@write2topcat said:

Season 3 Ep. 2. I was waiting for 4 to find out that Misaki had killed Nix. I figured he would execute Misaki for it. At the end of the episode he angrily confronted Misaki with a knife to her throat and shouted You killed Nix.

Misaki had disobeyed a direct order, and she admitted her guilt. 4 killed many people for lesser reasons. But Misaki said she did it because Nix was a distraction from 4's duty as emperor. What bullshit. He should have countered that it wasn't her place to make such judgements and disobey his direct orders, orders she acknowledged and agreed to follow. ** He should have cut her throat then**, or publicly executed her if he didn't want to kill her himself.

An Emperor and do no wrong--if he let her live (and he did), it was the right thing to do.

I think I get what you're saying. Since he is an emperor, any decision he makes is judged to be the right decision. Well, if you're one of his subjects you have to see it that way. And no doubt, he demands others view his decisions this way.

But by that same reasoning, his directive to Misaki not to kill anyone onboard the Raza was the right decision, and not to be questioned. He allowed Misaki to lie to him, and directly and intentionally disobey his orders, then lie to him again afterwards when he asked if she had met any resistance. That isn't the kind of thing an emperor like 4 would overlook.

@write2topcat said:

I think I get what you're saying. Since he is an emperor, any decision he makes is judged to be the right decision. Well, if you're one of his subjects you have to see it that way. And no doubt, he demands others view his decisions this way.

But by that same reasoning, his directive to Misaki not to kill anyone onboard the Raza was the right decision, and not to be questioned. He allowed Misaki to lie to him, and directly and intentionally disobey his orders, then lie to him again afterwards when he asked if she had met any resistance. That isn't the kind of thing an emperor like 4 would overlook.

Misaki's only responsibility is to serve the Emperor to the best of her ability.

She deliberately disobeyed the Emperor—knowing that it was a death sentence. That’s not the action of a selfish person, but of a person of honor and self-sacrifice. She believed that the Emperor was not acting in his own best interest. And, she was willing to sacrifice herself in order to prevent him from making a grave error.

Surely, in not killing her, he recognized her action as fierce loyalty and not petty jealousy. Or, maybe, he realized that there was some truth is what she said.

What kind of leader surrounds himself with knowledgeable, loyal advocates and then dismiss outright everything they have to say.

It boils down to: If an order from the Emperor conflicts with the best interest of the Emperor—which is a loyal subject to choose?

As Emperor, yes, he could have killed her; but he would have killed her for doing her job. He knew that--and, so, didn't.

@FormerlyKnownAs said:

@write2topcat said:

It boils down to: If an order from the Emperor conflicts with the best interest of the Emperor—which is a loyal subject to choose?

As Emperor, yes, he could have killed her; but he would have killed her for doing her job. He knew that--and, so, didn't.

What is a loyal subject to do? Well she certainly doesn't lie to his face, knowing full well she intends to kill the girl he loves rather than her.

But what is she to do? If she really thought he was making a mistake, she should have advised him of this. A loyal subject carries out direct orders. If she felt unwilling to do that, she should have stated so and stated her reasons. A loyal subject doesn't undermine her leader, making contrary decisions in secret against his will.
That was certainly not her job.

Would he value her opinion? I am sure he would have. But she didn't want to advise him, she didn't want to follow his orders, she wanted to do what felt best to her, and lying to him before and after the fact meant nothing to her. He only spared her because of their long standing friendship, and because he apparently believed she was being sincere (which the facts don't support).

Why didn't she offer her advise on this issue? Because she didn't want to have to follow his orders if he didn't take her advice. She wasn't really serving him, she was serving her own interests and posturing as a loyal servant.

Did she really think the emperor wasn't acting in his best interest, or her own? She later tried to kill him in a coup attempt so she could become empress. She even admitted at that time that she wasn't loyal to him, but to the office he held, an office she intended to occupy as supreme leader.

She also had feelings for him, having felt the pangs of unrequited love for years. But it became clear that he didn't and never would feel the same about her.

You have to ignore these facts to suggest that she did this to protect the emperor. She did it to further her own interests. Later when her treachery was found out, she claimed she did it because his feelings for Nix were "a distraction", that she knew better than him and had to kill Nix to protect the emperor. What a bunch of crap. She didn't think she would be found out given that the ship was empty, the android offline, and 4 was no longer in contact with his old crew. If she had been a "person of honor" she would not have lied to him as she did in order to avoid facing the consequences. She would have told him the truth. That is what a loyal, honorable servant does.

This was not a noble deed. It was the treacherous act of a scorned woman with designs on power for herself, either through a relationship with 4 or through an eventual coup.

@write2topcat said:

@FormerlyKnownAs said:

@write2topcat said:

It boils down to: If an order from the Emperor conflicts with the best interest of the Emperor—which is a loyal subject to choose?

As Emperor, yes, he could have killed her; but he would have killed her for doing her job. He knew that--and, so, didn't.

What is a loyal subject to do? Well she certainly doesn't lie to his face, knowing full well she intends to kill the girl he loves rather than her.

But what is she to do? If she really thought he was making a mistake, she should have advised him of this. A loyal subject carries out direct orders. If she felt unwilling to do that, she should have stated so and stated her reasons. A loyal subject doesn't undermine her leader, making contrary decisions in secret against his will.
That was certainly not her job.

Would he value her opinion? I am sure he would have. But she didn't want to advise him, she didn't want to follow his orders, she wanted to do what felt best to her, and lying to him before and after the fact meant nothing to her. He only spared her because of their long standing friendship, and because he apparently believed she was being sincere (which the facts don't support).

Why didn't she offer her advise on this issue? Because she didn't want to have to follow his orders if he didn't take her advice. She wasn't really serving him, she was serving her own interests and posturing as a loyal servant.

Did she really think the emperor wasn't acting in his best interest, or her own? She later tried to kill him in a coup attempt so she could become empress. She even admitted at that time that she wasn't loyal to him, but to the office he held, an office she intended to occupy as supreme leader.

She also had feelings for him, having felt the pangs of unrequited love for years. But it became clear that he didn't and never would feel the same about her.

You have to ignore these facts to suggest that she did this to protect the emperor. She did it to further her own interests. Later when her treachery was found out, she claimed she did it because his feelings for Nix were "a distraction", that she knew better than him and had to kill Nix to protect the emperor. What a bunch of crap. She didn't think she would be found out given that the ship was empty, the android offline, and 4 was no longer in contact with his old crew. If she had been a "person of honor" she would not have lied to him as she did in order to avoid facing the consequences. She would have told him the truth. That is what a loyal, honorable servant does.

This was not a noble deed. It was the treacherous act of a scorned woman with designs on power for herself, either through a relationship with 4 or through an eventual coup.

Well, I feel that we are at an impasse; and have thereby reached the “Agree to Disagree” point in this discussion.

I suppose we have.