User blog comment:Kaido King of the Beasts/Chapter 865: Mother, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit/@comment-305469-20170511191622/@comment-24850639-20170512172828

"Reform" doesn't have to mean personality, nor does being reformed always have to equate to being redeemed. If you mean her goals or motivations may probably change, I can definitely agree with that. People like Hachi, Crocodile, or Brownbeard are perfect examples of this - they realized the error of their ways and chose a new path forward, though who they are at their core did not change. People like Enel, Hordy Jones, or Doflamingo would be the opposite - where they believe unequivocally that they were doing the "right" thing, and would attempt the exact same course of action again if given the chance.

Though it's too early to say, I definitely don't believe it's out of the question at all for Big Mom to end up being the former of the 2 scenarios. Sure a tragic backstory doesn't automatically mean a sympathetic character (Doffy was a dick before his mom died, he just became a bigger one afterwards), but when a backstory involves a still-unresolved personal problem like this, it increases the likelihood that the problem being solved will have a profound impact on the character. Obviously there isn't really any redemption for the horrifying things that Big Mom has done, but we've seen enough of this series to know that Luffy's pure heart is always a wild card not to be underestimated. If he finds some kind of way to bring closure to Big Mom about Mother Carmel, or the situation with Lola/Elbaf, do you honestly think she would hold the same amount of animosity towards Luffy? No! Even in spite of the things he's done against her so far. I find it funny that people are so staunchly against the idea of Big Mom changing her attitude towards Luffy in some kind of way, but can also say that they don't see her going down this arc..........how else is the story going to move forward if Big Mom doesn't either A) go down, or B) change her attitude towards the Straw Hats? Lets get through this flashback, and the subsequent 1-2 to chapters first.