I'm Convinced Part Of The Reason A Lot Of People Misinterpret Ford's Character Is Because They Can't

i'm convinced part of the reason a lot of people misinterpret ford's character is because they can't conceive that the twins were raised different

stan was the runt of the family, the failure, he got kicked out and strayed off the path in an effort to make up for his mistakes, to regain the family he lost, his story is tragic but easy to understand and digest, the link between his upbringing and his life is clear

ford on the other hand was the golden boy, the ticket out, he was the one responsible for the ultimate success of the family and he was praised non stop and raised to unattainable heights, he has spent his entire life chasing that same height after he lost it in college, that's why he's so mad at stan, he ruined that success twice, he made ford fail, and ford is not allowed to fail

i feel like it's harder for people who haven't gone through similar things to get ford's character, yes he's arrogant yes he thinks he's the smartest man in the room, can you blame him? he needs to be! it has been drilled into him from the very start that if he is not enough the fate of his entire family (and later the entire universe) is on his shoulders, his personal failings are equivalent to worlds collapsing, he needs to be the best because if he's not he's nothing

so when bill comes along and promises him everything, promises to make him the very best he can be and fix all that is wrong, can you blame ford for trusting him? for being manipulated? in his mind he had literally no other choice

ford and stan are two sides of the same broken family, they're both trying to fix the same mistakes in opposite ways, stan by proving he's not the worst, ford by showing he has always been the best