TV-Series
Description
Giuseppe Croce, also known as Jose or Giuse, acts as a handler for Italy's covert Social Welfare Agency, overseeing Henrietta, a cybernetically enhanced child assassin. His motivation stems from profound personal loss: his parents Giovanni and Carla, sister Enrica, and brother Jean's fiancée Sophia perished in a car bombing orchestrated by terrorist Giacomo Dante. This tragedy drove both Jose and Jean to join the Agency seeking revenge.
Primarily raised by his grandfather, a World War II resistance fighter, Jose cultivated a strong sense of duty. Following his grandfather's death, he struggled with family responsibilities, especially after Jean left for military service. Jose enlisted in the 1st Carabinieri Parachute Battalion "Tuscania," serving in the Balkans where he found combat paradoxically calming. His forced withdrawal from active duty, arranged by his father, intensified existing resentment and fueled alcoholism.
Initially, Jose treated Henrietta with notable kindness, viewing her as a surrogate for his deceased sister Enrica, whom she physically resembled. He encouraged her interests in astronomy and gifted her a diary, seeking to provide experiences Enrica never had. This relationship served as partial compensation for his guilt over his family's deaths and perceived failures toward Enrica.
However, Jose's commitment to vengeance gradually eroded his compassion. After Henrietta required psychological reconditioning—a process erasing her memories and personality—he grew emotionally detached. He increasingly viewed her as a tool for his vendetta against Dante, permitting the Agency's invasive reset procedures despite understanding their dehumanizing effects.
His decline culminated during a mission at the New Turin nuclear facility. Henrietta, experiencing a trauma-induced breakdown triggered by attackers wearing balaclavas reminiscent of her past assailants, accidentally shot Jose. Severely wounded, he invoked their prior suicide pact, directing her to kill them both. They simultaneously fired, ending their lives.
Throughout his arc, Jose's relationships with other Agency figures, including his brother Jean and colleague Victor Hilshire, reflected his internal conflict between duty and humanity, ultimately consumed by unresolved trauma and the quest for retribution.
Primarily raised by his grandfather, a World War II resistance fighter, Jose cultivated a strong sense of duty. Following his grandfather's death, he struggled with family responsibilities, especially after Jean left for military service. Jose enlisted in the 1st Carabinieri Parachute Battalion "Tuscania," serving in the Balkans where he found combat paradoxically calming. His forced withdrawal from active duty, arranged by his father, intensified existing resentment and fueled alcoholism.
Initially, Jose treated Henrietta with notable kindness, viewing her as a surrogate for his deceased sister Enrica, whom she physically resembled. He encouraged her interests in astronomy and gifted her a diary, seeking to provide experiences Enrica never had. This relationship served as partial compensation for his guilt over his family's deaths and perceived failures toward Enrica.
However, Jose's commitment to vengeance gradually eroded his compassion. After Henrietta required psychological reconditioning—a process erasing her memories and personality—he grew emotionally detached. He increasingly viewed her as a tool for his vendetta against Dante, permitting the Agency's invasive reset procedures despite understanding their dehumanizing effects.
His decline culminated during a mission at the New Turin nuclear facility. Henrietta, experiencing a trauma-induced breakdown triggered by attackers wearing balaclavas reminiscent of her past assailants, accidentally shot Jose. Severely wounded, he invoked their prior suicide pact, directing her to kill them both. They simultaneously fired, ending their lives.
Throughout his arc, Jose's relationships with other Agency figures, including his brother Jean and colleague Victor Hilshire, reflected his internal conflict between duty and humanity, ultimately consumed by unresolved trauma and the quest for retribution.