“Make it a name”
I've been reflecting on the World of Assassination version of Hitman. On Agent 47.
Spoilers for that.
Everyone goes to Chongqing for 47’s true humanising moment. We load in beside a girl worrying over her friendship with the person she's waiting for. And if you stay there a bit… the world's greatest assassin will offer a consoling word or two as she half convinces herself that the woman she saw as her rock all through school is changing… and she isn't. Are they drifting apart?
47’s reply is sensible. I say sensible over logical because it reflects a bit more emotional intelligence, I think. Our bald friend points out her friend agreed to join her on this rainy night for drinks. You don't go that far for just anyone. And he suggest the simplest thing— make sure she picks up the tab. From experience, I can say if I call my dad or a friend and ask them to meet me at our favourite diner… I pay. I invited them. She agrees with a chuckle. They part, the young lady to do some drinkin’, 47 to do some murdering.
But I realised on my last play through… this wasn't hidden depths. This was 47 showing he's gained some width.
Depth… that we see after he overcomes Soder's last little test. 47’s handler Diana tells him they've looked into his background and the trail's gone cold. They don't even have a name.
“I think they called me 47,” our man with the barcode says.
Diana chides him that's not a name. She's pushing.
David Bateson is 47’s voice actor for a reason. With a slight change in tone, 47 issues a firm rebuff. A little defensive. Very firm.
“So make it one.”
This latest playthrough I realised:
This is his. It's the only scrap of identity he has. Someone else sees a dodge to avoid giving a name or a dehumanising label. To this man, it's him.
Diana doesn't challenge him further, only adding Agent. Agent 47.
The murder jokes. The dry double meanings. Yes, he was born of five fathers to be a perfect killer. But he isn't perfect in the way they wanted. He will fight for those he calls his. He will trust them enough to let them send him to the belly of the beast with a fake betrayal.
And given time, he can learn to empathise enough with a woman on a rainy night and see she's reaching out. He always could pick a person apart, but here he tries out using it not to make a target vulnerable, but to help. He can blend in anywhere. She sees an open ear. He can (in his stoic manner) offer a few words while he's fitting in that. He had the skills. 47 has… so many skills. He's just broadening his horizons a bit.
That's 47’s arc. He actually has depth to spare from day one. It's just a matter of going from one lane to a full pool of it.