#hot take: as a character i prefer pre-character development farnese

[beevean]

To be fair: Serpico and Farnese barely have any interactions even in Conviction. Most of their bond is presented during Serpico's flashback at the start of Millenium Falcon, and even then that's mostly through Serpico's pov

Really when you think about it their relationship is a bit one sided: it's Serpico who has a near admiration for Farnese, especially due to him knowing the truth about their parentage. But to Farnese Serpico has always just been her loyal servant. Past her trying to propose her love for him and escape together even Serpico notes that their relationship stayed as just a master/servant type. Farnese certainly cares about Serpico, given that he was the first person she's ever had any type of relationship with and has been with her since forever, and it can be seen when she was about to fall off the Church roof as she kept screaming his name while he was fighting the Kelpie ,but it doesn't seem like she harbors for him the same type of affection that he has for her

Case in point: you always see Serpico thinking about Farnese but never the other way around

They have certainly interacted more back then - I'm thinking of a scene where Farnese reminds Serpico that she and only she is his master, IIRC because he didn't want to blindly obey an order of hers.

But you're right that the story doesn't explore Farnese's feelings for Serpico after that rejected love confession. I can understand her acting coldly towards him when she's still leader of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, because she wants to pretend nothing happened between them because she is still in denial about her true emotions, but afterwards you'd think she'd reconsider him, even as a way to say "I don't see you as my servant anymore, but as my friend".

Serpico was, from what I have interpreted, the human equivalent of Farnese's blanket: a reliable source of safety, the one she has always desperately craved. But now, that source is Guts. And between her feelings for him and her focus on taking care of Casca, it does feel like Serpico has been pushed to the side, while Serpico is still unwaveringly loyal and cares for her both as his Lady and as his sister.

I don't mind the idea that he's more attached to her than the other way around, or even that she detached herself as a way to grow more independent, but it was a missed opportunity to develop them even more.