One Piece Episode 500 Discussion

I wasn't a fan of this episode. I was hoping so badly that Sabo's dad wouldn't be purely despicable, that he would care about his son and actually worried about him despite the social structure in High Town being one of reputation and status. But even in the end he doesn't have a single shred of humanity. Nor does anyone in the town. Stelly especially came off as a plot device in my eyes. Sure, Sabo's dad got a replacement for him to continue their namesake in case Sabo cannot be redeemed or was dead, and sure Stelly is in this society where everyone looks down on those below them. Stelly see's gray terminal as trash and sees Sabo who went there as trash pretending to be nobility. But, to have them appear and be so irredeemably despicable and spout exactly what the plot needed to progress seconds after they appear was not satisfying to me. I think Oda is normally great at writing villains because no matter how awful they are, they have good motivations for why they behave like they do.

To pick a notable one its Arlong. Arlong hated humans due to Fishman's oppression and very well may have been a slave who was branded. Hachi may not hate humans but due to his bond with Arlong and the Arlong pirates he helped Arlong commit horrible acts, it was brotherhood over ethics to him. Although he later regretted it and when he's alone he's harmless. They were great villains even if they did awful things. And notably there is a nuance to the morality there.

High Town is filled with people who have not a shred of empathy, a fundamental human trait that can be shoved away but is rarely absolutely missing from people. They are all going on with their day accepting the burning of the trash and the people who live in it happily. Sabo called them crazy, but the question is, if Stelly has this society of hierarchy and looking down on those below you ingrained into him, why does Sabo not? Is it because he escaped when he was young enough to not be indoctrinated? The burning of these people to look good for the Celestial Dragon is fine in concept, humans cause horrible tragedies it's a fact of life, but the way there is not a single piece of humanity or nuanced morality or self doubt shown in a single person, that Sabo's dad cannot have a moment of genuine care for his son, and how Sabo is the one exception to this rule, that's where I end up rolling my eyes.

If you want an example of an inshow society that is horrible yet still has mixed morality within it, look at Tequila Wolf. The little moment of humanity where the woman who told the guards they were hiding Robin started crying and gave Soran the chocolate was one of my favorites of the mini-arc. She apologized and regretted her actions, she had doubts, she wasn't purely out for herself, she had empathy. If it was more like High Town has been so far it would have purely shown that since the guards threaten their slaves the slaves can't risk helping each other or disobeying orders and are cruel to everyone without ever delving deeper.

To end this on a good note, I do like how strong Sabo got when he was away. He is resolved to help those he cares about and fight for what he believes in. That by itself is awesome development. Ace having doubt over if Sabo being a pirate is truly good for him as he knows what it's like to have nothing whereas Sabo materially has everything is a nice touch. And lastly, I adored the horribly sad scene when Sabo had to say goodbye to his brothers and give up his dream for their lives. But luckily Stelly told Sabo everything he needed to know quite conveniently to illuminate a reason to go back!!!