#e121 suggests he was in the compound “a couple of weeks at least” but like. how *difficult*.

[solipsistful]

thinkin' about how MW's introduction to cowboyification included Michael's diaries in which he talked about "cowboy" as this guiding force that supersedes his own identity because he has too much precedent for what it means "to be Michael". but that's not really MW's issue -- his "precedents" weren't all that different, just different road trips if they even made it that far. his identity issues, possibly worsened by the consolidations but potentially just on their own, seem more linked to being shoved into a role that he never really asked for (being part of Base).

he doesn't need to be "a cowboy first and who I was second"; he needs some way to reconcile being "himself" versus "what Base and everyone needs and expects me to be". so, not a surprise that he bristles at being shoved into any boxes, even a box as obvious as "cowboy".

there's a line in that episode where MW says "I'm still internalizing what Emdubya the cowboy does", and i think the answer he came up with came too close to giving up who he was before (and his Edgar), so he rejected it, even while he takes the pieces of it that he benefits from (being protective and quick to fire a gun, etc.)

it's also just a point of differentiation between him and Michael, and you know how much the Mikes love differentiating themselves; still, i don't think that's the whole story.

- ace