I don't think that is the ambiguous option, in this one Jacob is glad that it led to his birth, because he is someone that is happy with his life. The one that's ambiguous is the middle one, where he reserves judgement for what they did.
That's the second option, where he reserves judgement for what they did "Who are you to judge their actions, when you have not walked their shoes?". That is him justifying it by giving them the benefit of the doubt. The latter one is him being happy with the end result, which is him being alive, which lends itself to him not being mopy for being born through a tragedy. He's not justifying it.
YES, the visual attached despite the original exchange being in latter form fits so well.
YOU ARE.
How will he become a villain though his family history is already one steeped in blood that all members are bound to remember it? Jacob is a product of both that history and the curiosity of wizards delving into the nature of the souls where those that study do it in either secrecy or under government discretion. He is also a curious child who is motivated by the wonder of the world and honing his skills in making himself great like the people he considers his grandparents. While he would only care about adventure and the mysteries they entail I would doubt he would ever settle down for a long time and when he does it would mean there is something there for him to discover. The point is he would never become a villain if we don't prod it because we could have voted to kill another being at the cave if we did.
THe third option also says he thinks it is heinous though. So I don't know why there is such a disagreement between synonyms.
I don't think that the second option is Jacob justifying what they did... The main point of that option is that Jacob is conflict about the Flamels, on one hand what they did was terrible, but on the other hand he still loves them, not because they created him, but because they treated him like their grandson...
But then it goes around and say that we will reserve judgment. The last one doesn't do that, it just says that what they did was horrible, but that Jacob is happy that he's alive at the very least.
In the last option he isn't conflicted on the thing that matters "Their action might have been heinous", he recognizes that what they did was wrong. But he can't not acknowledge that without what happened he wouldn't be here. Most teenagers think they are immortal, but Jacob knows better, for he could have not existed at all. For all that he has a low empathy score, he does have a strong moral compass, and that option does not change that.
He doesn't say it was ok, he said it was a bad act. What he says is that he is glad that it led to his birth, not that it was done at all. It's an important distinction.
He's happy he was born, that's not exactly narcissistic.
They are both of ambiguous morality and accepting the crime for different reasons. The second option refuses to judge on the matter and therefore brushes the crime aside. The third states that the crime and suffering was worth it because it ended up benefiting Jacob. It is literally saying the means don't matter as long as the end is worth it.
They differ in how he treats Flamel (and by extension, others who commit moral violations).
I don't really believe that Jacob's morality can be that compromised enough for a normal wizard because they can compartmentalize enough of the prejudices and a lot of their eccentricities that what the Flamels did while appaling in polite society would be quietly talked about and wished to be observed when the ritual was finished. Because wizards are still tinkering on the observations of death and what does it mean for them so if it got leaked to the Spanish Ministry I would think there would have been more unspeakable assisstants in a long term duty for the Flamels instead of arresting them because they are also curious of the results as well as celebrating a new life being born by exchanging what seems to be the small amount of souls of each deceased resident before Jacob that remained in the island because it would seem to be a benefit in helping childless couples have children of their own in exchange for the those who have departed already so it could be seen as a win after years of observation. Because like the dementors wizards can rationalize a lot of things so why draw the line at that.
I wouldn't worry too much, Jacob is a pretty nice and selfless person, as evidenced by when he saved Nott from the dementors and the Sally-Ann arc. I think this option is the best for his self worth and will allow him to enjoy what's left of his time with one of the people who basically raised him.
Yeah, I don't think anyone wants that to happen.
