Guilded Age

The last chapter and this one established the stinging barb as one of Scipio’s “things,” like the silence and impassivity, but his use of it would drop off somewhat after this. Partly, that’s because it’s a device that loses potency with frequent use, and even Scipio’s conservative use of speech overall wouldn’t keep it from starting to get monotonous. But also, most of his teammates aren’t that much in need of having their egos deflated. I mean, E-Merl and Byron, at present, aren’t exactly overflowing with self-esteem, and Syr’Nj and Gravedust have lots of concerns weighing on them. So does Bandit now, really. Scipio would just be petty if he kept kicking them while they were down.

Some offhand thoughts from the script about Bandit’s FOMO and its limits: “Bandit looks off in another direction, still not at the approaching gnome, reflecting on her old teammates and the distance she perceives between them and herself. She trusts them, still, based on the knowledge that they are good people, and good people only lie to protect something, and not to screw others. She could be wrong about that, of course, and she’s definitely considering it as a possibility. But she’s still sure they’re on the level, even if they have their secrets, and even if she doesn’t like it… She’s aware, also, of what they’re up to today in the Byron thing. She’s very OK with having not been invited, seeing Byron like that again is too much.”