baratheon:

“I hate Cullen, he should have stayed a serial killer how dare Bioware retcon that because he was a pretty blond white boy”

This is a really common reaction that I see. And while I won’t begrudge anyone who dislikes the character for personal reasons, shit like this HAS to stop.

Why? Well, primarily because of one thing: It perpetuates harmful myths about PTSD.

Cullen has PTSD. While it’s not directly stated, there is no way to deny he is clearly written that way. For instance, some common symptoms he exhibits are (source):

• Nightmares (As shown in his romance scene in Dragon Age: Inquisition)
• Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma (His entire demeanor in Early Act 1 of Dragon Age 2, where instead of receiving proper treatment, Meredith instead encourages his feelings)
• Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator. (”After what happened, I assumed all mages were like the ones in Ferelden”)
• Sense of a limited future (Continuing to serve the Templars for years after the fact)
• Hypervigilance (Again, encouraged by Meredith)
• Feeling jumpy and easily startled (Samson’s comment on how he was “afraid of his own shadow”)

Now that we’ve established that, we can look at some common myths perpetuated about ptsd and how they are perpetuated by Bioware’s original slide in one outcome of Origins’ epilogue: 

“The young templar Cullen never quite recovered from his ordeal. After months of attempting to convince his superiors that the tower was still a danger, he finally snapped and killed three apprentices before being stopped by his fellow templars. Eventually, Cullen escaped from prison, a madman and a threat to any mage he encountered.” 

People with PTSD are crazy and/or dangerous. Several classic war movies, as well as sensationalized media coverage, have helped perpetuate the “crazy war vet” stereotype, which is an inaccurate depiction. PTSD is not characterized by psychosis or violence. Rather, symptoms of PTSD surround coping with the memory and implications of a traumatic experience (e.g., distressing memories and changes in mood). Furthermore, “crazy” is never the best word choice. “Crazy” is not a diagnosis, rather it is a damaging and stigmatizing label. – This is something we can all agree that was represented by the original Origins epilogue slide. The harmful portrayal of PTSD sufferers as serial killers or “madman” in the case of Cullen, harms actual survivors IRL, particularly combat veterans. By retconning this, Bioware was actually able to PRESENT real PTSD symptoms as shown above.

In addition to this big one, there’s also the following implications:

Nothing can be done for those with who have PTSD. By having Cullen never fully recover from his ordeal, yet another harmful stereotype is being perpetuated.

You must have done something awful to get PTSD. This is more of a fandom thing than something distinctly related to the slide, but a lot of critical posts I’ve seen imply that Cullen always hated mages and this was just an “excuse”. When, as stated above, one of the symptoms of PTSD (the Complex variation i particular, which occurs in torture victims) can be distorted perceptions of the group or perpetrator. 

Well, at least you didn’t get hurt. Another fandom reaction that I see is “well he wasn’t actually hurt and didn’t go through the same trauma someone like Fenris did”. Which again, diminishes the harmful effects of months of mental torture. (There’s a lot to talk about Fenris and PTSD as well, but that’s another post for another time)

(two sources) 

And these are only from a few quick searches. Further research would definitely turn up more misconceptions but I’m afraid I’m already tl’dring as it is.

Bioware’s original slide was INCREDIBLY ableist.  What we end up seeing of Cullen afterward is a far more accurate depiction of PTSD than what was originally presented, for whatever reason that they changed it. Hate the character all you want (especially if you do have personal reasons), criticize other depictions of mental illness (Anders and bipolar, for instance) but please, don’t perpetuate harmful stereotypes about PTSD while you do so, even unintentionally. And do NOT imply people who like him are somehow abuse sympathizers when (especially in Inquisition) he is a very strong example of someone copiing with PTSD.