Ever Just the Same
I don’t touch on it often, but Karter’s capacity for love is actually insane. There’s a reason he’s so guarded and so unwilling to open up when people expect him to act as though the world isn’t out to get him. Yes, the PTSD induced paranoia doesn’t help, but a lot of it revolves around Karter’s personal experiences when it comes to allowing himself to love another person.
It’s imperative to remember that Karter’s ENTIRE life has been one huge disappointment after another for him, I want to illustrate for all of you the number of RAPID occurrences of Karter’s let downs / disappointments with regards to placing trust in another and letting himself love them:
- Dan Robinson: Passes away due to a heart condition that resulted in him needing to be honorably discharged from the marines. ( Karter’s age: 16 )
- Sara Queen ( eventually Sara Summers): First girlfriend, breaks his heart and tells him he deserves to be alone instead of understanding why he tried so desperately to prevent her from leaving and getting adopted ( Karter’s age: 15 )
- Dr. Samantha Elise: Sacrifices herself in order to save Karter & the expedition party by leading the group of raiders into the tomb they were excavating leaving Karter with an intense lack of closure ( Karter’s age: 16 )
- Johnny Anderson: Forces Karter into an ultimatum of choosing the treasure hunting community or choosing to start a NEW LIFE with the two of them choosing what they do and leads to a subsequent parting of ways ( Karter’s age: 17 )
- Johnny Anderson ( AGAIN ): After reconciling, decides that it’s best for him and Karter to go their separate ways because he believes it’s unlikely that they’ll ever truly be able to be happy together since they want different things ( Karter’s age: 19 )
- Alicia Mason: Tells Karter that after nearly 10 years of searching, she doesn’t want him in her life as he’ll RUIN what she’s tried to build for herself in the process of her moving on. ( Karter’s age: 20 )
- Clifford Kane ( by way of Alicia Mason ): Turns out to have been gone the entire time and effectively kills any chance of Karter ever meeting his biological father.
- Sara Queen/Summers: Tries to reconcile with Karter after ten years but dies in a car accident before doing so leaving Karter to live with the guilt of never having the chance to have fixed things. ( Karter’s Age: 22 )
Now, I know a couple of these aren’t IN his control or even the control of the person who caused Karter the pain, but pain is still PAIN. Karter has spent the vast majority of his adolescence AND young adulthood being completely left behind or let down by the people who were supposed to be the ones who helped him grow into a better man. AGAIN it’s not the fault of any particular person, but the series of events left Karter with a STIGMA that trusting other people and allowing oneself to give their love to another person is ASKING to be hurt.
And bear in mind that these are just the MAIN points, this completely excludes any losses he endured while working his way up the ranks of the treasure hunting community’s elite. So MORE of his life has been spent trying to recover and bounce back from other people letting him down in various ways than it has been being BOLSTERED & cared for by other people.
I’m not saying Karter’s cautious and often times CRUEL behavior is excusable, because it isn’t. He’s a misanthrope and it’s not really acceptable how he goes about treating other people, ESPECIALLY people who are strangers and henceforth haven’t really done anything to him. BUT I am saying that he’s not that without reason.
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