One reason Miko snapped

[ReaderAt2046]

So I just had a bit of an insight. We know that Shojo's ruse began a few years BPD, and that Miko had been under his guidance as a Sapphire Guard for a lot longer than that (somewhere between 15 and 20 years, given that she was 28 at death, by Word of Giant, and that she was "still a child" when Shojo chose her). We also know that Shojo's guidance was a huge part of what was keeping her stable (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=39).

Now consider for a moment what Shojo's ruse would have looked like to Miko. She would have seen two things that would have put her mind under incredible stress.

First, she would have seen her father-figure, the man who "saw great power in her", who comforted her when she cried and gave her life purpose, degenerate into senility, into an undignified and ridiculous wreck. This alone would have been enough to put her mind under stress, to give her a wellspring of pain and hurt that nobody could now treat.

But second, her life as a Sapphire Guard was defined by loyal service, and for her first years, she saw Shojo as worthy of that service. But as he seemed to slip further and further into madness, she was more and more forced to obey the orders of someone who she did not respect, did not believe in. This also would have filled her with conflict, with the perpetual question "is there any honor in obeying a madman?"

[Olinser]

So I just had a bit of an insight. We know that Shojo's ruse began a few years BPD, and that Miko had been under his guidance as a Sapphire Guard for a lot longer than that (somewhere between 15 and 20 years, given that she was 28 at death, by Word of Giant, and that she was "still a child" when Shojo chose her). We also know that Shojo's guidance was a huge part of what was keeping her stable (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=39).

Now consider for a moment what Shojo's ruse would have looked like to Miko. She would have seen two things that would have put her mind under incredible stress.

First, she would have seen her father-figure, the man who "saw great power in her", who comforted her when she cried and gave her life purpose, degenerate into senility, into an undignified and ridiculous wreck. This alone would have been enough to put her mind under stress, to give her a wellspring of pain and hurt that nobody could now treat.

But second, her life as a Sapphire Guard was defined by loyal service, and for her first years, she saw Shojo as worthy of that service. But as he seemed to slip further and further into madness, she was more and more forced to obey the orders of someone who she did not respect, did not believe in. This also would have filled her with conflict, with the perpetual question "is there any honor in obeying a madman?"

Miko was, to be blunt, the epitome of what has become known as the "Lawful Stupid" Paladin.

She obeyed the letter of the law without ever thinking for a second about the intent behind the law.

She is theoretically 'Good', in that she kills Evil, but she always struck me as a borderline sociopath that simply had an acceptable target for her violence.

I can't remember a single Good act that she actually committed on-panel. Even the dirt farmer begging for help:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0211.html

Miko specifically said it was her duty to 'smite the abominations' - without bothering to mention the person they were allegedly supposed to rescue.

[ReaderAt2046]

Miko was, to be blunt, the epitome of what has become known as the "Lawful Stupid" Paladin.

She obeyed the letter of the law without ever thinking for a second about the intent behind the law.

Is it possible that she became this, or so overwhelmingly this, as a side effect of Shojo's senility undermining her faith in the intent of the law? That is, as Shojo grew "mad", and his orders thus lost any justification other than "he is my lord, the law demands I obey him", Miko's mind shifted to place higher and higher emphasis on the letter of the law which was now her only justification for obeying Shojo.

[Olinser]

Is it possible that she became this, or so overwhelmingly this, as a side effect of Shojo's senility undermining her faith in the intent of the law? That is, as Shojo grew "mad", and his orders thus lost any justification other than "he is my lord, the law demands I obey him", Miko's mind shifted to place higher and higher emphasis on the letter of the law which was now her only justification for obeying Shojo.

Not really. Miko is explicitly hated by almost every other Paladin in the order, and Shojo also explicitly says that he has questioned her stability in the past.

The big clue is when she is getting ready to kill Shojo - despite the fact that she herself has verified that nobody is Evil (except Belkar),

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0406.html

She states outright that everybody in the room is Evil, and they are rigging the system.

When you are a sociopath charged with enforcing the law, you start to believe you are ARE the law - as she did.

She was even given an indisputable sign that her actions were wrong - when she was stripped of Paladinhood. She continued to spin more and more convoluted theories without ever even considering that her summary execution of Shojo might have been wrong.

Soon said it flat out - she never once even considered the fact that she could be in the wrong, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

She's a classic example of Narcissistic Personality Disorder - she is never, EVER wrong. Any evidence to the contrary is clearly false or planted by your enemies to try to make you look bad.

It's really showcased in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0409.html

She says it flat out, "I am special, the most powerful Paladin in the Sapphire Guard!"

If anything, Shojo's failing was not recognizing how unbalanced she was previously and throwing her in prison.

[Porthos]

Personally I've always thought the Father Figure bit was a huge contributing factor to her snapping.

Also, we have heavy selective bias here. We don't see Miko when she wasn't crazy(ish) so therefore we presume she is always crazy(ish) (though, tbf, her scenes before the Order shows up don't exactly paint her in a crazy(ish) light - ust devoted to Duty). It's the same arguments when it comes to Eugene Greenhilt. We (outside of SoD) almost never see him when he isn't a callous jerk, so we presume he is always a callous jerk.

Miko could have been a real sweet kid at one point who got twisted into what we saw on screen.

Finally, unlike people like say Hinjo, Shojo might have been the only 'close' person in her life. Hinjo at least seemed to have other friends. But if all Miko had was Duty and Shojo, and then Shojo betrayed her (In her opinion) in one of the worst ways possible, and she was already teetering on the edge, it makes perfect sense to me that she acted in the way she did.

Not excusable. Not even close. But understandable. There is a major difference in the two statements after all.

[hamishspence]

Miko could have been a real sweet kid at one point who got twisted into what we saw on screen.

This post:

I've always felt that someone who had come to him with less underlying issues (whether due to her inherent personality or the trauma of losing her parents and getting sent to a monastery) could have been raised the same way and not turned out to be like Miko. Likewise, if Miko had never met Shojo, she probably would have left the monastery as an angry unstable loner with no purpose. Shojo's guidance was the tape that was held her together for so long, which is why she went to pieces when it was ripped off.

did seem to suggest (to me, anyway) that by the time Shojo recruited her, Miko was already close to being what we see now.

[SaintRidley]

Miko's concern seems less upholding the letter of the law than upholding her own very warped understanding of morality, if strip 313a (a bonus strip) of War and XPs is any indication. Miko's problem is that she conflates Law and Good as well as Chaos and Evil, finding Chaos and Evil to both be opposites of Good, and Law to simply be another name for Good.

Brief summary of the bonus strip:

Spoiler

Show

Miko suggests New Year's dinner with two other young paladins, who accept and suggest a restaurant that Miko does not approve of because the employees have been seen throwing dice in the alley behind the restaurant. Using her uncanny ability to jump to conclusions, she determines that the owners accept or encourage this "illegal (and more importantly immoral)" activity. In order to get out of having to dine with a psychopath, one of the paladins says they can't eat out with Miko after all, because they just hooked up over the weekend and were hoping to have a date. So Miko dines alone with Windstriker that night.

[Porthos]

This post:


did seem to suggest (to me, anyway) that by the time Shojo recruited her, Miko was already close to being what we see now.

Which all but confirms the Father Figure betrayal angle, IMO.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I can't remember a single Good act that she actually committed on-panel.

The closest she came was in the little showdown with Xykon and Redcloak. Probably when she escaped to ride with the news of the huge fricking hobgoblin army.

[veti]

I can't remember a single Good act that she actually committed on-panel.

I have no brief for Miko, but that is a bit harsh. She shows concern for the wellbeing of people in the inn, and even heads back in to rescue the helpless.

She doesn't get a lot of opportunities to demonstrate 'good', but when she does, she does OK. Up until the point where she snaps, anyway...

[GigaGuess]

I think it's pretty basic in that the person she put absolute, complete faith in as a barometer (Or as much of a barometer someone like Miko would look to) of Law and Good turned out to be an utter sham. Combine that with someone who is utterly assured that she cannot be incorrect (she trusted her own beliefs over a SPELL SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO DIVINE A PERSON'S INTENT after all) and you get...well...that.

[Kish]

Combine that with someone who is utterly assured that she cannot be incorrect (she trusted her own beliefs over a SPELL SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO DIVINE A PERSON'S INTENT after all) and you get...well...that.

Uh. Let's have a few fewer capital letters for not putting Detect Evil above sapient-being judgment, shall we? Since it wouldn't actually have been either a good thing or something that reflected well on Miko had she responded to Durkon's explanation with the crown with, "You're trying to trick me! I know my Detect Evil ability is infallible!" and slaughtered Roy.

It's just a spell. It can be tricked as easily as any other first-level divination spell. It is not a "the DM guarantees you this person is/is not an acceptable target" device.

[Copperdragon]

SPELL SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO DIVINE A PERSON'S INTENT after all)

You can throw out CAPS ALL YOU WANT... it does not change the fact Detect Evil is not finding out the intent of people or certain actions the people do.
Detect Evil tells you the alignment (unless it is fooled) of a being, nothing more. This is vastly different from intent.

[GigaGuess]

Uh. Let's have a few fewer capital letters for not putting Detect Evil above sapient-being judgment, shall we? Since it wouldn't actually have been either a good thing or something that reflected well on Miko had she responded to Durkon's explanation with the crown with, "You're trying to trick me! I know my Detect Evil ability is infallible!" and slaughtered Roy.

It's just a spell. It can be tricked as easily as any other first-level divination spell. It is not a "the DM guarantees you this person is/is not an acceptable target" device.

You can throw out CAPS ALL YOU WANT... it does not change the fact Detect Evil is not finding out the intent of people or certain actions the people do.
Detect Evil tells you the alignment (unless it is fooled) of a being, nothing more. This is vastly different from intent.

Yeah, sorry, I meant it for emphasis and not to be snotty, but at any rate, I do stand corrected. Just the same though, it does show how Miko's mindset is. It was physically unthinkable for her to believe she was wrong. Shinjo stood as something that challenged her beliefs and rather than step down and evaluate, she rolled him into her increasingly convoluted scenario where the order must be evil. Even as she fell, she was convinced that it could not have been that she murdered someone, but because Roy (somehow) tricked her into doing something to make her fall.

[Zerter]

The sad thing about the entire Miko saga is that she died. She was strong-willed in a way that played out poorly for her in OoTS, but if she had been given time to reflect on her actions, who knows what insights she could have attained? Imagine that same incredibly efficient, dedicated, fighting machine only with more wisdom. Would have been a true force for Good.

[Olinser]

The sad thing about the entire Miko saga is that she died. She was strong-willed in a way that played out poorly for her in OoTS, but if she had been given time to reflect on her actions, who knows what insights she could have attained? Imagine that same incredibly efficient, dedicated, fighting machine only with more wisdom. Would have been a true force for Good.

Uh, she was given the most concrete sign possible that her actions were wrong: being stripped of Paladinhood.

Instead of even CONSIDERING that her actions were wrong, she contrived more and more elaborate scenarios to pin the blame on ANYBODY but herself.

Give her 30 years she would still be convinced she was right.

[Zerter]

Uh, she was given the most concrete sign possible that her actions were wrong: being stripped of Paladinhood.

Instead of even CONSIDERING that her actions were wrong, she contrived more and more elaborate scenarios to pin the blame on ANYBODY but herself.

Give her 30 years she would still be convinced she was right.

Uh... no. Miko was no average joe, Miko was extremely driven and pursued her goals at the cost of her own happiness. You need great personal strength to be like her and part of what comes with great personal strength is the ability to change. Unfortunately her development never got to the point where she channeled it properly, but given time it could have.

[GigaGuess]

Uh... no. Miko was no average joe, Miko was extremely driven and pursued her goals at the cost of her own happiness. You need great personal strength to be like her and part of what comes with great personal strength is the ability to change. Unfortunately her development never got to the point where she channeled it properly, but given time it could have.

Could have, perhaps. And indeed, it took something very profound (Dying and being confronted by Soon himself) to even consider that she may have been wrong. Not even being stripped of her paladinhood and being tossed in prison did that. I am hesitant to think what else would have achieved that because it seemed literally anything else would just be spun into her convoluted persecution story.

Basically, I agree that she had the strength to affect great change in herself, but she lacked the desire to do so.

[SowZ]

Personally I've always thought the Father Figure bit was a huge contributing factor to her snapping.

Also, we have heavy selective bias here. We don't see Miko when she wasn't crazy(ish) so therefore we presume she is always crazy(ish) (though, tbf, her scenes before the Order shows up don't exactly paint her in a crazy(ish) light - ust devoted to Duty). It's the same arguments when it comes to Eugene Greenhilt. We (outside of SoD) almost never see him when he isn't a callous jerk, so we presume he is always a callous jerk.

Miko could have been a real sweet kid at one point who got twisted into what we saw on screen.

Finally, unlike people like say Hinjo, Shojo might have been the only 'close' person in her life. Hinjo at least seemed to have other friends. But if all Miko had was Duty and Shojo, and then Shojo betrayed her (In her opinion) in one of the worst ways possible, and she was already teetering on the edge, it makes perfect sense to me that she acted in the way she did.

Not excusable. Not even close. But understandable. There is a major difference in the two statements after all.

I like Shojo, but I would say that he DID betray he. He tricked her, sure. But also? He made her think that her father figure and only friend/family member was losing his mind. He made her go through the pain of losing someone while they are still alive. That's a pretty hard betrayal. Was it justified? Probably. But that doesn't change how it effects Miko.

Uh... no. Miko was no average joe, Miko was extremely driven and pursued her goals at the cost of her own happiness. You need great personal strength to be like her and part of what comes with great personal strength is the ability to change. Unfortunately her development never got to the point where she channeled it properly, but given time it could have.

There is no evidence that she ever truly looked inside herself or examined things objectively. Not once. There's nothing as drastic as murdering your lord and falling from grace with your gods. If that doesn't get you to think, nothing will. She was incapable of guilt, either by nature or by choice. Could she have chosen to feel guilt and change? Probably, sure. But Belkar could choose to stop murdering people if he wanted to. Doesn't mean Miko wasn't the most unreasonable person ever.

[Zerter]

There is no evidence that she ever truly looked inside herself or examined things objectively. Not once. There's nothing as drastic as murdering your lord and falling from grace with your gods. If that doesn't get you to think, nothing will. She was incapable of guilt, either by nature or by choice. Could she have chosen to feel guilt and change? Probably, sure. But Belkar could choose to stop murdering people if he wanted to. Doesn't mean Miko wasn't the most unreasonable person ever.

Change is not such a easy process. Miko barely had any time to reflect on her actions before she died. You compare her to Belkar, but I would rather compare her to Vaarsuvius. Vaarsuvius is also stubborn in the pursuit of her goals, the result of which is that it is hard to make her see things differently. But when extreme circumstances and time do make her see things differently the effect goes a lot deeper.

[SowZ]

Change is not such a easy process. Miko barely had any time to reflect on her actions before she died. You compare her to Belkar, but I would rather compare her to Vaarsuvius. Vaarsuvius is also stubborn in the pursuit of her goals, the result of which is that it is hard to make her see things differently. But when extreme circumstances and time do make her see things differently the effect goes a lot deeper.

Thing is, Miko was confronted with the consequences of her actions and didn't spend time to think. She wouldn't have reflected given a year on the road, probably, because she wasn't trying to. It would have been totally possible to never confront her inner demons for the rest of her life and live blindly ignorant. Since this was the pattern she had lived her life by up until that point, I see no reason why she would have went through a painful and self-image shattering process when the alternative is so much easier, in line with her habits, and, (to her,) rewarding.

Her ego meant thinking well of herself is more rewarding than actually 'doing' good. Extreme circumstances? Those already happened. She faced the consequences of her evil and ran away from them and from herself. When V was confronted with the results of his evil deeds, her conscience shattered her. V broke down in grief.

Miko, in the same circumstance, lashed out at others. That is how she lived her life. Delighting in punishing and berating others, proving her own superiority. V and Miko have many of the same faults and have both committed great evil. But V is more rational and less sociopathic than Miko.

Soon himself did not think Miko could redeem himself. He thought it might be possible with more time, but even then he struck me as doubtful.

There are things to admire about Miko. There are things to admire about Redcloak. Both have many of the same faults. V shares many of their faults, as well. But at the end of the day, Miko and Redcloak have a pathological inability to admit they are wrong. V doesn't have that particular fault and so has a far greater ability to turn away from an evil path once she starts down it.

[Zerter]

Thing is, Miko was confronted with the consequences of her actions and didn't spend time to think. She wouldn't have reflected given a year on the road, probably, because she wasn't trying to. It would have been totally possible to never confront her inner demons for the rest of her life and live blindly ignorant. Since this was the pattern she had lived her life by up until that point, I see no reason why she would have went through a painful and self-image shattering process when the alternative is so much easier, in line with her habits, and, (to her,) rewarding.

Her ego meant thinking well of herself is more rewarding than actually 'doing' good. Extreme circumstances? Those already happened. She faced the consequences of her evil and ran away from them and from herself. When V was confronted with the results of his evil deeds, her conscience shattered her. V broke down in grief.

Miko, in the same circumstance, lashed out at others. That is how she lived her life. Delighting in punishing and berating others, proving her own superiority. V and Miko have many of the same faults and have both committed great evil. But V is more rational and less sociopathic than Miko.

Soon himself did not think Miko could redeem himself. He thought it might be possible with more time, but even then he struck me as doubtful.

There are things to admire about Miko. There are things to admire about Redcloak. Both have many of the same faults. V shares many of their faults, as well. But at the end of the day, Miko and Redcloak have a pathological inability to admit they are wrong. V doesn't have that particular fault and so has a far greater ability to turn away from an evil path once she starts down it.

She did not have time to think. She went from one extremely stressful situation to another. This actually happened her entire life to some extent as far as the comic seems to indicate.

V reacted very poorly to being confronted with her (much more extreme) evil deeds at first. Not to mention she had it spelled out that she was taking the Evil way. It took time to pass before she set on a road to change. Miko was young and immature, there is no indication she had ever received a strong signal that there might be something wrong before. Yes, people might indicate it towards her, but she would be comparable to a professional that pursues her career with maximum vigor until she burns out. Not understanding that she is like other people until it happens.

Soon understood that redemption is reserved for only a few. Miko is many things, but she is not ordinary however. She could have been one of the few.

The comparison to Redcloak really does Miko no justice because of two reasons: Redcloak has shown he will not redeem himself despite age and chances to do so and Redcloak is a weak individual compared to Miko. His weak will compared to her is shown by the fact that any meaning he has in OoTS is derived from outside circumstances: the cloak is what gives him power, his master is what gives him power. Miko on the other hand forged her own way into this world. She is an orphan that willed herself into becoming the strongest warrior of the Sapphire guild at the young age of 28.

[Carry2]

Regardless of how excusable Miko's behaviour toward the end might be, after reading Snips & Snails I'm just hoping she'll be treated a little more gently in the O-Chul backstory that Rich is supposed to be working on. As in, shown to be doing things that might concretely explain why she has an LG alignment to begin with. (I think there's adequate evidence for this in the earlier strips, but people are... somewhat prone to overlooking it.)

[Reaver]

you guys are pretty tough on Redcloak. He strikes me as someone who has admirable goals and realizes that very unsavory methods are required to accomplish them. He's never really given the vibe of being a weak individual, rather demonstrating on several occasions that that is a facade he maintains to preserve his ability to manipulate the lich.

[SowZ]

you guys are pretty tough on Redcloak. He strikes me as someone who has admirable goals and realizes that very unsavory methods are required to accomplish them. He's never really given the vibe of being a weak individual, rather demonstrating on several occasions that that is a facade he maintains to preserve his ability to manipulate the lich.

You really have to read Start of Darkness to realize what a hypocritical and bad person he is. I thought how you did too until I read SoD. His motivations are not nearly as simple as the good of goblinkind. That is his goal, but not his primary motivation. While he does care about it, he actually has far more selfish reasons to do what he does.

Revenge and a pathological case of the sunk cost fallact not being the least of these selfish motives.

She did not have time to think. She went from one extremely stressful situation to another. This actually happened her entire life to some extent as far as the comic seems to indicate.

V reacted very poorly to being confronted with her (much more extreme) evil deeds at first. Not to mention she had it spelled out that she was taking the Evil way. It took time to pass before she set on a road to change. Miko was young and immature, there is no indication she had ever received a strong signal that there might be something wrong before. Yes, people might indicate it towards her, but she would be comparable to a professional that pursues her career with maximum vigor until she burns out. Not understanding that she is like other people until it happens.

Soon understood that redemption is reserved for only a few. Miko is many things, but she is not ordinary however. She could have been one of the few.

The comparison to Redcloak really does Miko no justice because of two reasons: Redcloak has shown he will not redeem himself despite age and chances to do so and Redcloak is a weak individual compared to Miko. His weak will compared to her is shown by the fact that any meaning he has in OoTS is derived from outside circumstances: the cloak is what gives him power, his master is what gives him power. Miko on the other hand forged her own way into this world. She is an orphan that willed herself into becoming the strongest warrior of the Sapphire guild at the young age of 28.

Why would she change though? One thing about psychology, one of the first things is taught, is that people only undergoe serious and painful change when motivated. If losing her Paladinhood wasn't that Catalyst, I don't think anything would have been. There would be no strong motivation for her to change if the falling wouldn't do it. So why shift gears?

She is clearly not an introspective person at all, since she was immediately willing to kill her second in command, someone she know to be very Good, instead of spend some time in thought. Rather, she selfishly pursued her own freedom and ego at the expense of good peoples lives. Her moral code was far more flexible and self oriented than she would have anyone, (even herself,) believe. Becuase she has no problem murdering good people to avoid the law when it is after her.

She believed herself above retribution, above the law, above introspection. Since she never takes the chance to do it. If she has lived her life up til 28 pursuing new goal after new goal, never stopping to spend time in thought, why change now?

[Procyonpi]

OOH BOY! Another Miko Thread! Guess I need to contribute my STRONGLY STATED OPINION!!!

[Zerter]

Why would she change though? One thing about psychology, one of the first things is taught, is that people only undergoe serious and painful change when motivated. If losing her Paladinhood wasn't that Catalyst, I don't think anything would have been. There would be no strong motivation for her to change if the falling wouldn't do it. So why shift gears?

She is clearly not an introspective person at all, since she was immediately willing to kill her second in command, someone she know to be very Good, instead of spend some time in thought. Rather, she selfishly pursued her own freedom and ego at the expense of good peoples lives. Her moral code was far more flexible and self oriented than she would have anyone, (even herself,) believe. Becuase she has no problem murdering good people to avoid the law when it is after her.

She believed herself above retribution, above the law, above introspection. Since she never takes the chance to do it. If she has lived her life up til 28 pursuing new goal after new goal, never stopping to spend time in thought, why change now?

As you correctly state, you need motivation to change. Actually, let me show you an example of where I am coming from: The 2nd greatest show on earth. Melfi raises the subject by asking Tony if he knows why sharks were always in motion and going on to explain that this is a condition that affects people with antisocial personalities; if they aren't constantly engaged in activity and receiving requisite stimulation, they tend to crash because they then have time to confront the ways in which their actions have brought suffering on others.

I am not saying Miko is like Tony Soprano 100%, but she was always in motion in her life. Your argument seems to be that the extremity of her acts should have led to introspective behaviour, mine is that if she would have been forced to take rest at any point it would have come naturally.

[GigaGuess]

As you correctly state, you need motivation to change. Actually, let me show you an example of where I am coming from: The 2nd greatest show on earth. Melfi raises the subject by asking Tony if he knows why sharks were always in motion and going on to explain that this is a condition that affects people with antisocial personalities; if they aren't constantly engaged in activity and receiving requisite stimulation, they tend to crash because they then have time to confront the ways in which their actions have brought suffering on others.

I am not saying Miko is like Tony Soprano 100%, but she was always in motion in her life. Your argument seems to be that the extremity of her acts should have led to introspective behaviour, mine is that if she would have been forced to take rest at any point it would have come naturally.

Except that at the very least, as long as she would have been in prison, she would have been convinced she was a martyr. That is the reason why she killed Shinjo in the first place. Since she saw the system she relied on as flawed with the revelation of what Shinjo truly was, she couldn't accept just letting him face justice through it's methods. Those same courts convicting her? A kangaroo court, imprisoning her unjustly. Remember, she thought that Roy and Shinjo were in cahoots and were ushering in an army of Kobolds to overtake Azure City and rule it without the Paladins to..."answer to" I suppose. In one fell swop, Azure City's justice went from her guiding light t rotten to the core. Now that being said, is it impossible that the gravity of her actions would have hit home? Certainly not. But at the very least, given her mindset and actions in her final hours, I have my sincere doubts.

[Carry2]

We don't see Miko when she wasn't crazy(ish) so therefore we presume she is always crazy(ish) (though, tbf, her scenes before the Order shows up don't exactly paint her in a crazy(ish) light - ust devoted to Duty)...

She doesn't really start behaving seriously erratically until after the trial scene. Before that point she is, in fact, willing to give folks the benefit of the doubt and defer to empirical evidence. There's also reasonable evidence of genuine altruism on her part.

Miko after, say, strip 400 might or might not be redeemable, but she is a quite different person from Miko before, say, strip 250. Basically, the author had to bend over backwards to manufacture viable conflict between her and the Order at all.

[Imgran]

Nah, he didn't have to bend over backwards, he just had to turn Belkar loose.

Belkar is the sadistic little X factor here. Roy's willingness to associate with a clearly and unrepentantly evil character is what convinced Miko of his guilt-by-association. It was the run-in with Belkar during the trial, his murder of multiple Azure City guards, and the Order's subsequent defense of Belkar that turned Miko against the order, and Shojo's collusion with the Order that caused her to snap.

In one way Miko was right. Despite your alignment, shielding an evil character from the consequences of his actions is an evil act. What she didn't get was that the only possible consequence of an evil action is not a death at the end of her own personal katana. The order had no problem exposing Belkar to the consequences of Azure City law. They just weren't going to stand around while he was summarily executed without a trial.

Miko was an extremist, and extremists don't believe in tones of gray or half measures. Once you accept that and combine it with Belkar's little caper during the trial in which he demonstrated his own clearly evil nature, and the sheer level of stress Miko was under to begin with, everything else clicks into place like it was meant to. And one complete lack of either space, time or willingness to examine the premise later, you have half a fallen paladin dying in the ruins of her former master's castle.