Three Men, Three Very Different Ideas of Loyalty _ GTA Analysis Beyond The Mission

One Last Ride On The Road To GTA VI 📅 67 Days to launch

Three Men, Three Very Different Ideas of Loyalty

This scene looks like a simple mission briefing, but it’s actually introducing the relationship dynamic that defines the entire final act. Franklin meets Trevor for the first time, and almost immediately Trevor identifies something Michael hasn’t quite admitted yet; Franklin has become the son Michael never had.

Michael jokes about it. Trevor jokes about it. Franklin doesn’t really know what to make of it, but there’s truth underneath the banter.

Michael has increasingly taken Franklin under his wing. He’s taught him, protected him and opened doors for him. Franklin, in turn, has repeatedly demonstrated that he’ll stand beside Michael when things get dangerous. Trevor sees that relationship instantly and naturally, instead of handling the discovery like a normal human being, he immediately turns it into a competition.

The deeper connection

This is where the three protagonists finally become a genuine character triangle. Michael needs Franklin. Franklin gives Michael something Trevor can’t; stability.

Franklin is ambitious but relatively grounded. He doesn’t carry Michael’s decades of baggage, and he isn’t emotionally obsessed with him. Michael can actually mentor Franklin. Trevor needs Michael but Trevor’s relationship with Michael is completely different.

Trevor doesn’t want a mentor. He doesn’t want a business partner. He wants his best friend back. That’s why Trevor’s reaction to Franklin is so interesting. He’s immediately testing him. Who’s this guy? Why is Michael treating him like family? Can he be trusted and, perhaps most importantly does Franklin have the place Trevor used to have?

Franklin needs both of them. This is where Franklin becomes the most interesting character of the three. He’s effectively standing between two versions of Michael. Michael represents the future Franklin wants; wealth, sophistication, independence and escape from his old life. Trevor represents the chaos Franklin is increasingly being pulled into. Franklin has the ability to work with both men, but he doesn’t completely belong to either. That’s why he’s arguably the stabilising force of the trio.

Then there’s that little exchange:

“Nice to meet you, homie.”
“Yeah, whatever.”

It’s hilarious because neither of them knows what to do with the other. Franklin isn’t impressed by Trevor. Trevor isn’t impressed by Franklin and Michael is essentially standing between them thinking; “Oh Christ. What have I done?”

There’s something else happening here. Michael has just told Trevor that Franklin is “the son I always wanted”. That’s a massive statement disguised as a joke. Michael’s biological family is falling apart. Yet he’s developed a genuine paternal relationship with Franklin. Trevor, who has just spent years believing Michael was dead, suddenly discovers that Michael has effectively built himself another family.

That’s potentially quite painful for Trevor because Michael didn’t just disappear. He moved on. Trevor, meanwhile, hasn’t changed. Franklin is changing. Michael is desperately trying to change. Trevor is determined to remain Trevor and that’s ultimately why the three of them work so well together; Franklin adapts. Michael plans. Trevor destroys. When those three characteristics actually cooperate, they’re extraordinarily effective.

Rockstar introduces that entire dynamic in one short conversation. The mission briefing is therefore doing much more than setting up the next job. It’s introducing the strangest dysfunctional family in Los Santos.

With Grand Theft Auto VI on the horizon, I thought it was the perfect time to revisit one of the greatest games ever made. Over the days leading up to the launch of GTA VI, I’m returning to Los Santos for one last ride through the narrative.

In this new collection I’m analysing the story in the comments to tell you what I think is going on. Disagree with what I say? Get in there! My challenge is to get the whole game covered by GTAVI launch.

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Level me up by – 👍 💬 🔔 🔎 Gramepa – 🙏

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