- Sep 20, 2018
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Hey, it's 2025. If Elias lies about it loudly and often enough to start with, no one will care by the time the truth finally makes it's way out.But like..... the (presumed) recording of him in Kathleens office clearly shows he isn't unknowingly there?
I guess he might not know there are cameras but i just see it as him going "my wife was involved in a sex club that I got baited into going to before I knew she was there and now I'm mad that people think I'm a cuck..... but I swear I'm not a cuck"![]()
Besides, even the tape (assuming it has full audio) is a lot more damaging to the Club than it is to Elias. He clearly intended to get involved in an illegal venture, but he also clearly didn't have a lot of details. If the initial story is that he thought it was a high-class brothel and it turned out to be a sadistic human trafficking and honeypotting operation, the truth isn't going to be a stark enough difference to discredit the initial story. Nuance just doesn't make for sexy headlines. At best it will wind up bringing Elias down a couple years after the Club is wiped out.
And as far as everyone thinking Elias is a cuck, there are two important distinctions here. First, his peers thinking he's a cuck is a significantly more pressing concern for a guy like him than the ignorant, unwashed masses thinking it. Second, the scenario in which his wife voluntarily whored herself out purely to stick it to him would be a vastly more damning indictment than the scenario in which an organized criminal conspiracy tricked her into a compromising position as part of a scheme to blackmail him.
The latter scenario isn't true obviously, but it's similar enough to the truth to obscure that truth for quite a while - possible indefinitely - if he gets it out there promptly and forcefully. That would be his threat if he decides to go nuclear, and it would be a difficult one to pre-empt without getting way further into the weeds than the Club would want to. They have a lot more to lose, since Elias is the only one being humiliated at the moment. Kathleen MIGHT be in a position to do it, but none of the rest of the management are.
I don't think Kathleen is relying on Elias to glass the place (metaphorically speaking), I think she expects him to settle for stirring up a lot of drama - in part because I think she'll make sure someone is around to calm Elias down with promises of restitution (at least temporarily). But I also think she's willing to take the risk of him melting down because she is expecting the Club to be wrecked once her deal with van Doren comes to light, so she's planning to cut some losses anyway.Public opinion could go either way especially if he gets "ahead of it" but it could just as easily bite him in the ass if the club shows the tapes of him not being "lured" and him partaking in the night before seeing felica. I guess i just think Elias is more of a scrub than most others do. In your idea is Kathleen's plan with van doren (going on longer than the summer) partially reliant on Elias joining the club which is reliant on felica wanting to join as a carnation? Or is it just incidental and anything that would "make rubble" be fine? Gotta get in some last minute speculation before it's invalidated![]()
Drama from Elias would be the ideal outcome for Kathleen because it will get everyone looking in the wrong direction when the bigger bomb goes off. If all goes to plan, that blast will reshape things to the point Elias won't feel quite so singled out; he (and some of the other owners) will choose to cut their losses and walk away, leaving the field to Kat. If things escalate to the point the Club goes public (especially right from the start) that would always be a complication for her, but it's a low probability, manageable risk as long as she's knows what might trigger it and has laid the proper groundwork.
Or at least that's my take. But Kathleen does seem the sort to dismiss her adversaries, so it's always possible she shares your view of Elias and expects him to suffer in silence.