Analyzing Evil: Andrew Ryan From Bioshock

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Welcome everyone and welcome to the seventy-first episode of Analyzing Evil! Our feature villain for this video is Andrew Ryan from the Bioshock series. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for watching. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to let me know below!
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#Bioshock #AndrewRyan #Rapture

[@TheVileEye]

Head to keeps.com/vile to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment.

[@thenight527]

Bill Sykes from Oliver musical 1968. please 😊

[@thesopranosaint]

Trevor phillips from GTA

[@dbzfan-ru6we]

Sofia Lamb would be a interesting video or Zachary Hale Comstock

[@MikeLitoris321]

johan liebert from "Monster", I'm dying to see your analysis of this character.

[@nick-a-cola2749]

Could you do Clu from tron legacy??

[@doctordiscord1399]

"These poor chumps. They think they're gonna be captains of industry, but they forget: someone's gotta clean the toilets." - Frank Fontaine.

[@Nyghtking]

Yup, a tower always has a base, even if the tower is made of pure gold and silver you still have to stick something in the ground to build it in the first place. Or as the saying goes, someone always has to be at the bottom of the totem pole.

[@phantasyryder]

I clean toilets; proverbially.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Last words Frank Fontaine's earthly form heard was Little Sister screaming "KILL HIM" and last thing he saw ADAM-syringe's sharp end approaching his eye. He deserved worse.

[@Delightfully_Witchy]

Most do. In fact, in some professions, you're still "cleaning toilets" despite being the top of your game.

[@citizenoftheworld2694]

Ancaps in a nutshell.

[@mljesus7743]

“A city that’s begun to decay under the weight of his own ambitions.” Are you equating Ryan’s ambitions to the ocean? *wow that’s deep*

[@gilgameshthetreasurehunter2750]

Like the ocean

[@NemesisC81]

Hehe I see what all of you did there... hol' up!

[@NipplWizard]

That theory holds water

[@brainrich1358]

I sea what you did there

[@CMGThePerson]

@@brainrich1358 water you doing with these puns?

[@chilarius]

Bioshock is an amazing game about the story of a man commited to do ANYTHING to avoid taxes.

[@cg_2k72]

Bro really could have just saved so much money and trouble if he just hired an accountant

[@Tommcginn]

Yeah but who HASN'T created a utopian underwater city because they don't wanna pay taxes? We've all been there, ammaright?

[@quickdrawmcgraw3567]

Lmao libertarian brain rot to the extreme, Andrew Ryan is just a satirical parody of Ayn Rand-like ideology and modern neoliberalism

[@feartheghus]

@@Tommcginnwe can all dream, but unfortunately the taxes taken mean we can’t afford the underwater cities, and our government can’t afford to fix potholes but can afford to shove lots of money into the pockets of those running it.

[@feartheghus]

@@quickdrawmcgraw3567how can it be a mockery with such extreme range as to fit Ayn Rand with today’s neo-liberalism and Marxist infestation?

[@awrawrwar]

The scene of Andrew telling you to kill him is probably one of the most powerful scenes in gaming I've ever seen.

[@kongfeet81]

*would you kindly*

[@Despondencymusic]

A man chooses...a slave obeys.

[@johnnydeerfist3727]

He failed himself and his beliefs

[@grizzakaful]

@@johnnydeerfist3727 Not entirely. He made a choice at the end, still having the freedom of choice he thought would be taken away by the outside world. He chose to die instead of having some puppet kill him from the shadows. It's why his last quote is so powerful, "A man chooses, a slave obeys". He as a man chose his own way of death instead of it being taken by a slave.

[@rockhound3.14]

@@grizzakaful yes

[@ritanman9578]

"A man chooses, a slave obeys" The most iconic lines that makes Andrew Ryan an well written and interesting villain

[@meligoth]

The phrase alone succinctly describes the evil of Andrew Ryan.

[@donkeykongisbetterthanmari7495]

@@meligoth without context, yes

[@TheKingsPride]

Not really. It would be more profound if the game acknowledged its own idea, instead of just being the exact same game but with Tannenbaum being the one telling you what exactly to do instead of Atlas. You don’t even have a choice of how to defeat Fontaine, you have to take the exact steps laid out to you. The only choice the game lets you make is to either rescue or slaughter little girls, a choice so cartoonishly one-sided that almost nobody actually chooses the harvest option unless they don’t know what they’re doing or they do it on accident. Besides, what about the toilet scrubbers and the homeless of Rapture? What choice did they have? Conform or die isn’t a choice, it’s a shutdown button. Overall a poorly implemented line in a fairly mediocre game that didn’t age well at all.

[@capitalismsucks9590]

Men do choose, people who blindly follow with no question, in any context(job, politics, life, etc.) are weak and want a simplistic life by allowing the idea of individualism to die and allow government to intrude on daily life.

[@petervansan1054]

He was not a villain

[@etrowi]

“…a concept we’re all familiar with: the greater good” *”The Greater Good”* “Shut it!”

[@waxmeltfan]

Too many crusty jugglers….

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

Looking at hot fuzz with Frank and the NWA it was clear Frank was just a sad old man who needed help as it was clear he was trying to honour his wife death but fail to realize that killing people would never bring her back or make his village great as flaws are everywhere and not everything has to be perfect as sometimes being to perfect can lead to problems

[@firewarrior5828]

*The Tau Empire would like to know your location "

[@cerebrospinal87]

*"A GREAT BIG BUSHY BEARD!"*

[@verde1335]

"You just used one" "Did i?" "Yea IT is a pronoun" "What is?" "IT" "Is it?" "Christ!"

[@HUKIT.]

Best line was “We all make choices but in the end our choices make us”. Hands down the best game of all time.

[@eli8444]

For a videogame? It's written alright and goddamn did the first line of dialogue hit me in the gut after my first playthrough when I was 13-14. The atmosphere? Almost second to none. "They told me; "Son, you're special, you were born to do great things." You know what? They were right." *screams to an airplane crashing into the ocean*

[@sirnorespond]

Eh about 79 best lines now would you kindly go learn them.

[@Orsonfoe]

All the games seem to echo a theme about choices. First game) your choices make up who you are. Second game) your choices effect other and how they act. Third game) you choices won't change everything.

[@person152]

any games that are as good as bioschock?

[@bob3007]

@@person152 fallout new vegas!! the actual gameplay is pretty dated and clunky, but if you're playing for a well-written story and worldbuilding comparative to BioShock, please give this game a shot. the entire game was made in 18 months which is the reason the gameplay is so clunky. the writing is absolutely god-tier however. other great games are; the witcher 3, both read dead redemptions, all the mass effect games, portal 1 and 2, uncharted seiries, horizon zero dawn, god of war, yakuza 0 (the only game to ever make me cry), dishonored is pretty cool too, and skyrim obviously lol, oblivion is fire as well. note that i value a good story muuuuuuch more than i do gameplay, so some of these might not be your style. and if you haven't played bioshock infinite yet, you're fucking up lol, get on that now

[@dianabarnett6886]

The great irony of Ryan's downfall is that Fontaine is the embodiment of his philosophy.

[@TravistheGREAT03]

In the beginning yes, but the moment Fontaine started using physical violence heft left Andrews philosophy.

[@dr.k8610]

@@TravistheGREAT03 I’d say he left Ryan’s philosophy by ensuring other businesses couldn’t compete. Ryan tells the other business owners to offer a better product to compete with Fontaine, who knows he can’t let that happen and completely corners the market through any means necessary

[@SuperGman117]

@@dr.k8610 Take for example the example with the grocer and the garbage collector. Ryan refused to intervene then, and obviously he didn't feel the need to outlaw what Fontaine was doing either.

[@henrykanning245]

Fontaine is the embodiment of self interest. He refuses to invest in making Adam safer because having it be addictive makes him more money. He can corner the market, so why should he not? Would his competitors given the advantage he has not exploit it to its fullest extent? He invests in more businesses with his profits ands starts an empire to compete with Ryans and does so with no organized opposition. Fontaine has no ideals besides self interest and it manifests in greed. Capitalism naturally trends towards authoritarianism as those with an advantage press it and gain control of the market.

[@akessel92train]

@@henrykanning245 you’re missing one major fact in regards to Fontaine and Adam. Adam was only discovered in Fontaine’s fisheries in the bodies of sea slugs native to the area rapture is in. Some other fishing company could have discovered it but the reason Fontaine was able to corner ADAM. Was because most of the labs weren’t interested in Brigid Tennenbaums research or in funding it. Fontaine funded her researched and provided means to capture sea slugs not just because of the fishery but also because Fontaine was involved in the only illegal trade rapture. smuggling.

[@kaj7135]

“There are two ways to deal with a mystery: uncover it… or eliminate it.” That’s my favorite Andrew Ryan quote simply because he makes it sound so badass.

[@feartheghus]

@antiheroine3611one learns, the other doesn’t have to. One destroys, the other might not have to.

[@traviscummings9178]

"I am Andrew Ryan, and I am here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat upon his brow? 'No,' says the man in Washington, 'it belongs to the poor.' 'No,' says the man in the Vatican, 'it belongs to God.' 'No,' says the man in Moscow, 'it belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...Rapture! A city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be restrained by petty morality, where the weak would not restrain the strong. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." Still one of my favorite opening monologues to a game.

[@andrewryan7310]

Thanks my friend for saying my quote when my son Jack enters my city I do say that and with the sweat of your brow rapture can become your city as well.

[@traviscummings9178]

@@andrewryan7310 I hope I did right by you, Mr. Ryan

[@andrewryan7310]

@@traviscummings9178 you did

[@carmenishere]

The writing in this game set the bar so high for me. It’s hard to play games that aren’t on this level 😫

[@pahwraith]

So this means employers have to give exactly what an employer contributes as wages. Businesses have to run as co-ops w/profit sharing and ownership sharing. Otherwise the business owner who owns the equipment and place of work, is stealing the sweat on the brows of his workers. Hes just as bad as the man in russia or the man in Washington. Right?

[@benwasserman8223]

Who else still gets chills from Ryan’s opening monologue on the bathosphere ride to Rapture? Still one of the best game intros ever

[@slipperysloper3721]

Still the best part in all of gaming. That and the end of The Last of Us.

[@lexofexcel886]

Armin Shimmerman is amazing.

[@thatguyted4140]

And the reveal of rapture and the music that plays immediately just adds to it.

[@SouthDakotaFacts]

“My name is Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question…”

[@augustaseptemberova5664]

I also like Bioshock Infinity's ascension to Columbia .. the rising above the clouds timed with the "hallelujah" just when you see the city for the first time .. gives me chills even when I think about it. Bioshock series one of my two all-time favorite series (the other is Mass Effect minus Andromeda).

[@sevenproxies4255]

Maybe a bit nitpicky, but one thing that could also have been discussed is how Ryan authorized the use of the pheromone plasmid, which essentially functions as mind control of people, in his civil war against Fontaine. There's an audio diary in the first game I believe, where Ryan tries to justify to himself how taking away free will from individuals by utilizing the pheromone plasmid is somehow the right thing to do in order to maintain his vision of Rapture. So Ryan didn't merely resort to regular dictatorship methods by constructing turrets and cameras and armed police to quash dissidents. He even went so far as to manipulate people's minds biochemically to maintain control of Rapture.

[@whiteeye3453]

choice he regreted later

[@TheAxel999]

I think his specific rationale was that Atlas would do the same action with the plasmid and steal individual choice. Ryan then could delude himself that him doing it was somehow less worse

[@codyschwarz5155]

@@TheAxel999 atlas already had done it, Ryan just stooped to his level, which condemned Ryan

[@nathanhall2012]

Ryan- Government control is a detriment to a person's free will. Also Ryan- People need me to take away their free will.

[@sevenproxies4255]

@@nathanhall2012 That's the thing about Bioshock. It's a critique of Objectivism and throws various problems at it that can't be solved within the framework of it. But at the same time, they did the same thing to the polar opposite of objectivism in Bioshock 2, where Sophia Lamb represented socialim/communism.

[@gryphonbotha1880]

"Just because you can justify something, doesn't mean that justification is enough reason to allow these things to occur in our society." Hit the nail on the head. Just for fun, I decided to do a full Dark Side run in KOTOR, infamous for having extremely cheesy, over-the-top Dark Side choices that are beyond obvious and petty. However, there was a twist: I'd put my debating skills to the test, and only commit that Dark Side act once I'd formed a sound justification for the action to take place. I ended up getting much, much further in the game than I thought I would. What I've come to find is that, with the right words, anything can be justified. Especially if you squint a bit. For that reason, justification alone should never be enough to decide whether or not something is right.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

Well yeah, that's because the Dark Side can rationally be justified. It leads to more power; simple. So you'll get very far in the Dark Side if you simply think rationally. It's when morals and other such fairy tales come into play that the justification becomes muddy; but looking at it from a purely rational perspective of furthering your own self-interest as an individual organism, the Dark Side is without a doubt the best path.

[@whiteeye3453]

just like forgivenes

[@ntr5420]

Just curious, where you couldn't come up with justification?

[@ntr5420]

@@KevinJohnson-cv2no Andrew Ryan, that you?

[@undeadblizzard]

My darker impulses take the from of a Sexy Cyclops Sorceress with a cake like Betty Crocker. What makes the dark side bad is because it's a short cut. Vengeance and Mayhem are fun.

[@jcnom6606]

The irony and almost tragedy of Andrew Ryan is that he made the perfect world for someone like him to come to being, but he didn’t foresee how heartless they would be. Fontaine is the embodiment of everything Andrew preached and I think he realized this by the end. And it killed him.

[@feartheghus]

He wouldn’t have learned though, if he lived. He’s think some new whim was the true utopia, and he’d never realize that the claim he makes against morality is exactly why he is destined never to see any utopia, he was never worthy of the freedom he pretended to care about, he took it from others the exact moment his whims changed because he never really believed in the moral objective of protecting human freedom, he just thought it was neat until it wasn’t going his way, then he hated it like he hated everything else that didn’t go his way. Just because he accidentally hated bad things like communism, government overreach, and so on doesn’t mean he is good, it means he wasn’t winning in those evil games, and wanted a game he’d win.

[@jorgebersabe293]

Fontaine is not only the embodiment of everything Ryan preached (everything Fontaine does is for Fontaine) but also of the parasites Ryan hates so much.

[@daneyal7162]

Andrew Ryan- The kind of villain that will kill himself not for some noble ideal, not to for the purpose of making name for himself, or for a loved one...but to prove a point. Such sort of villains are, in my opinion, among the most dangerous.

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

to me Andrew ryan fatal flaw was forcing his views and ideals without realizing the downside of those things as you need to offer to help people in baby steps and show theme a better path without making it your own views and ideals but show something better than something you want

[@feartheghus]

But if the point was noble?

[@truelies9187]

@@comicbookreviewer4856he made it well known that living in rapture must hold his views. But in the end despite agreeing to it and moving there they corrupted the entire city

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

@@truelies9187That the thing the people living in Rapture thought it was going to be a god send but the fatal flaw was with Andrew ryan was that people living down there was not like him and not realizing If his views and ideas would've made any real difference as wanting to help people you need to see and think if forcing things onto people will really accomplish anything as you can do more harm than good if something goes wrong

[@akiva2112]

I would love to see your analysis on Father Comstock if we could stay in the same “shock” universe

[@SanctusRexGAVIAL]

I second that! It'll be awesome!

[@undeadblizzard]

Honestly Comstock wasted his potential. The point of a cult is to trick Barely Legal South East Asian Women and Men into a bit of Ole Hows your Father's. Honestly, all shapes and flavors are welcome.

[@BicBoi1984]

This ^^

[@codyschwarz5155]

Infinite succcccked

[@Nyghtking]

Infinite comes down to this: Comstock used his baptism to excuse the actions he took in his past, even idolizing some of them and using his faith as justification Booker regretted his actions and lived with them, he accepts they weren't good things that he did.

[@cmccleese6190]

"A man chooses, a slave obeys...". One of the best quotes from one of my favorite antagonists in gaming!

[@locochang6533]

A slave chooses to obey.

[@NKSVD831]

So who was sent to kill a slave… or a man

[@grimsong2237]

Ayn Rand using her philosophy of Objectivism to be Pro Genocide of the Native Americans kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYGmaJ95iK5oeck Edit: TheVileEye is incorrect in his assessment that the problem in the game is that Objectivism gets mixed with the philosophy of Nietzsche. We can clearly hear Rand as provided in said clip link make such vile and evil claims of pro-genocide and land theft using nothing but Objectivism. It gets even worse when you look up her unapologetic pro-rape stances which she makes using Objectivism. Modern day Objectivist will tell you there are key tenants of Objectivism that don't sound so bad at a glance. What they will not do is tell you about the tenants of Objectivism that most people will clearly reject. Modern day civilizations understand that a mix of Capitalism and Socialism works better than just Capitalism. Public; Fire Departments, Police Departments, street repair, your average Western Military are all socialist institutions that all people benefit from regardless if they pay taxes or not. The west already tried private police, private fire departments, private militaries, etc. The West learned that these private Objectivist institutions suck ass. Because lets say you have a private Fire Department that you have to pay out of pocket for and there is no public Fire Department. A house in your neighborhood catches fire. Only you have Private Fire Department service because no one else could afford it. The Fire Department saves your house and lets the rest of the neighborhood burn to the ground. Sure your house is saved but now you live on a hideous burned out block with toxic fragrances wafting heavily in the air for weeks from all the plastic and chemicals that were lit up from the fires. The problem with Objectivism is its naive outlook upon life which assumes that things will just work out for itself via tools like a free market. History has shown us that if given the opportunity to pollute drinking water to save money that industries and corporations will do so, that if constructing buildings by cutting corners for home owners is allowed then construction companies will do so and buildings will collapse and kill people, etc,etc. We known that an unregulated market and an unregulated society creates nightmare scenarios. The answer to curing said problems is a not so Objectivist selfish socoety but instead a regulated society with socialized solutions. A balancing act of capitalism and socialism. TLDR: Fuck Ayn Rand and Fuck Objectivism. There is a reason why philosophy and economic academics treat Objectivism like a bad joke.

[@animeAJproductions]

Ryan wasn't technically the antagonist since the game's "protagonist" was a sleeper assassin for Fontaine (aka Atlas), the ACTUAL antagonist. I mean, come on!

[@Austib_]

@@animeAJproductions The game can have more than one antagonist

[@enzoofelba]

Andrew Ryan, living out the proverb, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

[@Killgore-ip2yq]

It depends if you don't necessary agree with libertarianism or objectivism. Andrew Ryan is somewhat tragic, a idealistic man of principle who wanted to achieve a individualistic utopia, not realizing that someone like the opportunistic Frank Fontaine would fall into that society as well.

[@thisismyboat]

HE was selfish at heart.No good intentions just the urge to do what he wanted.

[@enzoofelba]

@@thisismyboat That's not entirely true. If Ryan was simply out for himself, he would've been like a frontier homesteader. But he wanted to build a community of like-minded individuals. I don't necessarily agree with his philosophy, his means to achieve his ends, or his administrative approach. But there is no doubt that, at least in his mind, he was setting out to create an ideal society.

[@christianweibrecht6555]

@@enzoofelba to me Andrew Ryan is the opposite extreme of communism.

[@anarchomando7707]

@@christianweibrecht6555 out of curiosity what kind of extreme communism? Cuz to me that would be anarcho communism A stateless classless egalitarian society, collectively owned and democratically operated.(preferably through a confederation of municipalities mutually working together) Where the means of production is owned by those who toil collectively and democratically.(through union or worker co-ops, From each too Their ability to each their own need.(mutual aid, mutual benefit.) Intersectional (there is no race but the human race, however rich and powerful people like to devide and conquer, Housing and food being a human right (and preferably through housing co-ops.) Also trains.(choo choo mothafuckas!)

[@chrischeckerslara3441]

"A man chooses, a slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan.

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

The most interesting thing you can see in fiction, I feel, is when you have a pure idealist have their ideals collide with reality. This is because any idealized system tends to crumble when even the smallest bit of realism is introduced. Sometimes, the character breaks, unable to accept that their ideals in their purest form were simply unworkable. However, sometimes you get someone like Ryan who ends up becoming the antithesis of his own ideals, as the cruelty of reality twists him into a monster.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Ryan is an Ancap/Anarcho Capitalist where there are no governments but just Corporations and the will of the Market as with all extreme Political and Economic models they often eat themselves to death. The Soviet Union collapse because it can't maintain its economy, an Ancap society will likely break because there are technically no rules only the Companies that provide service which includes Law enforcement, the military ect., imagine the levels of Corporate corruption in an Ancap society. (because Laws are provided by the Companies who is stopping said companies to commit horrible acts to the Consumers and the Workers/Employees because the Market demands it)

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

@@forickgrimaldus8301 The thing is, it was less a matter of Rapture's economy eating itself, and more a problem that all idealized systems tend to have: They are built on the idea that people won't behave like people. Just as one example, Communism tends to fail because it is built on the idea that people will work their hardest to support the system without any immediate, tangible gains for themselves. Some peole will, sure, but more people won't. Instead, they'll sponge off of the system because there's no incentive within the system to put in the maximum amount of effort. When there's no personal incentive to work hard (No raises, promotions, etc.) people just won't. Ryan's system, however, has a deeper flaw: It's built without any safeguards to protect it from the people who would exploit it, like Sinclair from Bioshock 2, or Fontaine from 1. The thing is, while Sinclair primarily exploited the system solely for wealth, Fontaine exploited it for the sake of power. As such, Sinclair could continue to exist within the system in perpetuity, a "Parasite" that Ryan's system did not recognize as such. He was a man who would exploit the hard work of others to line his own pockets. A benign tumor that would just grow and grow and grow, not a threat to the system because of anything it did, but simply because of what it was. Fontaine, on the other hand, would inevitably seek to overthrow the system. His hunger for power, not just within Rapture, but for the power that Rapture could represent on a global scale, would be too enticing for a man like him to ignore. As such, he would work to make that power his, even if his actions would destroy Rapture in the process. He was a man who would exploit others so he could become the most powerful man in Rapture, and then the world. A malignant cancer that would destroy the system from within, even if it meant that he might destroy himself in the process. However, both of these people represent human drives that we see in humanity: The desire to acquire wealth or power, even at the expense of the happiness and safety of others. Both of them exploit a flawed system that has no real defense against them, because the person who designed the system didn't really understand people and could not envision people like them. The true enemy of Rapture was never the "Parasites" that Ryan recognized, but the ones he could not. They weren't parasites, but Cancers that formed within the system which the "Body Politick" of Rapture had no mechanism to expel.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

@@FirstLast-cg2nk yup but again extreme political views often view people that way.

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Andrew Ryan's downfall was wanting to stick it to the societies he hated. If creating paradise for the people was all he wanted, then that should have been enough for him. But no. Every chance he get's he always discusses his hatred for parasites, slaves and just whatever isn't a 'true man'. Ryan really seems like the victim of his own hatred.

[@someokiedude9549]

A victim of his own egotism, I would say.

[@matti.8465]

Andrew Ryan going "yeah a lot of people died, but all of mankind's big achievements costed a few deaths" is quite literally an example of the "greater good" this guy supposedly hates so much.

[@carmenishere]

I’d love to see a deep dive on the Bioshock 2 antagonist as well. The first experience of being in Rapture isn’t there of course, but it’s still a good game. Kind of underrated.

[@Brandon_nodnarB]

Bioshock 2 would be championed as one of the best games of all time if it wasn’t for just how incredible Bioshock 1

[@featherboi]

Andrew Ryan really is a staple villain in the entire video game industry. Not because he's a hard fight (the opposite infact - he doesn't fight you at all), and not because he's so overtly evil, but rather because he's a rare example of an antagonist that you feel multiple feelings about at the same time despite barely spending any time one-on-one with him. At first you may idolize him with the glorious and beautiful presentation of Raptures scenery and ideals, then u may change to fear him with the various times he nearly traps and kills you (if it werent for Tenenbaum), and by the end of the game you may feel such hatred for him that you can't wait to smash his head in...until you finally do it...against your will... and everything changes one last time to...uncertainty and confusion. Because the kill was at your hands but not your own volition, it feels wrong, even though we understand he was an arrogant, classist, and corrupt man. But was he really corrupt... or just someone desperate to uphold the stability and ideals of his isolsted city of individualist dreams in the midst of powerhungry and greedy civilians? Ryan knew how to instill these feelings in people and if he was going to do anything before dying, it would be to make someone question their entire predisposed purpose in life and their moral compass, as he does brilliantly with Jack (the player) in his death scene. He sets the groundwork for a perfect red herring, one that for any new or even returning player, is nearly impossible to not focus on as the main antagonist. Then, once he's revealed to be just a king toppled by another king, it hits like a train.

[@thezerowulf2046]

Fontaine though was a bastard.

[@notworethite4835]

You put everything I feel into words, I love Andrew Ryan

[@TeamKhandiKhane]

An interesting character for this would be Dracula from Netflix's Castlevania, also lots of other solid "Evil's" to pick from there.

[@austinkersey2445]

Oh yeah, Carmilla, the Bishop, and "Varney" come to mind. One thing I love about the Netflix Castlevania is how three-dimensional the characters are. They somehow managed to get nearly every class of hero and villain in the show. Dracula and the main characters being particular standouts. Graham MacTavish, Richard Armitage, James Callis, and Alejandra Reynoso made that show.

[@wesleygriffiths8748]

I’d also like a comparison to the games’ Dracula. Lament of Innocence’ Mathias is underrated and plays a huge part of why Castlevania’s (Netflix and Game) is the way he is.

[@TeamKhandiKhane]

@@wesleygriffiths8748 that's an excellent point I hadn't put together.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I personally think Carmilla would be more interesting character to analyze. Dracula appears quite static and during his active contribution to story he is not in right in the head. There is no arc or development in his character while Carmilla does develop.

[@rodrigolopez6054]

hardly, dracula goes on to wipe humanity because his wife was killed, despite the fact that the ones directly responsable for her death were already death, there is nothing to discuss there, he was evil by that fact alone.

[@Heisen2420]

Andrew Ryan's story is one of the best examples that the Road to Hell is paved with "Good" Intentions.

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

the beast example of good intentions that came with a Price is Magneto in the x-men movie as he wanted to make the world better for human only to realize the horrors of his actions or Kyle mom in south park as she means well but never thinks of her actions or Superman in injustice as he wanted to do the right thing but become a monster but people using him as Good intentions always come with a deadly Price

[@vodkaboy]

no, Rapture was a terrible idea from the start, none of his intentions are noble.

[@prod.adebimpe]

As someone who is critical of Rand, it’s very interesting to hear how words are translated into actions. Hearing the main ideals of the Atlas truly make objectivism sound utopic. However it only takes human imperfections, desires, or actions to see the ugliness unfold. Masterful game and character.

[@Nyghtking]

Yup, when there are no rules there isn't much stopping you from just killing the people who have the things you want except your own morality, and Ryan wanted to crush the morality out of the people who came to rapture.

[@Altmetalpunk]

All 3 games are clearly criticisms of authoritarianism. Bioshock 1 was Corporate authoritarianism, 2 was cult/communist authoritarianism, and infinite was religious/nationalistic authoritarianism.

[@dougrattmann3554]

Well of course when she wants you to believe it would be a utopia she makes it one.

[@dougrattmann3554]

@@Altmetalpunk 1 is about objectivism. 2 is about collectivism. 3 is (supposed to be) about American exceptionalism.

[@qwerty9091000]

an objectivist would argue that it's considerably more utopian to believe that you can consolidate all the power that comes with a monopoly on violence into one small group of individuals with all their imperfections and desires and expect them to be concerned with the general welfare more than the pursuit of accumulating more power for themselves

[@theonejackal89]

One of the biggest annoyances of mine for Ryan isn't even the mind control. It's him placing a surcharge on Oxygen and Breathing in Rapture. The man who hated taxes above all else... Placed a tax on LIVING in rapture. My dude, the heck.

[@lisboah]

Even worse is that his own father was arrested for refusing to pay taxes, and probably died in prison.

[@zacharygilmore1075]

There is no greater pair than capitalists and hypocrisy.

[@caesar3311]

Having just recently beat this game this couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you sir

[@rudieopperman4388]

The best games I have ever played. The story and lore was just so awesome. The twist that you were being brainwashed the whole time before you kills him was just mindblowing.

[@Xen8008]

Andrew Ryan, one of the best, most memorable and evil villains in all of gaming history, so glad to see a video on him!

[@dr.k8610]

I don’t honestly know if I’d argue the most evil. He was a bad guy and became corrupted by the end but he was truly fighting for what he thought was a better world, a perfect society. This is no excuse for his actions but the horrible things he does still aren’t near the level of atrocity of other game villains I feel

[@Xen8008]

@@dr.k8610 Yeah I said one of the most evil, I can definitely think of like twenty game villains who are objectively more ‘evil’ than him. But he’s definitely up there and one of the best. He’s like the Darth Vader of game villains in terms of impact and memorability for me.

[@caldw615]

@@dr.k8610 Ryan was unsympathetic, he may not have gone out of his way to gleefully torture people for his own amusement like some of the other Rapture residents like Cohen but he was willfully ignorant to the plights of others and cared not for the system he imposed upon them because he believed everything was their choice regardless of context. He caused much more harm to everyone in Rapture than any single individual did, no matter how cruel. The likes of Suchong may have been abusive towards the Little Sisters but Ryan was the one giving the man his paycheck to do it.

[@fvn0986]

He might be The best Evil Villain in gaming history

[@bradfork6853]

Yay this was one of my requested ones. Crossing fingers for GlaDOS and Handsome Jack in the future.

[@evanceier8577]

Oh now handsome Jack would be a really really interesting one

[@lingus1382]

Glados and handsome jack both would be fascinating videos. Jack is easily my favorite antagonist in any piece of media I’d love to see a video on him

[@Able542]

Handsome Jack would be fucking fascinating.

[@TMG1608]

Please do Officer Tenpenny from Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, he’s literally the video game counterpart of Alonso Harris, a man of the street working for the law, outsourcing his job to other criminals, charming yet terrifying etc.

[@CT-Irodion]

There are a dozen evil characters in GTA.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

@@CT-Irodion Yeah, and so many of them are better than Tenpenny lmao. Mike Toreno is a way more interesting villain from the same game, and like OP said Tenpenny is basically just Alonso anyway.

[@Jmoney10000]

I’m hoping he does Handsome Jack from the Borderlands series. Insanely psychotic

[@thekeyandthegate4093]

Trevor from V would be a cool episode.

[@jackalope2302]

@@thekeyandthegate4093 The three protagonists. Mike, an interesting take on the classic Goodfellas / Sopranos type mid life crisis gangster. Franklin, the talented young gangsta Mike takes under his wing. And Trevor, what can't be said about Trevor? A chaotic, incessantly raging storm of a man; fueled by a limitless hunger for sex, money, meth and violence yet, incredibly skilled and (at times) shockingly charismatic.

[@Ironwolf-pm7zs]

The interesting part of Bioshock is that there is never a "pure evil," most everyone has a compelling motive and reasoning that conflicts with others, as well as morality.

[@FriskyDingo909]

I dunno man, what about Suchong?

[@FriskyDingo909]

He's about as immoral as it gets imo.

[@Ironwolf-pm7zs]

@@FriskyDingo909 A scientist blinded by progress.

[@sirnorespond]

Evil compelling motivs so pure evil yeah all day. You could say they weren't all corrupt and that the road to their salvation was not in their favor but as we learn spoilers obviously, Tannenbaum separated herself from the problem so did Jack so the rest let go completely. Hell they thought by the end of it everything they did was just.

[@MJGianesello]

Frank fontaine is a pure, unadultarated, greed ridden piece garbage, that's why he's a perfect foil to ryan. He's the perfeect specimen of the kind of man ryan's utopia allowed to rise to almost absolute power, a bastard with no conscience that doesn't believe in anything, proving to ryan that his ideals were never going to lead any other way but to the self cannibalization of rapture. "No gods, nor kings, only Man" yeah, that kind of man though

[@clementcastro9725]

Yo Armin Shimerman did his voice. Amazing talent. Watched DS9 and did not detect any bit of Quark in his voice

[@bigdgray98]

Apparently the lowered the pitch of his original voice for Ryan, I can't remember the reason why though. But yeah you'd never think it was Quark as Andrew Ryan 😂

[@dying101666]

Quark would have loved Rapture before things went bad.

[@rin-joh8644]

Fun fact: Odo (Rene Auberjonois) voiced Robert Edwin House from Fallout: New Vegas. DS9 had two actors who both voiced characters based off of Howard Hughes.

[@Mirinovic]

@@bigdgray98 In Ryan public speech in Public service anoucment he soud like Quark

[@ChrisSealy1997]

Armin Shimerman was also Principal Snyder from Buffy and he certainly has a lot of Ryan in him especially when he sees Buffy Summers as the ultimate parasite similar to how Ryan saw Fontaine and Atlas

[@rjjacob101]

There's a lot of interesting evil characters from this series you could analyse, I hope you make some more videos for the others as well because this series is really fun.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

Seeing this REALLY brings me hope to see Big Boss from the Metal Gear Solid Series be in an video of Analyzing Evil.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@BaronOfPlagues lol don’t want people catching you say that. The hate that MGS5 gets is absurd where any mention is just an insult to haters.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@BaronOfPlagues mgs5 has the most disappointing story as it doesn't seem like it goes anywhere and alot of it seems like filler in the series but it also has plenty of positives to it all as well like art direction, graphics, some level of humor, and easily the best stealth action gameplay in the series. It’s narrative is massively flawed but damn there’s still a lot to be obtained from it. I can understand why people don't like it though.

[@seliamila1005]

@BaronOfPlagues Big Boss is a villain in some case but Anti-villain or Anti hero in another. I wouldn't call him evil tho especially with the world of MGS so fuck up, also he helped to defeated the patriot AI

[@jeambeam3173]

Fucking YES

[@jeambeam3173]

@@Gadget-Walkmen my biggest complaint is how the missions are set up it's just weird

[@OmnipotentSpud]

Hopefully we can get a Fontaine video? He's just the kind of man Andrew Ryan should have never let into Rapture.

[@seliamila1005]

ironic part is, Ryan and Fontaine are two side of the same coin

[@OmnipotentSpud]

@@seliamila1005 o very much so. I think in Andrew Ryan's mind his world is still pure to his ideal. In Frank Fontaine's mind there are no ideals only results.

[@Mandalore_ultimate]

Also that Karen Sofia Lamb

[@seliamila1005]

@@Mandalore_ultimate all of the rapture 'bright and brightest' are messed up lol

[@Mandalore_ultimate]

@@seliamila1005 Sofia Lamb is the worst one of all in my opinion

[@thedevilluis]

Hell yeah. One of my favorite video game characters. 'We all make choices. But in the end, our choices make us.' - Andrew Ryan

[@williamhayes2960]

I just wish to say, Vile Eye, that I love and adore your KZbin channel. Your videos are so atmospheric and deep when describing the background and psyche of these villains, and I wish you the best of luck in continuing to make these videos. As a writer, your videos are good research material for forming deep, dark, and complex characters that often at times transcend far beyond the benchmark of mere villainy. And that is because your insight and your in-depth analysis make these characters out to be more than just simple evildoers.

[@Jim-iz3oy]

You should do a video on Fontaine too. Daud and the Lord Regent from Dishonored are also pretty interesting when you take their journal’s into consideration.

[@redjirachi1]

"Nothing but crumpled porn and Ayn Rand" Futurama surmising the value of objectivism

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

Objectivism isn't any worse than pure capitalism or communism. Just as unrealistic and unrealistic as each other

[@nasir6r996]

@@Captain_Insano_nomercy er...at least Altruism isn't considered evil in capitalism and communism...

[@endikaaspeurrutia1013]

​@@Captain_Insano_nomercy JAJAJAJAJAJA no

[@NOT_Brian]

Your work is impeccable Vile. The story of this game really was special.. now I'm gonna have to play through it again. Great stuff dude!

[@godlingrapture]

"Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?" Andrew Ryan

[@polisparamountleader]

My respect to you sir, many many videos about bioshock fail to show that Rapture was not simply a mirror of Objectivism, instead, a mixture of Objectivism and a bunch of contradictions, which eventually led to it's downfall. Clearly you've done your research

[@the_exegete]

Objectivism is rife with contradictions already.

[@Erisblackstone]

I've played through Bioshock probably 6 times now? And I've taken an intro philosophy course in my day as a college student, and I'm failing to recognize how it's not just a very obvious send up of Objectivism and Libertarian ideology. 90% of the problems in Rapture would've been solved had they just a functional government. It was Ryan's obsessive ego (because every objectivist I've ever met has one) and adherence to the ideology that destroyed Rapture. There is no situation in which Rapture would've flourished

[@thenonartist4366]

Objectivism is inherently contradictory

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

@@thenonartist4366 so is communism, pure capitalism, and essentially every other ideology. They all rely on utopian conditions

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

@@Erisblackstone well Ken Levine literally says the game isn't just bashing objectivism. So that's kinda all there is to it

[@joecoleman1403]

Adore this channel and the content. I would feel guilty if I didn't throw out these ideas for future subjects: 1. Shang Tsung 2. Horus Lupercal 3. The Kingpin Please keep doing what you're doing!!!

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

Excited for yet another masterpiece of a video. I hope you consider doing Senator Armstrong from Metal Gear as well, his ideological foundation is worth exploring & is very similar to Ryan's in many ways.

[@billlupin8345]

It's a facade. He sees a broken system, and he echoes it, trying to break it further. He wants to destroy America.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

@@billlupin8345 Yeah, that's the point. In Armstrong's view, democracy's emphasis on equality undermines the strong; who are America's rightful rulers. He also sees it as undermining America's natural ideological root of individualism. To Armstrong, America as we know it needs to be destroyed; in order for the path to be cleared for a new order.

[@billlupin8345]

@@KevinJohnson-cv2no Armstrong then is an anarchist. Ayn Rand wasn't. She believed the government should exist to protect the rights of the weak, so a barbarian doesn't just waltz in, take Hank Rearden's money, and shit on his desk because he's physically not strong enough to stop it.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

@@billlupin8345 Yeah, that is correct. Armstrong's political ideology is what is known as Avaritionism, which is essentially Anarcho-Capitalism without the NAP. I should have noted in my original comment that there are also stark differences between their ideologies, but I thought it was implied and wanted to keep the comment short lol. I completely agree with the denouncement of Armstrong's anarchist leanings (though not for the reasons you may think). Also, your definition of "The Strong" is severely lacking. It doesn't merely entail physical strength, in such a world one would use any/all means necessary to achieve the upper-hand over others; weaponized intelligence can be far more effective. Barbarians won't waltz right in if the office entrance is booby-trapped, or if the owner has secured the entrance with his own militia.

[@billlupin8345]

@@KevinJohnson-cv2no No, but another industrialist with a larger set of mercs would. Strength isn't just physical might, as you said.

[@thomaslee8088]

....This is levels of quality abouve whats usually done in this channel (barred an actual philosophical discourse in the rethorics). With the understanding of objectivisms real world implications, and at the same time giving an honest record of its intuitive tenets, through a slightly misguided game representation, I must say this is worthy of a lecture. Well done sir. This is youtube when its at its best.

[@EmperorHelix]

I'd love to see the following someday: Eric Cartman - South Park Caesar (Edward Sallow) - Fallout New Vegas The Prophet of Truth - Halo series The Illusive Man - Mass Effect series King Radovid the Stern - Witcher series

[@6Qubed]

Ryan didn't make Rapture for anyone but himself. If we're looking at videogame evil, I'd recommend Handsome Jack from Borderlands, and all of Vault-Tec from Fallout.

[@jacksefton51]

How about the company of the 1st surge game?

[@homie_rome4288]

You should put this series on Spotify. Whenever I listen I usually am doing other activities like working out and that would make it really convenient.

[@vincentwhitehead]

The fact that two well-known actors who played Star Trek characters are also in this makes my inner trekkie happy (Armin shimerman and JG hertzler voiced both andrew ryan and Dr. Grossman respectively)

[@conormcginn3312]

Bioshock is an iconic game. I know I have said this before, but I think making a video on Homelander from the Boys would be a great video

[@thegravewalker7645]

I'm surprised he hasn't done that yet

[@SpaceAgeDave]

Me too but I think he should wait until the next season, because as we all know Homelander is geared up to lose his shit even more.

[@colonelthunderbolt4396]

As a teen I used to feel sorry for Ryan, believing he had a great vision and that his city was wrongfully taken from him. Then I got older.

[@KaosNova2]

Rapture itself was the evil, corrupted place that had to go. It was one corrupted person (Ryan) vs a Con Man on steroids (Fontaine). A society that upheld serial killers like Steinmann and Cohen as decent people.

[@feartheghus]

He had a vision that would’ve been great we’re it not for the stripping of morality from it. Freedom is good, freedom from “God” has always lead to genocide and the complete lack of actual freedom, every single time.

[@KaosNova2]

@@feartheghus Well Andrew Ryan didn’t believe in God, personally. He had an ideal vision that people if free to pursue their aims, could prosper. Similarly, you don’t need to use God in the argument for natural rights. You just need to realize that in a society where you do not uphold rights to life and rights to property, you lose cohesion and discipline in that society.

[@Journeying.]

@@feartheghusWell said!

[@youarepredictable]

...and realized you needed government taxation, bureaucracy, and cronyism to keep afloat...right? Yeah.....

[@stevenb7038]

I’d like to see this channel’s take on this dishonored series. There’s a multitude of different villains, always different/intersecting, goals, and ambitions, that I think would make it a very interesting video.

[@an-animal-lover]

Ooh, yes

[@tzufbb]

Imagine Walt Disney taking control of Atlantica due to labor strikes during world war two and then continue to inviting all the villains of Disney films to compete for power

[@mathiasleyssens8271]

This is amazing! I just thought about this literally like a day ago. "Analysing evil should really do more video games, like Andrew ryan from bioshock and Caesar from Fallout New Vegas."

[@DerpindKhersion]

The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions I can Name Half A Dozen Evil People who had Good Intentions

[@Huspree2011]

Don't ask, "what can I live with, but what can I die with?" We can craft a narrative to justify any action. But in death all the lies we tell ourselves are stripped away, and we stand defenseless against our decisions in life. I believe that is why Napoleon is said to have begged forgiveness on his death bed. Who was he begging? People in the room? The world? God? No, I believe he was begging forgiveness from that inner voice who stripped him of the lies he told himself throughout life and condemned him.

[@SophiaOfAthens]

Ryan: "Though my physical defenses fall, you'll not defeat me. My strength is not in steel and fire, but in my intellect and will. You hear me, Atlas?! Andrew Ryan offers you nothing but ashes!" This is one of the most powerful lines in the game, and I love it.

[@gravity1537]

24:52 "It isn't exactly as innocent as letting someone indulge in a drug that puts a little pep in their step." I mean, that's one way to describe doing hard drugs.

[@ymtmtptvbo]

This is seriously the channel that KZbin doesn't deserve. Thank you for the consistent quality and for giving me something to look forward to and revisit with just as much pleasure.

[@MChantal76]

I would love to hear your thoughts on these characters... Percy Wetmore and Wild Bill from "The Green Mile" Blanche and Jane Hudson from "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? " Randall Flagg from "The Stand" Greg Stillson from "The Dead Zone" Mrs. Camody from "The Mist" Alex Forrest from "Fatal Attraction" Henry Bowers from "It" Rhoda Penmark from "The Bad Seed" Harry Powell from "Night of the Hunter" Nino Brown from "New Jack City" Nina Myers from "24" Joan Crawford from "Mommie Dearest" Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" Tyler Durden from "Fight Club" King Edward I aka "Longshanks" from "Braveheart" The Governor, Alpha, and Negan from "The Walking Dead" Gus Fring and The Salamancas from "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" Kilgrave from "Jessica Jones" Joe Goldberg from "You" Keyser Soze from "The Usual Suspects" Francie Brady from "The Butcher Boy" Dwight Hansen from "This Boy's Life" Betty Wendell from "THEM" Delores Umbridge from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" John Ryder from "The Hitcher" Grandmother and Mother from "Flowers in the Attic" Carl Stargher from "The Cell" Barbara and Carol Denning from "OITNB"

[@mertturna147]

thanks a lot to whoever that patron is, I always wanted this vid since the beginning

[@Shy-xm4kn]

This was the first game series I played on my own at 13, to this day it’s my favorite series. So much so I’m making my BF who never played it play it and I’m watching him and cheerleading him on lol.

[@olm8829]

BioShock may be my favourite game series ever, so, I’d like to say you, thank you very much for covering Andrew Ryan! The worlds (both Rapture and Columbia), the gameplay, the lore, the plot, the villains, just everything about these games, especially the first one, is amazing. True masterpieces of the gaming industry, perhaps even to the point where the word “art” suits them better than the word “industry”. I’d love to see a proper state-of-the-art remasters of these games.

[@1MrAshey]

Ryan: We have free market without any limitations on means, and harsh competition is paramount to success. Only the strongest survive. Fontaine: *introduces new product and usurps the market by getting rid of competition through combination of various means as they are all not prohibited* Also Fontaine later: *starts to threaten Ryan's economic hegemony only by manipulating free market* Ryan: wait hold on that's illegal you are criminal! :o

[@TheOsamaBahama]

It's not as simple as that. Fontaine was a mob boss. He killed people, including people who worked for him.

[@1MrAshey]

@@TheOsamaBahama That is very true and it is an important nuance, however, as I said, none of his crimes were proactively prohibited iirc, only retroactively and after they started personally affecting Ryan's affairs. The difference may be is that Ryan's clique used crime, violence and coercion against who they deemed lesser i.e. workers and less successful entrepreneurs, while Fontaine's criminal antics started to affect higher class citizenship as well. One could argue about supposed lesser evil here, but doesn't it seem that the entire system is extremely cruel and flawed, and it actually heavily encourages people like Fontaine to deal in crime and prosper? Because if one thinks about it, it was only until they cross path with an actual leader turned tyrant, that they got any sort of repercussions, which by extent also affected everyone else with a huge unnecessary collateral. I still stand by my initial whimsical point that Ryan got burned heavily by the very exact supposed personal utopia he tried to construct and by the very exact socio-economic processes he endorsed

[@pheenmachine]

The Novelization of Bioshock was really well done, I recommend it to any fans .

[@JaxonHex]

I find it ironic he literally became the kind of person him and his father fled from in the 1910's.

[@Ziegrif]

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - John Rogers.

[@Zodicus]

I would love for you to dissect the absolutely unwavering, cold and calculating evil of Johan Liebert from Monster. That would be quite entertaining.

[@neonpitchforks]

This is the best channel on KZbin right now

[@randalloriginals230]

Ideas for future episodes: Cell (Dragon Ball Z) Armstrong (Metal Gear Rising) Norman Osborne (Toby Maguire Spiderman 1) Officer Tenpenny (GTA, San Andreas) Zamasu (Dragon Ball Super)

[@dr.k8610]

One of my favorite villains in a game despite barely being onscreen, sorta like Armstrong.

[@andrewemerson7861]

Bioshock is my favorite game ever!

[@Niko6767]

Same I bought it at local grocery store when I was younger when they use to carry games

[@archieames1968]

Bioshock implements the 'I overheard my apolitical brother reminiscing about a crazy beggar ranting on the street about Ayn Rand a few years ago" version of objectivism.

[@eddieguerrerofantasy]

I hope you will analyze also frank Fontaine, a truly evil genius and in my personal opinion the best villain in bioshock

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Frank Fontaine was smart enough to have long-term plan (take over Rapture) and too stupid to ask "and then what". Rapture was already breaking down (physically) from civil war he launched and in the end his reign was short moment on throne atop pile of rubble about to be buried by Atlantic. Andrew Ryan had made sure leaving was very difficult and his death most likely made it even more so.

[@burtemis1]

I was very skeptical of this video at first. Atlas Shrugged is one of my favorite stories, and Bioshock one of my favorite series. I’ve seen countless people entirely miss the mark. You, however, did not. Thanks for all the amazing content.

[@RobouteGuilliman-M41]

So he claims to hate dictatorial, repressive, brutal governments, as well as hating morality and the "greater good", and he becomes a dictatorial, repressive, brutal politician that revels in immorality and seems to push his own, twisted version of a "greater good"

[@lisboah]

The thing is Andrew Ryan is only against those things when he's the one being screwed. He was all about freedom when no one was a threat to him. The moment people become threat, even if they are doing precisely what Andrew Ryan preached about, he will get rid of them solely to stay on top.

[@KaosNova2]

There was an old philosophical saying that staring too much into the Abyss is risky.

[@WalkingthePlank28]

so surprised and happy you did this video! I am not a big gamer but I absolutely love this series and couldnt get enough of it

[@xavenstelmack1411]

Do Lots-o-huggin bear from Toy Story 3. He is an amazing villain.

[@angbandsbane]

This should be a good watch. I've always liked how at first glance Ryan betrayed his ideals (using political power to squash competition and nationalizing everything to fight the war), but when you think about it, his ideals boil down to "Win by any means necessary" which he kind of did. He's basically at the point where hypocrisy loops back around into sincere fanaticism.

[@armoroftruth3166]

Another interesting villain to review is Bill Cipher,he is basically a cartoony version of Nyarlatheotep

[@michigan102]

In fallout new Vegas if you kill house with a golf club you complete an achievement called "a slave obeys" or something like that. Badass

[@briancorvello3620]

People like Ryan call it "objectism". Sane people have other names for it, Entitlement, Selfishness, and Greed, and in some cases, Social Darwinism. Often with Arrogance and Egotism thrown in.

[@watching7721]

The character is definitely a critique of Ayn Rand's philosophy, objectivism

[@artair70]

Sounds perfectly reasonable, collectivism has been disastrous for us, why wouldn't Alexander be entitled to his Empire?

[@steamworks3823]

Would you kindly remember the most quoted line in bioshock. A man chooses, a slave obeys

[@lexofexcel886]

Rand + Nietzsche: two acquired tastes that go awful together.

[@PauloSilva-ep9ox]

não se vc for um CEO rs!!

[@equaltoreality8028]

They are functional opposites.

[@Overseer-yx9tk]

Bill McDonagh said it best: _"You don't heat the pipes, the pipes freeze. Pipes freeze, pipes burst. Then Rapture leaks."_ Andrew believed that He did not need to keep tabs on his city, that it could regulate by itself...until It couldn't, but when he realized the leaks were already begining to happen; this rings true in Bioshock 2 as well, with other characters apart from Fontaine vying to take his place. The utopia He wished to bring into existance could only be allowed to exist as long as He commandeered it in a way that He himself saw fit.

[@hallowself852]

I'd love to see Analyzing Evil: Sophia Lamb next, hell Suchong, Tenenbaum, Fontaine, Sinclair, Bioshock is a treasure trove for this channel lol.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat would make a great video.

[@TempestRequiem0]

Gaunter O'Dimm from The Witcher. Could let you cover a lot of parallel mythologies regarding the devil as well.

[@TealWolf26]

I second this.

[@kbennett2587]

Someone has got to know, is there one fictional or historical character that followed Frederick Nietzsche's philosophy who wasn't completely evil or had their vision collapse?

[@gehmli]

Arnold Schwarzenegger (and fittingly, the film version of Conan the Barbarian) encapsulate Nietzsche's ideals pretty well. Salahadin Ib Mualin and Andrew Carnegie could fit as well. The bigger issue is that Nietzsche's philosophy very actively sees morality as something superficial, impressed upon us by society's attempt to keep us restrained/oppressed. To someone who doesn't follow his philosophy, his followers would be seen as evil most likely, because true followers would actively ignore such restrictions. Hence "beyond good and evil."

[@Peasham]

That wouldn't make much sense, the philosophy's pretty self-destructive.

[@gehmli]

@@Peasham all ideas that encourage overcoming your place in society are inherently self-destructive; for society to work, people must be controlled to an extent. Anyone seeking unadulterated freedom is an inherent threat to the "greater good."

[@Peasham]

@@gehmli Except the progress and betterment of society always came about by people rejecting their place in society. So, no.

[@gehmli]

@@Peasham but what is progress and betterment for society? For there to be improvements, there must be a goal. So the question then becomes what is the point of society? Generally, history has argued that its purpose is to ensure stability/safety for as many people as possible. Therefore progress is any adjustments that further ensure longevity to our lives. If one argues that the purpose of society is to ensure happy lives, than progress and betterment would be catering to the wishes of as many people as possible. While you could absolutely argue that going against the grain/rising up helps enlighten society to its flaws, and therefore help improve it, this only progresses society if the nonconformist's end goal is to remain a part of said society. Nietzsche's philosophies (the ones Ryan seems to adhere to anyway) generally revolve around the concept of ascending to a point where the individual no longer needs society. The rub is that society (regardless of its purpose) does not function unless the people have a symbiotic relationship with it. Society needs conformity at large, and nonconformists only serve society if they are pointing out flaws. If they nonconform purely because they want to be separate from the society, they are an inherent threat to it, because they create a sort of "blood loss" to the body of society. This is actually where most definitions of "good and evil" come from, ultimately boiling down to "good" being "what keeps the group whole/safe/happy" and "evil" being "what harms the group physically/otherwise." So yes, the teachings are potentially self-destructive, but so if any way of thinking that encourages "fuck everyone else, I'm focusing on me," because society can't sustain itself if such thinking is allowed to run rampant in it's midst.

[@chrisb4131]

Quick note, when Ken Levine was making this game, he named the Fountainhead as a huge influence in Andrew Ryan.

[@carloscaro9121]

Of course Ayn Rand's novels were huge influences. Andrew Ryan is clearly based of Ayn Rand's idealized man, named in homage of her, and Rapture is Galt's Gulch underwater with ADAM serving a role similar to Rearden Metal or the static electricity machines in Atlas Shrugged. Levine and any other writers clearly thought it wouldn't play out the way Rand thought it would.

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

@@carloscaro9121 he also said that Bioshock wasn't a criticism of Ayn Rand or objectivism, which I respected a lot. It would make the story quite shallow if it was a critique of one philosophy

[@mrsubject1]

Dude I have no clue why i didnt see this and watch it the moment it came out, Andrew Ryan is one of my favourite antagonists ever from my favourite franchise got to say thanks to the patrons!

[@blackhawk3975]

I want Vile to cover Sophia Lamb now, I'd like to hear his take on her.

[@Delightfully_Witchy]

Sophia was certainly a viler character, but I felt she felt less real than Andrew Ryan. Andrew Ryan felt like a man doggedly determined to stick to his principles, to his own detriment. Sophia Lamb felt like a 4 year supervillain being as literal as possible to fuck with people.

[@blackhawk3975]

@@Delightfully_Witchy still wanna see him cover her though.

[@sbraypaynt]

Swap the last three letters of Ayn Rand's name. And Ryan...Andrew Ryan.

[@Hunter-kn5bq]

Ooh interesting character! Can’t wait to watch this one

[@bluestrike01]

When a big group of people fear the corruptive enemies of goverments, kings and gods. I always see they forget one important thing. They have eachother! Use that teamwork to face and fight the fear and rebuild society again into something stronger to protect and free ourselves as one country. Ryan's believes kinda proves that point.

[@yourlocalbicronoverlord]

Tbh I don’t see how the scene from the book with the two business owners is against objectivist principles. It wasn’t that Ryan was refusing to let the free market stop the trash collector business owner from being boycotted or blacklisted or whatever else, it’s that the victim was asking Ryan to use his position as member and nominal head of Rapture’s Government to instate regulations that would stop the trash collector from dumping garbage in front of his competitors store. Ryan refused to do that since doing otherwise would go against objectivism, it would be the state interfering with the free market and business’ rights to operate as they see fit

[@lisboah]

Shep controlled the garbage picking in the entire area, he was demanding Gravenstein to pay 10 times for the garbage pickup, and he was letting the garbage pile up right next to Gravenstein's store, and most of said garbage wasn't even Gravenstein's. The first is ok, the second is somewhat morally shady and the third is downright petty. All Gravenstein wanted was a public garbage picķup, but Andrew instantly saw this as a communist policy.