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"Mature Content Warning!" |
I supported him as Villainous Benchmark until I thought about his crimes and the heinous standard. Short proposal, yay, just need to go over the basics (that aged poorly).
What's the Work?
Saw is an infamously gruesome horror franchise where characters put other characters into mechanical "traps" or "tests" or "games" forcing them to mutilate themselves and/or others to survive, with 10 films so far. The motive of all the carnage is to see if they value life. With most of the characters being delusional and tragic, it's no question this franchise is a harbor for inconsistently heinous villains.
Who's the candidate?
Dr. Lawrence Gordon is an oncologist who (unknowingly) had Jigsaw Killer (John Kramer) as a brain cancer patient. He became a supporting accomplice of John after surviving his own gruesome trap from John in the first movie. John preaches his morals to Gordon after he survives the bathroom trap, soon indoctrinating Lawrence into the cult (like he did with several others too).
He is a full-on hero and protagonist in Saw, the first film. However, he secretly falls into villainy before Saw II, III, and IV, and it is all revealed in Saw 3D (seventh film).
What Makes Him Heinous
The movie is alphabet soup with hundreds of characters but what I tell you should be enough to vote. He helped John put 4 people into these awful traps over the years:
He performs unlawful eye surgery on Michael Myers, putting a key behind his eye, which Michael was forced to cut into his eye to get the key and save himself, which he couldn't do. He sews up Art Blank's mouth and Trevor's eyelids and puts them in the "Masoleum" trap where they had to find a way to communicate while the chains pulled their necks toward a machine that would slowly strangle them. When Art survived, he was later forced to put a lot more people into traps himself and later died in the games.
He asks John to put Dr. Lynn Denlon in one of the games even remarking 'she'll be perfect,' forcing Lynn to keep bedridden John alive a few more hours or else she would die. This (and Mark Hoffman's blackmail letter) led to Amanda Young killing Lynn. Even worse, Lynn has so many things in common with him: the family troubles, surgical skills, and note that Lynn's child was caged up in a dangerous room just like Lawrence's own child was. Lynn's husband Jeff got tested too, similar to Lawrence's wife.
That's not quite it, these are his worst crimes but there are a few more things which push him deeper into the status. Although he promised to come back to Adam Stanheight in the first movie after being forced to shoot him, he ultimately breaks his promise after John saves him and leaves Adam for dead. This was Lawrence's first step into villainy. During a jigsaw survivor group he demonstrates he cares about the "positive outcomes" of their traumatic experiences and was cruel to Bobby Dagen (fake survivor), mocking him before Bobby was kidnapped by Mark Hoffman for the new games. I'm not sure if Lawrence knew Mark would put Bobby and his friends into the games, but either way, Lawrence supports the cult and didn't stop the games from continuing for so long. He finally puts Mark Hoffman into the bathroom trap, but tosses the saw out of the room, leaving Mark with no chance to escape. This was right next to Adam's long-rotted corpse, showing that Lawrence abandoned his care for Adam.
Some people are saying Lawrence doesn't pass the standard because he was only following John's orders. I disagree. Him suggesting to put Lynn into the trap shows he is fully committed to the cult and will hurt people who have minor corrupting qualities. Even though he killed Mark and put an end to the games, he still supported the games and only killed Mark because sugar daddy John left him instructions to avenge any person who hurt John's wife Jill Tuck.
Him leaving Mark to starve in the bathroom trap is also villainous, as he could've done the normal thing and asked the feds to pick him up, but instead chooses to let Mark suffer. Lawrence knew exactly who Mark was and how he had put so many people into inescapable traps, but lets him get away with it for years, unlike Jill who did try to stop Mark.
What Makes him Inconsistent
Several things do. First off, his tragedy in the bathroom always held, no matter how heinous he became. Holding the saw and taking it away from Mark reminded him of the tragedy, as shown on screen. Lawrence had to cut off his own foot to save his family. It was an extremely psychologically and physically torturing day.
Second, he cares for his family, going to very extreme methods to save them as shown above. Even if he cheated on his wife and neglected his daughter, he made up for it by risking his life for them. He also cared for the woman he cheated with and never hurt her.
Third, he is clearly an extremist like many of the villains. Based on his own "redemption," he puts people in the traps to see if they value their lives like he valued his. However, he got lucky because Adam lost his key and all the traps are unbalanced/unfair including his own, but that doesn't change the reason he does it which is twisted rehabilitation.
Fourth, he is affably evil towards the detectives, allies, and everyone else he meets. He's clearly not putting on a facade, even if he is hiding his crimes.
Fifth, he is truly loyal to John and Jill and honored John's final wish to defeat anyone who hurt Jill, stalking and taunting Mark with mystery letters until the time was right.
Final convincing
This is my last chance to persuade "no" voters to change their mind:
I know you're going to tell me that Lawrence didn't branch off from John as an independent serial killer, based on Logan Nelson, Amanda Young, William Schenk and Mark Hoffman all doing this and becoming Inconsistently Heinous or Near Pure Evil. Note that the six villains in this paragraph are the only six in the series who built traps for others.
Remember that these four villains had ENTIRE MOVIES to show off their killings. Lawrence only had three minutes in a flashback and killed 5 people including Mark. William killed 6, Logan killed 5, and Amanda and Mark killed way more across several movies.
You're also going to remind me that Lawrence is just following John's orders and doesn't stand out from the system.
But putting people into traps is the heinous standard. There are about a hundred villains in the movies. Only six of them built traps. The vast majority of villains have a single murder at worst. Many of them didn't even commit a serious crime. While many are forced to mutilate others in the traps, the real guilt goes towards the six villains who built the traps.
Lawrence didn't have to become an accomplice. After he was free, he was free. He could do whatever he wanted. He chose evil. He chose to support John all by himself. He could have left if he wanted to, but he chose to stay. Putting Lynn's family into the trap was heinous. He doesn't just attack people who are beneath him (which is what William, Amanda, and Logan do), or those above him (Amanda does that too), he attacks his own kind.
Remember that John kept Lawrence a secret from Mark and Amanda which was a very challenging thing to do, especially with John's health. Lawrence was held back from being worse due to this technicality. With his limited resources and opportunities, killing 5 people was very significant.
Finally, this simple, banger quote from John might be the best possible way to prove Dr. Gordon is Inconsistently Heinous:
| “ | Hello, Dr. Gordon. You are perhaps my greatest asset. Without you, my work over the last few years would not have been possible. | „ |
| ~ John Kramer, recorded message |
Which shows the games would have been so much harder to make without Dr. Gordon. Even if the others did more work, John is clearly telling the truth no matter what the others did. Dr. Gordon is a critical overarching antagonist of the franchise.
Look, he definitely passes. If you disagree, you will have all these reasons to work against. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Round yourselves up and give a yes to the doctor.