Honour Among Thieves: The Felix Dilemma in Tales from the Borderlands (Zer0 Sum)

SPOILER WARNING: The following focuses on a major plot point for Tales from the Borderlands, revealed at the end of Episode 1: Zer0 Sum.

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Game: Tales from the Borderlands

Episode: Zer0 Sum (Episode 1)

Location: Bandit Camp, Pandora

Summary: Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong* for con-artist Fiona and kid sister Sasha. The unscrupulous pair have inadvertently joined league with Hyperion office peons (Rhys and Vaughn) as meat fodder in a Mad Max-style derby run by bandits in the middle of the desert... oops. Just as things spiral further into chaos, enter Felix - seasoned criminal extraordinaire and long-time adoptive father - to whisk away the grand prize: 10 million dollars. A smooth move until Fiona throws a wrench in his plans by sliding into the caravan after the money, causing Felix to pull a gun on her and flee. As he abandons a heartbroken Fiona, her parting words are do or die: Warn Felix about the booby-trapped case or tell him to choke. 

More information: Zer0 Sum | Borderlands Wiki | Fandom

The family caravan. Screen capture: FetchQuester

Family Business

Fiona's impassioned tale of ragtag orphan siblings taken under the wing of a criminal mastermind is musical-fodder, but if the events recounted by the thief to her kidnapper are true, there is genuine warmth emanating between the three family members. Nurtured from street rats into sophisticated pickpockets and agents of persuasion, Fiona and Sasha owe their education and survival to Felix; like a well-oiled machine they operate with cut-throat precision that denotes mutual trust and an acute understanding of one another's skills and talents. From a familial point of view, Felix's apparent betrayal - even for a hefty cash sum - seems out of left field.

Like many decisions in Tales from the Borderlands, this choice is time-constrained - a knee-jerk reaction in the heat of the moment. Is it immersion-breaking to pause the game and reflect on the pros and cons? Not necessarily - this is Fiona's story, and we are experiencing it as she recalls the events, "reflecting" on them as they transpire.

Tell Felix to Choke

Imagine the gig intended to "set us up for life" falls apart at the seams, only to miraculously come together at the last moment and have your #1 confidant stab you in the back.

This is the state of affairs for Fiona, exhausted from exploits of death-dodging giant machinery careening around a frenzied arena at breakneck speeds - the end result of a con-job gone awry.** But is it the end? Felix's timing is impeccable as always, snatching the ever-evasive Hyperion cash from beneath Fiona's eyes before leaping out the caravan as it hangs on the edge of a crevice. As he begins frying the case's lock with his code-breaking device, Fiona has three options: Shoot Felix with her one bullet (if not previously wasted on that idiot August), tell Felix to choke on it, and who cares about the other choice because right now Fiona is ANGRY.

And for people usually cool and collected under pressure to finally snap, ANGRY can be a vengeful monster rearing with rage that comes from a lifetime of devoting oneself to deviant means, which alone gives the player two reasons to tell Felix to stick it: Felix adopted Fiona and Sasha not because he felt compassion for them but because kids are cheap, effective labour who can do the dirty work (and usually get away with murder), and if Felix taught his prodigy well, it's only natural Fiona should resort to whatever means at her disposal to reclaim the money or at least be pissed off about it for when it's too late to do anything about the BOMB wired up to Vaughn's bio-signals.

"I told you to never trust anyone," cautions Felix earlier in the game, now echoed as famous last words. He's betrayed them once - who's to say he won't cause more trouble when running amok with an unlimited amount of funds? Felix is a con-man, after all - what if Fiona and Sasha were his long-con? Time for the student to usurp the master and let the pyrotechnics work their magic.

Showtime for Rhys and Sasha. Screen capture: FetchQuester

Warn Felix

But is Fiona really so consumed by hurt and rage to let the teacher and father-figure of her formative years redecorate Pandora's arid sands with remnants of his eyeballs? We could reason that she might be stricken with a case of open-mouth-no-sound while internally screaming, but Fiona is no amateur - her existence depends on being quick on wit and feet and has probably encountered tenser scenarios in Hollow Point's sketchy Purple Skag alone.

No, Fiona knows what she is doing - but do we know Fiona? The beauty of this is that we (the player) can determine what comprises her character: Will she be the stone-cold psychopath and watch two-timing dad blow up or the heart-on-her-sleeve rogue who spares him? Will Felix have a change of conscience when he sees his daughter take the high road and seek redemption in the future?

Ultimately, Fiona is indebted to him. Felix has taught the sisters everything he knows; rather than exploit them as petty criminals, he has empowered them with the very tools which could be used against him. They are his legacy, fondly captured in the "first heist" photo pinned up in the family caravan. We mustn't wave off the idea that perhaps Felix has good reason for his actions, hoping Fiona will eventually understand and "someday forgive" him.

Can Fiona really justify such a loss of life? Different dialog options reveal Felix is not a man of violence, preferring to "talk his way" out of a situation and believing guns more a crux than an advantage; Fiona and Sasha would have similar sentiments instilled in them during upbringing. For Fiona to see someone she loves splattered into meat paste would be a gruesome and traumatic ordeal with the toll of telling Sasha painful to bear. Perhaps Felix could be given the benefit of the doubt for now, unless...

Revenge is best served cold (and sometimes the better story).

Left: Hollow Point's most notorious. 

Main: Felix turns the tide on Fiona. Screen capture & edit: FetchQuester

Spoilers affecting choice:

Felix will reprimand Fiona if she shoots him, reminding her that "shooting me is not the answer... I've taught you better than that". Just before Felix explodes, he says, "You always were my favourite." Sasha will remember that Fiona let him die.

If Fiona alerts Felix to the big boom awaiting him, he flings the suitcase away and escapes unscathed, moved by her gesture and oddly unperturbed by a lifetime's worth of fortune blown to cinders. He reappears later in the game to explain his motives (saving Sasha and Fiona), offering a generous sum of money they can use for their final expedition.

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*Job A (named after the fact since a successful job wouldn't be designated a letter to distinguish it from other jobs):

• Craft fake vault key (DON'T TOUCH WET PAINT)
• Give key to Fiona (a.k.a. Lidia Strauss, an experienced "archaeologist" who "found" the key on Eden 6)
• "Lidia" gives key to Sasha's dim-witted "boyfriend" August
• August sells key to Hyperion stooges for a fat $10 million 
• Everything goes to sh*t and bandits have the suitcase

**Job B gone awry (Job A also went awry, hence Job B): 

• Sneak into bandit camp
• Snatch the suitcase and run
• Everything goes to sh*t again
• "Volunteer" to race and win the "prize money" (suitcase)
• DON'T GET KILLED

- Lucy A.

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Sources: 

Tales from the Borderlands (Telltale Games); fandom.com