Ezreal is a Monster

EDIT: EZREAL DID NOT BURN DOWN MUCH OF PILTOVER. INSTEAD, HE RELEASED “A SWARM OF FIERY CRITTERS THAT PLAGUED THE MERCANTILE DISTRICT OF PILTOVER”.

Reposted from my comment on his release.

Yikes. Ezreal seems like a narcissist or sociopath. Driven by grandiosity and the constant need for approval, he takes breaks the law, takes reckless risks, and blames others for the consequences.

He treats a fire that caused millions of dollars in damage and may have maimed or killed countless people as no big deal. He even blames the nice lady who helped him. He belongs in prison.

Ezreal’s biography shows that signs of his anti-social behavior began early, with misbehavior in class and possibly breaking the law by sneaking into teachers’ rooms for amusement. In the short story, it escalates to what amounts to identity theft, as he buys equipment on the fraudulent promise of his uncle’s payment. He almost entirely lacks fear, underpreparing for his expedition and then being more concerned with the frustration of his curiosity than any consequences that might befall him.

His emotions are entirely superficial. He is focused on his appearance and hair-pomade supply, constantly imagining the public adulation of his deeds, and any interest in history is secondary to his interest in being seen as the one to discover it, as shown when he wants to steal credit for his uncle’s idea that the crack might hide a crypt. He never expresses any feelings other than excitement and fear.

This is not just a veneer over a real personality. When the fire tests his capacity for guilt, his journal entry begins by with a claim that he was blameless, followed by an attempt to shift responsibility onto a hapless Zalie’s employee. He was well-aware that the artifact might be cursed—having said that it wouldn’t be worth retrieving were it not—yet entrusted it to someone whom he could not have reasonable expected to handle it. He never mentions anyone who might have been hurt or killed.

It’s evident that there’s nothing in him but two desires: one for publicity and the other for self-preservation. He simply does not care about the consequences of his actions or has convinced himself he can do no wrong. Now, countless buildings have burned to ash, and who knows how many people were burned, perhaps to death.

He belongs in that preliminary hearing, followed by a trial, conviction, and sentencing for arson and, were anyone hurt or killed, aggravated battery and aggravated murder. Considering his almost soulless behavior and the severity of his crimes, he deserves to be tried as an adult, the maximum sentence for each count, and to serve each sentence consecutively. Moreover, his intelligence and aptitude for escape require nothing less than a maximum-security prison to house him. Piltover cannot be safe as long as he walks the streets.