#srry this wound up getting off the rails towards the end LMAO

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(this is dicktowel) you said send meta asks... what do you think about dennis and dee's subplot in "the gang broke dee"? is dennis really just jealous of her and mad that the gang left him out/that she hurt his ego, or does he genuinely hate seeing her be humiliated and has his own fucked up way of trying to protect her from failure? do you think in general he cares more about dee than she does about him, as she savors chances to humiliate him? and what exactly is it that "broke" dennis at the end of the ep? this whole ep is interesting to me

Oh same that episode is great and a really good episode to dig into. And I think the reason for Dennis breaking is definitely a mix of all those things!!!

Considering the way they grew up and that of the two of them Dennis clearly steers more on the side of caution and hyper vigilance than Dee, I think he was immediately wary that the rest of the gang and especially Frank was up to something. But I think he used that hunch as a way to discourage her from trying at all rather than out of purely genuine concern. Though I do think, whether he verbalized it or not, he was afraid of Dee possibly actually killing herself (lol abandonment issues). Dennis believes at a foundational level that it is safer to “fake it til you make it” and remain miserable In the process than to risk trying and failing for real. Plus we know he feels very connected to Dee so it makes sense that, in a way, he feels like he needs to save Dee because it feels like he’s also protecting himself from danger. I believe that when he told Dee “You will never succeed. Ever. Instead, you will fly too close to the sun, and you will choke and you will gag in a spectacular manner.” he was most definitely deflecting his own fears onto her for sure LOL

I think Dee is much more resilient than Dennis because she really isn’t “trying” to be anyone else. To her credit she has her own interests, motivations and passions. She still is inclined to chasing trends and doing things to “stick it” to someone rather than out of a genuine desire to do said things like Dennis, but Dennis seems like he never even wants to stop to think about what he really wants because it scares him. For Dee, discovering a new direction to take herself in thrills her. She can put on a much more mild-mannered or “positive/friendly” version of herself when she needs, but Dee never really seems to become a whole different person. Dennis on the other hand, does. Frankly I don’t think Dennis wants to know himself or confront what it is that he truly wants, because he believes that the things he wants are wrong. Dennis has that mentality of “if I can’t have this, then no one can” whereas Dee has the mentality that she WILL have what she wants she WILL find a way to get there at all costs. Dee wants to succeed, Dennis wants to survive. Dee is much more aligned with Frank’s mentality than Dennis is. So I think that determination is something Dennis tries to smother with all the degrading comments, so when Dee finds a way to turn that around and make something of herself, the alarm bells in Dennis’ head start blaring.

Of course the one thing that really holds Dee back is the gang and trying to meet their expectations or having them around at all is what really gets in the way of her succeeding. But the gang has instilled in her a belief that she couldn’t possibly do anything without them, so she’s prone to doubting herself which is enough to keep her in Paddy’s.

Other people have pointed this out before but the power dynamics of the group definitely show that the gang’s behavior has much more power over Dennis than he actually has control over them. He just wants everyone else to believe he has control. Dennis is about upkeep, he’s about appearances, he does not actually want the work or responsibility of “keeping people in line” he would rather be told what to do and seem like he knows what he’s doing better than everyone else so he should be listened to and respected. Dennis spends a lot of time procrastinating, he just assumes he can get everyone to stick around the whole time with enough shiny magic tricks, he hopes he’ll never get to the point where he actually has to follow through (see: Ass Kickers United). Dee, on the other hand would rather see things through to completion so she inherently challenges Dennis in a way that pushes him past his comfort zone or questions his own methodology and that feels threatening.

I think Dennis is definitely jealous of Dee too, he always has been!! I mean he outright steals her plans and ideas as his own all the time JKNKDFGK I’m sure Dennis would kill to have Dee’s actual problem solving abilities rather than just pretending he does. But Dennis figured out early on that if he just pretends to be as similar to Frank as Dee is, that will always win Frank’s favor over Dee actually and actively being the twin who is more like Frank. Dee sees the people around her being able to change as motivation, as a symbol of hope for herself. Dennis sees people changing and leaving as a threat to the already fragile ecosystem he keeps himself and everyone else in.

I think Dee cares about Dennis, but I also think she has more real contempt and resentment of him than he does of her. Dennis makes it seem like he hates Dee or that she’s useless to him, but that’s really just talk. If she wasn’t around she’d be one less personality to copy LOL I suspect Dennis never had much of a reason to hate Dee growing up, if anything he had more of an easy time because his mother approved of him whereas she didn’t of Dee. Honestly as kids I could see Dennis being a sort of blissfully ignorant kid, not realizing how easy he had it (in Dee’s mind) and therefore she resented him for that and Dennis could just never understand why she would ever get upset. And especially as they’ve gotten older those feelings have only festered, with Dee feelings more entitled and Dennis feeling more like a fraud. When Dee kicked Dennis down in this episode I think it was a genuine moment of freedom for her. I think if she’d had the chance she really would’ve left Philly and never came back or contacted any of them every again, Dennis knew this too and that’s why he was willing to say or do literally anything to get her to stay. Dennis wants to know that, deep down, everyone else needs him as much as he needs them… So finding out that isn’t the case is what truly “broke” him.

(And yea being totally out of the loop and unaware that everything happening around them WAS a scheme when he’s so used to being in on the joke probably didn’t help LOL)

That rejection proved in a very tangible way that it is totally impossible for him to completely control anyone or stop them from leaving him no matter what he says or does. Even just maintaining the illusion of control is clearly something that is important to Dennis so I think having that illusion tampered with in any way just makes him crumble. Especially considering Dee is the one person he’s known forever and through their very unstable upbringing so I think to Dennis, if he can’t make Dee stick around then he can’t make anyone stick around. For Dennis, being wanted is not enough to keep people around— he has to be needed. Dennis cares about the gang and needs them more than they need him, but it’s in his own best interest (out of self-preservation) that they never find that out, hence his abrupt return at the beginning of season 13 when they’re about to finally move on.

But I think Dennis was also probably relieved knowing the whole thing was a scheme! cuz that meant Dee was still going to be around after all.