To preface this, I already know the abridged version of what all happens in the story, and I also know what the internet thinks of Ava. So I wanted to play it for myself and see if I can find these so called unforgivable sins the character does. I’m up to Eden-9 (rescue Jakobs planet, right after Maya gets merced), and I haven’t really seen anything Ava does as offensively bad yet, and I feel everyone hasn’t done anything out of character.
So essentially from what I’ve played so far, she hasn’t really done anything deserving of hate yet.
Personally, I don’t like Ava as a character because the narrative gives her zero options/opportunities to grow. She is a victim of a story that doesn’t give her (or anyone else) any depth or complexity. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that she is a teenager and teen characters tend to act as teens do which is fine to me. Even a zany world like Borderlands kids are gonna be irksome and immature, that I totally get and actually kinda dig.
The reason I don’t like her is the same reason I don’t like the majority of BL3, she is full of narrative potential that doesn’t really go anywhere. Ava doesn’t go much beyond teen siren. She remains two dimensional in the same way that the rest of the cast remains two dimensional. Though I suppose it is worth noting that some of the cast is one dimensional when they don’t have to be.
She is annoying yes, but I don’t think she is in any way a worse character than anyone else in the game. I think she unfortunately, is a girl and gamers hate girls existing or speaking or thinking or being. I think the whole cast (except for maybe Wainwright) has the same issues that she does but because she is a girl people latched onto her.
Borderlands 3’d base game narratives and characters never really clicked for me. I do think the stories and characters in the DLCs are much better mostly because they are slightly smaller and scale and scope. The game doesn’t need to be super deep or radical, but games stories should have some nuaince even if they are trying to a loony tune.