Quote Originally Posted by Kumosabe View Post
Actually no, we don't agree. Belkar would have done it BECAUSE he enjoyed it, and for no other reason. If the idea that it would have been the right thing ever crossed his mind, it wouldn't have until later. That's nothing like the commander, who at least recognized it was necessary.

Something people seemed to ignore: The commander mentioned that 'most people would be suspicious' which (to me) implies he doesn't trust the goblin as far as he could throw him (no pun intended).
There is no reason to cross that line unless you enjoy it. The commander gained nothing by giving the hobgoblin false hope other than the enjoyment he got out of it.

Maybe the commanded did realize that killing the hobgoblin was necessary... I don't disagree, it was the safest thing to do... but the fact that he taunted him and gave him false hope like that first made it an evil action.

If that makes him better than Belkar in your eyes, then fine... the commander is less evil than someone whose level of evil is measured in kilonazis and has been compared to the fictional offspring of Sauron and Cruella DeVille for the sake of having a a baseline.