I keep trying to look at this like a movie and I think that's really been helping me. And I look at what Pence just did and how it was set up beforehand with Trump publicly calling him out and telling him to do the right thing, etc. I know a lot of us are looking at him right now and saying "Et tu, Brute?" but I'm not sure that's the character he's playing in this story.

Two literary instances keep coming to mind when I think about Pence: Snape from Harry Potter, and Peter from the New Testament.

Snape literally killed Dumbledore, but as we later learn, Dumbledore had asked him to. If you recall, Harry overheard a conversation they were having where Snape said "You ask too much of me." Harry wasn't privy to their plan, so he attacks Snape later at the docks once he has a chance, but then Snape proves himself by double-crossing Voldemort so Harry could survive the attack.

Now comes the story of Peter in the New Testament. The common reading of "Peter's Betrayal" is that Peter was proud and full of bravado and defiantly declared “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.” (Matt 26:33) to which Jesus responded “Truly I tell you...this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” (Matt 26:34). And then later on, when pressed if he knew Jesus, he indeed denied it three times and then "wept bitterly." (Matt 26:75), presumably because he was so ashamed of himself.

But there's another way to look at that story. What if we don't assume for a second, that Christ was prophesying to Peter, but instead, was giving him instructions? We know Peter led the Church after Christ's resurrection, we know he did indeed end up giving his life for the cause and was crucified upside down, but we always assume he grew into that.

But if you recall, when the soldiers came to take Jesus in Gethsemane, Peter didn't run and hide. He drew his sword and cut off someone's ear. He wasn't afraid of the Romans--he was ready right then and there to fight and die for his Lord. But what was Jesus' response to him when he did this? “Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” (John 18:11)

See now we can see Peter's motivations in a different light. Maybe the reason he wept so bitterly wasn't because he had done something wrong by denying he knew Jesus, but because it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. I can almost hear him saying to Christ, like Snape did to Dumbledore, "You ask too much."

Now I could be wrong but I have a sneaky suspicion that Pence is a white hat, and that Trump told him "I'm gonna tell you to send the votes back to the states publicly, but that's not what I actually want you to do. Here's why." It would make for a much better plot twist at the end. The hero is often "betrayed" by one of his closest friends only for that friend to reveal it was all part of the plan once the climax is reached. Something tells me we're in for a happy surprise re: Pence. Maybe not, but it would make a better story imo.