Trevor saves his own torture victim
“It’s clear that Trevor is no idealist, he’s a contrarian with an authority complex.”
GAME GTA V / RELEASED 2013 / FORMAT PS5, PS4, PS3
36 Lots of people remember GTA
V’s torture scene. It was the game’s most controversial feature, making headlines and attracting condemnation from human rights groups including Amnesty International.
“Rockstar North has crossed a line,” said Freedom From Torture chief executive Keith Best, “by effectively forcing people to take on the role of a torturer and perform a series of unspeakable acts if they want to achieve success in the game.” The scene made for uneasy playing – although it’s worth noting that the information it yields is questionable at best, and paints a deliberately ugly picture of US intelligence agencies.
It’s what happens afterwards that’s truly strange, however, and often forgotten. Rather than kill the victim as instructed, Trevor turns on a dime and drives the guy to the airport. “Safety first,” he says, fastening the seatbelt of the man he’s just beaten with a wrench.
KEEPING QUIET
By the time you arrive at Departures, Trevor has passionately argued that the broken man in the passenger seat should speak out against his treatment. The treatment for which, to be clear, Trevor is primarily responsible. While he’s all for cruelty and sadism as a hobby, he objects to the idea that it’s a useful means to an end. “Torture’s for the torturer,” he says. “We should all admit that. It’s useless as a means of getting information.”
The moment when Ferdinand Kerimov trips down the stairs on his way to freedom, leaving his Los Santos family behind for good, is one of messed-up pathos. But don’t mistake it for mercy. It’s Trevor’s first thought that’s most telling: “I ain’t gonna let those G-man fuckin’ scumbags tell me what to do.” Whatever pseudo-intellectual justification he comes up with after the fact, it’s clear Trevor is no idealist, he’s a contrarian with an authority complex. Whatever else GTA V’s torture mission is – beyond the pale, or an example of Rockstar’s most biting satire – it cements Trevor as the most reactive, mercurial character in GTA. You leave Los Santos International Airport knowing one thing: you’ll never know what he’ll do next.