[s2 spoilers] A lot of people are misinterpreting the Hellfire Montage (The Gray)
TLDR; Everyone's been misinterpreting the Hellfire Montage where we see Cait's strike team use the Gray. It is not outright evil or good, but the situation is morally dubious and incredibly complicated. There has been a lacking in consideration of crucial context of the plotline, as well as reasons why the strike team was deployed.
Edit: Updated for additional details.
This took me a long time to make, sorry if its too long. Hope you guys enjoy it.
A lot of people in this subreddit think that the Cait's strike team were gassing up the whole city, flooding entire districts and residential areas with the Gray indiscriminately in the pursuit of their three objectives. This notion has also created a lot of conflict within the narrative, because a lot of people have been stating that they don't understand why Vi would go along with something like this, essentially agreeing to gas her people and subject them to exposure of chemical weapons with detrimental health effects. However, it seems not many paid close attention to the Hellfire montage, and have misinterpreted a lot of elements in the scene. Not only that but many conclusions are hastily being made without consideration for different possibilities and the stark lack of knowledge given with regards to this situation. I am here to clear up these misconceptions.
1. Did they gas up the people of Zaun?
The short answer is no. The notion that the strike team flooded the entire Undercity with the Gray, particularly residential areas and entire districts is unsubstantiated and is not the course of action we see taken by the strike team. Throughout the montage, you can see that they are specifically targeting areas where the chem-barrons, the crime syndicates of the Undercity are operating, with the particular detail that the gas is being mostly released inside buildings. Not a single image of the montage showcases any civilians getting hurt, as all of the people shown other than the strike team within the montage are criminal agents working for a chem-barron syndicate.
This building is operated and owned by the Chem-Baron Margot.
"After Silco took over Zaun, Margot made a name for herself as the boss of the Vyx, an illicit enterprise that specializes in prostitution, and became affiliated with several other crime lords who were also loyal to Silco, creating the first generation of Chem-Barons. She would also take complete control of the undercity's pleasure industry, with every brothel answering to her influence."
This building is owned and operated by the Chem-Baron Chross. Who as actually Piltovan.
"Although he was born and raised in Piltover, Chross decided to move to Zaun after he realized that his skillset and personality worked better in the undercity. At some point after Silco took over the undercity, Chross made a name for himself as the boss of the Hush Company, an illicit enterprise that specialized in surveillance, and became affiliated with several other crime lords who were also loyal to Silco, creating the first generation of Chem-Barons."
In the montage, it is actually conveyed that the strike team specifically hits these two Chem-Baron syndicates.
These are the two Chem-Barons I just showed above. These pictures imply that they're being attacked or facing some kind of retaliation by the strike team. Maybe they even got captured or neutralized.
In the montage, they even show a map of the districts. The map doesn't provide much information other than locations, however it seems that the map is color coded, and that the heavy purple areas on the map are supposed to be areas where shimmer is being produced. I don't know for sure, it could just be the art, but nonetheless this map shows that the strike team is targeting specific areas/districts where the Chem-Barons are operating.
2. The strike team and the three objectives
The purpose of the creation of the strike team is to avoid the involvement of civilians and the detrimental results of an all out war between Zaun and Piltover. In the montage, you can see that the strike team uses the ventilation system created by the Kirammins as a mode of travel between their target locations. Utilizing the vents this way allows them to complete their objectives with effective precision and target areas of criminal operation without accidentally involving civilians or starting conflict with irrelevant parties when traveling through the Undercity.
The three objectives are:
1. Dismantle the distribution and production of shimmer
2. Neutralize any agents still loyal to Silco, which in this case are the Chem-Barons we see above.
3. Capture or neutralize Jinx
I would like to explain why this is important, because a lot of people seem to have forgotten or ignored many crucial details.
With regards to objective 1 --- Dismantle Shimmer --- a lot of people have been disregarding shimmer as the dangerous drug it is, and its impacts on the Undercity community. Some people have even gone so far as to make the argument that shimmer isn't actually illegal, implying that the strike team's objective to dismantle shimmer is for naught. However, people have to keep in mind the reasons that they are dismantling shimmer production--- it is no secret that shimmer is an incredibly addictive and also debilitating drug destroying the Undercity community. And not only that, but the fact that shimmer can and has been utilized as a weapon to commit various acts of terrorism on Piltover. Even if it wasn't illegal, it most certainly isn't legalized, and when the citizens of Piltover are attacked and killed because of it, they have no choice but to get rid of shimmer.
With regards to objective 2 --- Neutralize any agents still loyal to Silco --- this is pretty self-evident. However some people have been disassociating the Chem-Barons connection to Silco and ignoring the fact that they are all crime lords. Someone has even gone so far as to say that these Crime Lords have legitimate business establishments, not as if every single one of their business operations are sunken deep in exploitation, violence and corruption. A. One of the Chem-Barons were responsible for the attack on the memorial, using shimmer to do it --- not to mention a lot of the Chem-Barons, if not most or all are in some level involved with shimmer. I mean one of the Chem-Barrons literally had a whole child factory to produce the neon purple liquid meth --- and B. Their connection to Silco itself matters --- Silco and the chem-baron syndicate coalition were responsible for pretty much all the corruption and violence that the city of Piltover has had growing concerns about. Silco had connections to the Sheriff Marcus, and using this connection, as well as other methods, he allowed he and the Chem-Barons to conduct their business operations across Zaun and Piltover. However, their business operations were majorly delayed when Jayce closed the border and shut down open trade between Zaun and Piltover. The Chem-Barons are responsible for a majority of the rise in criminal activity across Piltover. Not to mention that the Chem-Barons are engaging in violent turf wars to fill the power vacuum left by Silco's death.
With regards to objective 3 --- Jinx is a terrorist, has wiped out half the council, and has killed many innocent people. Her presence has scared the people of Piltover shitless.
With all of this in mind, obviously the people of Piltover are shaking in their boots, and are increasingly vying for retaliatory action. The council itself was ready to send an entire battalion of enforcers to the Undercity to crush anything they deem dangerous to their safety. Cait stepped in and stopped that from happening, and instead of making the people pay for the actions of the actual harmful parties, she created a strike team to target those responsible. I would also like to frame it from the perspective of Piltover's safety, at this point Caitlyn is obligated to take some form of action considering there is a violent terrorist on the loose, that Piltover has faced many violent attacks, and that the safety of Piltovans themselves are at stake.
Like, pretty much considering everything the strike team was actually a pretty tame response, if not incredibly soft.
3. The gas itself, the Gray
It is explained in the episode that the Gray is a gas created as a result of industrial activity deep within the Undercity. And that the Kirammins created the ventilation system to clear the air and allow the people of the Undercity to breathe. It is not shown who exactly were the groups or people conducting this industrial activity, nor how exactly the Gray was created. All we know is that it is a byproduct of most likely mining of some sort.
ITS AFFECTS:
Deterioration of the nose, cheek, and eye socket.
Bleeding from the eyes, along with a growth or blemish developing around the pupil that obstructs proper vision.
Deterioration of the ribcage and lungs.
These seem to be the results of long-term exposure of the Gray. The Gray is more so a pollutant than a chemical weapon like a lot of people have been saying, especially because it was created as a result of industrial activity, rather than being concocted in a lab with the intention of it being a chemical weapon. While yes, the Gray most certainly has detrimental effects, it is not a lethal gas, as in, you won't die directly and immediately upon exposure but rather you'd get some respiratory problems or develop various conditions caused by long-term exposure. The various levels of severity in health conditions also aren't shown, along with the properties of the Gray itself other than a couple scenes. Zaunites seem to already have some kind of resistance to the Gray and have lived under it before, which is also something to take into account.
Chemical Warfare and real world parallels
I don't think you can breathe a few puffs of Gray and then will immediately develop all of these conditions, heck I think you can be in a room with some Gray and be completely fine. It is shown that the Gray is only really a problem when in high concentration and inhaled over long periods of time. I think this is important to note because a lot of people have been screaming about chemical warfare and making parallels to white phosphorous or mustard gas, when it is actually a pollutant, and therefore functions as such.
A lot of people also fail to mention crucial context of 'war' in chemical warfare. The reason the Geneva Convention banned all chemical weapons in war, but not for domestic use, is due to the inherent escalatory nature of war. When an army uses a chemical weapon, by default, the opposition will strike back with the same method. Deadliness as well as use of chemical weapons accelerates, leading to increased risk of collateral damage, death, injury and casualties. There's also the fact that it becomes increasingly less difficult to regulate usage, because if an entire army is deploying chemical weapons, there will be a lot of misuse, or indiscriminate use among the soldiers and army units. Essentially, more people means more gas, more misuse, more casualties and collateral damage. As opposed to a single small strike team deploying a gas in targeted locations. This can also be considered domestic use, as the Undercity isn't officially an independent state, and the question of whether it is hasn't happened until extremely recently.
There are actually a lot of real world pollutants, some that we use in our everyday lives that can cause similarly debilitating conditions through high concentration and long term-exposure. For instance:
Pesticide: Link
"harmful effects that occur from small doses repeated over a period of time are termed "chronic effects." Suspected chronic effects from exposure to certain pesticides include birth defects, toxicity to a fetus, production of benign or malignant tumors, genetic changes, blood disorders, nerve disorders, endocrine disruption, and reproduction effects."
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) --- Source: Google
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of man-made chemicals that were widely used in electrical equipment like transformers and capacitors, primarily as coolants and lubricants, due to their excellent insulating properties and resistance to fire; however, production of PCBs was banned in the United States in the 1970s due to concerns about their harmful health effects and environmental persistence.
- characteristic skin condition known as chloracne, which appears as acne-like lesions.
- interfere with hormone regulation, potentially causing thyroid dysfunction.
- increased cancer risk, especially in the liver and kidneys
- disrupt the development of the nervous system, leading to cognitive impairments
Pollutants we use in our everyday lives that can all cause health conditions:
Various substances such as heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, industrial chemicals, and toxins from improperly disposed-of waste. Also, Carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides, and Sulfur dioxide are examples of pollutants**.**
I think the Gray is more akin to PCBs than pesticide or typical household pollutants, as it is also a pollutant created as a result of industrial activity.
In this scene here, that happens right after the Hellfire Montage, we see the strike team enter something like a ventilation shaft, approaching Hinot (Heenot? Hienot?) who's tied upsidedown inhaling a bunch of the Gray directly. This room they step into is filled with the Gray, however the Strike team has their masks off and have no problem breathing. Not even a cough.
What if it spreads?
Of course, it is still entirely possible that the Gray could've spread to civilian areas, or maybe some civilians were exposed to it as it traveled. However, even if this were the case they wouldn't really be affected by it because it would be in extremely low concentration. The Gray would only really be a problem to civilians if Caitlyn kept the ventilation shafts open so that the Gray could fill the Undercity in continuous quantities, reaching across multiple residential areas and districts. From my perception, it seems that they deployed a certain quantity of the Gray so that its enough to gas the Chem-Baron goons and the building, and then close the vent when it reached sufficient enough levels to complete their objectives.
There's the fact that the strike team could just turn the vents back on after finishing in a certain location, so that the Gray doesn't linger or spread overtime.
The Gray itself seems to be a pretty heavy/dense gas like Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide and heavy/dense gasses in general tend to settle lower to the ground, coupled with the fact that enclosed spaces or buildings with minimal airflow may retain gases longer, as there are fewer ways for the gas to escape. While its not exactly a good thing, the fact that the Undercity also has poor general ventilation prevents the Gray from traveling long distances in a faster manner due to increased air flow.
We see this reflected in the scene where Smeech and his goons approach and attempt to investigate a building currently being raided by the strike team. In that scene the gas is within the building, but largely stays within it, whilst staying close to the floor.
Properties: We know so far that the Gray is a dense/heavy gas that tends to settle on the floor, and that it is a pollutant created as a result of industrial activity. We don't know much about its toxicity, but we do know that to induce health effects, long-term exposure and high concentration is required. We can probably safely assume that it is also a persistent pollutant.
Why would Vi allow it?
As previously established, the Gray isn't actually a chemical weapon, but a pollutant. Of course, its still being used as a chemical weapon but this distinction is still important. The Gray isn't as impactful as a lot of people think, which explains why Vi would go through with it, because in reality she's not actually gassing up her people. Cross apply everything from section 2. Her people are being exploited, and everything she's ever had has been destroyed because of the crime lords who are oppressing the people of Zaun. She feels personally responsible for Jinx, and therefore that by extension she is obligated to be the one to eliminate her. She doesn't want things to spiral out of control and have this situation turn into an all out war where many of her people will be affected. She just wants the conflict to stop. By joining the strike team she gets to be directly in control of the situation. Its heart-wrenching to wear the same badge that killed her parents, but at the same time she doesn't really have a choice. She doesn't know what to do.
4. What does all of this mean?
Now, I want to establish that I am NOT suggesting that we should completely disregard the possibility that some civilians, or even a portion of the general population in nearby districts weren't affected. Gasses are indiscriminate and they're generally hard to control, and when it comes to a place like the Undercity that has poor ventilation and is a place that has been established to have low air quality, as well as the fact that the Gray itself is classified as a persistent gas, the deployment of the Gray can certainly linger and permeate throughout various residential areas.
But I also want to establish that the Gray and its use isn't comparable to actual chemical weaponry like mustard gas and white phosphorous, and its deployment during various wars that caused mass death and genocide. I want to establish that while ethics are certainly called into question, and while the use of the gas isn't good, I don't think we should be saying its outright evil either. I don't think we should be interpreting this situation with such a black and white way of thinking.
The truth is that it's complicated, and very much a morally grey area. A lot of people, including those who think use of the Grey was justified, have missed a lot of the important details and context of this scene. Like, I was surprised at how many people misinterpreted it, though I guess that's to be expected considering the fast pacing of Act I.
And actually, this is something that is reflected IN the lyrics of the song Hellfire. I think it shows a mix of Caitlyn and Vi's, but mostly Vi's perspective. Like there is so much visual, writing and lyrical genius, that I'm kind of disappointed that such goldmines of analytical medium have gone completely untouched. I will be doing a later post analyzing the lyrics of the song and how that connects to our characters, the plot, and an overall idea regarding ethics and morality.
The message--------------------------
From my perception, I believe that this is a message about ethics and making difficult decisions when you're put in a hard situation. People should stop pretending as if they had an obvious, straight path forward, a perfect solution that would avoid moral inquiry.
They have to get rid of the Chem-Barons, Jinx and shimmer. Okay. Use a strike team and utilize this pollutant to conduct our tactical operations. But wait, this is really risky. What is the alternative? An all out war that will be incredibly destructive where many civilians will get caught in the crossfire. Okay then, back to the strike team. But do we have to use the Gray? Who's to say, the Gray is an incredibly effective tool that will allow us to complete our objectives swiftly and without casualties. Time is of the essence, we have to make progress now.
This isn't only for the benefit and safety of Piltover, but also for the benefit and safety of Zaun. What about the criminals? They're people too. Do we have to be so brutal? - What, do you want us to instead knock on their door, ask them politely to stop? Show up on their doorstep and tell them to put their hands in cuffs? No. They're going to retaliate with all of their manpower and weapons, peace is not an option, violence is inevitable. Punch first then ask questions later, hell, punch first then ask questions while punching.
We're committing grave sins, and doing away with ethics, but morality is something we can't afford. We just can't think about it. We can plan out all of the intricacies, the due process and be thorough, avoid violations of moral code, but will that be successful? Do we have that kind of time?
Time is of the essence. Millions of lives are on the line. Time is of the essence. Piltover needs to be kept safe. We can't fail. What about the safety of Zaun? Time is of the essence. We can't fail. Have I become the monster?
Lord forgive me.
TLDR; Everyone's been misinterpreting the Hellfire Montage where we see Cait's strike team use the Gray. It is not outright evil or good, but the situation is morally dubious and incredibly complicated. There has been a lacking in consideration of crucial context of the plotline, as well as reasons why the strike team was deployed.