Annoys Me To No End When People Act Like Sensei Garm Was Somehow The Truest Form Of Garmadon That He'll

Annoys me to no end when people act like Sensei Garm was somehow the truest form of Garmadon that he'll inevitably return to if he wants to be a good person. For starters, as far as we know, he's not even part human, so why would his truest form be his human one? He's clearly comfortable with his oni/part oni self, and there's nothing wrong with that.

When I say I don't want Sensei Garm back, I don't mean I think he should never try to be more active in Lloyd's life or that he should never try teaching again or hell, that he should never try being in a relationship with Misako again. I mean that the obsession with his human form, the version of him that was so clearly trying to be someone he wasn't, trying to fit himself into a mold of "goodness" that just didn't suit him, is weird and uncomfortable to me. Sensei Garm hated himself, it's so blatantly obvious, and while that certainly makes him interesting, it doesn't make for a good ending to a character arc.

Garmadon is not inherently incapable of being a father, a husband, or a sensei, but he was trying to take on those roles when he wasn't ready. He'd spent a lifetime fighting the evil in his veins and the second it was gone he was just expected to know how to be good. So naturally it didn't go very well. People criticize Lloyd's description of his father to Harumi in season 8, ask why he talked only about the time he was evil instead of the brief period where he was good. But it makes sense for Lloyd to have complicated feelings about his father, even before his resurrection when things went to shit, does it not? Yeah the love was there, but so was the strain, the distance, the abandonment, the multiple attempts on his and his friends' lives. A couple years of being on the same team doesn't necessarily make up for that.

Crystalized Garmadon wasn't ready for those things either, but the difference is he knew that, and he was working towards being ready someday. He was doing a parenthood practice round with Christofern, in hopes he could gain the skills to try and be Lloyd's father again. He wasn't in a relationship, but he was learning to better interact and connect with other people through Vinny. He was improving, however slowly.

If we ever do see some version of Sensei Garmadon again, I want it to be a natural progression of where Garm was at last we saw him. I want him to be ready for that role, and to take it on in a way that feels authentic to who he's become. He can't force himself to shy away from his destructive nature, we've seen more than once that his vows of peace don't last long. But he can probably learn to channel it in more helpful ways. The times Sensei Garmadon was at his best were the times he wasn't trying as hard to be serious, the times he teased Lloyd or let himself have a little violence and destruction, as a treat. I think it's entirely possible for him to achieve a functional balance of chaos and order, and I think a lot of that is precisely because of who he became after his resurrection. He's not ashamed of any side of himself, and that lets him harness that power in ways Lloyd can't because he's too scared of who he is.

Idk exactly where I was going with this, I just think I've maybe been a little harsh on the "I want Sensei Garmadon back" people. But a couple stances I'm still firm on: 1) there is no "good half" or "dragon half" or even just "other half" of Garmadon trapped in the Departed Realm or wandering the merged lands, and 2) if Garmadon comes back, it would be a disservice to his character to have him assume a human form, and if he does, they better have a damn good reason for it.