Palmer seems to really like putting his MC's through the ringer and even moreso with this MC than the one in DfD. It is very annoying at times because the drama seems so forced and the plot is very contrived which ends up leaving a sour taste in the mouth even after all the sweetness with each of the girls. The whole blackmail situation is also quite ridiculous too and if there's one thing that's worse than a protagonist who is perfect and has no flaws, it's an antagonist with seemingly no weakness and is damn near unbeatable.
The thing is though, that the blackmail Dennis has shouldn't have this much power over him. I get that he feels responsible and feels like he caused the avalance, but he was trying to save himself, his sister, and others and it had a tragically unintended consequence, but the people closest to him (Johanna, Amy, Morgan, Lauren, Rachel) wouldn't think badly of him and that's all that should matter. If the MC just said to Dennis, "fine, release that audio, see if I care", and they dealt with it, then Dennis holds no power because what power he does seem to hold is flimsy at best.
I haven't played Ep 18 yet, although I have been spoiled on how it ends, but Dennis won't do anything, the MC won't allow it. Maybe this is finally the moment where he beats the ever-loving shit out of Dennis, or at least pins him down while one of the girls calls the police, because having to deal with him has not just become super annoying, it's ruining what is an otherwise good game. They say that "a hero is only as good as his villain" but this villain is awful and actually doesn't make the hero look all that good, so we need to be rid of Dennis sooner rather than later.