YMMV / Bravestarr S 1 E 2 Fallen Idol

• Alternate Aesop Interpretation: While the given Aesop at the end focuses on how "Bad things done by people you admire are still bad, and that while it hurts to deal with this, there are always other good people to admire", the actual episode has a number of interpretations to work with:
  • The people who you admire are not infallible, and can make terrible mistakes like anyone else. While some can redeem themselves if given the chance, others can be too consumed by their own flaws to be able to do so.
  • Do not be a Sore Loser in defeat. The large majority of Jingles' problems, whether in his match against Salaman Bliss or Bravestarr is that he was too arrogant and consumed by his need to be the winner. A lot of the tragedy that followed for him could have been averted if he had been able to handle his losses with some grace, something he seemed to only finally get after losing to his former pupil.
  • Don't put people on pedestals. While it's fine to admire someone, idolizing them can end up causing problems for both the idolizer and the idolized. The idolizer can be devastated and have complicated reactions when the one they idolize inevitably falls from that pedestal. On the idolized side, being held up (especially in Jingles' case) can make them feel resentful at being put on a pedestal that they never asked to be placed on. It could be argued that being placed in a position of admiration by all of his students helped lead to Jingles' fall from grace in the first place, given that it would have given him a skewed view of his own abilities.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Silver Quill in his analysis of this episode, notes that for all of the admiration that Bravestarr gives to his former mentor, Jingles never really seemed to live up to that hype. He explicitly notes how Jingles was only ever shown to be friendly and a good mentor only when he was the winner of whatever fight he was in. As Jingles' reaction to his loss to Salaman Bliss shows, it's entirely possible that he was never really the man that his former pupil believed he was, and in truth Bravestarr was just projecting his own qualities onto him out of his admiration. This puts Jingles' final line of "I never asked to be your hero" in a different light.