#still love kinn being protective btw

[fromperdition4]

This has probably been pointed out before but…

Kinn didn’t technically save Porsche in this scene

Like, he saw Mes raise his gun and sprung into action to try to save Porsche—

But he doesn’t actually get there in time. The bullet grazes Porsche’s arm just after Kinn put his hand on his waist and before he started pulling him away.

What Kinn does manage to do, though, is duck his head down to be right on level with the path of the bullet:

So yeah - Kinn’s still being super heroic here, doing his best to protect Porsche even though he’s the one paying to be protected - but the actual reason either of them survived this scene was pure luck 😂

[yinwaryuri]

Vegas and Being The Family Scapegoat

Being an older sibling is a heavy burden in any given family, but when that also includes being the heir of a mafia family, the mounted pressure is tenfold. The show makes this apparent with Kinn's arc, highlighting his struggle to balance the responsibility of his position with his personal desires. However, the consequences of his actions often affect others worse than Kinn himself (still upset about Big's death and how little ceremony he got, btw).

For Vegas, though? When he messes up? The consequences are much worse, and often much more personal. Regardless of how involved his father is in their plots to undermine the main family, it's Vegas who has to do most of the work. Gun is quietly deciding where he is moving his pieces and Vegas does the motions. But humans aren't chess pieces and sometimes the moves they make don't follow the rules of the game, which can yield unwanted errors. When he messes up, he's in for a beating. If it isn't physical, it's psychological.

For all that Vegas tries to be - a good manipulator, calculated, well prepared, whore, etc. - he has never been good enough. And it could be argued as to why, but essentially it doesn't matter because ultimately Vegas will be human and his own person who can't be stripped of every possible chance for error when it comes to handling the business within the minor family. And since his family's goal is to take over the major one, everything is pinned on him.

Without going into the enormous amount of pressure this puts on him, Vegas is weighed down by one of the worst things a parent can do with their children: comparison. It's unrealistic to expect a mafia boss to be a spectacular father, but Korn and Gun are neck and neck for the worst of the year. Do they even want loving relationships with their sons? It almost seems like they don't and all they care about is keeping the power dynamic in the family where each of them want it. That may be too cold of an understanding, but it's not worth ruling out entirely. In any case, Gun absolutely ruined Vegas with how often he compared him to Kinn. The two weren't forced to compete with each other outwardly, but in Vegas' mind the competition is always on whether he cares for it or not.

Vegas is someone who desperately needs approval and all he has gotten is horribly starved. Gun's approval has always been conditional and when the conditions are as high stakes as "undermine your cousins, who by the way have more power and influence and resources and protection, and then maybe you'll be worth the air you breathe," Vegas will always be wanting until he meets that goal. Until then, any time he isn't meeting that standard or working toward it means that he is the root of every problem in the family. He has been made to feel that his mere existence drags everything down and he can never stand up to the heights of the expectations that have been set for him his entire life.

Hearing the words "why compare?" from Pete were a revelation. It likely hadn't occurred to Vegas to question why before, because it had been something he’d just known to live with all his life. He was born into something he could never conceivably leave and he'd accepted so much of his upbringing as unchangeable facts, so why not accept the comparison as one of them? Realizing he can question that, challenge it, even just on his own and not openly, took off some immense weight. So when his father unleashes more vitriol later, he returns to Pete and can say it didn't hurt as much.

Vegas is still an evil bastard, but adding this layer to his character is also what makes him a really great villain. He isn't going to use this new knowledge to become softer. If anything, it's more likely to fuel his anger but what it will do is bring him greater focus. Knowing he received the brunt of his father's awful treatment in unfair proportions and finally being allowed to acknowledge that he has a right to care more about himself will be powerful for him in the future. Instead of anger being some uncontrollable weakness, it now has the potential to become a deadly weapon stronger than any voltage he could use. He will finally have a chance to no longer be the scapegoat and I am readily admitting that I want to see that happen.

[heretherebedork]

Okay, sorry i guess i misinterpreted what you meant when you said the episode lost you. I think I thought you meant you were done watching the show. I think I understand now. I enjoy your criticism btw.

Anyway, now that I know that you do enjoy it. Do you have a favorite character or at least one that you are leaning towards?

Do you have a favorite episode so far?

Mind so far has been episode 6 and the sober kisses that actually happened. Do you have a favorite part of episode 6?

Ah, so you were reading my not-fandom-tagged processing posts. That explains a lot, I suppose. That post was made about 2/3rds of the way through the episodes and it's taken me a lot of time to fully process, analyze and explain the episode to myself. I process in words and sometimes it takes a few more than you'd think. I did also get very thrown by the start of the episode and it took chatting with both @thequeenofsastiel and @clairificusrex for different reasons and different insights to figure out what the show was doing and what I did/didn't like about their handling and why.

My favorite character currently? Tankhun. 100%. Also Chay, I adore him. They're both fantastic and fun and add something to the show I didn't expect. Very much enjoying them. Pete is on a wavery line called 'I wish I liked him more than I do'. I like him, I really do, but I feel like he's spent a lot of the early episodes being a mouthpiece for the show as much as being himself. I'm hopeful I'll come to adore him.

Episode 5, hands down, handling the trauma like a badass show, not skimping on the pain, showing what really happens after a rape and how both parties can end up struggling but how much Porsche was hurt and how Kinn couldn't handle the guilt + remorse at all? Absolutely best episode, immaculate dark vibes. Loved it. Second favorite episode is probably the first. I truly did love the first episode, no denials.

My favorite part of episode 6 was definitely the end. It was Kinn accepting that Porsche's deserved freedom and forgetting everything about the position and job and his actual life to try and set Porsche free to protect him because he could still feel Porsche's pain despite the 'trying to forget about it' forgiveness Porsche kept throwing out.

That ending was so perfect because it timed itself perfectly, kept the serious tone and held fast to the idea that Porsche can't escape and when you step outside the episode you realize that even if he'd run, there was no escape and it hurts even more.

My next favorite was definitely the final apology from Kinn, the way he's so sincere and so hurt and the way Porsche can't meet his eyes but stil tries to play it off and the way Kinn knows not to believe him. Also fantastic.