Technically the letter was already this episode's cliffhanger, I would't like to use the same thing twice. I'd expect to know something more about what's in it and get a WTF moment at least, not leave us with the same info two episodes in a row.
And get more info about Chad's blackmail, we don't know anything more about it since episode 2
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The letter wasn't a cliffhanger in ep 5, it was almost something of a throwaway mention in a text message the morning after the Prep party. It was a small tease but the episode moved on quickly and didn't dwell on it.
As for Chad, we still can't say for sure it was blackmail as that's not explicitly stated. All we know is that he feels threatened by it by not that he is being blackmailed by it.
Interesting that you think it'll be in 7 because I think it'll be 8 but I'm not sure whether I believe that for storytelling purposes or because I think the shot of MC's face, upon reading the letter, would be one hell of a cliffhanger at the end of the next Steam version.
Well I didn't think we'd even see the MC's birthday until ep 8 for that very reason, but that tweet which will be an in-game Rooster post changes things and seems to move that timeline up quite a bit.
expectations on the twist about MC's mother seem exaggerated to me.
There's a lot of exaggerated stuff in this game and a game-changing reveal about the MC's Mom would be the least of it.
I still believe it unlikely, or in any case a stretch in the plot, that a boy of twenty has no idea who his mother is, we are used to stories of adopted children who do everything to find out who their real parents are while MC would be satisfied with know the name of a mother he has never seen..
There are people much older than the MC who have no idea who their real parents are, it's not an unusual situation. There are people who used to grow up with an "older sister" who turned out to actually be their mother because it was deemed shameful for girls under 18 and out of wedlock to have kids.
Not knowing the truth about your parents, whether you're adopted or grew up with just one parent, is not a foreign concept and happens more often than you'd think.
Why should he be upset about being a Burgmeister? it could only be good news (even though he already knew that his mother's family was rich) or at least not change anything for his life.
He wouldn't be upset, just shocked, especially due to the fact that he attends a college named after them making him a legacy, and he's met a Burgmeister who may very well be his cousin.
Replying mostly to the bolded section ... I think you're misreading the situation, MC isn't an adopted kid looking for his birth parents, he knows who his parents are/were, it's the family of his mother that he doesn't know and, from what we've seen, doesn't care to know.
In this context, him being a Burgmeister means very little (him being a Royce would for the reasons you pointed out but we know that ain't happening)
It would mean little to him but it could mean a lot to others when they find out because it adds a whole new dynamic to the MC's life even if they try to ignore it. As we've seen, the MC trying to ignore something doesn't work because it will invariably affect him somehow and this would do the same.
As for the rest of your post, 100% agree, it would be terrible to discover that Neil had been lying about Lynette being dead for 18 years (MC is 18, nearly 19, btw, not 20), he's been presented as a loving and supportive father who, despite being broke, does everything he possibly can for his son in stark contrast to Lynette's father who cut her off for the unforgivable crime of falling in love with one of the serfs.
Being a loving, supportive parent doesn't mean they're incapable of keeping secrets from their children, especially if they believe they're doing it in the best interests of their child. In that sense, I'd say it's a very parental thing to want to shield your child from something you think would do more harm than good to them.
Usually in these situations, parents will only tell their child the truth when they feel there is a need for it, like if someone who is adopted goes in for an organ transplant, that's when they find their parents aren't compatible donours because they're adopted. In Neil's case, while his son may very well be attending a college named after his mother's family, he probably didn't think there was any way the family would find out so there was no reason to tell him. But since arriving, the MC has been making some waves, including a very public fight with the Jock President, so this may be how the family found out about him and now Neil will be forced to tell him what he was keeping from him.
If they ignored me all my life, I wouldn't have a burning need to know about them either.
How do you even know that he doesn't know his mother's family name?
It simply hasn't come up in any of the conversations featured because... they've had no impact on his life until now.
It seems clear he doesn't know because it's noted how his Dad never gives a full and complete story about he and his mother got together, and specifically just says she came from a "rich family". Neil's lack of clarity has led the MC to not really ask his Dad much since he never gets a good enough answer and this, to me, seems like it could be a tactic of Neil's to keep the MC from asking him rather than Neil simply having a bad memory.
