Cascadia is an example of how to completely mismatch the portrayal of a character with how the character is meant to be received.Declan is the “hero” protagonist of Cascadia. By the end of the season, that’s very clear that that is how you are supposed to perceive him. But Cascadia shoots itself in the foot by introducing Declan as a vainglorious idiot who a) knowingly chooses to endanger his crew and b) makes those decisions without informing them nor consulting them, thereby removing their ability to consent (in fact, he orders his second in command not to tell them anything) and c) cutting off communication with the crew monitoring their safety on the surface unilaterally. One of his crew mates ends up getting attacked. He makes his crew cover and lie for him. This $%#ing guy.It’s not just once. Repeatedly, Declan ignores and keeps his crew in the dark while exposing them to further dangerous situations. His actions and choices are so dismissive of everyone else’s opinions and so reckless, that I thought the writers were intentionally making him so unlikeable so that the audience would cheer for his death, ala Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.We all love a good redemption arc in fiction. Depiction does not equate endorsement blah blah. A character can grow to be better blah blah. There’s an attempt to rehabilitate Declan’s character, by diffusing his culpability (with a villain motive that is cartoonishly ridiculous, I might add) and casting him in a heroic mould. The attempt fails because Declan doesn’t go on a character journey, so much as a truncated character shortcut. From asshole to leader, there’s a couple of scenes of him being remorseful but very little reflection on the fact that he didn’t care if he ended up killing his coworkers. When his coworkers reembrace him as captain, it rings false. Alia(?) is grateful to him because he saved her from an attack. He put her in that situation in the first place! That’s like being grateful to an arsonist for putting out the fire that he set in the first place!The show treats Declan’s transgressions like they only deserve a minor slap on the wrist, like an apology is all that’s necessary to smooth things over. These are not minor transgressions. They are offenses where he should be banned from ever working on a submarine again. And so it is galling that this adult man, who made his choices while taking the choices of others away, is ultimately held in esteem by people he chose to endanger. Choices have consequences but not for men like Declan.