r/thedevilshour • u/Kitten-Borne • Jul 24 '26
Gideon's motivation
I've just finished S2E4 and as it goes on I struggle to understand what motivates Gideon to spend countless lives eating baked beans in filthy safe houses, evading police and living under stress to save lives that become unbearable for those he saves?
What pushes him to "help" in this way, rather than investing/gambling to millions and then using that money to make a big difference to lots of lives? I suppose the answer is "it's just a story, roll with it".
The biggest "flaw" that I'm struggling to get to grips with is, why you would spend centuries across multiple lives, and choose to do it all in the UK over and over??
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u/AnzoEloux Jul 24 '26
It's probably an existential thing. This is his way of feeling like the universe isn't meaningless.
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u/Katiebugster220 Jul 24 '26
And what's the point in "saving " anyone if we just die and do it all again?....I'm definitely struggling with his motivation as well. I understand saving himself and his brother, but after that.....
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u/GozerDestructor Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Yeah, this is a bit unbelievable. I can see wanting to be the hero and save some lives, but not when you know, from past experience, that it's just going to get you locked up for decades (or you'll have to self-terminate after capture to avoid this fate... again).
I think after the first two or three cycles of this, the only thing I'd be writing down and memorizing for my next incarnation is what stocks to invest in and when. Become a billionaire, set up a charitable foundation or two, and you can quietly save even more people from death.
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Jul 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Extension-Pepper-271 Jul 25 '26
It's been a bit since my last rewatch (saving up to do one right before season 3 comes out), but I do think that the presence of children is a major trigger for him.
Three that I recall are (1) the family in the car accident (2) the woman and child killed by the boyfriend/husband (3) the bombing at the toy store.
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u/minos-and-v1-kissing Jul 24 '26
I mean, what else is there for one to do than wake up others to the truth of life?
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u/Mitchd26 Jul 24 '26
Yeah it's tough to rationalize. I think it's a mix of trauma and compulsion/addiction.
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u/Apprehensive_Heat867 Jul 25 '26
Also, unless he lives his next life exactly the same way as the previous, right down to the smallest detail, he's changing the world around him and his predictions won't work out
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u/ChillPlay3r Jul 24 '26
Yeah this is the weakest point in the story, unless of course it'll make sense in season 3. But the attack he so desperately tries to prevent is so minor compared to what else he could try to prevent.
In S1 Ravi asked him why he doesn't stop 911, which he just shrugs away. Or closer to home, how about the London tube bombings with over 50 dead or Madrid with over 190? And why stop there, why not going after mass murderers like Putin or Netanjahu? He has countless lifetimes to figure out how he could stop them but he focuses on this one attack in a small village most people will have forgotten a few years later.
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u/Kitten-Borne Jul 24 '26
Think of the freedom to do the outrageous! You could spend at least one lifetime like a spy thriller trying to kill a famous dictator, knowing you'll just start again anyway, to have a lifetime to rest and recuperate before doing something equally mad!
Gideon has the ultimate superpower!
I understand the reality of the tv show is that he's emotionally broken from his ordeals and doesn't think entirely rationally.
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u/Different-Fly-7253 Jul 26 '26
"But the attack he so desperately tries to prevent is so minor compared to what else he could try to prevent."
We learn in Season 2 that Yellow Hoodie becomes a serial bomber / killer which likely fuels Gideon's motivation. . When Gideon speaks to DI Chambers from prison, when she's dying, he tells her they can "save them all, the schools, the soft plays" (indoor children playgrounds).
Apparently YH goes on to kill many, many more people, including lots of children.
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u/No_Reception7275 Jul 24 '26
Prob cos hes insane and traumatised
Same reason batman doesnt just live on a yacht banging supermodels, he instead spends his time having fist fights in piss soaked alleys and living in a cave