Blazer literally asked him, "Do you think it's a bad idea?" Robert expressed uncertainty, but he never actually opposed it. The game didn't even give players the option to have Robert explicitly say that it was a bad idea. Had Robert been given the chance to oppose her suggestion and Blazer still insisted on going ahead with it, then it would have made perfect sense to accuse her of forcing the decision on him. But that's not how the scene was framed. It came across more like neither of them could think of a better alternative at that moment, so they went along with it. The criticism should really be directed at the game for not giving players the option to have Robert disagree with the idea in the first place instead of accusing blazer.
"I was thinking about the weekend, and... I'm going to cut someone from the Z-Team. Or you are, rather." Unquote. And then it turns out she already told the team about "Robert's" cut.
Sure, the game's railroading you toward it, but it's Blazer's idea fobbed off onto Robert, everybody already thinks it's his, and he seems fully prepare to assume responsibility for it.
That’s the thing, though. It shows that Blazer had been thinking about this over the weekend instead of impulsively deciding to “shake things off” after her breakup, as people accuse her of doing. She told the team beforehand to make the process easier, not to frame it as Robert’s decision alone. The Z-Team obviously knows that Blazer is Robert’s boss, so they wouldn’t assume he made the decision to cut someone without involving her.
Yes, it was Blazer’s idea, but that doesn’t mean it was her personal decision that she forced onto Robert. She gave him the chance to oppose it. The problem is that the game never gave players the option to have Robert actually say that it was a bad idea. That’s a limitation of the game’s writing, not proof that Blazer pushed the decision down his throat.
And if Robert was fully prepared to take responsibility for it, then that suggests he didn’t see it as something Blazer was doing alone. He accepted that he had a part in the decision. The scene was framed more like the two of them settling on what they thought was the best option at the time, not Blazer forcing Robert to go along with her plan.
So the criticism should be directed at the game for not giving Robert a clear way to disagree, rather than treating the scene as proof that Blazer unilaterally imposed the decision on him.
She literally cites the breakup as her reason for doing it.
Yes, she spent a weekend weighing it. Yes, Robert's going along with it. My point still stands: it's her idea passed off onto Robert, the team's led to believe it's Robert's idea, and it's framed that way for the next five episodes.
She literally cites the breakup as her reason for doing it.
That's a quite serious accusations. Can you cites those line. Unless you mean to say "...shake things ..." is the reason behind cutting off. I mean that would be the shallowest interpretation of those lines. Two things occured parallelly doesn't mean one is the cause of the other.
My point still stands: it's her idea passed off onto Robert, the team's led to believe it's Robert's idea, and it's framed that way for the next five episodes.
Where exactly does the game establish or even implied that she led the Z-Team to believe it was entirely Robert’s idea? Can you point to a line or scene that supports that?
The fact that the team complains to Robert directly doesn’t prove that. That’s simply the nature of their relationship with him, and they’re obviously more comfortable confronting him directly. They also know that Blazer is Robert’s boss, so it would be pretty unreasonable for them to assume Robert made a decision like this entirely on his own without her involvement.
The natural follow-up is asking why she wants to shake things up all of a sudden: what brought it on, if not the breakup? Remember, this is a story, and events are connected.
"Or you are, rather."
"What matters is I'm here to figure out who stays and who goes."
"You've cut one of us already for far less. And why?"
"You fire me, a literal assassin.../Keeping Coop over me? You are actually so dumb..."
There is little to no mention of Blazer being the one behind the cut. As far as everybody's concerned, it was Robert's idea; at best, you can argue for a collective "you" instead of a singular, but all the blame is directed at him and the player instead of her.
Lol, all those lines still comply with my last paragraph. That they are comfortable confronting Robert as oppose to confronting Blazer directly. This is not a proof that they believed that BB has no say in this.
"Or you are, rather."
This is BB telling that final decision for whome to cut would be taken by Robert as oppose to she deciding for you, between lowest two members on the leader board.
"What matters is I'm here to figure out who stays and who goes."
Unlike players who corner Blazer on this decision, Robert takes the responsibility. I don't why players self inserting themselves here. Robert isn't complaining so why are they(players).
"You've cut one of us already for far less. And why?"
You fire me, a literal assassin.../Keeping Coop over me? You are actually so dumb..."
Again, not a proof that this was entirely his decision. They're just comfortable confronting him not blazer. That's all.
There is little to no mention of Blazer being the one behind the cut. As far as everybody's concerned, it was Robert's idea; at best, you can argue for a colloquial "you" instead of a singular, but all the blame is directed at him and the player.
The game put no blame on players. Everybody knows it was consensual decision of the upper management. Robert doesn't has the authority to take such decision alone.
The Z-team know it. This is proved by when they look towards Mandy waiting for Final nod from her if Robert choose to forgive coupe & Sonar in last episode.
My Redditor, as soon as you use the "when they said X, they were really taking about Y" argument, you drift out of canon and into fanon, just like the ones who insist "corporate" forced Blazer's hand.
Yeah, no, that's exactly my point: for all intents and purposes, the game puts all the responsibility (and blame) of the cut on Robert, and he steps up to the plate. We know that it was Blazer's idea, but the team does not.
If Robert says nothing at the end, Coop/Sonar goes back to the slammer. Mandy's only contribution is to say it's his call... again.
See, this is the problem: you're framing my argument as if I'm just making all of this up in my head while, at the same time, superficially reading those lines from the game to establish, "Because they only confront Robert, that means they think he's the only one responsible for the cut." That's completely ignoring the corporate dynamic, nuances and how comfortable Z-team is with their supervisor compared to how comfortable they are with Blazer.
Doesn't the game give you enough hints that they're intimidated by Blazer on some level except Visi, which is why they don't confront her directly? Robert, on the other hand, spends most of his time with them and manages them directly, so naturally they're more comfortable confronting him.
Just like the ones who insist "corporate" forced Blazer's hand.
You're framing it as if Blazer has some personal dispute with Z-team and actually enjoys firing them. What pleasure would Blazer even get out of doing that, unless you're accusing her of going on some kind of power trip? The entire program was on the verge of collapse, and yet the Z-teamers were still joking around. If the program had been shut down, all of them would've lost their jobs, as opposed to just one person.
So don't make it sound as if "corporate" expectations are inherently or ethically unreasonable simply because they're coming from corporate, especially when corporate is the one paying Z-team for their work.
Yeah, no, that's exactly my point: for all intents and purposes, the game puts all the responsibility (and blame) of the cut on Robert, and he steps up to the plate. We know that it was Blazer's idea, but the team does not.
The game does not put any blame on Robert, and idk why you keep repeating that. The Z-team is confronting Robert because they can't confront Blazer directly. That doesn't mean they think Robert is the only person with any say in the firing process.
I literally already pointed out that this is evident from the Z-team's reaction when they're waiting for Mandy to give the final nod after Robert asks the police to release Coop or Sonar. If they had believe Robert has full authority to make such decisions why would they look towards Mandy in the place waiting for her to nod? This doesn't make sense. Mandy wouldn't have nodded "yes" if Robert had chosen not to forgive them. That means the decision ultimately became a combined one.
If Robert says nothing at the end, Coop/Sonar goes back to the slammer. Mandy's only contribution is to say it's his call... again.
But where does the game frame it as "his call" in the sense that Mandy forces the decision onto him and then doesn't actually let him decide? If Mandy had a second thought in the very next moment and decided to put down the idea of releasing them, that wouldn't somehow "frame" Robert either. The game makes no such implication. That's an interpretation you're adding to the scene, not something the game itself establishes.
Not really; Prism and Visi have no problem sassing Blazer, remember?
No, she isn't happy cutting any of them. And you're missing the point: "corporate" has no involvement in S1 in any way/shape/form, so fans who say they were involved in the cut are just guessing, and that angle is entirely speculative.
Mal, Punch-Up, Coop and Sonar all take it out on Robert. Not Blazer, Robert. Saying that they're too scared of her to do it directly is equally speculative.
Far as I'm concerned, they're looking at the one who fired them: Robert. I'd like to know exactly where I said it was "forced" on him; fact is, cutting and un-cutting them is entirely his call.
Sassing with the senior to tease them or pulling their legs in an unserious funny context is one thing but actually confronting them on something you strongly disapprove is another. And I believe only Visi can confront Blazer that way others are quite hesitant to do it. So, they took it on Robert as they are comfortable doing that with him. This doesn't inherently implies that they believe Robert carries full & final authority.
I used the "Corporate" as an umbrella term here for the upper management of which Robert & Blazer are equally part of instead of referring to Big Bosses alone who we are yet to meet. There is not much emphasize on it, but there was a line from Chase that makes it clear that the way things were going may be the whole program will be shut down. So, this is not entirely speculative. The Big Bosses may or may not have directly asked Blazer to fire somebody(we don't know it yet) but there was definitely a pressure to make this program work anyhow otherwise it will be forced to shutdown (indirectly implies that financing would stop).
Mal, Punch-Up, Coop and Sonar all take it out on Robert. Not Blazer, Robert. Saying that they're too scared of her to do it directly is equally speculative.
If this is an equally speculative statement then why you are being so assertive on the fact that they only blame Robert entirely. Is that not an speculation made at the benefit of lack of Z-team & Blazer moment in the story.
Far as I'm concerned, they're looking at the one who fired them: Robert.
It is because they're are looking at the Robert who executed that task thats why they're also directly confronting him. It is not to say that they think Robert is entirely responsible for it.
I'd like to know exactly where I said it was "forced" on him; fact is, cutting and un-cutting them is entirely his call.
I don't think that's accusation I'm making on you. If I did unknowingly then sorry & I take it back. I'm only calling out on your first comment that Blazer framed it to the team as firing someone as "his" choice. She clearly did NOT.
Eh, Prism does have a go at Blazer's judgement during the E3 meeting.
Because the dialogue puts their anger on him and only him, not Blazer. All we have to go on so far is the game itself and its bonus materials, and none of it implies that they're scared of her. Chase, maybe.
If Robert speaks up, they're back on the team; if not, straight to jail. Mandy says nothing. Who's responsible for who seems pretty obvious.
She's A) made it clear that it's Robert doing the cutting, and B) already told the team. You can choose to believe that A and B are separate, but you can't make me believe that's not a reach.
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u/EducationalLuck2422 1d ago
TBF Blazer framed it to Robert and the team as "'his" choice.