and just going off that last post of mine, but that cutscene really shows a stark change in writing between the first and second game. to save his friends and mentors, raz bounces into each inmate's brain without much thought. he initially isn't doing it to help them get better - he needs something from them. though, raz does end up directly helping edgar and fred as they take on a more active role in their minds, and raz, after talking to them and learning about them, is compelled to help! he wants to! he's an earnest kid and seeing people in trouble? he wants to do what he can to see them at their best, but when he fails with a character like boyd, and raz is ejected after letting the milkman loose, the consequences are pretty...explosive. however, raz doesn't see this outcome; he just knows the asylum is suddenly burning down, and then, he's off to face oleander.
hollis is a direct result of his actions, and he is forced to face them because of raz messing around with her mental connections, she becomes a compulsive gambler. she feels like she lost her mind when it's cleared up, and when she learns what raz did, she's *pissed*. what raz did was dangerous and wrong. he jeopardized not only her, but everyone on the mission. raz sees this now very clearly and learns that he can't mess around like he did. most of what he was doing was based on what seemed best in the moment. now, he learned to be more considerate and careful or what he can do in someone's mind, accepting their boundaries, learning "maybe i shouldn't toss my psi portal willy nilly."
but this brings me back to sasha. sasha's morals were seen as a more than a little dubious in the first game. while he wants to help kids, he also wants to vastly explore the human mind and enhance his understanding. the untapped potential of children, especially those he believes can withstand advanced training, are incredibly valuable. he can't, however, do it directly. it's all under the table. even though oleander and milla are aware, neither step in, and the kids are allowed to run free with the rumor mill. bobby is a result of sasha's training, of how dubious ethics regarding the mind of a child, can lead to harm. and as for raz, he, too, is a result of it. raz emulates sasha, so sasha expressing his frustration with raz comes as the expense of me knowing...that this is something raz did because of his experiences with sasha. it's never acknowledged, and i do feel that's a bit of a shame, especially with much they parallel each other. raz feels he let sasha down, and while it is still primarily his fault, their conversation on ethics would've been so much greater if sasha had expounded on how he influenced raz to act carelessly.
and as for the writing, those cutscenes just wouldn't have happened in pn1! it shows a true growth for raz as a character, in how he realizes he needs to let his empathy be more genuine, in how he needs to respect the boundaries of the people he wants to help. he can help them, but it has to be at their pace, and they need to accept his assistance instead of it being forced upon them.
