i don’t hate him as a character

figmentof:

Disclaimer: Contrary to popular (?) belief I don’t actually “hate” Silver. His characterizations make sense and it’s very compelling to watch– what I’m NOT here for, is the constant defense of him by various fans/shippers. He’s allowed to be a flawed character, you know, and people are entitled to feel disdain towards him and his harmful (yes, they are harmful) actions.

Let’s break it down, then:

In retrospect, this is an odd scene because why would Silver even entertain the idea of them walking away? They should be focused on the war and trying to win, yet he speaks about the two of them walking away unscathed like it’s a certain outcome. And to ask Madi if he would be enough, when he’s well aware of the answer (judging by how invested she is now in her war), is telling. This gets echoed by Flint in 4×10, where he tells Silver that she won’t be enough for him anymore because the war brought purpose to all of their lives. Of course, knowing what we now know with the knowledge of 4×10, Silver has in actuality already obtained information about Thomas and that he is indeed alive and well in Savannah. In his mind, the option of walking away from the war is already set in stone, seeing as he’s got everything he needs to put an end to it– the only question remains is a matter of when.

He knew the Spanish were coming, he knew that there would be massive casualties yet he went along with it anyway. He knows Madi found her purpose as the next Maroon Queen, as this war only solidifies her will to liberate her people even more. He knew, yet he betrayed her anyway– because her legacy, the life of her people, the subsequent treatment of future generations of her people, doesn’t matter to him as much as her life. It’s an utterly selfish act, and it’s an act of someone who refuses to be supportive of the woman he loves, regardless of the fact that perhaps it’ll cost Madi’s life to achieve her goals (collateral damage is a-ok as long as it’s not the woman you love, I suppose?). He, a cishet white man, definitively stripped away Madi’s own freedom of choice and her power as a leader, merely because he doesn’t want to lose her. Her and Flint’s war isn’t important, because the struggles of marginalized people never affected him, and never will affect him. He simply doesn’t care. He’s the man with no backstory, a man who can spin tales to fit whatever narrative he wants to tell, while Flint and Madi’s backstories are the driving force of their character.

James McGraw said it best: “In most cases, a man trying to change the world fails for one simple and unavoidable reason: everyone else.”

Silver, and people like Silver, are exactly the reason why Madi’s people had to suffer for centuries. The curse of the Cishet White Male™.