I feel like an important part to the "should Subaru be a knight?" debate I haven't seen mentioned is that Subaru was knighted under false assumptions. It wasn't intentional, certainly, but it affects this.
He was made a knight under the pretense that he was able to defend himself well enough that putting him in a fight wouldn't be morally reprehensible. That was believed because, despite his lack of straightforward combat ability, he managed to handle two of the three greatest monsters in the world, as well as an Archbishop, with very few casualties.
However, this assumption was made with the belief that this was his first try, and with the knowledge it wasn't? This becomes a different story.
Stripping Subaru of his knighthood seems cruel, and it is in the short term, but the fact is that he never should have been made one. It requires a level of skill he doesn't actually have, and the fact that he can compensate with his level of sacrifice means that asking it of him is to both expect and approve of that sacrifice.
Exactly. Yep. No notes. That’s exactly right. Subaru certainly didn’t INTEND to “trick” his way into knighthood but like — that’s how it’s gonna come across to everyone else, because they had NO IDEA that they were approving…THIS. OR that his great deeds had cost him THAT.
