KOTOR I Companion Analysis: Carth Onasi

Carth Onasi is a soldier along for the ride, the moral barometer and most straightforward of the KOTOR Companions. Raphael Sbarge is an accomplished voice actor, and while capable of sounding the upright everyman -even amusingly parodying himself in a KOTOR II joke made by HK-47 - the tendency to drift off, change topic go quiet sounds very naturalistic. It is less about Carth’s life or great personal power, more a personable quality and being a loyal companion to the protagonist/player at their lowest and most humble that grows.

Carth is the companion with you for a very long time, and so your very first instruction to link up with him as a hero, then settle into your leadership with his rebuffs at small-talk and distaste at the Sith forces can expand with the beginning of the Star Forge quest. You have the option of keeping him around or rotating him in the roster for quite an array of fascinating characters. Carth is the steady sort, easy to mock or to assume will always be there.

Carth feels the most like a person, and most interesting about that is that he is in many ways the most well rounded, the most likely to refuse you, to give another opinion, to remind you of the bigger picture.

A solider that doesn’t sound gruff or a stereotypical veteran is a clever move, it makes personable leading to frustration with his elusiveness, and later his voice is a natural contrast with Canderous, their argument about Warriors and Soldiers being one of my favourite dialogue exchanges of companions (the best I think of its kind probably being Mandalore and Bao Dur).

One expects the shady, paranoid character to be hiding their morality in a game like this. They could be a killer, betray the company or have a villainous past. It’s a subtle and small surprise that Carth really is just an average, judgemental man, burned by life.

This means of delving into Carth, his nice guy voice and affable nature shielding purposefully cautious avoidance of topics he really wishes to share with a growing friend is brilliant in an RPG, something that’s resembled for me in real life.

It is also an echo and a mirror of something taken further in KOTOR II, the yin to I’s yang. In Carth, we see a very goodhearted man rightfully twisted by others trying and failing to break him as a solider and a curmudgeonly patriot. In Atton Rand, underneath so many layers we have someone who twisted the institutions, and who hides perhaps a shade less, but is…well I would look into my article about him[LINK]. Suffice it to say, Carth’s properly paranoid, and Atton’s someone you should be paranoid about.

Carth doesn’t take the vast amount of time in Taris to free like Bastila, whose aloof dislike makes for a far less welcoming presence than probably any other companion you encounter. He is no Jedi or Sith, his capability as a soldier is admirable, and I think for people who like things lawful or straightforward, a good example of the virtues of the Republic. Carth loves his family, he will give his life happily for the sake of others. In a story revolving around conquerors, aesthetics and the self-interested, it’s almost on second thought depressing how few defenders are present within the galaxy in Carth’s lifetime.

One can overstate Carth’s mistrustful nature as the core of his character, when in reality he is honestly quite curious, goal oriented, and sure of himself. He is the person who can quote regulation, stick to the plan, and take in the sights of the fantastic array of deserts, forests, oceans, temples, tombs and fortresses your party sees.

These lines of thought, simpler in scope, smaller in scale make Carth a good piece of the companion dynamic, he is certainly present for a reason and a very likeable mistrustful character to be around. Carth is with you from pretty much the start, he doubts you to your face, and his connection to the wider plot is a grudge between himself and one of the main antagonists, quite a gripping story of betraying the uniform that resolves halfway through the game and leads as the excellent lead in to the upcoming plot twist.

As a companion; Carth Onasi is the person alongside you getting used to the bizarre filing of the map, who piece by piece admits his losses, his vendetta, and can come to meet a heavy contrast with where his living son winds up. Carth is the father of and surrounded by Force sensitives, powerful warriors and monsters. His nature, not a choice but simply who he is remains the straightforward soldier, and it’s easy to appreciate his guns, slight sarcasm, shaking his head slightly no matter the situation.

References:

Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare. 2003.

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Obsidian Entertainment. 2004.