I agree, and I think we're just differing on definitions, as I see "mental stability" as more of an everyday state of mind.
My reasoning is that he was basically so crazy that he had built up these huge defenses against his own thoughts to give himself a reason to live. And that these defenses are so strong that it lends him great stability. But of course, we know that his walls need juuuuust the right strike against them (lol massacre) in order for them to come tumbling down. I agree that his "withstand it until you shatter" type of stability is certainly unhealthy, but barring extraordinary circumstances, he's still pretty damn stable.
And I agree that if he was left to his own and incapable of attaining any guiding influence, he'd go bonkers.
However, I interpret the season finale a bit differently. He certainly was crazy and unhinged, but I saw that as more of being crazy with rage instead of crazy with a lost sense of purpose. Sure, he lost Euphie, but he was still her knight. In his rage, he definitely found his purpose in avenging her (he put on her pin before joining battle) and killing Zero, and that purpose gives him a stable enough mind to do all the things he does in R2.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninetydegrees![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
My reasoning is that he was basically so crazy that he had built up these huge defenses against his own thoughts to give himself a reason to live. And that these defenses are so strong that it lends him great stability. But of course, we know that his walls need juuuuust the right strike against them (lol massacre) in order for them to come tumbling down. I agree that his "withstand it until you shatter" type of stability is certainly unhealthy, but barring extraordinary circumstances, he's still pretty damn stable.
And I agree that if he was left to his own and incapable of attaining any guiding influence, he'd go bonkers.
However, I interpret the season finale a bit differently. He certainly was crazy and unhinged, but I saw that as more of being crazy with rage instead of crazy with a lost sense of purpose. Sure, he lost Euphie, but he was still her knight. In his rage, he definitely found his purpose in avenging her (he put on her pin before joining battle) and killing Zero, and that purpose gives him a stable enough mind to do all the things he does in R2.