Oh wow, I didn't think writing a few sentences about one character could change this topic from "Things you don't like of Reborn" to "Why (almost) everyone hates Bennett". So, could we get back to a broader discussion? I mean, feel free to talk about Bennett, but add something else you didn't like; would that be okay?
So, did anyone here hate the puzzle where you have to go through a giant room Metal Gear Solid style without making a single mistake, just to discover you have to go half the way back to write a bunch of useless verses? Because I did.
Anyway, back to Bennett:
As I've already said, fair enough about his obsession for Luna. But for that reason, I can't really believe it's going to be just a temporary crush, something that will go away that easily, considering the possessive nature he tends to have. And I have NOT said I hate Bennett as a character, rather HOW he's been developed, as I feel he fails to be the disgusting, squishy sort of a character I expected him to be: he feels like a SOMEWHAT reasonable person, and that's why I said I thought his love confession was a bit out of character, just as much as his decision to join El. It feels to me the game is forcing me to hate him, rather than being a natural thing. Also, I'm sorry I can't agree with hating of El instead of Bennett, first of all because the decisions you make are your own, also it's clear his decision was a deliberate way to make the player hate him. Thirdly, because:
I absolutely agree with you on this, and I believe it's the main reason people hate Bennett so much in the first place. People like Lin, El or Dr. Sigmund are smart and powerful (El's lies and tricks are VERY convincing, Lin is just broken), as much as their brilliant minds are used to do evil; this quality is always, if subconsciously, respected and appreciated: you feel they are dangerous people because they know a lot and they are powerful, and a part of us wants to become stronger than them, or they are so mighty we fear them. That's also why we tend to have a soft side for antagonists which play the role of a main character, because they're always intelligent and competent with whatever they're doing. Characters like Bennett or Fern instead, they just come off as petty or antisocial: they are fundamentally weak, and on top of that they act cocky as if they knew better than us when they clearly don't. They are spoiled brats, which are among the worst people you can interact with, and you just wish you could slap them over and over and over to knock some common sense into the little, ignorant heads.
Exactly what felt weird to me was how a young and misguided character could be turned into a conceited, obsessive, "stalkerish" kind of character: it's too extreme of a change. And while I do think he will get a redemption, I honestly wish he will not, to avoid cliches (isn't Cal enough?): he could become a villain of the worst kind, because he has the intelligence and the determination (*game saved* ) to grow from a petty person who's always commanded, subordinated and rejected to someone who truly wishes the destruction of everything and everyone as payback for all the world has done to him. He isn't stupid, as you say, at the same time he feels the world has been unfair to him, because he's intelligent yet he has no relevant position in society. Then, he is betrayed by El, he is betrayed by Luna and everyone else... that would be the point at which he breaks, and really becomes dangerous as he seeks revenge. Although I do have to say, the idea of a metamorphosis connected to the bug type IS pretty cool.