out the broad strokes of her situation instantly, but in act 3 I was annoyed by how the other hag survivors viewed her as a leader. It felt like childish writing to me, like the way a lot of poorly written things push the main character as a leader because they are the main character and being in charge sounds good to the writers. In both of her appearances, she's a literal damsel in distress with no agency of her own, and she was willing to sacrifice her own child. What part of that makes her a good leader?
Mizora: No change, she's a flat evil character we're supposed to hate, and she works in that role just fine. There's nothing wrong with a character being one dimensional and unambiguous if it fits in the story.
Raphael: Instantly charmed by and suspicious of him. After finally taking his deal and NOT murdering him, I was honestly disappointed that he was an honest devil. It's just kind of weird to me. Reminds me of that Lucifer show(which btw is really good if you can tolerate the copaganda), but I think honesty was a poor fit for him. I mean honest regarding your deal, specifically.
Scratch: I had such a ridiculously wrong read of him, it's actually kind of funny. I assumed that in a world where literal devils roam, that a dog possessing a name reminiscent of a devil pacing around a corpse was going to be the devil, or at least a hellhound. I was waiting for that reveal all the way until Rivington, and then the rest of his story happened.
Zevlor: He evoked no feelings whatsoever intially, even in act 2. "Oh, thing happened with that guy. Ok then." I liked him after fighting alongside him in later playthroughs, though. He felt more sympathetic with his speeches in the equation, his status as a refugee and traitor was more heartbreaking knowing the he cared so much yet was swayed so easily. Summoning him in the final battle feels pretty cool now, like you're giving him redemption.
