#this post is very much 'water is wet' but I've not rewatched in ages so it feels new to me

[muninnhuginn]

One of the things really striking me thus far on my s1 rewatch is how much it's implied that Mark and Petey actively tested their boundaries at Lumon.

We have Mark listing off all the ways Helly could try to get out a message to explain why they wouldn't work along with the accompanying punishments (the "bad soap" and some horrific implications around laxatives if they try to swallow a message). His remark about how Milchick can't always be "nice".

Petey mentions that they'd tried resignation requests and had them rejected as part of his explanation that they'd tried all they could on the inside before trying something else. But it does carry the implication that they'd been discussing this stuff together. Especially given how they were "one of the best office friendships" according to Milchick and the whole peteymark -> markhelly parallels that the show itself asks us to consider.

Mark's reaction to Graner, diving in to take the punishment on Helly's behalf because he knew he could handle it. The fact Petey had a recording of Mark in the Breakroom and the mention that Mark had had the most Wellness sessions. Of course, the Wellness sessions likely have other factors behind them (hi Ms Casey) but the first time we see them used is because Lumon is "worried about Irving". Wellness sessions are used as a pre-punishment as a default, which again, implies some level of "acting out" to get there.

Innie Mark is often portrayed as more naïve than his outie. And, sure, he hasn't got the same grief, but he's still jaded in his own way. He comes off as a yes man in early season one, but a lot of that is because he's tried all the options available to him. And losing his main companion in these endeavours was the final straw. He's gone from having someone alongside him to having no one at all. Irving is a rules stickler and Dylan cares more for the perks than trying to escape. Not just that, but Mark now has someone to take under his own wing in the form of Helly.

So, he buckles down, tries to guide her and protect her from the worst of it all, and lets go of his own attempts to escape. Avoids even thinking too hard about them, because he's Mark and that's what he does. But he still lets it slip in his advice to Helly and his later actions in season one show that he hasn't forgotten. He's just buried his head in the sand until someone is there to tell him to stop being an asshole.

It's not that he discovered how to rebel during season one. It's that he learnt to have hope.