You Guys Ever Think About How Zane's Whole Tyrannical Genocide Arc Might Have Been A Good Thing For Him?

You guys ever think about how Zane's whole tyrannical genocide arc might have been a good thing for him?

No no no, wait, where are you going-? AT LEAST HEAR ME OUT-

Zane is one of the most complex characters of the entire show, and it's largely because he's literally the reverse of "you don't have to be a mythical beast to be a monster". No, Zane proves that you don't need to be human to have humanity, which is a subtle, overarching theme throughout the later seasons of the show that I'm choosing to believe is entirely intentional and not a side effect of Garmadon being Lloyd's endless migrane.

Anyway, where I'm going with this is that a very crucial part of who Zane is obviously connects to the fact he was built instead of born, and specifically created to protect those who can't protect themselves, an objective he's never failed to complete to the best of his ability. It's heavily implied and even indirectly stated that the reason he's so firmly attached to this directive is because it's the very essence of his code and function, and by extension, his sense of self. It's seen, even if largely just in offhand jokes, that his code has a very powerful influence over his choices and courses of action throughout the entire show. Sooo, how does this lead to me suggesting that the genocide he committed that is never talked about again except for in throwaway gags was actually good for him? Well, it wasn't, obviously, good for his mental health, but it was an important development of his character, and it didn't go to as much waste as I once believed. Think back with me, if you would be so kind, to the infamous mirror episode, when Nya, Zane and Lloyd were breaking and entering and bullying a hospitalized man.

We all know that Zane commented on how his worst fear was having his humanity stripped from him, to become nothing but cool, calculating code. We also know that it was subtle-not-so-subtle foreshadowing for the Never Realm bullshit. Here's the thing- Zane's code specifically dictates that he won't harm others unless it's to protect. So, if wiping his memories had stripped him down to his code, then... what would have changed? It's here where I would like to introduce the idea that over the course of the show, Zane's original code was overridden by him developing his own core values and following them with just as much vigor. Sure, his objective remains the same, protect who cannot protect themselves, but instead of being a core part of who he is because that's how he was designed, it remains a core part of who he is because it's who he chooses to be. Dr. Julian's code was replaced by his own little by little- so when his memory was wiped, there was simply nothing there. The only evidence left of his original instructions was what he remembered, and chose to follow of his own free will.

To summarize and organize my thoughts, the Never Realm was a lot of new and unexplored levels of fucked up and caused a lot of questions begging for answers- but weirdly, it also wrapped up a character arc that's been slowly building since season 1.

From now on, Zane is who he is purely because that's who he chooses to be, and even though it puts him at a huge disadvantage, he chooses to be human.