So the evidence implying Qifrey and Olruggio are romantically interested in each other is pretty well documented (myths, tassels, the entirety of witchen) but, I haven't seen as much about the scene that really seals for me that Qifrey wants to fuck Olruggio.
What happens literally is that we cut from baby Qifrey reaching for Olruggio and transforming, to adult Qifrey with his hand fisted in his lap, determinedly not reaching for Olruggio. And then he gets up and goes to stand in a lake and trigger his own PTSD to get the silverwood under control.
What happens symbolically is a guy thinks really hard about another guy, gets wood experiences an uncontrollable throbbing growth which fills him with horror and shame, and then he goes and stands in cold water until he can get it under control.
Completely insane scene construction. Yes, I know how the silverwood's growth is literally triggered, but sometimes a train going into a tunnel is the public transport system working as intended, and sometimes it's self-conscious Freudian symbolism.
Sometimes an evil parasite is an evil parasite, but sometimes it's also getting rock hard for your best friend.
