Blood Meridian: Judge Holden Character Analysis ft  

I am glad that with your new knowledge of this video, I have your consent. 😂 Thanks for watching! Like, comment, sub and share.

That's what makes him so fascinating. Thanks for watching!

He was described as bulbous. He was described as looking like a baby which implies round. He was also described as large and built so I had to balance round and muscular when I was designing his look for this video. Thanks for watching!

@@EpicTalezhe is literally built like kingpin in spiderman into the spiderverse

@@fatcaveman298 it was one of the reference images I used 😂

I mean yeah that was my read too but there's definitely some references to the literary satan. he's a great fiddler, a sparkling conversationalist in many tongues, and of course the pseudo-reference to paradise lost with the volcano and gunpowder. but overall my read of holden's similarities to the biblical satan lie in man's attempt to define this great evil. the judge is an ancient personification, older than any holy book, and said books like the bible simply gave mankind a wider vocabulary to describe this great violent force which already existed, long before even mankind existed. any reference to the devil is not a coincidence, it is man futilely grasping toward an understanding of something almost incomprehensible, and the invention of satan and other devils is a symptom of trying to comprehend that great evil. further than that, I think he represents something more...raw, than war. something more fundamental. wanton violence and hedonism, the raging of one's will against the inevitable eternity, is the lifeblood of the judge. he is imo an agent of entropy, a desire to sow discord and chaos out of order. to reduce the disparate and autonomous parts of the universe back down into their base ingredients. because that's what happens when you kill something - it is in a sense taking something more than the sum of its parts, consciousness, and turning it back into inert atoms. not dissimilar to the very essence of what entropy is. but that's just my random bullshit thoughts on the matter. i had this little epiphany on acid a couple years back, so there's a good chance I'm just seeing patterns that aren't actually there. even so, it remains my interpretation of the judge, on who and what he is.

Interesting idea. I can't disagree. Thanks for watching!!

Easily one of the greatest American novels ever in my humble opinion. I was also just thinking about a reread as well. I just know I would love it better on a second read. I can take my time to understand Cormac's metaphors, themes and narratives. Let me know when you are rereading.

@@EpicTalez I'll let ya know. Maybe March if I can swing it.

The reason I used the smiling face was because of how charismatic he is described to be. Now that you referenced Marlon Brando, I can’t unsee it. Thanks for watching!

He smiles when he is dancing after violating sm1

Holden is described as smiling a lot in the book

😂 Thanks for watching.

Thanks. V6 is very good. With a lot of trial and error it’s possible to get somewhat consistent characters. Thanks for watching!

@@EpicTalez it was awesome to see!

He is. I tried not to box him into the limits of my understanding but your description is apt. What a character. Thanks for watching!

You’ll probably love his character. All in all, I have to warn you, BM is really dark. Thanks for watching!

@@EpicTalez good lol i have read the bible, i can handle dark lol

@@DREWSBOOKREVIEWS 😂

Thanks for watching!

RDR2 is one of my favourite games of all time. Thanks for watching!

The Judge is who Micah thinks he is

@@grahamcracker7029 Fact! Thanks for watching!

Micah was a thug. Nothing more, nothing less. He was a sociopath who recognized Dutch's weakness was flattery and making him feel like he was in charge. Micah is just a typical mid-level gangster playing the game of trying to climb to the top, but because he didn't possess the charismatic characteristics of Dutch, he ultimately needed Dutch which is why he didn't go for an all out power grab to take control of the gang. Judge Holden is a totally different animal. He's not seeking petty power because he has it. He doesn't need Glanton or any man regardless of his social status. The brilliance of the Judge is that he is like the Devil visiting the human world to play in it and enjoy his diplomatic immunity.

​@nocapbussin Sooo if Micah is just a mid level Gangster. What does that make the Van Der Lin Gang. He played them like a damn fiddle by the end laughing and joking with the main crew other than Arthur and John. For all Micah Is a mid tier gangster is not it. He played possibly one of the most ruthless gangs of the west. Only dumb thing he did was not gun down Dutch as soon as he showed up years later. A Damn good Anagonist.

I completely agree. An animation would be much more flexible than if real actors are used. Thanks for watching!

I admit it would have been great if there was someone that could ideologically match the Judge. I understand that the grand idea behind a character like the judge is an entity that transcends all through violence and evil but being both an unstoppable force and unmovable object left all the other character feeling very basic in comparison. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cormac Mccathy was the type of guy that believed in pain and suffering as divine. The way he embellishes the Judge as absolute in every realm was done brilliantly. It is difficult to argue with the Judges logic. I don’t agree with all of his ideas but from objective perspective it’s hard to argue. To create a character that could go against him on equal footing would have been tremendously difficult. Thanks for watching. It’s comments like yours that keeps me going on RU-vid.

@@EpicTalez I'm flattered to be of service, although there are times when I think McCarthy makes the Judge a little TOO powerful. Honestly, why in the hell would anyone at that religious revival take the Judge's words over the preacher's, considering he looks like a straight-up monster?

The Kid is the ideological opposition to the Judge due to his change away from the depravity of the gang, but with the twist that he ultimately fails to do so because he fears Holden too much. A "evil wins when good men do nothing" moment

@@watching7721 Great point! The kid could be another video all together. There is so much to analyse about him. Thanks for watching!

They came across a few angels during their travels (the men in the fort who had looked after the kid, the women who care for the invalid by the ferry, the woman who nursed the kid to health at the beginning of the book). But there are no angels within the gang (which makes perfect sense).

😂 Thanks for watching!

😂

Brilliant.! Thanks for watching!

I just got a bottle of rum from Jamaica. I am going to try this. 😂. Thanks for watching.

Note taken. I am glad you watched it to the end. It’s comments like this that keep me going. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching😅

@@dannypitcherenterprises2414 I completely agree. Thanks for watching.

@EpicTalez very good video btw. Really enjoyed the book despite its violence and challenging prose. I would like to see it as a movie but it would be very hard to pull off. And casting the judge would be very difficult.

@@dannypitcherenterprises2414 my fear with a movie is that’ll ruin it. It would be very difficult to pull off.

@EpicTalez I saw James Franco test footage a couple of years back. Thank god it didn’t become a movie, it looked so bad.

@@dannypitcherenterprises2414 I haven't seen it but I am sure it's terrible.

Thanks for the feedback. The next one will be better. Thanks for watching!

@@EpicTalez otherwise liked it. keep up the good stuff

@yepisyeniturkiye thanks!

Thanks for the feedback. Thanks for watching.

Oh, it's you again! I knew you’d be back. Look, I get it-Judge Holden is a tough nut to crack. He’s too complex to neatly categorize his beliefs, actions, and motivations. That’s what makes him so compelling! The guy is the embodiment of chaos and entropy. Cormac McCarthy wrote him in such a way that any definitive conclusions about him are just speculation. Even literary greats have said so! In my video, I dove into some deep philosophical waters, touching on Nihilism and the concept of the übermensch, Jungian psychology, and how the collective unconscious lets the Judge manipulate everyone around him. I discussed third-person perspectives, his impact, symbolism, and a whole lot more. But I guess that all flew over your head. I didn’t make this video for people who need hand-holding through Blood Meridian. This content isn’t for those who need step-by-step guides through philosophical ideas and symbolism. Clearly, my content isn’t for you but thank you for watching it.

​@@EpicTalez Again? What do you mean "again"? Have we talked before? And if so, when and why would you remember? Because it's definitely not ringing any bells for me... That said, you didn't delve into deep philosophical waters... You just reiterated over and over how great and deep he was with no explanation of why, how or in what way. Even complex characters have explanation... that's what makes them complex. Frankly, your entire rebuttal seems more like an attempt to hide an absence of insight in the hubris of preying on the insecurities of others. That it flew over my head or I didn't get it would imply that something was laid out to get or that could fly over someone's head. Simply waxing poetic about how profound something is by saying "this is profound" is incomprehensible only in that there is literally just nothing there to comprehend. Honestly, I'm starting to get the impression this is just edgelord fodder.

@@DiogenesDworkinson Whatever you say man. I don't have energy for pretentious finger waggers. Fit the judge into the box of your subjective understanding and bask in the ecstasy of self approval. I am humble enough to make honest content about one of my all time favourite books. This video has over 20,000 views, not a lot, but guaranteed to have a few people like you. Create your own content or watch someone else.

@@EpicTalez So it's not again, I'm right, and we're done. Got it. Bye.

What was said on the video is a lot nuanced than the way you talk about it. No one actually knows what Hitler read just the same way you don't know what I ate for breakfast. I never said Hitler read Nietzsche. I also never entirely attributed the the judges character to Nietzche’s work. I am not sure exactly what you are tripping about. I used Nietzsche to describe a very specific idea and I moved on very quickly. The Judge isn’t a character that you can attribute any one philosophy or idea to. He is a unique combination. Remember that I also used Carl Jung’s theory to explain something else? Try to understand the video before passing judgment. It's ok if you don't understand too.

@@EpicTalez I specifically addressed the part about Nietzsche and Hitler. Never said anything about the rest of your fucking video. People KNOW he either didn't read Nietzsche or only heard passing quotes like most Germans of the time. Again, the Nazis literally banned his books because they lied about what he wrote about and believed and didn't want the population to know about their lies.

I would say that the pointlessness of the violence is intentional. After you become numb to it, you can analysis it and it's thematic implications without the shock value of it. An objective truth is that pointless violence is within human nature (evidence of this is in colonial and slave history). This book explores it. I've worked very hard on improving my animations so thanks!

@@EpicTalez *I can not agree - all violence is perfectly on point and intentional and has sense. Here in Balkans we know about violence and I can tell you that it's intentional and for reasons: good, bad or totally idiotic - that's not the point, the point is that it's not pointless nor senseless. Nobody goes around killing others for nothing. Even Judge in the book does it for some reasons but he doesn't go deeply into them. Even maddest people who kill - do it for some Purpose or Reason or Point, however crazy. And here we have literally gangs of people on all sides doing killing "just because"? I also read this Author's "No country for old men" and my opinion is: McCarthy likes that shit (and Omnipotent strange violent characters) and found readers that like it too so he does it. It's OK but I expected so much (because of all Hype around it) and got so little... one thing (beside that your Judge is Fat, I didn't see him that way): where your Animations can be seen? I like them very much, I'd love to see more of them...*

I see your point. The judge was described as bulbous, large and built in the book. In this, he has a belly but those are muscular arms. I have more animations on my channel.

@@EpicTalez *Yes, but also his body is, as far as I remember, firm and muscular.* *As a Balkan person, I often hear from Westerners that term "mindless/pointless violence" so maybe that is why I hated the Meridian. As a person from literally "epicenter of mindless violence" (besides Middle East & Africa) and place that is seen as something closest to Blood Meridian I always have to explain to them that there are strong reasons for violence here (terribly drawn borders drawn by outside powers; ethnic differences and hatred; religious conflict; heavy history of ethnic cleansing, extermination, oppression and siding with occupiers; holy sites destruction and occupation; etc) and their insultingly superficial view is based on their ignorance. Meridian in a nutshell: "Guys kill each other all over the place in broad strokes, but let me give you detail description of beautiful leaves on those rocks up there." Fuck you, Cormac. Or maybe my problem is that I went from TSOIAF to Meridian: from deep Characters, superb Dialogues, great Humor, fascinating Story, incredible Idea, etc to Meridian.* *Now I read only serbian Nobel winner, Ivo Andrić. No wonder he got that Nobel, he really writes Masterpieces - I recommend to you " The Days of the Consuls", "Omer-Pasha Latas", "The Damned Yard", "The Bridge on the Drina", "The Woman from Sarajevo", “The Pasha's Concubine".* *I thought maybe you have your Site with pics exibited there. OK, I'll surely watch other videos of yours, you are true artist.*

@@IvicaArmanas Wow. Thanks for the recommendations. They are all going on my TBR. I am always looking for great works of literature. Eventually, I'll get a website and put all of my stuff there. With social media, I am just trying to build a community first. Slow and steady.

Oh really?! 🤯😲. Do you know what a metaphor is?

​@@EpicTalez Do you know what a narcissist is, and how they’re always trying to appear smarter than they are? Heard of the term “word salad”?

@@EpicTalez Proud of the title? Of course.

@@lastwarning1 Do you know what projection is and how your perception of me is a reflection of you? Just because you don't understand doesn't mean .... (I trust you can fill in the blank.)

@@lastwarning1 👍