they're just following orders, or: i haven't meta'd since harry potter
okay, so it seems to be pretty universally acknowledged that when Charles tells Erik that the men aiming their weapons at the mutants on the beach are "just following orders," it is quite possibly the worst thing Charles could say as a deterrent for Erik metalbending them all to death in return. (note that I am saying this regardless of whether there was any argument Charles even could have made that would deter Erik. Erik is responsible for his actions whether or not he latched onto Charles' choice of words to justify something he was going to do anyway.) I've also heard it accused of being a bit on the nose in general.
I agree with the former (Worst Argument Ever), and I don't think the latter paints the whole picture, or gives credit to the film where it's due, even if it's valid from a Strictly Dialogue Perspective. but let's aim for internal consistency. because it is a horrible argument, I find it fascinating. why would Charles say that? for the love of god, why. one theory I like, in a general sense and which could be applicable to this, is that Charles is horrible at reading people if he can't access their thoughts. people develop the skill of reading faces and body language of necessity, but Charles never had that necessity. he has always known what people are thinking; faces and bodies, in this sense, are irrelevant. I love the idea of him utterly failing to develop this skill, and I think it's quite likely to be true. Charles tells Raven that until recently, he's never had to read her mind to know what she's thinking. this is probably utter fantasy on his part, since the feelings Raven has about her mutation and her body have, by all appearances, been festering for quite a long time. Charles just hasn't been able to see it, because he literally does not know what to look for.
so it's possible that when Erik puts on the helmet, Charles is at a loss, casting about desperately within the void for something to say that might hit and, getting no feedback that Charles is able to effectively interpret as he stumbles along, he concludes with the dumbest thing in the world (YOU SHOULDN'T KILL THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST LIKE NAZIS). I like this, but it's not entirely satisfying because even with the helmet mucking things up in the present, there's still the fact that Charles already knows "everything~" about Erik and should therefore probably know better (JUST LIKE NAZIS).
you know, I think Charles realises his mistake pretty much instantaneously, as soon as Erik reacts to it (in very clear cut terms, because remember, Charles is hopeless and might not have gotten it otherwise). which makes me think that he did know better -- at least as far as Erik is concerned. which makes me think that maybe he would have said it even if Erik hadn't been wearing the helmet. because my feeling is that it's not a line simply meant to service the current action of the film and Erik's character; it's also in service to Charles' character, is completely in line with his character, and is even set up quite explicitly earlier on. it's not just drawing Erik's line in the sand; it's drawing Charles' as well. he is not a man who punishes people for association (while this is Erik's entire life's purpose -- ever notice how quickly he kills the Nazis in Argentina? he never even bothers to torture them for information, for god's sake. after travelling all that way, after seeing the picture of Shaw, after telling the pig farmer he's looking for Shaw... right before he shoots him in the head). this will come to define Charles -- he will not wage war against human beings because some of them are afraid, because some of them hate, because some of them have power and are willing to use it against mutants. he has too much compassion for individuals to strike at the mob when he doesn't have to. he needs must be this way, because he understands people as individuals, as their own minds, their own fears and hates and everything else they are that's got nothing to do with him at all. when he says that the men on the vessels are good and innocent and honest, he's not speculating; insofar as his own concept of these qualities lies, he knows.
and the film is very aware of this. when Erik ambushes the Russian estate, he is completely indiscriminate about the men he takes down along the way. they are all there; they all suffer for it. whereas Charles goes to one man -- one man! so insignificant, just following orders -- who is afraid and in pain, and he comforts him. that is amazing to me. I don't think he could have done anything else. I don't think he could have said anything else. this worldview is as hardwired by Charles' life experiences and the nature of his mutation as Erik's is by his own experiences and mutation, and that line and Erik's response to it are the essence of their division.
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