User blog comment:DancePowderer/The March of...Progress? 845/@comment-24850639-20161102184216/@comment-24769684-20161103015107

I disagree. If Sanji was acting defeated since Bege carried him off Zou, that would be one thing. But the guy was pretty defiant up until he got beaten to a pulp and he pretty much put all hell at stake. Sanji is an opportunist above all, and is always looking for ways to help the crew, whether accidentally or on purpose. However, there are no opportunities here. Big Mom and Vinny Daddy have his number and are more than willing to dial up a storm. And it didn't even sink into Sanji that much until he himself was beaten up by his brothers.

But even now that he's cornered like this, Sanji's been doing a pretty good job at his current mission: keeping his crewmates alive. Should he have faith in Luffy? Maybe, but I highly doubt Sanji would ever want to see his crewmates risk their lives for him, just like Raizo and the Mink Tribe. If it had been another crewmate, even Zoro, I have no doubt Sanji would instantly be in the rescue party. But when you become the catalyst for things, your motivations can be prone to change, which is completely understandable.

Immediately after seeing Luffy for the first time in over half a month, Sanji took action himself, preventing Luffy's fate from being handed to the Vinsmokes and maybe Big Mom. Then, in this chapter, he agrees to marry Purin because he knows this is the best chance for him to have some sort of sway over Big Mom, which he can use to free Luffy.

Sanji's situation is still bad, and from an objective standpoint there WERE better options for him to take. But most if not all would not have fit with his character at all, or would not really make sense for a character to know. Sanji's developed deep bonds, and he's not the kind of person who would forget them when something revolving around him comes along. And ultimately, I really admire how selfless Sanji is being right now. He's pledging to spend the rest of his life away from the that's his third family (second real family) just to ensure their safety.

I will be interested to see how this dynamic will eventually change.