Kyle Braxton - Nic Westaway

[Luke39]

56 minutes ago, Slade said:

I find it very interesting how popular this particular individual is.  The posts towards this character from some people would indicate he's the best thing since sliced bread.  People go on and on about how bad Brax is but this piece of garbage is given a free ride and IMO far worse.  Kyle is an violent, aggressive, jealous, childish, controlling bully.

The Bennett Braxton love child make his glorious entrance by stalking his supposed half-brother.  Kidnaps him, beats him and leaves him in the desert to die a slow painful death.  Blaming Casey for stopping Danny from murdering someone in cold blood but really it was because he was jealous that Danny spent more time with the other siblings and he couldn't handle it.  But just because he puts his hands up in court and says "oh sorry I've been a bad boy" he gets a slap on the wrist.  Even when Casey did forgive Kyle, how does he repay him?  Steals his girlfriend from right under him. The only reason why Tamara fell for Kyle was because she had amnesia.  So I was ecstatic when her feelings for Casey resurfaced when Casey was hospitalised.  I loved the way Kyle was completely powerless and watching the inevitable unfold.  That's karma for you and it was wonderful how he finally got to experience how Casey felt and got a taste of his own medicine re the woman that he loved.  The best part about it was that Casey and Tamara didn't last long anyway so Kyle lost her for nothing - and even sleeping with one of Chris's castoffs didn't help.

Kyle's violent tendencies resurfaced after Andy got into strife with Sean.  After unsuccessfully trying to pay Sean off, Kyle seriously assaulted him causing internal bleeding.  There's an argument as to whether the character deserved (and it does not take away from the fact that Kyle chose to do it)  but as a result he puts Irene, Chris and Spencer in serious jeopardy.  They were all actually very lucky to get out of that situation unscathed when Sean held them hostage.  The problem I have with Kyle is that he won't change or should I say can't change.  When things are going well for him he's OK but often a real test for a person is how they react when things are going badly and how they deal with the situation but that is when Kyle is at his most dangerous.  He's usually like this when things aren't going his way.

So we have girlfriend #2 the annoying self-righteous Phoebe.  Ironically Kyle didn't even want her at first as he was so fixated on girlfriend #1.  Although that didn't stop him from trying to kiss her when he realised what he did to Sean.  She was right to follow her initial instincts and reject him but that didn't stop her persisting in trying to 'save' him from the Braxtons.  Obviously failing to realise that Kyle was like that before he had even met them.  She was even visibly shaken once he told her about Casey but she still tried to get him away from them anyway and then completely changed her mind.

It's funny after looking into Kyle's history the lengths Phoebe's dad went to to protect his daughter from him.  And whilst I don't agree with what he did, Mark I guess was essentially right about him.  Although I'm not complaining that Kyle was hospitalised.  Kyle has shown with his relationship with Phoebe he has veered from controlling, demanding to just plain delusional. He didn't want her to get back into her music initially and bit her head off then attacked Matt for helping her because he was envious it wasn't him.  He tried to entrap her by proposing to her in front of everybody at Angelos and couldn't handle it when she rejected his offer of marriage and didn't want kids with him.

After they broke up he slept with Billie and didn't want Phoebe when she wanted to get back with him.  Then after she moved on and she and Ash got together he couldn't handle that.  So like some child stormed off to the city and ended up in debt because he was gambling.  And when he couldn't pay the money that was owed and was hospitalised Ash had to waste a kidney on his sorry, miserable existence.  Regardless of whether Ash should have told the truth about Brax the fact of the matter remains someone would have had to waste an organ of theirs on him regardless if Brax had been the one to do it.  He even admitted to the illegal gambling and how he's not in prison despite being on a suspended sentence I don't know.

When Phoebe was pregnant his demanding attitude annoyed me immensely. I'm not going to lie, I was ecstatic when she lost the baby.  Kyle's devastation was absolutely wonderful!  I loved how he just couldn't handle the fact that he wasn't going to be a father.  He attacked Ash but the best part of that episode was when he smashed the cot up.  Words cannot describe how euphoric that scene was.  After what he's done it's no more than he deserves!  But he hasn't stopped there.  Without even bothering to check his facts he goes and commits yet another serious assault just because he was gullible enough to believe some story from someone he had a one night stand with.  And even before he found out what she was like he was prepared to cover up a murder for her.

People often mention that Kyle has anger management issues but this goes way beyond impulsiveness and losing it.  Each time he has attacked someone, it has not be reactionary or the heat of the moment.  It has been cold, calculated and premeditated.  As I mentioned above he cannot change.  All we get is each time this happens he sometimes apologises, hold his hands up, is OK for a bit then commits another act of violence.

It's only going to be a matter of time before his next victim is dumped in the outback and that person might not be so lucky.  At the rate he's going, it's inevitable that he will end up killing someone....
 

Kyle has never killed anyone. So not sure where your coming from.

[Slade]

47 minutes ago, Luke39 said:

Kyle has never killed anyone. So not sure where your coming from.

You do realise that ALL killers start off with never killing anyone don't you?

The point was that IMO Kyle is an extremely violent and dangerous person.  He almost killed Casey and could have killed Sean and Trystan.  If he continues like this he's bound to kill someone one day.

[John]

I like Kyle as a character because he's realistic.  I've met people like that.  They are not people I'd normally mix with or have in my circle of friends but the character is well played by Nic.  He has an uncontrolled intensity and anger which I think will always make him unpredictable and dangerous.  At this stage I haven't seen much character development which would make these character traits more controlled.

[Red Ranger 1]

I guess it'd be boring if we all felt the same.I like Kyle, maybe in spite of some of his traits.He's not a violent psychopath, he's a broadly speaking good person who nevertheless does a lot of bad things.He was messed up when we first met him, trying to live up to the image of a father he hadn't really known but deeply conflicted.Casey's killed his father, apparently for good reason, and there's a real sense of Kyle trying to talk himself out of it.He follows Casey around as if trying to convince himself that Casey's the good guy and he doesn't need to do anything, which I think is an important aspect of Kyle's character, he's not someone who just randomly attacks people, yet he's not cold about it as well.He was looking for some sign that Casey felt guilt and remorse, but it seemed to him that Casey didn't care what he'd done, that was the point where he decided he needed to take the law into his hands.There's something almost too measured about his behaviour, as if he's playing a role he doesn't fully understand and doing something he perhaps doesn't want to do.When people start getting in the way and ruining the performance, he's quick to crack.

I think the incident when Adam tried to kill Heath underlined the differences between him and the other Braxtons.Brax takes Jamie, a messed up kid of the kind that would be deserving of infinite compassion if he wasn't a guest character, and his first instinct is to torture him.Kyle's more empathetic than that.He knows how to relate to Jamie, how to get him to break out of the role his father's given him and help them.Being around the Braxtons has been something of a double-edged sword with Kyle.It's given him a sense of belonging and loyalty that he didn't get from Danny, but it's also kept him in that world and kept him festering his dark impulses.

With Tamara, I think there was genuine feelings there and they weren't one-sided.There was a reason Tamara decided not to testify against him, she could see he wasn't a monster. She associated him with her abusive boyfriend but he was the one that saved her, even though it was a thankless task and everyone was trying to exclude him.In a way, Tamara's attitude was just as mannered as his had been: She's worried for him when Casey takes him out into the woods but once she knows he's safe she's back to being hostile.The amnesia took that away and allowed her to judge Kyle on his own merits.I can see why that could be considered wrong but her decisions were still her own and Kyle was basically honest with her.It wasn't square one when her memories came back.She went back to Casey for a bit but she and Kyle were still close.He was the one that could see she and Casey were disintegrating and made sure they both got the support they needed.

The incident with Sean really needed to be built on.It was a case of Casey trying to be Brax and solve everyone's problems.Kyle could see he was in way over his head and putting everyone in danger so tried to sort the matter without violence...only for that side of him to spill out again.While Casey celebrates a result, Kyle can only think of the hurt he's caused. That should have been the turning point, the point where he realises he needs to do something about that side of him.But it never really comes and that is a massive mixed opportunity.

Phoebe...well, she was never good enough for him frankly.She had too high an opinion of herself, unable to understand why her sexually harassing him wasn't working and blaming everyone from Tamara to his family for why it didn't work.For someone who feigns indignation at the darker sides of things, she only ever seems to date criminals.Maybe Kyle benefitted from her.He's the one that refuses to go after Jake, who holds the family together while Brax is only interested in making someone pay.By now, he's a long way away from the person that chains people up in deserts in my opinion.He's the one that looks after Ricky when Brax messes up.Phoebe uses him to try and bury her feelings for Ash, even though she won't commit to him.As much as I don't think he deserved to be hurt, if the miscarriage was a blessing in disguise it's because it stopped Kyle being tied to her.There's an opportunity for him to find a girl that wants what he wants and have the family he desires.I hope he gets it.

I did admire him for refusing to join the lynch mob mentality about Charlotte, giving her a chance until he'd seen for himself what she was like.The whole thing really did demonstrate the way Kyle's morality works.He can justify beating up Trystan because Trystan is a blackmailer preying on the vulnerable (in his mind).But he's aghast when Charlotte goes after Kat, because Kat's a good person trying to do her job.By his code, that's someone you outwit, not someone you hurt.

Kyle's no saint.He's far too prone to resort to violence, his moral compass is dodgy (but then it's hard to find someone in Summer Bay who you can't say that about), but he's not a potential murderer, not anymore.Does that mean he knows where to draw the line? No. Yet somehow I still like him, just like I liked Heath, because deep down he really does seem to be someone who'd quite happily give all this a swerve and lead a normal life.It's a shame that the show isn't willing to take him on that journey and it can seem like running on the spot, one step forward three steps back in terms of character development.Time will tell exactly where he ends up.

[Luke39]

I think Kyles realistic. Hes flawed, he can be dangerous. But I.see a character.who longs for Family. So imo I definitely dont agree with the assassination above.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Luke39

[Slade]

4 hours ago, Luke39 said:

I think Kyles realistic. Hes flawed, he can be dangerous. But I.see a character.who longs for Family. So imo I definitely dont agree with the assassination above.

Yep I love assassinating fictional characters and that waster certainly deserves it!  But I'm so sorry Kyle's feelings were hurt from some of my comments about him.

I have to admit I do find him quite amusing sometimes when he loses it. e.g

• Spitting his dummy out when Brax dared to lend some of the money from his business to help Andy out and Kyle took Brax's money and spent thousands of dollars on musical equipment
• Getting annoyed when Casey dared to help his own brother out and moved him into Braxton household (even though Kyle did the same thing with Phoebe)
• Biting Josh and Evelyn's heads off when they were copping off at the Braxtons just because things weren't going well with his own relationship
• Going for that guy that touched Phoebe's bottom
• Ricky using him for babysitting duties and the lustful way Kyle was looking at her (deluded enough to think he was in there with a chance initially)

Yep Kyle will very often throw his toys out his pram (although not his kid's pram, that can't happen now re my post before last). 

Good old Kyle.  Always guaranteed some laughs. 

[Wanderer101]

8 minutes ago, Slade said:

Yep I love assassinating fictional characters and that waster certainly deserves it!  But I'm so sorry Kyle's feelings were hurt from some of my comments about him.

I have to admit I do find him quite amusing sometimes when he loses it. e.g

• Spitting his dummy out when Brax dared to lend some of the money from his business to help Andy out and Kyle took Brax's money and spent thousands of dollars on musical equipment
• Getting annoyed when Casey dared to help his own brother out and moved him into Braxton household (even though Kyle did the same thing with Phoebe)
• Biting Josh and Evelyn's heads off when they were copping off at the Braxtons just because things weren't going well with his own relationship
• Going for that guy that touched Phoebe's bottom
• Ricky using him for babysitting duties and the lustful way Kyle was looking at her (deluded enough to think he was in there with a chance initially)

Yep Kyle will very often throw his toys out his pram (although not his kid's pram, that can't happen now re my post before last). 

Good old Kyle.  Always guaranteed some laughs. 

Those short lived feelings for Ricky went more deeper than just feelings. I think it was because 2 of his brothers 'died', then his unborn children died, so to try and cope with that, those feelings emerged for a bit. I don't think it's just some delusion you can dismiss.

And what's with the sarcasm about Luke's comment? He was simply saying he doesn't agree.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Wanderer101

[Luke39]

Watching h and a today. Nics range is quite extraordinary. He shows empathy. And calmness. Then out of no where Rage. He seems to really get Kyle. And it shows in his performance. Kyles not perfect. But ive never seen him as bad. Just like Hunter. I see him as flawed. Messed up making bad choices. But the way hes with little Casey. Cares for Ricky. I see him as some one who isint dangerous by choice but product..And if he meets the right person can easily swerve to just the good guy.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Luke39

[j.laur5]

Kyle's a bad guy with a heart of gold!

[Gazza]

I don't see him as a bad guy I think he's very misunderstood, yeah he's done bad things in his life but he's always done them to fit in or gain acceptance for instance he helped out his Dad because he wanted the love from him after his mother died and wanted him all to himself I think he'd of done anything he asked and Danny was very good at playing people, when he first came to the bay he started helping out his brothers again he'd do anything Brax asked to gain that acceptance and love of his brothers I think the current story line were seeing the real Kyle away from the family and the messed up life they had, I think another example of him doing the right thing was when Brax went after Jake  and he decided to stay away from it and be with Pheobe.