TV-Series
Description
Jose Croce, also known as Giuse or Giuseppe, is an agent of Section Two of the Social Welfare Agency, a covert government organization. He serves as the handler to Henrietta, a young cyborg girl, and is the younger brother of another agency handler, Jean Croce. Before joining the agency, Jose was a former officer in the Carabinieri, specifically serving in the 1st Carabinieri Parachute Battalion Tuscania, where he was deployed to the Balkans. Raised with his brother primarily by a grandfather who was a World War II resistance fighter, Jose’s upbringing instilled in him a strong, though conflicted, sense of duty. His life was irrevocably shattered by the Croce Incident, a terrorist car bombing orchestrated by Giacomo Dante that killed his parents, Giovanni and Carla, his beloved younger sister Enrica, and his brother's fiancée.
The trauma of this loss defines Jose’s motivations and his complex personality. Initially, after the death of his family, he struggled with alcoholism and a sense of aimlessness. His decision to join the Social Welfare Agency alongside his brother is driven by a deep-seated desire for revenge against the terrorists who destroyed his family. He is assigned as the handler for Henrietta, a girl whose physical appearance bears a striking resemblance to his deceased sister, Enrica. This dynamic is the cornerstone of his character. On the surface, Jose is one of the kindest handlers, treating Henrietta not as a tool but with genuine care and endearment. He encourages her interests, gifts her a diary, and tries to give her a semblance of a normal childhood, actions that stand in stark contrast to many of his colleagues.
However, this kindness is built upon a fragile and painful foundation. Jose is deeply aware that he is using Henrietta as a substitute for Enrica, a psychological crutch to atone for his own feelings of guilt and failure regarding his sister’s death. He feels a profound self-loathing for this hypocrisy, recognizing that his affectionate behavior is, in part, a performance to manage his own grief and maintain Henrietta's loyalty. This internal conflict creates a significant burden. While he is aware of the cyborg girls' capacity for emotion and argues against treating them as mere instruments, his own quest for vengeance gradually erodes his principles.
As the story progresses and his pursuit of the terrorist Giacomo Dante intensifies, Jose becomes more disillusioned and emotionally detached. After Henrietta suffers a psychological breakdown, he makes the fateful decision to authorise a "reconditioning" procedure that effectively erases her memories and personality, turning her into a more efficient, emotionless weapon. This act represents his moral decline and his willingness to sacrifice Henrietta's humanity for the sake of his vendetta. In the final confrontation, a traumatized Henrietta, experiencing a flashback, shoots the mortally wounded Jose. Accepting his fate and reminding her of a pact they had made, he instructs her to fulfill their promise to die together. They then fire simultaneously, with Jose shooting Henrietta in the eye, ending both of their lives in a tragic, mutual act of suicide. Jose Croce’s journey is a tragic arc from a conflicted, caring figure to a man consumed by revenge, ultimately destroying the very bond he had tried to build.
The trauma of this loss defines Jose’s motivations and his complex personality. Initially, after the death of his family, he struggled with alcoholism and a sense of aimlessness. His decision to join the Social Welfare Agency alongside his brother is driven by a deep-seated desire for revenge against the terrorists who destroyed his family. He is assigned as the handler for Henrietta, a girl whose physical appearance bears a striking resemblance to his deceased sister, Enrica. This dynamic is the cornerstone of his character. On the surface, Jose is one of the kindest handlers, treating Henrietta not as a tool but with genuine care and endearment. He encourages her interests, gifts her a diary, and tries to give her a semblance of a normal childhood, actions that stand in stark contrast to many of his colleagues.
However, this kindness is built upon a fragile and painful foundation. Jose is deeply aware that he is using Henrietta as a substitute for Enrica, a psychological crutch to atone for his own feelings of guilt and failure regarding his sister’s death. He feels a profound self-loathing for this hypocrisy, recognizing that his affectionate behavior is, in part, a performance to manage his own grief and maintain Henrietta's loyalty. This internal conflict creates a significant burden. While he is aware of the cyborg girls' capacity for emotion and argues against treating them as mere instruments, his own quest for vengeance gradually erodes his principles.
As the story progresses and his pursuit of the terrorist Giacomo Dante intensifies, Jose becomes more disillusioned and emotionally detached. After Henrietta suffers a psychological breakdown, he makes the fateful decision to authorise a "reconditioning" procedure that effectively erases her memories and personality, turning her into a more efficient, emotionless weapon. This act represents his moral decline and his willingness to sacrifice Henrietta's humanity for the sake of his vendetta. In the final confrontation, a traumatized Henrietta, experiencing a flashback, shoots the mortally wounded Jose. Accepting his fate and reminding her of a pact they had made, he instructs her to fulfill their promise to die together. They then fire simultaneously, with Jose shooting Henrietta in the eye, ending both of their lives in a tragic, mutual act of suicide. Jose Croce’s journey is a tragic arc from a conflicted, caring figure to a man consumed by revenge, ultimately destroying the very bond he had tried to build.