Cay

After catching up to recent episodes, I wanted to put my two cents in with Gwen and Jon's characterization since they both share similar vibes and not enough people talk about their differences.

First of all, Jon would never have done what Gwen did in the latest episode (ep 20). They both have a knack for pissing off Avatars/Externals, but even s1Jon wouldn't have mouthed off like that to one. Jon got beat up by Avatars for asking too many questions and not minding his own business (and for being Gertrude's successor), Gwen was just being blatantly antagonistic to a someone that literally kills people with tattoos because she got annoyed that they wouldn't sign her government form.

Second of all, Gwen isn't Eye-aligned like Jon was. Unlike Jon, she isn't curious. She doesn't ask questions or go looking for answers regarding the Externals. She does exactly what she's told, which is the exact opposite of how Jon operated. She's only interested in doing her job with the end goal of taking Lena's position, for whatever reason that might be.

And lastly, Gwen is selfish. While Gwen and Jon both wanted to be taken seriously in their line of work, Jon had given up that professionalism pretty quick when he realized people were getting hurt because of it. Even when he'd lost his humanity, he'd been terrified of putting anybody through the same terror he'd been through, to the point where he'd constantly put himself in harms way because of it. Jon was a stubborn idiot, but he cared deeply for other people. He never wanted others to get hurt, even when he wanted answers. (That's why he burned Gerry's page, after all.)

Gwen, on the other hand, isn't like that. When Gwen found out from FR3-DI that her boss had literally tried to murder someone that used to work here, her immediate response was to blackmail her to get a raise. She didn't warn her coworkers, she didn't even think of the risk to her own safety - just how it could benefit her. It's the same for when Gwen met with Bonzo and the other Externals. Even though Gwen found out what had happened to the people she'd sent Bonzo after, the fact that dozens of people died because of her involvement, she still didn't leave. She felt bad about it, sure, but it didn't stop her from continuing with it. Because for whatever reason, she wants that promotion so much that she's willing to let other people to die for it.

Gwen is not like Jon, who constantly sacrificed himself for others, nor like Gertrude Robinson, where the ends justified the brutal means. Unless there's some grand reason for it, a promotion isn't worth what she's doing. Gwen isn't heartless, but she is selfish.

She's not a monster just yet, but she is painfully human.

I was thinking the same thing about them once I started to see people noticing similarities. I think Jon is a bit more like Alice (S1) while she obviously knows that the statements are real, she continues to deny it anyway. I’m hoping Alice has similar character development like Jon does where she switches from keeping her head down to trying to protect her coworkers- even Gwen. However he is also similar to Sam in the way he is curious about the statements and is willing to dig, as long as no one gets hurt in the process. Gwen and Jon do have a few similarities, but they have more differences overall.

Also Lena is 100% a Elias parallel