Summary
- Gojo's character in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is more complex than initially portrayed, showing a darker and more calculated side.
- Despite being written as a hero, Gojo's enjoyment of fighting and making his enemies suffer adds a terrifying quality to his character.
- Gojo's unpredictable moral ambiguity and immense strength make him capable of anything, blurring the line between hero and villain.
The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2.
Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen has continued to place Satoru Gojo in the spotlight. With this second season, however, viewers are seeing a more in-depth look at his character, for better and for worse. Gojo is certainly written more like a hero than a villain, but he is far from heroic in many ways. One particular part of Season 2 reveals a different side to Gojo-sensei that is far from wholesome.
During the infamous Shibuya arc and specifically in Episode 9 of Season 2, Gojo is caught up in a trap set up by Suguru Geto and his curse allies. With the enemy holding hundreds of civilians in a complex series of veils, Gojo must choose between surrendering himself to the enemy or sacrificing innocent lives. Although his decisive actions are impressive as he manages to balance his responsibilities, he briefly shows a darker side of himself as he works through this dilemma.
Reflecting On Gojo's Actions
When Gojo-sensei first enters the enemies' veil, he is his usual lackadaisical self, unfazed by the tense situation and making his usual snappy quips whenever he can. This is the part of Gojo's character that makes him so entertaining to watch, but there is a time and place for this attitude. As the Shibuya situation becomes more dire and grim, Gojo's strangely upbeat nature comes across as more terrifying than entertaining.
As the curses Jogo and Hanami kill only a few humans in an attempt to have Gojo make a mistake, the sight of Gojo being unaffected shows how cold and calculated he can be. His adept nature of stoic introspection is predicted by the enemy and even explained by Jogo in the heat of battle — Gojo understands how sacrifices are unavoidable no matter how tragic.
This moral ambiguity by itself isn't enough to make Gojo the most terrifying character. Understanding sacrifices happen makes Gojo appear more strategic and cold rather than terrifying, though combining that with his nearly immeasurable strength certainly adds to Gojo's haunting presence. In retrospect, what really makes Gojo so terrifying is how far he'll risk making these sacrifices without batting an eye, and the way he approaches his responsibility to fight back against anything he deems a threat.
An Atypical And Terrifying Hero
From his traumatic origin story, it's a relief that Gojo decided to stand on the side of good and become a teacher to support the next generation of Jujutsu Sorcerers. That being said, there are numerous times when Gojo has shown his potential for villainy. The primary example occurs during the Shibuya incident.
As Gojo faces off against Jogo and Hanami he shows how much he enjoys fighting, making his quips, and keeping up an upbeat attitude as he looks down on his opponent. In this fight though, Gojo takes his enjoyment to an extreme, relishing in making his enemies suffer. Typically, wholesome heroes don't enjoy taking lives the way Gojo does, and even if one argues that the villains need to be punished, there is some cause for alarm for the look of delight on Gojo's face as he "punishes" them as he sees fit.
On a slightly less concerning note, he also takes a huge gamble with the lives of the innocent civilians held hostage. Gojo's opponents had predicted that he would never use his Domain Expansion, because that would surely mean the death of all the innocent hostages caught up in it. It's hard enough for strong sorcerers, curse users, and special-grade curses to survive Gojo's Domain Expansion, so for normal human beings, the mental toll would be too much.
For Gojo, however, the heavy risk was a chance he felt he had to take. After the curse Mahito arrives bringing with him a small horde of transfigured humans to attack the Shibuya hostages, Gojo decides to unleash his Domain Expansion, called Unlimited Void. Shocking his enemies, and likely the audience as well, Gojo manages to make the seemingly impossible feat possible.
Within a split second, Gojo manages to destroy every one of the transfigured humans in the area, undo his Unlimited Void, and protect roughly every innocent human that remains. What this scene adds to Gojo's character is how unpredictable his moral ambiguity is. This combined with his overwhelming strength means that he's generally capable of anything.
As mentioned before, Gojo has had other moments that blurred the lines of how a hero appears and behaves. After the tragic murder of Riko Amanai during Gojo and Geto's second year at Jujutsu High, Gojo wholeheartedly considers murdering every member of the Star Religious Group cult. In JJK season 1, he threatens to kill all the Higher-ups of Jujutsu Society. On top of that, he shows how detached and mechanical he is and how much he enjoys killing his enemies through the Shibuya incident.
With how strong he is, the heroes ought to be thankful that Gojo chooses to be as close to a hero as he can be. If he chose to, he could do the complete opposite and wreak havoc. If he wanted to be a ruthless villain he wouldn't have much standing in his way and that is what makes him so terrifying. Thankfully, he's on the side of good, but that doesn't mean he'll be soft on any so-called allies he deems a threat.
It's already been made clear that Gojo is the most powerful character in JJK. Anime is filled with overpowered characters, but what makes some of them likable and others feared is what they do with their strength. If Goku from Dragon Ball Z chose to take over planet Earth, he wouldn't be looked at like a friend — he'd walk around with a terrifying presence for main characters and audience members alike. Basically, he wouldn't be a savior, he'd be a massive threat.
With Gojo, the situation is more complicated because of his moral ambiguity. The main heroes may not have to worry about Gojo going berserk because they already have established a camaraderie, but anyone deemed as a threat by Gojo ought to be terrified. Not even fully knowing what to expect from Gojo is frightening in itself and regardless of how immoral and wrong he may behave, there's nothing stopping him from doing what he thinks is the correct course of action.