Arcane: Why Silco was a good father
I personally believe that Silco was a good father. That being said, Silco is a sociopath and his love for Jinx was a twisted form of parental love. But I think he did the best he could possibly do and If he could do better, he would.
But like Jinx, Silco in the end is a broken person. We see that Silco showed more love to Jinx then Vander ever did. This is a deliberate piece of storytelling and not just my personal interpretation of these events. Even the writers have said that Powder and Vander weren't super close and her parental figure was actually Vi and not Vander. Vander's favoritism for Vi unknowingly fed into Powder's unchecked mental issues.
People often misunderstand that Jinx's parental figures were Silco and Vander. When in truth her parental figures are Silco and Vi. Vi, who assumed a motherly role in Powder's life. Due to the death of their parents at a young age.
I also don't think it's a coincidence that Jinx's mental state was at it's most calm around Silco. Jinx's mental state doesn't start rapidly eroding until Sevika tells her that Vi has returned with an enforcer. Which creates a downward spiral of fear and paranoia. Before that point she was much more stable mentally. As we can see her visual and auditory hallucinations worsen the more the show progresses.
For all those years between episode 3 and 4, Silco had a positive effect on Jinx's mental health. Giving her someone who loved her unconditionally and allowed her to be herself. He gave her a sense of community and made her feel like she was apart of something despite the fact that most If not all of Silco's gang disliked Jinx. He defended her nonetheless.
The toxic aspect of Silco and Jinx's relationship is that Silco and Jinx's love is a selfish hurt type of love. Both Silco and Jinx never want to feel abandoned ever again. And so they obsess over one losing the other. Which created an unhealthy codependence with one another.
Silco is terrified that Vi is going to take his daughter away from him. Jinx is terrified that Silco never actually cared about her. Of course neither of these insecurities turn out to be true. In the end Vi didn't take Jinx away from Silco. All the while it is shown that Silco loved Jinx more then anything.
The tragedy of Silco's death is that Jinx realizes he truly loved her at the moment of his death. Jinx accidentally causing Silco's death and Vi's unwillingness to accept Jinx is what causes her to finally snap. Which culminates in her launching a rocket at the councilor building.
It's a huge compliment to the writers that they created this complex relationship between Silco and Jinx. The audience initially expects Silco to be using and manipulating Jinx, while simultaneously expecting Vi to save her from him. As Vi is framed as the likeable protagonist of the story.
However if anything, the opposite is true. Vi maybe the protagonist of the story but in a clever subversion of what the audience expects....Vi often ends up having a worse effect on Jinx's mental health then Silco did.
Case and point, the end of the tea party scene when Vi encourages Jinx to remember their past. It causes Jinx to have the worst mental breakdown she ever has in the entire show. Silco see's his daughter being hurt and tries to protect her because he knows how much it hurts her. Unlike Vi, who doesn't understand this. Which makes the situation much more morally grey as to what's actually best for Jinx. Hence you have people supporting Silco's parenting over Vi's. Or conversely Vi's parenting over Silco's.
In conclusion, I'm of the opinion that Vi is incapable of understanding Jinx as a person. Vi loves Powder and not Jinx. Vi loves Powder but not the person that Powder has become. Vi loves who Jinx used to be. I don't mean to come down on Vi too harshly as her point of view is completely morally understandable; given that Jinx kills people and engages in terrorism. Where as Silco himself is an actual sociopathic crime lord.
But Vi's way of handling Jinx's situation simultaneously is shown to have a negative effect on Jinx herself both emotionally and mentally. Conversely Silco loves Jinx and I think he even loves Powder as well. Fans have pointed out that initially Silco tells her that "Jinx is perfect" during the baptism scene.
However when Silco dies he says "YOUR perfect" instead of just referring to Jinx by name specifically. As Silco says "You're my daughter I will NEVER forsake you." When he uses the word "never" I believe him. Even If Jinx betrayed him for Vi, he would still love her. Even being killed by Jinx wasn't enough for him to stop loving her. Silco would never stop loving Jinx no matter what. I cannot say the same for Vi, who decided to try and kill Jinx in Season Two.
