- Aug 4, 2020
- 3,506
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I still think it's OK for the mc to get worried when he finds out who Sage's parents are, for all potential paths leading to that point.I take your point, but Maya's ultimatum is plot-critical in a way that the MC's shock over Sage's family simply is not. There needs to be a reason for Maya's desperation at the start of the story - even if the MC winds up rejecting Maya and wanting to spend as little time with her as possible, we still need to explain her motivations. DPC may have completely botched the details, but the reason itself can still be evaluated separately.
There simply isn't any comparable need for the MC to be shocked that Sage is Jade's daughter. Sure, *IF* the MC slept with Jade that's obviously going to be an issue, but there are going to be a lot of runs where that's not the case (indeed, it's impossible on the M&J path). So I really don't know what DPC was thinking trying to inflate this molehill into a proper cliff. It's an entirely unforced error.
If DPC had made Zoey's return the cliffhanger (and maybe layered Jade on top of that for certain branches) it would not only have been a stronger twist, it would have been a much better lead in to the Interlude.
He did come on very strong with the "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." reaction at the end of ep 8, but as has been dissected many times now, that reaction has been reduced based on the path that lead the mc to that spot.
The different scenarios:
1) MC rejected Jade from the beginning:
You may believe this is a non issue scenario here. And yes, the mc hasn't done anything to be ashamed of.
All he's done is reject an extremely forward Jade, who has literally sexually assaulted him twice (once in the cafeteria when she grabs his cock through his clothes, and the other with her foot at the back of the gender studies lecture hall).
When he turned her down, she threatened him:
Jade: "You should spend the time left in this class reading and be quiet..."
Jade: "That way I might not fail you..."
And that's what he did. The next time they even acknowledge each other is when he finished the class:
Jade: "Fuckface. Pass. Next."
All the other students she chats with them, even mulling over whether to fail Derek with the consequences of him repeating, but she can't get rid of the mc fast enough.
Her actions have made their dynamic extremely awkward, I mean he could press charges for real if he wanted to, so him coming along with the girls to ask for monetary help for Maya, who knows how she would see that, or how he would think she would see that.
2) MC is fucking Sage and Jade:We all know why this is awkward, so it doesn't require further discussion.
3) MC dumped Jade in ep 8:
Jade was really pissed. This scenario requires no further discussion.
4) MC is still in a relationship with Jade:
The only other scenario is he's never been intimate with Sage, but he's been fucking Jade. Jade really likes the mc, so he's not gonna have any drama with her, but he's gonna be sitting there with her daughter and her husband with the knowledge that he's fucking with their family. I think it's reason to be very uncomfortable.
So really, given all those potential thoughts going through the mc's mind. I don't find it being far fetched at all that he panics when he finds out.