"Is there a timeline where [insert fascist character] could be redeemed?"

Maybe? But I can't imagine what it would look like. You can't unkill his victims, or undo the hurt and pain. I also don't know what would make it worth the effort. Okay, you've got a generally remorseful fascist - now what?

April 08, 2026 - 23:08 UTC

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but if I can't redeem a villain like a soda can for a couple karmabux to spend on a slur later, what's the point of engaging with media?
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I think Syril Karn's entire arc is a decent specimen of what the lifecycle of it looks like. When death becomes a matter of systemic momentum all you get are Carro Rylanz outcomes.
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In the Animorphs series they wrestled with the question of whether it was okay to kill an alternate universe Hitler who was just a taxi driver.

And by wrestled with, I mean the characters fought over who got to pull the trigger because he's still fucking Hitler.
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I’m just going to point at Martin fucking Niemoller and his shitty fucking poem.

That’s basically his story…unless you ask us Jews about him.

did he kill anyone himself? no. but he was a Nazi for a decade before he got jailed for resisting Hitler’s interference with the churches.
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His poem sure doesn't mention queer people either, who he was absolutely happy to snitch on to the Gestapo.
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Yeah that bugged me too, because idgaf if some horrid person says "oopsie, so sorry my bad" sometimes sorry is not even close to enough.

Too many narratives bake forgiveness in as a default good without an equivalent or at least serious attempt at atonement. One good dead ain't gonna cut it.
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This reminds me of Kamoshida in Persona 5, who announces his intention to kill himself because of what he's done and one of his victims tells him he's not allowed to run away like that. Later, she says it's not because she forgives him but because she believes there are worse punishments than death.
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All I'm saying is if you have a GENUINELY remorseful fascist, responsible for numerous deaths? Getting them to do something with that guilt other than self-destruct? HERCULEAN TASK.
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I feel like the reason why redemption = death for a lot of these cases is because the only alternative is "and then they went to prison forever for war crimes."
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Actually, Avatar Legend of Korea literally did both with one specific character and it was actually great
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As I get older, the entire moral arc of Return of the Jedi irks me more and more, even without getting to see Anakin's actual atrocities in the prequels or the fact that his act of defiance barely even mattered in the sequels.
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I remember an Expanded Universe comic set immediately after RotJ where Leia tells Luke words to the effect of "Vader literally had me tortured and blew up my homeworld. What, am I supposed to feel kinship with him just because I discovered he's my dad yesterday?"
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I guess it would look like dismantling the systems and institutions that they served? The main example I can think of is Klaus Kreutz from Wolfenstein TNO, who was a Nazi, and by the time of the game is a carer for a disabled person and fights against the nazi regime.
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I also think that outside religious frameworks, redemption isn't a useful concept. Redemption is top down and requires a granting. I think more emphasis should be placed on repentation, reparation, repair.
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Closest is a book where a full dive vr fantasy rpg game, the Playtester creates a bug and npcs start becoming real Ai... And the evil overlord wants to die because he didn't have a choice but still did terrible things. Fascist because written that way.
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They'd have to put in a lot of effort towards restorative justice. As you said, can't undo what was done. So they'd have to work towards making the present and future much better.
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Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle has a character called Dr. Koenigswald, a former SS officer who worked at Auschwitz and is now helping the poor and desperate of the island of San Lorenzo.

One character notes that at the rate he's going he'll have saved as many people as he let die by 3010.
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Tbh, I think redemption is simply not a helpful concept. It's a question of further harm: to the victims, their families, and the affected community. If someone can dedicate the rest of their lives to making sure it never happens again to anyone, and those affected are okay with that, then w/e.
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Of course, the larger the scale, the more there's going to be disagreement on that. And that's just going to have to be accepted. Like, if X character commits mass genocide... not really sure that can be moved on from.
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