>>92753658My hot take on that one is that Rachel is essentially correct, and Willis even agrees to an extent.
Being a heroin addict in the past, and diagnosed with a plethora of DSM V garbage, I can speak to the subject of redemption, at least from one perspective. I'm five years clean, I've made some amends, but no matter what I do, I'm still an addict. That is always going to be with me. It pops up in my weaker moments. Not with dope anymore, but in other parts of my life.
You'd be a fool to think you can fight against your genetic brain chemistry and win the war. Take all the pills you want. They can be a great weapon, but never forget that what you're fighting is YOU. You can't win that war. It's just about winning battles.
Enough blogging, back to the comic. Ruth is not redeemed. First stress she had out of the gate, she shat on Billie hardcore, and she's been kicking the shit out of inanimate objects since she got out of the "hospital". She's still the violent misanthrope she always was, even once you remove the alcohol. She always will be. She just needs to learn to cope and find ways to avoid those situations. Dumping Billie would be a great start.
I do believe that Willis doesn't truly believe in redemption, because none of his characters have ever changed. Sure, some had growth in IW! and Shortpacked!, but Willy undid all that with the DoA reboot. Why? Because he realized he never changed, so the characters that were aspects of himself couldn't truly change either. He needs to reset them every once in a while to make sure they stay in the rut that he's in, and that he'll always BE in, unless he just decides to try to make incremental improvements with the brain he was given.
Or maybe that's just the ramblings of a former dope fiend. You decide.
