[Meme] "Why this, Walter?" Wednesday because Walter in particular I'm sure you have often wondered WHY THIS

Why did Walter fixate on the unpaired inmate monitor role for his rabble-rousing?

Trevor had a specific and clearly communicated plan to perform the job effectively, then it was taken up by Charlie who was very much not working out well in the position. Trevor was "inmate Jesus" and "the one who was there for us when we had nothing". Walter genuinely thought this would bring all the inmates and critical wardens together

it quickly turned out that neither Trevor nor any other warden Walter found sufficiently subversive was interested but Walter had literally no better ideas, particularly since subsequent events have so thoroughly emphasized there are NO OPTIONS besides something along the lines of blowing up the entire barge

he's out here going through the motions and he's so embarrassed. but he will only lose even more credibility if he stops midway. and in his defense (not much lmao) he only feels all the more vindicated that if Trevor had just cooperated back then, everything would be different. maybe not actually good yet, but better

so if Trevor had been the zero warden then yeah Walter might have fixated on that instead

Would Walter stay on for a deal after graduating, or is he out the door ASAP?

He wants to be gone pretty freaking badly and has hardened his heart hard against staying around for CR. and the admiral is the bad guy so his magic would not be used to accomplish most things that Walter can acknowledge would likely need magic to accomplish. pretty much the only thing that could possibly get him to stay is a specific plan

like "we should do something at the next port" then he graduates early. ok fine might stay for the port

that would be a huge sacrifice on walter's part

risking demotion, death, for the sake of a plan that may or may not work

pyotr doesnt think he has it in him

as thoroughly as going home means abandonment, Walter also likes to tell himself that it would at least prove some people don't stay on the barge which is Fucking Crazy

Walter sure would be depressed if, like, he graduated, went home, and then IDK in the equivalent of Yellowjackets S4 he got killed by Shauna, and the Admiral came to him like "the only way you can live is by coming back to my barge to be a warden and get a deal"

pyotr views graduating at all as a betrayal and a sign that they werent ever truly "revolutionary"

so the abandonment after the fact is almost secondary (this might not really be true, but its how he rationalizes)

trying to get a deal is almost more bleak than just waiting to graduate. Walter does not believe in the idea of "wardening". maybe some wardens are actively fostering dependence in their charges but that's only even a partial part of the overall torture and acclimatization process

so even if he held his nose and engaged in the repulsive behavior of fostering dependence in his inmate, there is still no guarantee that would go anywhere

you know, this is something I need to have Walter point out to Malcolm who genuinely believes that wardens are like therapists uniquely suited to help free inmates... ok so if wardens actually have some method they are qualified to use, then what the hell is Maggie doing wrong? What was the point of making Sweeney break up with her?

but yeah the other reason it would be virtually impossible to get him to stay for a deal is like. what does he need magical powers for? PROTECTING HIMSELF FROM OTHER BULLSHIT MAGICAL POWERS AND HELL

is going through another year or more of hell worth it for that??? the whole point is to not be suffering in hell

But yeah it's not "ok fine" like "whee, let's definitely do this" more like "ok there is even the slightest reason to consider it then"

Update: You're welcome to ask other questions about my writing, fandoms, etc (not life necessarily) it does not literally have to be about Walter. I see other people doing other things so yeah

wow this is the best explanation for why getting a deal would be just IMPOSSIBLE to serve Walter's character development positively. he basically IS the deal ("the ending of s2 meant we were never seeing the adam/seracusa/kevyn plot ever again" = Walter killing Kevyn to make those problems go away) and it IS with the devil

LOL

I've said it in other forms before but it is just plain true

Fair.