Walter Strickler/Relationships

The relationships of Stricklander/Walter Strickler from the Tales of Arcadia franchise.
== Love Interest ==
=== Barbara Lake ===
Despite her status as a human, Strickler fell in love with Barbara, but when he found out that Jim was the new Trollhunter, he used an evil spell to bind them together so Jim couldn’t attack him. Despite her status as a human, Strickler fell in love with Barbara, but when he found out that Jim was the new Trollhunter, he used an evil spell to bind them together so Jim couldn’t attack him because doing so would have hurt Barbara as well. Despite this, Strickler did care about Barbara to an extent and hated using her like this, as he hesitated to put Angor's binding spell in their coffee. He later showed remorse for this battle tactic as he watched the woman he loved suffer when they sought refuge at the Heartstone Trollmarket.
 
On Barbara's side, she thought highly of Strickler and was dating him for a while. However, a soulless Angor Rot decided to kill Jim and Strickler, the latter became worried about Barbara and saw the error of his ways. He then decided to give Jim the third stone and break the spell. When Barbara was being cured and erased of her memory, she bitterly told Strickler that she'd be glad to not remember him after all he had done.
 
In Part Three, when Barbara's memory finally returns, she is rather apprehensive towards Strickler, even refusing to let him comfort her after not hearing from Jim for so long and showing she still resented him for trying to kill her son multiple times. However, he later tried to declare his eternal love for her, but to no avail. Slowly, they start to rekindle their relationship; as Strickler willingly frees Morgana from her prison with the staff of Avalon when Gunmar and Usurna threaten to have Angor Rot kill Barbara. He claimed she meant more to him than the world and even escaped with her. After seeing Barbara fail to get Jim to stop him from going through with his half-Troll transformation, Strickler tries to help her by attempting to talk to Jim as well. However, By the time Walter busts the door open, he, Claire, Toby, and Barbara find that Jim is already gone. In the end, he stays in Arcadia with Barbara to help raise the Changelings' familiars.
 
In the 3Below episode "Mother's Day", they are seen taking care of the familiars while hugging each other, implying that they have rekindled their strained relationship.
 
In the movie, Barbara and Strickler come to Camelot, where they look after Jim after her son was hurt during the chase in Metro City. Until he regains consciousness. After Strickler and Barbara failed to comfort Jim, they revealed their engagement and the teen was happy for his mother and teacher. Barbara and Strickler remain in Camelot with Jim, Toby, and Aja to confront Skrael and his Ice Titan in Greenland. However, Walter eventually sacrifices himself by throwing bombs into Skrael's Titan so that Jim is not forced to do it, but unfortunately, this fails in stopping the Titan. Barbara is devastated by Walter's sacrifice.
 
In the new timeline, they go on a date and seem to be enjoying it.
== Family ==
===Jim Lake Jr.===
Before Jim discovered the Amulet, and before Strickler realized it, the two had a standard student-teacher relationship. However, Strickler knew about Jim Lake Sr.'s abandonment of his son and wife, the lengths Jim would go to care for his overworked mother, and his feelings for Claire Nuñez. However, on Jim's side, Walter used to be the closest thing he had to a dad until he tried to kill him multiple times. Strickler often invited the young man to discuss his problems with him in private and Strickler nicknamed him "Young Atlas." After the revelation that Strickler was a Changeling working with Bular and Gunmar, this led to the deterioration of their mentor-student meetings, as Strickler saw the Amulet after one of their meetings. The two spent most of Season 1B antagonizing each other until Strickler begged Him to protect him from a now soulless Angor Rot.
 
In the film, Jim and Walter seem to have amended their father-and-son relationship. He sees a ring on his mother's finger and Barbara and Walter reveal that they are engaged. Strickler asks Jim to be his best man at the wedding. Jim, now open to Strickler and Barbara's relationship accepted and was open to the idea of Walter being his stepfather. After Jim fails to reproduce the armor of daylight with his new Magiktech Amulet, the heroes were unable to stop the Arcane Order from breaking the Genesis seals and unleashing the Titans. Both Barbara and Strickler are concerned for Jim because he is still hurt. During the fight with the Ice Titan in Greenland, Strickler took his stepson’s place in throwing bombs into the Titan. Before his death, Walter expressed pride in Jim as a hero and told him to take care of Barbara for him.
 
In the aftermath, Jim was deeply affected by his fallen comrade and future stepfather’s sacrifice as he and Barbara grieve together. Jim starts to blame himself for Walter's death but his mother assures him that he isn't to blame. After Toby's sacrifice, Jim resets the timeline after losing so many of his loved ones. In the new timeline, Jim quickly changes the subject and invites Walter over for dinner and he introduced him to his mother so Jim can have that overdue conversation with Barbara. This time, Jim hopes that Strickler can reform earlier and ensure his parents' happiness.
 
== Friends and Allies ==
 
=== Zelda Nomura ===
 
=== Blinky Galadrigal ===
Blinky and Strickler have a somewhat strained relationship with each other due to them being enemies as well as Strickler trying to kill him Jim and their friends on multiple occasions. They often clashed due to how to handle Jim's mentorship and how to deal with Claire when Morgana possessed her. In the latter case, Morgana took advantage of Blinky's inner annoyance that Jim turned to Strickler for guidance and tempting Walter with the possibility of making Barbara love him.
=== Claire Nunez ===
=== Toby Domzalski ===
== Neutral ==
 
=== Merlin ===
When Walter first met Merlin, the changeling was amazed and polite to the wizard, even kneeling to him. However, he found the wizard to be insufferable after Merlin was blunt and dismissive him during his introduction. Like Barbara, he got crossed with Merlin after he learned that the wizard forced Jim into becoming a half-Troll.
== Enemies ==
=== Gunmar ===
Despite being apparently loyal to Gunmar, Strickler was merely afraid of him and would do whatever he could to brown-nose Gunmar and even make Bular look bad in front of him, even challenging his authority. 
=== Angor Rot ===
=== Bular ===
Category:Tales of Arcadia
Category:Relationships