Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

What personal development, if any, is in store for Sven?

(1/4) > >>

Is it cold in here?:
We haven't seen much of Sven, and he's realized with some dismay that he doesn't have any experience with real relationships. Lydia tried to jolt him out of complacency, and may have planted the seeds of change. Personal change is one of the recurring themes of the comic.

My best guess is "drift", unless there's some event even more significant than Faye to jolt him out of his rut.

Carl-E:
I think he'll be stumbling into a relationship.  May or may not be healthy, may or may not fail, but I think the next one's gonna take him by surprise, because it's going to start as a friendship and then develop into something more, rahter then starting with the sex that all his old "relationships" have started with in the past. 

He actually connected a bit with Hanners (no, I know, that can't really go anywhere), and he acted decently to Dora (as well as any sibling can).  He's encountered Marigold, and if his WoW proclivities can help her in her Dale rivalry, they may actually bond without even knowing it (and perhaps already have?). 

But it's probably going to be someone completely out of the blue. 

Or maybe Renee from tSB will remind him of Faye... oh well, so much for healthy! 

Kugai:
He's gone to Wudan

Tergon:
Dora's recent troubles have activated his Big Brother alarms.  He's been there for her, he's honestly done his best to help Marten and Dora stay together, and he gave Dora a place to stay without hesitating when the relationship ended.  Plus, from what I can see, he's generally been a decent and caring human being around her for the duration (aside from a couple of inappropriate remarks about Ms. Reed.)
Aside from that he was actually a gentleman to Hannelore on their quasi-date, and aside from some mild teasing he was actually pretty nice to Marigold.  Plus the whole character arc he's on was kickstarted by Faye causing him to, y'know, grow a conscience.

I've said in other threads that I've always seen Sven as a foil for Marten.  Both skinny Indie-rock nerds, they dress alike, they share many interests, they both had the strong connection to Dora and to Faye... but where Marten was quiet and polite and nice, Sven was assertive and womanizing and flippant.  He slept with women Marten wouldn't have approached.  He's a fairly wealthy musician while Marten's band barely exists.  His looks draw attention while Marten blends in with the wallpaper.  He's the Anti-Marten, like him in so many ways, but his polar opposite in so many others.

Now, I believe that the path Marten's on is leading him to become more assertive.  He's willing to approach people, to try new things.  He actually shows emotion rather than just passively reacting to what happens to him.  He's developing more of a sense of humour and fleshing out a little more of the world around him.  There's many examples of that in the comic ever since he first hooked up with Dora, and even since they've split up.
Sven, I believe, is taking the other path.  As Marten becomes more assertive and confident, Sven's becoming more humble.  He's paying more attention to the people around him, trying to be less of an asshat, wanting to be a good person instead of the callous dick that ruined his relationship with Faye, had Dora half-hating him for years, and stopped him from making any real meaningful connections in his life.

I don't know if we'll see Sven's entire journey, or where it ends up.  But I think that his path mirrors Marten's in a lot of ways, and eventually they'll both find middle ground like this.

Carl-E:
And when that journey's over, they'll finally be ready...

for each other. 


My apologies, Tergon.  Despite your (as ever) thoughtful analysis, it really needed a punchline. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page