The Psychology of Johnny Silverhand: Cyberpunk 2077 - Therapist Reacts!

Join psychotherapist Georgia Dow as she delves into the captivating character of Johnny Silverhand in the game Cyberpunk 2077. In this insightful video, Georgia explores the unique qualities that make Johnny so endearing to players and fans alike. From his calm demeanor to his unwavering commitment to his word and actions, Georgia showcases how Johnny's multifaceted personality leaves a lasting impression on the audience. Through engaging analysis, she sheds light on the allure of this enigmatic character, revealing the intricate balance of traits that contribute to Johnny Silverhand's undeniable charm in Cyberpunk 2077. Don't miss this thought-provoking exploration that unravels the essence of Johnny Silverhand, elevating him to a beloved icon within the world of cyberpunk gaming.
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[@GeorgiaDow]

Check out my psychology reaction to the Phantom Liberty DLC character Songbird! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZq3mH-FYquqqJY

[@Eckister]

Johnny was a truly fascinating character, despite his controversies. However I do disagree that he has few anxieties - he has a pretty strong fear of loss and insecure attachments, so anyone whom he cares about can trigger his anxiety (Alt, Kerry, Rogue ... later on even V). Even the things he does (being a rocker, attacking Arasaka, lashing out at people whenever he feels like it) come from being anxious all the time. V does say when experiencing his memories for the first time ".... I scream into a microphone but don't feel any better afterwards." which is one of the reasons why I believe what I wrote earlier.

[@dustind4694]

Seconding the insecure attachment style and fear of loss. Grief and abandonment are things that break his facade of apathy real quick. And the anxiety... Not sure how much is just environmental (the world of Cyberpunk is a nightmare) and how much is 'nobody got this man a therapist because they like the art that came from his pain'. But it's a mix, I'll wager.

[@Eckister]

@@dustind4694 I'd say it is not just NC, but that place definitely is extremely volatile. The latest corpo war was apparently quite awful as well, if the Aldecaldo veterans are to be believed - if the radiation didn't give you stress, the possibility of a firefight did. And that is not even touching upon the guilt of losing a friend who sacrificed their life for him. So coming out of that he likely looked something like David at the end of that episode where Maine had that face-off with the police (in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners). And after Alt .....

[@dustind4694]

@@Eckister That's fair. I think I default to Night City because it's the core of the setting. Sorta like I sometimes derp on the rest of Shadowrun's expansive and fascinating alt future. But yes. There are definitely reasons he is the way he is. And not all of them are just 'he's kind of egotistical'. If anything that's tertiary. No one comes through the world of Cyberpunk completely compos mentis.

[@Eckister]

@@dustind4694 well coming solely from the game (I never played the tabletop) I have no real idea what NC was like in/prior to 2023 (at least I think that was the year when Atlantis nuked the 'saka tower). Apparently not THAT much different, but since mercs refused to hire themselves out to corps, unemployment would have been even higher and thus the streets would have been more volatile? But those are assumptions. And it IS natural to default to NC, he apparently had most of his carreer there.

[@brianl8481]

Unfortunately, if we take Alt’s (and the word of Mike Pondsmith, I believe) word for it, Johnny’s memories can’t be trusted.

[@khenevvir6873]

Silverhand is literally the embodiment of every nuance in the verb "to live". he's as raw and flesh & blood as one can get. he comes off as deranged at first knocking his head and threatening but you've got to understand that the corporate took his BODY from him, the thing he values above all else. i'd even go as far to call him a superfeeler (an extremely jaded/depressed one). there are moments where he makes quite heartfelt and empathetical observations. on the subject of death, you've got to analyse the "SINNERMAN" quest!! please please pretty please!! it is 100% more poignant take on this very subject matter!

[@firestorm165]

I second the motion to cover the sinnerman quest. It has so much to dig into

[@nateo200]

I third the sinnerman quest request!

[@greedy_mf]

I fourth the sinnerman quest request!

[@RSpracticalshooting]

Sinnerman is one of the best questlines I've ever played in a video game.

[@BenHopkins1000]

Girl V: In life, he sang to me. In death, he came. A voice that calls to me, and asks my name. And though I live again, for now, I find, THE PHANTOM OF ARASAKA IS THERE INSIDE MY MIND! 😱

[@blackshard641]

"He's still fighting for humanity." IS he though!? I don't think he's in it for humanity, he's just desperately afraid of not being remembered. "He doesn't need the adoration of others." No, no, no. You are absolutely, 100% wrong here. Don't buy into Johnny's version of himself; this is a man with some serious narcissistic tendencies. He DOES need the attention. His obsessive "main character syndrome" is the passion that both invigorates and ultimately tears apart the band Samurai. It's what destroys his relationship with Alt, and what leads him to accidentally kill her by pulling her plug. He then displaces anger over his failures onto others. "He has a good sense of who he is." See, that's the thing, though. Johnny is an unreliable narrator. The sequences you play as him in his past are a power fantasy, with Johnny at the center of everything. Those are all a distortion of the truth, filtered through Johnny's self image. Alt Cunningham says as much later on. "We want to feel we have left behind a legacy... he doesn't feel like he did enough." This is critically important to his growth. Johnny's character arc is one of repeatedly confronting the fact that the world has moved on and largely forgotten him, after which he softens, admits his flaws, and allows himself to celebrate the accomplishments of others. This is a story about learning humility and empathy in the face of death - it's very similar to A Christmas Carol that way. "He still cares." That's actually pretty ambiguous. He certainly softens. But it's very difficult to tell how much is still the act of a narcissist. This is why I say that Keanu Reeves was an absolutely brilliant casting choice. He is so charming, it's difficult to see him as the bad guy. In the Cyberpunk universe, rockerboys like Johnny Silverhand are like cult leaders. Even if you believe in his cause, you should be concerned at his methods and what they say about him, and about humanity at large.

[@vanity1602]

Wow...great analysis

[@ForestRaptor]

This is very true. Most first reads of Johnny will be of this false narrative. But knowing more about the world and the context, once you accept he is not a reliable narrator then you get to that deeper reading

[@nikkinyx5745]

This is what I find interesting though, because yeah, he casts himself as the main character and completely erases Morgan blackhand from the equation during the tower assault, but he also casts himself as the villain, I.e he didn't actually set off the nuke that killed people and he was never the person that disconnected Alt and killed her, it was Toshiro Arasaka tripping over the cable. He does have extremely narc tendencies, but I think it's to cover for how much he actually hates himself. So much so that he's almost blind to anything that doesn't concern him, being in Vs head and being forced to face the fallout of all his actions (and actually *feel* how it feels) makes him get his head out of his arse. At least that's my take, I find him very interesting

[@nolgroth]

Everything I need to know about Johnny Mnemonichand comes from what V says about him when they first wake up. I don't remember the exact quote, but it was about Johnny's insatiable rage and hate. After that, V becomes a progressively less reliable narrator as Johnny's engram spreads. By the end of the game, V is much more Johnny than V.

[@AmataTai]

V & Silverhand's relationship is verrrry relatable under the lens of DID/OSDD, and I loved the story all the more for it. I really wished for an ending where the psyches coexist at the end

[@Lauren_C]

I’d like for a non-canon joke ending, where V announces to Johnny that he’s getting a new roommate.

[@masterridley8593]

The fact he's played by Keanu Reeves also helps too somewhat, but mostly what you said.

[@chongxina8288]

30 seconds in and I absolutely LOVE the fact that you have a silver hand! 😂 Definitely interesting subject matter.

[@jesheezy]

What about Johnny during his tirades (usually right after a mission when V is puking)? They seemed like situations when Johnny was actually stressed out and I don't think you covered any of those

[@tuthofty5726]

Could you do Carmy from The Bear or any one of those characters?

[@AesirUnlimited]

“Test of a person’s true value? Death. Facing it, staring it down. You still got a chance to be somebody.” -Johnny Silverhand

[@GergelyGyurics]

Came to the comment section to write this.

[@phitien5108]

@@GergelyGyurics

[@GergelyGyurics]

@@phitien5108yes?

[@pontifeofastora9752]

@@@GergelyGyurics

[@tehduff1061]

Johnny is one of 2 game characters ive been impressed with the writing and structure of character. Him and Pagin Min from far cry 4, yeah pagin is insane a bit but johnny is a terroist.

[@Mario53415]

Another interesting wrinkle to the scene where Johnny gives V the dog tags is that those dog tags are actually his! The tags read Robert John Linder which is Johnny's real birth name. It's very interesting that he has seemed to divorce himself from his old life as Robert Linder and now only sees Silverhand. But considering that Johnny says the war he served in was the turning point in his life I can see how Robert Linder did indeed "die" in that war and only Johnny Silverhand made it back. Something tells me that not even Johnny's closest friends knew what happened during his service and him disclosing such guarded information (Johnny hid the tags in a hidey hole in a rundown hotel after deserting) to V really shows his true intentions and commitment to trying to save V.

[@Ziegrif]

According to series creator Mike Pondsmith Johnny is also a cyberpsycho and when he does horrible things he explains it as "the hand took over." He's also the reason why V doesn't go psycho even if he's wearing the GDP of a small nation as cyber enhancements, Johnny is taking the blows to the psyche so to say.

[@ssfbob456]

His memories are also lying to you, none of what you see from his perspective is reality, just his version.

[@keflas3842]

@@ssfbob456it’s absolutely not true there are table top games and books proving you both wrong. You either can get it or you don’t its a 0 and 1 , and what I just said references every person except morgan blackhand have had questionable views of arasaka bombing

[@ssfbob456]

@keflas3842 Okay, the way you wrote that doesn't make a lot of sense, but in the Cyberpunk Red core book says that the Arasaka tower bombing was orchestrated by Militech, who hired Morgan Blackhand to carry it out, it wasn't Johnny's gig like 2077 says it was. He hired two teams for it, one led by Rogue and one led by him. Rogue's team was to be a distraction, drawing Arasaka's forces up the tower while Blackhand's team went in low since the whole point was destroying Arasaka's data repository from before Bartmoss destroyed the old net. Johnny was outright killed by Adam Smasher when the hand told him to go out with a bang, and was likely soulkilled by Spyder Murphy there on the scene. In 2077 Alt even says that the memories you see are Johnny's subjective reality and that they don't resemble what actually happened. And then there's one of the writers who said "Johnny is an unreliable narrator. Think about it, he was doing a concert with Samurai despite the band having been broken up for ten years. It was Johnny's gig, Johnny had the nuke, Johnny was fine where a seven foot tall cyborg got taken out, Johnny is running around one shotting all of Arasaka's elite guards, and he even got The man himself to use soulkiller on him. The whole thing is Johnny telling himself he was more important than he actually was."

[@vanspoorsveeplays357]

​@@keflas3842I'm more inclined to agree with Pondsmith, considering it's his universe.

[@lostnemesis]

The exact quote I read for the main comment is he's half cyberpsycho as a whole. For the guy who got dog piled. There is many reasons in the cyberpunk books for why Johnny's memories aren't quite right, If you go really into the lore you get to the point to where are you have the theory of how butchered Johnny's engram is. And the possibility that he could be meshed with other engrams like Morgan Blackhand, You also have the book with angel that is most certainly at least part of alt Cunningham considering she is a clone body which means spider Murphy at the very least got some of her back and put her into a biotecnika clone body. But in that story Johnny's engram was held next to a nuke which of course the radiation degraded it, And then you have the most straightforward one of he is a narcissist but also he to be more accurate disassociates from things he's done, like the fact that no one really sacrificed themselves for him if you read the dog-tags it's his dog tags so to be more accurate the way he rationalized that someone died for him but it was just his past self, But even that with further friendship through the game you can get him to recognize it because a few of the endings of phantom Liberty he does realize these things about himself.

[@CyberMercy]

...and that's why Mike Pondsmith says every time he meets a girl who wants to find a guy just like Johnny he wants to give them the number of a good therapist. 😎☕💋

[@LeftyConspirator]

My theory is that sharing a mind with V changed Silverhand and made him try to reach out to his old friends, to try to make whatever amends he was able to for the asshole behaviour he had exhibited in his life. It made him realise how harmful his monomaniacal drive to destroy Arasaka and anyone else he considered his enemies had been to his personal relationships.

[@firestorm165]

That's a theory I have a very easy time believing, especially the way I play ... most of my Vs

[@shizachan8421]

We know that Johnny Silverhand when he was alive already crosses the line into Cyberpsychosis. I feel like sharing his consciousness with V, who by default kind of seems to be much more in touch with their humanity, more healthy, more empathetic and obviously capable of forming deep, stable and healthy relationships with the people around them probably helped easing the symptoms of his Cyberpsychosis and have a more reflected outlook on himself. We know that canonically, Johnnys presence really eases chroming up for V and help them not to develope Cyberpsychosis due to Johnny sharing alot of the internal stress and dissociation that comes with Cyberware and I think that could be a two way street.

[@cstrife420]

​@@shizachan8421or maybe because the engram of johnny isnt having to deal with the physical negatives of his "silverhand" hes more level headed and sharing a mind with v just pushed him into a direction he always could have gone down, but destroyed himself and his relationships with anger and obsession because of the negative affects of his arm.

[@shizachan8421]

@@cstrife420 True, being an engram probably would alleviate the active effects of cyberpsychosis, though I also always felt like the Arm was always just a convenient scapegoat for him not even trying to regulate his behavior. Like, guy was extremely well functioning for a Cyberpsycho, but he also never really needed to keep his worst impulses in check because with his charme, there was always somebody who would have him. In that regard, I feel like him not being able to get away from V but also not being able to interact with others kinda forces Johnny over time to get his act together, because he does not want to risk to lose Vs friendship. I mean, even in the Never fade away flashback, as unreliable as it was, you can see Johnny first acting all unbothered that Alt leaves him and then still runs after her.

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

I think that by taking over V's mind Johnny took parts of V in as well. For better or worse it might have made him rethink his own experiences.

[@stranded.comics]

Silverhand: "Ya know V, everything I did... I kept on saying that it was for a cause- and I mean it- it was but... I just wanted to feel something. Ya know, just like everyone else, but feel something... different. Thanks V. It was fun slapping arasaska in the face again." *Johnny disintegrates into a line of code, he's gone and V wakes up*

[@theoxbeling]

when does he say that?

[@MingledDruid517]

It might be interesting for you to revisit this after Phantom Liberty is released. Apparently it will dive much more into his history and might give more insight into his personality.

[@alexcavazos3341]

Lol it really doesnt, i mean in he opens up abit but it doesnt give us any special knowledge.

[@brancolt_]

in a certain ending he admits he admires songbird for having similar actions as him, but also for having what he always lacked: follow through. Johnny always spoke high and mighty but his actions never backed him up. I liked that moment

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

I guess you must have missed the juicy bits. At the end he got all misty eyed over the outcome and musing about his own choices.@@alexcavazos3341

[@tristanstebbens1358]

​@@alexcavazos3341I mean depending on dialogue choices he outright admits he did the things he did in part to please the crowd. Which does stem from his personality issues.

[@entercreativename]

When the video game came out I was going through some pretty terrible health problems that led to me needing dialysis. But, at the time leading up to that point, I had just given up. Nothing left to lose? I figured I had lost it all already and I was just waiting for the end to come to me. I credit those characters in that game, especially Johnny's and V's reactions to the troubles in their lives to helping me realize that I definitely had more than a right to stand up for myself and fight for my life. Within a week of finishing the game for the first time, I had been referred to a new specialist who was willing to treat the autoimmune disorder that the previous specialist was refusing to treat, and we not only delayed dialysis by a couple of years, I was able to find a new sense of hope that there still was plenty left to my life, I just had to adapt to the changes better. And with the help of the caregiving team around me, I have adapted, and am now discovering so many things I am capable of that, prior to all of this, I thought I could not do. In general, the game taught me how to better deal with my own trauma, and how not to just give in or give up in the face of an adversity that I thought too big to overcome. And on my first day of dialysis, I was offered a job application to work at the clinic there.

[@classicslover]

Wish there was an emoji for a STANDING OVATION! Bravo! IMPRESSIVE show of character in the midst of adversity! INTERNET HIGH FIVE!

[@anamariaramirez9341]

Bravo! 👏👏👏👏

[@spinekingjrgensen5779]

No one take that away from you. Self worth and inner happiness is something you must convince yourself to give yourself. We’re all proud of you man!

[@Saintfan24]

We now meet his successor, Georgia Silverhand.

[@GeorgiaDow]

haha = ))

[@R_FangZ]

So glad you're covering CP2077! Silverhand is such a badass and a cool character to talk about, with so many layers to him. For all his flaws, he definitely is an endearing character, but there's also that selfish and self-centered side of him which I'm not sure if you're planning to talk about in the future. Rogue at one point says he'd burn half of Night City just to prove he was right and the other half just for fun (exaggerating ofc, but her point is clear) and the flashbacks with Alt also show he wasn't exactly the perfect partner. Johnny himself admits most people close to him couldn't even stand to be in the same room with him. I think overall the scene where they both try to find his grave in the junkyard and don't find it is an important moment in both Johnny's and V's arc. Awesome video, I'd love to see more of CP2077 :D

[@DaDoonieBandit]

CP2077 is insane

[@nothanks8128]

CP2077😂😂😂

[@kaelell4697]

NOOOO DONT ABBREVIATE CYBERPUNK NOOOO

[@franciscotavares9529]

@@kaelell4697 HAAAAANK!!!HAAAANK! DONT ABBREVIATE CYBERPUNK!! HAAAANK!!!

[@mnk9073]

I always loved that talking to Rogue, Kerry, Alt and the other old acquaintances reveal how the "memories" Johnny shows V were mostly utter narcissistic BS. Him one shot-ing everyone at Arasaka Tower is the first and not very subtle hint that you aren't seeing the past of Johnny Silverhand but _The Past of Johnny Silverhand, badass rockerboy rebel with a cause_ , written and directed by Johnny Silverhand.

[@ajtheva6694]

Thank you for the vid. I've always found Silverhand an interesting character and i appropriate the deep dive into him. Your the best.

[@christophertryhorn784]

Johnny is an interesting character he is just as trustworthy as he is untrustworthy. You trust him with your body and he does his own thing which wasn’t what he promised. I always find myself both liking and disliking him but I get why he became the way he became and love how spending time with V he realises how badly he messed up and would do things differently if he could.

[@VinAn-d8m]

While on the surface it seems he forgets about you and just starts doing johnny stuff, if you analyse it carefully everything he does he does with the goal in mind, it's just his style. He doesn't go to a random bar, he doesn't speak to a random dancer, etc.

[@gaia7240]

In a sense he Is a bit like Jack Sparrow

[@BHRamsay]

I feel like Johnny is an unreliable narrator of his own life. Alt Cunningham, or at least the digital ghost using her voice and form implies that Johnny's memories of events are not entirely accurate not just because Johnny wants to see himself as the hero of his own story but ultimately because we don't know what happened to his digital engram while Johnny was inside Mikoshi for fifty years. That said your take on the version of Johnny Silverhand we meet is pretty accurate.

[@FlashmanJW]

Yeah, his memories paint him as the main character in the Arasaka Tower Bombing, but in truth, it was the solo Morgan Blackhand with Militech that squared off with Smasher on the rooftop and helped blow up the tower. Johnny was killed nearly immediately after Smasher came in.

[@dantespicysausage9615]

Johnny was in the 4th corpo war according to him, especially once he gives you his dog tags, you can see during the times you let Johnny take control he feels alot better to be in control

[@cyberdaemonfive]

I LOVE this, thank you so much for covering Johnny, he has so much depth and character. Your breakdown was wonderful.

[@GeorgiaDow]

My pleasure!

[@artificergunn3065]

I uh, have definitely felt panicked thinking about before I was born just as much as after I die. It's the ceasing to be part of things that bothers me a lot more than "did my life have meaning" "can I leave a permanent mark"

[@steviez8604]

I feel the same way and I’m anxious every night because of it. 😅🙃

[@empress_alex]

I don't have any anxiety about death or non-existance. I don't want to worry about something that is certain to happen at some point. My philosophy is that when it happens, it happens. I'm not even really too worried about how and when I'll die. I, personally, am more concerned with other people around me dying than my own death. I don't care if I die horribly or in pain, I just hope that none of my loved ones do.

[@Mediados]

I am the person who usually considers every outcome. But this is the one thing I don't think about. Simply because there is no point to it, all we can do is live our life the best way we can, what comes after is not within our power. Let's leave it as a surprise.

[@CreamyGoodness]

Yup, that lack of consciousness, knowing, being, and perceiving is what makes me lose sleep EVERY night

[@rashkavar]

I'm always dubious of the claim that "who a person really is" is "who they are at their most desperate." Granted, that is partly because I typically see the sentiment professed by fictional characters who are far too enthusiastic about torture to accept pretty much any philosophy they deliver. Yes, people in desperate situations can do terrible things. That doesn't make them terrible people inherently deserving of being in those desperate situations. To me, the thing that reveals the truth of a person is power, specifically the power to make choices. When put in a situation where one can choose to help a friend or not do so, what do they choose. When earning enough money to afford to divert some of it, do they put some of that towards charity, or hoard it all for their own personal use? And do they choose to buy ethically sourced goods, or the cheapest stuff made in sweat shops and labour conditions that are closer to slavery than not? When a politician is voted into office, do they advocate for those disadvantaged by society, or do they advocate for the lobbyist that donates the most money to their reelection fund? Do they support a movement that will help the world but isn't particularly popular in their constituency, or do they pander to their own voters to secure their future? Power does not corrupt, power reveals.

[@NATE-op9tq]

100% agree with this. The ability to do anything with enough money gives people the freedom to be themselves. Meanwhile if you're in a rough situation you'll do anything to get out. Like are people that get tortured for information and reveal it traitors? Because a fact of torture is that people will do anything to stop it

[@DaichiTheBrawler]

Love Cyberpunk soooo much. Thanks for doing this hope's there's more 2077 to come

[@magnesium3273]

2.0 welcomes you.

[@hjtheo]

It's also interesting to note which outfit he's wearing depending on the topic he's talking about, and his relationship with V; either his military outfit, dog-tags, and shades, vs more exposing clothing in the form of his Samurai band outfit.

[@GeorgiaDow]

oh you are right nice catch

[@veladarney]

Noticed that, too. Those instances where he's more open with V, the vest and glasses seem to come off. And then, there's some kind of in-between where the vest is off but he's still wearing the glasses (like at the Pistis Sophia), like he's trying not to let V get too close.

[@Clandestinemonkey]

he also paces around smoking sometimes which is so interesting since he can't smoke.

[@lordderp6914]

2:46 Reminds me of a mikeburnsfire campfire story Zach got so used to mortar attacks that he just made a kevlar cocoon put on his helmet and just went back to sleep.

[@brandonhall7498]

Nice Choom! Johnny is such a bastard in game, but I know a lot of it is trauma and just being hardened to it. I wonder if you could do a breakdown of some of the side characters, particularly Kerry Eurodyne, Panam Palmer, River Ward, Yorinobu Arasaka, and Goro Takamura?

[@levelynn3853]

Another thing to note with the ''He handles himself well under pressure'' is that pretty much nothing that happens in the flashbacks actually happened that way, Johnny's mind has twisted the events into what he wants to believe, so of course he's gonna make himself the ''main character'' in them (Like him leading the Night City Bombing when in reality it was Morgan Blackhand's operation). We learn this from a couple characters in game namely Alt and Rogue and looking at the flashbacks parts of them often don't make sense, like Johnny saying he never worked with Thompson again but Thompson showed up in the Night City Bombing.

[@frankv42]

13:24 "We often fear death after we are gone, but we often don't feel distress of before we were born" Death is a worry of the living. Once we stop living, we stop worrying about death. So why would I worry of something I know I will eventually not worry about?

[@classicslover]

There is a quote from the 1960 movie SPARTACUS: ANTONINUS: "Are you afraid of dying Spartacus?" SPARTACUS: "No more than I was to be born." This is basically what Georgia is talking about. No fear of the unknown. And good things can happen too = )

[@gaberielpendragon]

There is a lot of small variations on Silverhand depending on the choices you make and how you build V. Kinda feels like a slightly different person each time you play through the game. Interestingly, when you get to the other side of that fear of everything being ephemeral, that can be very freeing. When nothing matters, the things you choose to value mean so much more. The existential dread of nihilism is exceedingly difficult to work through, but being on the other side of that, important things are so much more important, feelings so much deeper, the world so much brighter. You get to choose what matters and how much, and you get to adjust that as you want. At the same time it is so much work staying there and not falling back into the dread. It's a dance that cyberpunk plays out so very well.

[@TheDrudgenator]

Therapist simping for a video game character, in real time.

[@franktaylor7978]

I absolutely loved this game for how well the characters and personalities are developed and for many other reasons. Interesting to see therapist’s take on his character.

[@AskanHelstroem]

in my, unprofessional, opinion, I would say, he has great fears. The fear of loss, might be above every other of his fears. probably enhanced, because of his hardships. The way he was treating Alt Cunningham, showed me that he feared to lose her, yet he treated her like shit, to form a barrier. If he won't let her too close, then she might not hurt him when he loses her. Because, even so he treated her like shit, he was going after her. Even a bit confused, why she left. After he told her so...multiple times. And invited her to the next concert. Johnny is wrecked...beyond repair, now that he just an engram. He might even lose the rest of his self, now... So V is his only hope. V can't leave him, but might, in the end. So he could influence her/him into beeing more like him. That way, he might leave a mark, that could still destroy Arasaka. I guess u would need hours and hours, just to summarize the conclusions on his self. But the fact, that he treated everyone like shit, and they still tried to get along with him, even helping him, made me have a rly bad opinion of him.

[@GSP-rd9dk]

I’m watching this post Phantom Liberty and Johnnys analogy between Basketball game and your conversation with Reed is gold

[@Netist_]

Charm? I never really thought he was charming, not in the slightest. In certain endings, he does redeem himself a bit, and he has his moments, but for the most part he's pretty unlikable. And that's not a criticism of the game's writing, it's obviously intentional. Johnny is arrogant and narcissistic. He constantly lies (especially to himself), manipulates others, and abuses the trust of friends. His ego is colossal and at so many points he just makes things up to act tough and in most of these situations it's quickly proven that he was, in fact, full of shit the entire time. Barely anyone speaks positively about him, for good reason. He talks a big line about wanting to change the world and stand up for the weak but it's demonstrated time and time again that it's more about his ego than anything else. He's a very well-written character, but he's really not supposed to be a "good guy."

[@Korgoon]

It depends on how did you play and what person you are. When i did played as corpo and tried to act like this then Johny was unlikeable. And now i just finished playing as punk and acted like that, and this time Johny was like a brother and we were mocking eachother a lot but had a overall we liked eachother a lot. He is really cool character.

[@artorhen]

This is such an amazing video for such a great and complex character. One of the few characters in gaming that have a lot of nuance to them in terms of how they interact with the player. I think the only thing that I would cover would perhaps be Alt and maybe Rogue as the people in his life, but specifically Alt seems like she had a strong impact on his character when you see his memories. At first when it shows the bombing of the arasaka building, you see that Johnny tries to also hack into something, and Rogue is kinda like "you still care about that". And later when we see his memories of Alt, we see that he thought very strongly that he was making change and that he was the only one making change, but then he realizes that someone that was all along right next to him was actually making much more earthshaking change in the world with their invention. I think when he learns that Alt was the inventor of soulkiller when he has to save her from them, and then the shock or her dying despite his best efforts probably made him pay a lot more attention to what Arasaka would do with her technology and at the very end, he was driven to stop them from using her invention. That's probably why in the game he knows a lot about mikoshi, and maybe why they decided to experiment on him for that exact technology.

[@msstephanie726]

Omg I saw this and screamed! I never thought I'd see the day where you'd analyze Johnny, but he's one of my favorite characters. I love Cyberpunk 2077, please continue with it, I'd love to see it :)

[@lordrefrigeratorintercoole288]

im sad, at the end we dont get the option to just keep going, and let the relic do it's job. my V is pritty much just like Jhonny, and at the end they don't even want to get separated since they become like brothers.

[@rokcetman6913]

Not sure how many fans have read the Cyberpunk / Red rulebooks, but it gives a pretty good insight into Silverhand's character, I'll do a little writeup but note, it'll be full of spoilers and stuff so. Johnny in the books isn't some genius machismo forge his path sigma male. The implants he's using, the gun and the hand that guides it most noticeably, both bring on episodes of delusion and self-grandeur and isolation and self-destruction for Johnny. This is not only marked upon by Johnny himself, but by those that surround him, as we watch his relationships crumble, his inner Self fall prey to further idealism and irrational thinking, it's infinitely less likely that the story we see of his assault of Arasaka in 2077 is a retelling of truth, but more one of fiction where one man goes out in a blze of glory and fierce determination against the man as we - and he - sees it, but a small and scared rebel deluding himself on a beyond-death level into thinking he won. There's a reason that the scenes specifically cut when it comes to facing even a pre-borg Smasher. That the details of major fights, events, and the most difficult tasks are "cut away" from like that one futurama episode. If you're interested in a far more in-depth writeup that directly referenced the CPRed rulebook retelling of the Arasaka raid, go to this thread old.reddit.com/r/cyberpunkgame/comments/zdcs09/theory_what_really_happened_during_johnnys/

[@troikas3353]

You missed the single most important aspect of Johnny that reframes any read of his character; The vast majority of what we learn about him through his memories and the stories he tells are, at best, unreliable. At worst they are outright rewrites of his own history. He was there for the attack on Arrasaka Tower, he was just unceremoniously killed by Smasher early on. The things we are shown him doing in his memories were actually done by an entirely different person that he completely wrote out of his version of the events. Johnny rewrote the story of his death and took credit of other peoples actions to recast himself as the hero.

[@TheSolarzEclipse]

Was this is a podcast? I never got that from my playthru?

[@troikas3353]

​@@TheSolarzEclipse It's never bluntly stated in the game though there are many moments and points of dialogue throughout that reference it and Alt straight up states that Johnny's an unreliable narrator whose version of events are far from the truth. In the actual history of Cyberpunk while Johnny is on Strike Team Alpha for the attack, it's because his fame and temperament make him an excellent fall guy and his team is actually a diversion. In 2077 his memories of the event are a combination of exaggeration, total fiction, and things done by other more important members of the two other teams on the mission like Morgan Blackhand. In reality Johnny's just kind of an asshole and he gets somewhat casually cut to pieces by Smasher long before the other teams set off the nuke. Smasher's real epic fight is actually with Morgan Blackhand, not Johnny, and the outcome of that fight is never actually revealed.

[@bfoxxable]

​@TheSolarzEclipse that info comes from the ttrpg core rulebooks, particularly cyberpunk: red.

[@TheSolarzEclipse]

@@bfoxxable awesome! Ill look into getting them

[@John-996]

Really cool to see this would love to see more video game chracters Breakdowns Dutch From Red dead and the Bloody Baron From Witcher 3 would be intresting to look at.

[@batalorian7997]

Wow. Did not expect a video about Johnny Silverhand. Extremely happy! Cosplay is great too!

[@unkown34x33]

Johnny is actually the best part of this game:) god... I love Johnny so much. Especially when he becomes our friend... Omg I get him! Screw the corpos, searching for justice

[@jaanikaapa6925]

The thing about us traumapeople is that the longer we've had to deal with that bs the less we can deal with normal stuff. The more f'ed up things are for us the better we do.

[@kittycat1887]

one thing about Johnny is that he's authentic, a real deal. he's not just a charismatic idgaf douche. you can try to copy the image all you want, wear sunglasses, dog tags and everything and tell everyone to go fuck themselves, it doesn't make you more like him. he wears dog tags because he's been through war, not bc they're a cool accessory. he flips everyone off because after everything he's been through, he truly doesn't give a damn. he's not just acting like a rockstar, he really IS one. he lived a life and he's got something to show for it. but I think you missed one thing - Johnny is scared. he acts pretty cold in front of his enemies, both Saburo and Smasher, but later V says that he felt all that fear Johnny felt. he's still a human after all.

[@RSpracticalshooting]

starfield will never get a video like this. Cyberpunk is a masterpiece of world building and story telling.

[@TTRPGSarvis]

It's awesome to see you analyze a Video Game character, and I'd love to see more! Baldur's Gate 3 comes out pretty soon, maybe we could hear you talk about the characters from that game?

[@PeliRami]

Additionally Johnny was made with first version of Soulkiller, which saves only 55% of data in his head accordingly CP2077 shards. Even ghost of Alt points out that Johnnys memories are not even close to truth. (Reading Never Fade Away story from CP2020 & CP: Red paints totally different picture, and to emphasize the point we really don't know what really happened Morgan Blackhand and second nuclear bomb during arasaka tower assault)

[@fluffykitten077]

The interesting thing about Johnny is that most of the flashbacks you showed are fabricated, at least to a degree. Alt says so once you meet her. And if you read a bit about Morgan Blackhand it seems like he was the hero of those events while Johnny was more on the sidelines. Not unimportant, but not the Arasaka defying one man army. So it almost seems like he's unwittingly pining for glory that he never had and trying to goad you into fulfilling his delusions. Trying to finally realise them.

[@TheMaghorn]

There's a big problem with this analysis that you're overlooking with Johnny: His memories are fabricated, and his personality doesn't properly align with who he was when he was alive. He was never tortured by Arasaka or Soulkilled by them. He wasn't the architect of the Arasaka Tower attack. He made up these false memories to put himself at the center of the story and make himself look like the most important person in Night City at the time, but reading the Cyberpunk 2020 and RED source books shows that's far from the case. Johnny was a cyberpsycho and suffered from severe PTSD and DID. Like Alt said in Never Fade Away, his personality and actions, even down to playing in Samurai, are just a mask for a mentally unstable person.

[@naethanks]

Arasaka deserved August 2023

[@cptdumplin]

Something you overlooked and that I find so fascinating about Johnny Silverhand, is that he's an *unreliable narrator*. It's HEAVILY implied that he was never actually as critical to the raid on Arasaka as he made himself out to be in his own head. Alt herself says that V only ever heard Johnny's distorted version of events, the validity of which not even Johnny himself can be sure of. In the pen & paper game Cyberpunk: RED, Morgan Blackhand (whom Jackie briefly mentions upon your first visit to the Afterlife) has played a central role in the bomb run on Arasaka, back in 2023. It goes so far that Johnny in fact supplanted so many of Blackhand's involvements with himself, that he could effectively entirely remove Morgan from the story in his own mind. And the best part about all this is that, without reading between the lines and looking outside the game for more information, we never actually get the real version of events. Rogue is the last living remainder of that raid, and she probably just assumes that we know what actually happened because Johnny himself is there to tell us. Only problem is, we got his self glorified version. So the question stands: How self-aware is Johnny Silverhand really? Did he pull a Cloud Strife and supplant the entire exisrence of a friend with his own so he could psychologically cope with something that went wrong during the raid? Make it all his own fault?

[@TheCrimsonRevenger]

11:00 I dont think i ever saw that Tag conversation. And i've played this game start to finish a dozen times over. It's been a while. I only just recently restarted for Phantom liberty. When does that Tag convo happen?

[@R-Tech_Gaming]

As someone who loves his cyberpunk lore, I gotta' contradict a few things here. I've read Johnny as a manipulative prick for the most part. He puts on a front as a tough guy, but the truth is he's a liar, a cheat, and a classic scoundrel. In the right light, he'd be more the magnificent bastard trope. He'll say anything and even has gone so far as to trick himself into believing a lie was true in order to sell it hard. In fact, his flashbacks contradict everything that actually happens in the modules. He did one redeeming heroic act and it was his last, to die at the hands of Adam Smasher as a distraction to help his team escape during their half of the Arasaka Raid. He goes out in a blaze of glory and Smasher just calmly walks over his body without a thought in pursuit of the team. The actual roof top battle was between Morgan Blackhand and Adam Smasher and no one knows how that went down other than, Smasher is still around in 2077. Johnny's a fascinating character, but I take everything he does as a long con with V. The difference between 2020 living Johnny and 2077 Construct Johnny is that he's more introspective, given that all he can do is look back on his mistakes and reflect. The only constant is that he'd do anything for Alt Cunningham as she was the one in his eyes.

[@snakestealth24]

I just do not trust Johnny. The guy is a degenerate and manipulative plus his philosophy is BS cynicism. Yes Arasaka is shady as hell but dude. Kinda pissed me off being railroaded with him. Was hoping to make my own story with V

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

I wouldn't take any of Johnny's memories at face value since his own memories are heavily tainted by his own narcissism and paranoia. In fact multiple characters from that universe all tell a wildly different story about the events that you "witness" in the game, with the A.I. taking Alt Cunningham's visage outright telling you that his memories are a fabrication. That isn't to say that Johnny is purposely lying to V but he clearly is not a reliable narrator.

[@insaniam_convertunt_scientiam]

How to be like a synthetic intelligence having a existential crisis while riding shotgun in the head of a young man racing against death? We will need to begin with drinking enough tequila to make that word salad make sense. Then we’ll crank up some music and party.

[@69dm]

if anyone misses johnny's lines after completing the game, i suggest giving a try to one of those AI websites where you can talk to fictional characters. Splitting a thought with Johnny over a drink of tequilla is really worth a try. Or just go read some Che Guevara's/Noam Chomsky's stuff. Nothing strengthenes the completion of cyberpunk better than old tested revolutionary/anarchistic literature.

[@nicholascoker7212]

I think johnny is a facinating character, but a absolutely hate what he represents, a self-righteous revolutionary. The rovolution isnt about the people or the system or any myriad of issues he (the revolutionary) references but rather is more about his own persuit of his vendeta against the system.

[@AzathothLives]

Johnny is an asshole, but he is a charismatic asshole. He does seem to really care about some things, but while alive his ego seemed to get in the way. The 'ghost' of him seems just a bit more humbled. Maybe death will do that.

[@bobbucker5891]

Gonna be honest here. For a moment, I thought that oven mitt was a Nintendo Power Glove and was about to squee like a 47 year old guy should never do. I love the Power Glove. It is so bad.

[@jacobantin3415]

Interesting thing about the dog tags. If you look closely at them the name is "Robert John Linder". If you dont know that is johnny's birth name. Those are his dog tags, make of this what you will, but its interesting.

[@Bikeadelic]

I like how the game tries to trick you into thinking Johnny is a fake, egotistical arse when the reality is he's actually quite sensitive and genuine. He just puts that aside to achive his goals.

[@garxgar]

My issue with Johnny is that he is essentially an edgy teenager that never grew up. He lacks traumatic responses because 95% of the time he is just putting on his “rebel persona”. Refusing to be vulnerable with anyone. Which eventually drove all his friends away.

[@ceballos-exe]

"be like Johnny silverhand" A'ight *Loads a nuclear warhead*

[@dustind4694]

As an anarchist... Johnny's not great. As a character, he's a very interesting examination of what someone might be like under the conditions that produced his outlook. As a window into the mind of Mike Pondsmith, who was struggling with some serious s*t when he wrote the original RPG? He's a magnificent lens. Pondsmith is a champ, and Keanu and the writers captured a lot of his pain.

[@coletrain3162]

One important thing that the game doesn't make very clear is that Johnny's memories are incredibly unreliable. His death scene is entirely fabricated and he actually got one shot by Adam Smasher while the actual pros were running for their lives.

[@enenrax]

I don't think it's very cool to be like Silverhand, just saying...

[@DG-105]

U should totally do a deep dive of a cyberpunk mission where cops want V to check in on his neighbor cause his neighbor is depressed the whole mission is very thought provoking on how people manage grief and stress

[@elrondmcbong467]

I really don't liked Jonny at the beginning but over time i started to quite like him and after think about how it has to be for someone that is used to be in control to wake up as a passenger in a foreign mind in a somewhat familiar city you don't know anymore and see, that all what you did changed absolutely nothing has to be really tough.

[@stranded.comics]

Facts, I'm a big admirer of Silverhand- when you been through the things the he's been through and survived them. Even death is kinda funny.

[@Mediados]

The game really made Johnny grow on you. At first he comes off as a psychotic terrorist, but the longer you're forced to spend time with him the more you understand his perspective. Still doesn't excuse bombing a skyscraper.

[@Mediados]

@@user-ZeroZelenskyNow I mean the bystanders and lowly office workers are hardly to blame for Arasakas crimes. At the end of the day it's still terrorism.

[@Mediados]

@@user-ZeroZelenskyNow Yeah, but that's the point. Just because it isn't a war crime doesn't make it acceptable. When you start not caring about collateral you've lowered yourself to the level of the people you're fighting.

[@goopguy548]

​@@Mediadosthey were told to evacuate. any that were more scared of leaving without being told than the higher ups than dying in a nuclear blast are the exact reason it needed to happen.

[@beige_projection]

When I first met Johnny in the game and during the interactions with him for like the first half of the game, I disliked him. He's toxic. He's too intense for me. Self-centered. And I remember him giving me a lot of stress. It was like having a toxic male living in your head. But as I progress through the game, especially through the main story and I got to know him more, my opinion of him became much more balanced and while I still harbor many of those negative emotions that I felt about him initially, he did become more endearing to me and I became attached to him. Such a wonderful character. He felt like this larger than life character while also feeling like he's very realistic. It's weird. He's a force of nature for sure and one of the best parts of the game. Those who haven't tried the game yet and are planning to give it a shot, my tip is to not ignore the gigs and the side quests because Johnny appears in many of them and you'll have unique dialogues with him depending on the gigs or side quests. Cyberpunk 2077 has so many very interesting characters and the game itself deals with topics like existentialism. I would love to see more Cyberpunk 2077 videos in this channel.

[@JamieStagg]

There is no such thing as toxic masculinity or toxic femininity only toxic people...masculinity is masculinity and femininity is femininity...you can be a man and be toxic it doesn't make you toxicly masculine or you could be female and be toxic it doesn't make you toxicly feminine...but you are right johnny is very Toxic at first till you get to know him on a deeper level

[@blackshard641]

YES!!! Now this is the crossover I never knew I wanted.

[@pinkofastora]

Something to note from Johnny giving V his dog tags is that those are Johnny’s dog tags from when he served in the corpo war and was still called Robert John Linder. I think it’s interesting that he says that’s the man who he says died to save Johnny Silverhand.

[@veladarney]

Interesting point you bring up there. His past self - Robert John Linder - had to die so Johnny Silverhand could live. Now, Johnny Silverhand has to die so V can live. And Johnny's okay with that. Maybe even, by this point, might be seeing V as another, better version of himself. Robert John Linder was the broken one, who ran from war and spent a month (iirc) locked up in a hotel room, agonizing over how to continue (and, probably, whether to continue at all). He was replaced by the "better model" Johnny Silverhand. Only, over time, Johnny Silverhand "broke", too. Now it's time for the "better model" V to replace him.

[@Tredok]

I really like this game, i think the game tries to make the protagonists of our own story, not the protagonist of the world, so all the decision we make affect those around us and not much else at all. Jhonny is the embodiment of the "protagonist syndrome" he though he was it, for example when Arasaka kidnaped Alt, he thought it was because they wanted to get at him, but they just wanted soulkiller, and that the whole Arasaka tower bombing and rescue attempt on Alt was his idea, but Lore says that the mission was commanded by Morgan Blackhand and he was just part of a strike team, that i think it was lead by Rogue... And i think the same point is made for V, you as a player try very hard to be the protagonist but the story is written so every time you feel in control, you realize you have none, and every time you take a step forwards your condition makes you take two steps backwards. It is a very interesting story, in several endings you deal a great blow to Arasaka, but in the end "they are not done, just regrouping", so you can have a giant influence on the world events, but in the grand scheme of things, Arasaka will continue selling products, getting military contracts and they will not just disappear.

[@crownlessking6628]

I had 4 panic attacks this week and playing game is one of few things that helps seeing this makes me so happy

[@thedivinecock1740]

Hi, great video! I have a character suggestion: why not cover the psychology of Vaas Montenegro from Far Cry 3? I feel it would be very interesting.

[@nightcityronin]

He’s been done a thousand times already.

[@brandonpayne2877]

Does this mean your done with into the spiderverse?

[@edi9892]

I'd like to know your opinion on this dilemma: We like characters such as Johnny Silverhand for their strength of conviction and their ability to stay cool under pressure, but people like him are often either narcissists or on the antisocial personality disorder spectrum. Johnny is probably both! You spoke of how bad times reveal the true character of people, but I'd argue that you'd learn more about people when they're suddenly given power and responsibilities... Now, my dilemma: in a cutthroat world, how would you find people who you can trust? I give you real-life experiences as examples. For one, I have been in all seriousness cut by a sword, and despite having people around me, I was on my own, as they all panicked to the point that they became utterly useless. Thus, I ended up wrapping my hand in toilet paper and leaving this chicken pen in the hope of finding someone who could actually provide help to me... I can think of a bunch of people where I would have been fairly certain that they could have helped me, but every single one of them was not _normal,_ to put it mildly. Some of them were quite dangerous people, and others not exactly the persons you would want to hang around... (though some were dangerous and a joy to be around, but that's another story...). My grandfather would be the prime example here. To me, he was the cool guy, but to you, it was a clear-cut case of ASPD. When I found an illegal firearm and shot it, everyone went into hiding, except him. He casually walked in my direction until he spotted me and then asked me what I was shooting at as if it had been the most normal thing in the world (we're talking about Europe here and not the USA, LOL). He then shot what I had tried to hit. I found it quite surprising as he was at the time already old and frail to the point that he couldn't walk without swaying. However, he used to be quite a menace in his past. He was involved in smuggling and racketeering, chased after scammers who defrauded his wife and shook them up. He beat up a relative who had abused their hospitality and snuck into my mother's bed (that guy REALLY had it coming). Etc. etc. In one moment he was a hero and then he was again the neglectful dad and cheating husband...

[@cypher4783]

There's deep symbology in dog tags. It's a promise that no matter what happens we will try to bring you home.

[@DynomitePunch]

the main problem with that we "know" about johnny is that it's not entirely certain that things are the way he remembers them, in specific books that also deal with the attack on the tower, things unravel differently than what were shown in the flashbacks, johnny is an unreliable narrator and possibly not of his own volition as memories could have been altered on the chip by arasaka themselves, theirs a channel, which i won't name, but if you search any infor about cyberpunk you'll find it, does all kinds of informatives on the series, and franchise, he talks a lot about johnny's narrative mis information

[@vincemcgaj628]

I was hoping the shrink would say something funny like "Johnny is an idiot who only cares about himself" Instead it was a deep psychological analysis of the mind of Silverhand. Now, when I play the game, I'm gonna have a deeper understanding of the psyche of the character. Thanks a lot.

[@Leomerya12]

Your analysis of this malignant narcissist is romantic.

[@Mickycefer]

Johnny silverhand's the story of my life and I'm too lazy to explain why.

[@vactus]

Fun story: the names on the dogs tags from Johnny, are his. The dogs tags use his actual name from when he was in the NUS military out of Texas.

[@julianas.1218]

Nice video! Could you do Takemura next?

[@BigBoo282]

He lost ctrl and alt. only one key for him to push.

[@alexhodder4918]

he has a lot of surprisingly wise moments

[@eliottdewitt893]

I'm so in love with Johnny, my homie bro, him and Kerry, his whole band are so cool

[@djrock0774]

You should make a video about beef on Netflix

[@stephenbaluran3298]

Admit it. You want to marry Johnny. 😃

[@ryanrusch3976]

I think Johnny’s able to stay calm because he has a plan, it’s all about getting that plan to kick into gear. Is he manipulative? He’s a rocker boy, they’re all manipulative. But he has all of the information and constantly throughout the story he drip feeds that to people. Its when he doesn’t have a mission when he goes into more of a catatonic state or outright violence. I also think he is honest to people who he thinks is his friend, however he is the most jaded and defensive person out there and it takes him being trapped in someones head to finally drop those walls.

[@OhBoyYeahWhat]

im so happy youre starting on the game characters! ive been wishing for this since finishing your edgrunner series, cant wait for you to do the other characters!

[@hpcriticall8108]

I'd never met a more relatable character than Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077. As a cancer, stroke and undiagnosed neurospicy individual. I couldnt help but constantly agree and even say the same thing in response as Johnny did.