: However, it also comes down to the way adult Silva would've been written as a
: character in relation to Palmer. For all her wide-eyed belief in the UNSC,
: Silva came across as far more decent and well-adjusted a person than
: Palmer has ever been presented as. If Reed had written her with all the
: evidently-unintended flaws Palmer's portrayal has had so far -- basically
: making her Palmer with a British accent -- the gripes people have with her
: character would still be there, and it would raise the question of what
: happened to this relatively nice person that turned her so toxic and
: arrogant.

That's the great thing about changing characters: Palmer/Sylva can no longer be portrayed by Jennifer Hale!

Brian Reed tried very hard to make Palmer an expy of Mass Effect's Renegade Femshep. The result feels less like the actual Commander Shepard and more like a youtube collation of Femshep's renegade options. This is because he focused on the traits that make her distinctive (Snarky, arrogant, shoots first and leaves the questions for someone else) and omitted the details that make her a well-rounded character.

I'm not so stupid as to think replacing Palmer with Sylva would cure all of the character's ills. I just think it would have helped.

: As for a realistic continuation of her character from FUD, though? I think
: she would've made a much more competent and professional Spartan
: Commander.

The only problem I see is that a "Realistic continuation of her character" might not have been possible with 343i's writing team. If you look at Brian Reed's thoughts on Palmer and Spartan Ops, he really doesn't see the problem with her crass unprofessionalism, nor does he have a solid understanding of what military commanders do.

: Silva also had potential as a character on her own and not just
: as a vehicle to drive Lasky's arc. Specifically seeing how she copes with
: the OCP the Covenant presents to her worldview and how her dynamic with
: Lasky would've worked out in the "modern" times. Relegating her
: into fridge stuffing was kind of a waste, justified as it may have been
: within the context of H4FUD itself and Lasky's character growth.

Exactly.