Honesty and Openness: a Character Study of Gren
WARNING: This article contains TV ENDING SPOILERS and MOVIE SPOILERS!!
Most people find Gren very honest throughout his episodes. What they fail to observe is his many rules regarding honesty and his one blatant lie. The main lie Gren told within his episodes was “I am not interested in women”. Many people take this at face value, but lying at this point was beneficial to him and his need to protect Faye. Also most of his actions after this point conflicted with that statement. The way he treated Faye, the way he looked and spoke with her, and the way he reminisced about Julia all show that “I am not interested in women” was just a downright lie.
But why would such a caring, compassionate, sensitive man like Grencia lie like that? It was due to none of his rules being met at that moment. The times when Gren is honest is when he feels that someone deserves that information or an explanation, as we see with Faye after she discovered his unique body. The other time he is very honest is when he has had a previous relationship with someone. Whether they are just a colleague or one of his comrades, that previous bond makes him feel more comfortable about being honest in front of them. Even though Vicious betrayed him and ruined his life, that previous bond that he felt with him allowed Gren to be honest even in times of extreme stress. Another time when Gren is honest is when he expects honesty in return. This is also the reason why he was very honest with Vicious because he needed to know why someone he considered a close comrade would do that to him. He needed Vicious to be honest with him, no matter how painful the response might have been.
This is why Gren lied to Faye in the beginning about his sexuality. There was no previous bond, he didn’t expect any honesty from her, and he felt that she didn’t deserve any honest and personal information about himself at that point. He also felt that he could protect Faye better if he lied, especially about his sexuality. Gren is a gifted empath especially after his more horrid experience. He is able to see through people, detect lies, and instantly see truths within ambiguous words. He could tell that Faye would trust him better if she believed him to be gay, especially in this strange town full of men. He also knew that most of the men in this town would try to take advantage of her due to the facts that they would find her very attractive and that they haven’t seen any women in the town for several years. He also knew that he was one of the few, or maybe the only man in that town, that was trustworthy, respectful, and especially after the betrayal, had no need to take advantage of or betray anyone. Another reason why he lied was in response to Faye to stop her advances on him. They didn’t know each other well yet, so he cut it off there.
Even though Faye was very open about herself when they were in his apartment, Gren still didn’t relinquish any information about him. The only times he was open with her was when he was either asked, but particularly when he felt she deserved the information. He confirmed this when Faye saw his androgynous body. He only told her information about his personal life that pertained to the reason why he had boobs and nothing else. The only time when Gren is the first one to be open is when he feels he can really trust the other person or feels really comfortable around them. Even though Gren has a strong need to have a comrade, or someone special in his life, his experience with Vicious has made him more skeptical and aware when it comes to his relationships with other people. He willingly helps people as much as he can, but when it comes to opening up to a person and showing them his vulnerability he tries to hide it as best he can. His boobs have made him incredibly self conscious. He now tries to get to a certain point with another person before exposing himself, not just because he feels they deserve the information but also for a strong fear of betrayal and rejection.
What does Gren value? When it comes to openness from other people he really doesn’t have any preferences. If they are very open he won’t take advantage of the information and help them as best he can. If the people are not open with him at all, it really isn’t such a bother. If that person is incredible special to him, maybe a special comrade, openness is very important. He feels that they have gotten to a level where they can be open with each other, and if the other person isn’t, Gren begins to feel hurt or betrayed.
When it comes to honesty he generally values it highly. He values honesty the most when he has reached a certain level in a relationship with another and definitely when he cannot see the truth or answers himself (which is rare and really eats at him when he can’t), when he needs someone to be honest in order to get the answers he needs. Gren, for the life of him, couldn’t see why Vicious had done that to him. He needed Vicious to be honest in order to get the answers he needed, so that the suffering would finally stop. An interesting point about his honesty values is that sometimes he doesn’t want honesty at all, and prefers happy illusions. Even if someone didn’t mean it at all, but to tell him the things he wants to hear would make him happier (in some cases) than hearing the sometimes cruel reality. With a person he greatly respects and idolizes, when that person lies, it is a huge insult to him.
[by Samantha C.].
But why would such a caring, compassionate, sensitive man like Grencia lie like that? It was due to none of his rules being met at that moment. The times when Gren is honest is when he feels that someone deserves that information or an explanation, as we see with Faye after she discovered his unique body. The other time he is very honest is when he has had a previous relationship with someone. Whether they are just a colleague or one of his comrades, that previous bond makes him feel more comfortable about being honest in front of them. Even though Vicious betrayed him and ruined his life, that previous bond that he felt with him allowed Gren to be honest even in times of extreme stress. Another time when Gren is honest is when he expects honesty in return. This is also the reason why he was very honest with Vicious because he needed to know why someone he considered a close comrade would do that to him. He needed Vicious to be honest with him, no matter how painful the response might have been.
This is why Gren lied to Faye in the beginning about his sexuality. There was no previous bond, he didn’t expect any honesty from her, and he felt that she didn’t deserve any honest and personal information about himself at that point. He also felt that he could protect Faye better if he lied, especially about his sexuality. Gren is a gifted empath especially after his more horrid experience. He is able to see through people, detect lies, and instantly see truths within ambiguous words. He could tell that Faye would trust him better if she believed him to be gay, especially in this strange town full of men. He also knew that most of the men in this town would try to take advantage of her due to the facts that they would find her very attractive and that they haven’t seen any women in the town for several years. He also knew that he was one of the few, or maybe the only man in that town, that was trustworthy, respectful, and especially after the betrayal, had no need to take advantage of or betray anyone. Another reason why he lied was in response to Faye to stop her advances on him. They didn’t know each other well yet, so he cut it off there.
Even though Faye was very open about herself when they were in his apartment, Gren still didn’t relinquish any information about him. The only times he was open with her was when he was either asked, but particularly when he felt she deserved the information. He confirmed this when Faye saw his androgynous body. He only told her information about his personal life that pertained to the reason why he had boobs and nothing else. The only time when Gren is the first one to be open is when he feels he can really trust the other person or feels really comfortable around them. Even though Gren has a strong need to have a comrade, or someone special in his life, his experience with Vicious has made him more skeptical and aware when it comes to his relationships with other people. He willingly helps people as much as he can, but when it comes to opening up to a person and showing them his vulnerability he tries to hide it as best he can. His boobs have made him incredibly self conscious. He now tries to get to a certain point with another person before exposing himself, not just because he feels they deserve the information but also for a strong fear of betrayal and rejection.
What does Gren value? When it comes to openness from other people he really doesn’t have any preferences. If they are very open he won’t take advantage of the information and help them as best he can. If the people are not open with him at all, it really isn’t such a bother. If that person is incredible special to him, maybe a special comrade, openness is very important. He feels that they have gotten to a level where they can be open with each other, and if the other person isn’t, Gren begins to feel hurt or betrayed.
When it comes to honesty he generally values it highly. He values honesty the most when he has reached a certain level in a relationship with another and definitely when he cannot see the truth or answers himself (which is rare and really eats at him when he can’t), when he needs someone to be honest in order to get the answers he needs. Gren, for the life of him, couldn’t see why Vicious had done that to him. He needed Vicious to be honest in order to get the answers he needed, so that the suffering would finally stop. An interesting point about his honesty values is that sometimes he doesn’t want honesty at all, and prefers happy illusions. Even if someone didn’t mean it at all, but to tell him the things he wants to hear would make him happier (in some cases) than hearing the sometimes cruel reality. With a person he greatly respects and idolizes, when that person lies, it is a huge insult to him.
[by Samantha C.].
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