Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-24993958-20171021151743/@comment-31098022-20171023222311

ChishioKunrin wrote: I think that it does show Jacques as a bad person, if they make it clear enough what his true intent was.

The purpose of the secretary drilling into her head about how strong the Arma Gigas was and her saying "So you're basically saying I don't stand a chance", was to spell out to the audience: Jacques thought she had little to no chance of actually winning that bet.

The way I see it, it was not "Since we can't seem to agree, let's make a bet. If you can defeat this, I'll let you go to Beacon, since you're clearly strong enough to survive away from home." It was actually "You know what? Since you won't take no for an answer and keep insisting on Beacon, I'll set up a bet that has the odds in my favor. If and when you lose, which I'm expecting you will, then hopefully you'll shut up about Beacon and do what I want!"

The reason I see it as this is because


 * The impression Weiss got from the secretary was "So you're basically saying I don't stand a chance."

That's why, in my description in my previous post, I said they could show him begrudgingly agreeing to let her go to Beacon. The word begrudgingly means "to be reluctant to give, grant, or allow". The scene would show that, even though Weiss has won the bet, Jacques still really does not want to let her go and seems annoyed that she won.
 * In Volume 3, when Winter was telling Weiss what her options were, one option was: "You can either call him, beg for his money back, and explain once more why you would want to study at Beacon over Atlas," This means that, even after that whole thing with the bet and Weiss winning her right to go to Beacon, he was still keeping the debate going, still wanting her to go to Atlas, and still making her explain her reasons for going to Beacon. He just would not let it go, like he was sore over losing the bet.

I guess if they really wanted to make it extra clear, they could have a scene where Jacques is talking to someone, annoyed that the Arma Gigas wasn't strong enough.

Maybe but they actually have to give Jacques more screen time to show that.

That's basically always the catch of a bet. How you see it is the right way to see it. I agree completely with all your reasons.

What they should be showing is that he doesn't see Weiss as a daughter but as his legacy so that he will be remembered and respected more than Nicholas I believe. They really need to stress his controlling nature and that it comes from greed instead of some misplaced concern. That he's not evil but no matter how someone might interpret his actions they are self serving and any paternal actions come from a disingenuous place.