Episode 12: The Hypocrisy of Jill Royce
Jill, the naive and puritanical dating option in BaD, explicitly tells the MC throughout the game that he is allowed to have a past, make mistakes, and be honest; yet the game's mechanics treat pre-relationship history as an unforgivable offense.
Some of this is basic understanding of her character and normal relationship dynamics, but a lot of it comes from the break up with Josy and Maya and how her opinions and comments on it contradict her reaction at the end of Episode 12, leading to a breakup. (This is specific to the "ep9_jm_sad" variable being true.)
These conditions occur even if:
- The MC has 0 TC points ("cheating" actions the player takes, which after a > 4 threshold, cause the MC to break up with Jill)
- The MC has not pursued or flirted with anyone after Episode 8: Crossroads. Meaning, the MC has stayed faithful to Jill.
"Single people date and you're a cute guy"
Jill: "It's not a shock to hear that you're dating others."Jill: "Single people date and you're a cute guy."Jill: "It's different from being in a relationship and seeing others. That's just despicable."Jill: "I admit, it's not the best thing to hear for a girl... That there's competition and all."Jill: "If the guy is worth the time, there's bound to be jealousy involved."Jill: "But it's not dropping a bomb. Unless there's more to your story...?"MC: "One of the girls I've been dating is Josy."Jill: "Now, see... I could sense that you were a bit off in the library."Jill: "So, that's why?"Jill: "She seems like a really sweet girl."MC: "Yeah, I don't know what to tell you..."Jill: "Was that all you needed to get off your chest?"MC: "Yeah, for now."Jill: "Good. I think that we should have our date now and you leave all those feelings you feel at the moment in this spot."Jill: "When we're done, you can come back here and get them if you feel that you need them."MC: "Haha, that sounds weird."MC: "But I'll try that."Jill: "Great! Let's go have fun!"MC: "Jill, thanks for listening..."
Jill, back in Episode 4, during the first date with the MC playing tennis, sees that something's wrong with him. He confides in her saying he's been "dating multiple girls lately", that two of them lied to him, and one of them was Josy, whom she noticed was acting strange in the library.
Her reaction?
Not a shock. No problem. And so long as one is not in a relationship and seeing others, it's ok. There's bound to be jealousy involved. And she treats the rest of the event as a date, like this was no big deal to her. She's completely fine with the reality of dating while not in a relationship, and that he's an attractive guy seeing multiple people.
At this point, there's no pathing or critical scoring with Jill; you're just accepting her first date.
"You're allowed to have a past"
MC: "Yeah... We three dated each other... It's hard to explain it, but if you want to, I can do it."Jill: "Maybe another time... Um..."MC: "Jill... I know you might feel weird about this, but what should matter is that you're the only one for me now. Ok?"Jill: "Still..."Jill: "I feel sad for Maya... It can't be an easy situation for her."
. . .
Jill: "Sorry, I didn't mean to put more stress on your shoulders."
MC: "..."MC: "And I didn't think coming here tonight would do that. Being with you is the best thing I know."MC: "And today, I found so many ways to ruin it...yet you're still lying here next to me. And I ask myself why."MC: "I don't feel like I deserve you."Jill: "You're my boyfriend and I'm your girlfriend. It's not a promise we've made lightly to each other."Jill: "You're allowed to have a past and you're allowed to make mistakes... And even if things you tell me feel weird for me, you haven't ruined anything."Jill: "You're being open and honest with me and that means a lot."Jill: "Weird or not... I want you here next to me because being with you is one of the best things I know too. And I'm done with letting that get affected by others."MC: "Thanks, Jill... That feels comforting to hear."
As the relationship with Jill continues, she reassures the MC: "You're allowed to have a past and you're allowed to make mistakes... You're being open and honest with me and that means a lot."
She explicitly praises the MC for handling his past relationships (like breaking up with Maya and Josy before going public with her) and claims that past actions won't ruin their future. Jill: "Weird or not... I want you here next to me because being with you is one of the best things I know too. And I'm done with letting that get affected by others."
And this is all after the MC does everything right with Jill:
EP 1&2
- Being polite and showing interest
EP 3
- Having study sessions and being respectful to her
- Visiting her dorm, sharing her passion for music, and dealing with Tybalt.
EP 4
- Going on their first tennis date, potentially light touching, potentially kissing twice
- Getting approval from Isabella that the MC is in fact a good guy
EP 5
- Bedtime couch scene with Jill at Bella's
- Helping her out with her pressure from the Preps
EP 6
- The MC choosing to be with her in a birthday picnic instead of helping a sick friend (Sage), blocking off Sage's path.
- Showing genuine interest in her musical talents
EP 7
- Helping Isabella out with Tybalt's mixed tennis match date and playing against her. Simply being there, win or lose, gets Relationship Points. You can also smash his fake teeth out (which does nothing to scoring systems, but shows how strongly he's against Tybalt's advances. And if the MC doesn't do this, it defaults to Bella doing it.)
- Maintaining a CHICK choice affinity and not acting like a jerk toward her
- "Fight For Jill" where you make a dramatic entrance at night and Jill gets all destiny/moonstruck over the MC, trying to get him to stay though she's too scared to share her feelings.
EP 8
- Learning her sheet music by choice, even though the MC can barely read it and figures it out on guitar by himself
- Rescuing her from her stage fright at her piano recital by performing said music.
- Finally deciding after talking to his frat friends and their girlfriends that Jill is who he wants to dedicate himself to.
- After a text from Isabella, the MC chases after her, and helps her escape the 3rd Tybalt forced date, where he states his feelings:
Jill: "And sometimes it hurts..."Jill: "Because I'm not sure I'm the only one on yours."MC: "Because I've dated someone else?"Jill: "You see... This is why I don't date. I'm too scared to get hurt."MC: "You have nothing to be scared about. I want to be with you."MC: "And if you want me not to date others while we figure out our feelings together..."MC: "It's not a problem. I've already decided that I can do that."Jill: "Are you sure?"MC: "Jill... I ran across the city as fast as I could to get here. What does that tell you?"MC: "I've made my choice, and you're it. And if you're still feeling scared about getting hurt..."MC: "Let's be scared together... Let's give us a try."Jill: "Ok."
The Climax: Episode 8 Crossroads vs. The Drinking Game
With < 4 TC points, and telling Jill that Zoey is just a friend.
With the Episode 8 Crossroads choice, and Jill accepting themselves as a couple, the MC makes his official commitment. He tells Jill she is the one, stops seeing other girls, and locks in their exclusive boyfriend/girlfriend status. For four episodes, the player operates under the impression that the slate has been cleaned, pre-relationship history has been disclosed, and loyalty is secured.
Then comes the New Year's Eve party in Episode 12.
Quinn hosts a game of "Never Have I Ever." What ought to be a harmless party game turns into an inescapable interrogation of the MC's past. The game's script tallies the MC's historical romantic encounters and body count; not what he did after committing to Jill in Episode 8, but what he did before they ever went public. Encounters that occurred while the MC was entirely single, or during the chaotic phase before Jill ever agreed to be his girlfriend, are suddenly put under a retroactive microscope.
The Contradiction: Mechanics vs. Character Dialogue
Wait, what? Haven't you said repeatedly that past experiences with other people didn't matter? That you were "done with letting that get affected by others."?
This is where the game's mechanics clash disastrously with Jill's written character philosophy.
The Arbitrary Penalty
A player can have a "perfect" loyal run from Episode 8 onward:
- EP4 Jade & Others Untouched: Leaving side-attractions completely off the table.
- 0 True Companion/Total Cheating (TC) Points: Absolutely no infidelity, cheating, or sleazy side-actions post-commitment. (e.g. Bianca, ass holding, kissing, etc.)
- Zoey Rejected: Shutting down any old flames or temptations.
- Already having a permanent CHICK rating
Despite absolute faithfulness during the actual relationship, exposure during Quinn's drinking game triggers a hard lock out. Jill either outright breaks up with the MC or hits him with an unavoidable cold shoulder, leaving him completely alone with no Midnight Kiss event, and where he goes home alone.
The Core Hypocrisy
Actually, it was the past, and you said it was okay to date others before having a dedicated relationship. What's going on here?
In Episode 4, Jill claimed that single people date and jealousy is just part of the process. In Episode 10, she explicitly told the MC, "You're allowed to have a past... you haven't ruined anything."
Yet when that exact past is voiced out loud at a party, publicly to humiliate him, her preachy tolerance vanishes. The time when he needs his girlfriend and her mature, understanding, gentle nature the most, she breaks. The game treats pre-commitment history -- actions taken when the MC owed her no exclusivity -- as if it were active, unforgivable infidelity. She demands honesty, receives it, claims to forgive it, and then fundamentally punishes the player for it anyway.
Conclusion: Flawed Character Writing or Broken Flag Logic?
So does Jill want the MC to have 0 romantic experiences with others? Who is this, Nikita?
Ultimately, this leaves players facing a frustrating question: Is this intentional character writing, or broken game logic?
If this is intentional, Jill Royce stands as one of the most hypocritical love interests in visual novels. She presents herself as the empathetic, emotionally mature, pure-hearted girl who understands that people have histories. But under the surface, she harbors intense retroactive jealousy, holding the MC's past against him even after claiming it was fine. She accepts his confession in private, but publicly humiliates him, dumps him and runs away when forced to confront that reality in front of her peers. We know that Dr. Pink Cake (DPC) wrote or included Jill as the last main character or Main Girl (MG) in the series, to give players the goal of a CHICK styled run. But to commit character assassination at the 11th hour is contradictory to the nature of "Being a DIK", when a CHICK styled Jill is repeatedly forgiving and tolerant of others, specifically to the MC's romantic history.
If it isn't intentional, then it points to a rigid and flawed flag system in the game's code, or at least the writer's skill in understanding the character they supposedly constructed. The script's variable checks fail to properly isolate pre-relationship choices from post-relationship loyalty. Instead of evaluating whether the MC was faithful to Jill while dating her, the code aggregates total global romance counters and slaps the player with a breakup check anyway. Which says nothing of the TC point system where the MC can choose on his accord to break up with Jill because of his "4 point conscience" score, taking agency away from the player. This all points to a rushed or forced outcome, where the creator needs to rush to clean things up to fit some future narrative, and not know how to get there properly.
Additionally, if all you did was seek out and then break up with Maya and Josy, and then choose a pure Jill playthrough, she won't break up with the MC, but instead console him and just go back to the party. You don't have a Midnight Kiss with her, and you don't end the night together. Which is interesting, considering how strongly she believes and respects the MC, you'd think she'd have more romantic notions of staying with her boyfriend the entire night. But no, Jill exits stage left, not to be seen again that episode.
Whether you attribute it to dynamic hypocrisy or sloppy event coding, the result is the same: Jill's route breaks its own emotional contract, her own theme as a mature, understanding CHICK girlfriend choice, punishing the player for the exact honesty she claimed to treasure.
Comments
Post a Comment