Concerning how Wooly feels about Amanda:
Now that the main storyline has concluded, I feel like I can finally dive in to this specific topic. Some people say Wooly cares about Amanda, but his actions still hurt her, and others say he doesn't care about Amanda at all. In my opinion, I don't believe he dislikes her, but I also don't believe that he cares about her, at least, not really. I believed this even before 3 came out.
In ATA 1, Wooly didn't seem to be concerned about Amanda's actual well-being, but more about her recalling reality and not focusing on him instead.
There were also these little glares he would give her...
Of course he could be glaring because, you know, she literally broke his knee and tried dismissing it to the audience as an "accident ", (ironic, considering how much he gaslights her), but I don't know, these glares just seem genuine to me.
In ATA 2, there a lot more moments where Wooly seems to express concern for her, but that's the keyword: seems. When the mysterious Opossum (at the time), attacks Amanda or generally antagonizes her, Wooly doesn't do anything. And like the first game, he only seems to show the most concern when she "goes against the script ", so he attempts to stop her, disguising these actions as acts of concern.
But the biggest moment to me is actually the glitched Fix-It tape, he is intending on throwing out objects that once meant a lot to Amanda/Rebecca, excusing that they are "broken", and is visibly annoyed when she tries to prove him wrong.
His attitude suddenly changes when they see a butterfly missing a wing. This is when Amanda is more pessimistic since this involves fixing a living being, and Wooly suddenly does a total 180, desperately trying to convince her that they can fix it.
After they fix it, this exchange happens...
Again, while he LOOKS concerned for her, he actually seems more focused on keeping appearances for the viewers watching, glancing over at them giving a look that says "you can fix this, right? Things are kind of awkward..."
Then of course there's ATA 3. I don't really need to explain this one since he flat out throws a few tantrums, expressing how he feels.
Just like the assigned role given to him, he always wants to establish that things are fine to the audience, and whenever he claims himself as her best friend, he tends to look at the camera all the time.
All in all, I think Wooly probably made genuinely good memories with Amanda while they were initially stuck in this show together, and truly did see her as a friend, but I don't believe that he GENUINELY cared for her. In the end, he was too immature, possessive, and a walking embodiment of "toxic positivity ", which led to him frequently gaslighting her and throwing childish tantrums or giving her the cold-shoulder when he wouldn't get his way. If he DID care for her, then it was in an INCREDIBLY self-serving and unhealthy way. But that's the thing about Wooly/Marcus that I find fascinating...in the end he was still a victim who enabled with no backbone who never truly grew up. He was willing to harm/kill others, including his only friend, as long as it meant he got to escape reality.
Now let's get to what I believe to be the elephant in the room...the age gap. Yeah, it's a little weird that a grown adult is obsessed about being best friends with a child forever, but I blame Hameln more for that set dynamic and their overall shady, unethical decisions. Still, I don't see this specific age gap situation as "creepy " per say, but rather unnerving. Unnerving in the way that because he acts so much like a kid himself most of the time, it feels more like he's arguing with a fellow kid who is his "bestest friend ", even though he's a grown adult. Honestly, he reminds me a lot of narcissistic adults out there in this world, and that's why I think it's especially unnerving.
In the end, I do think he felt some kind of positive connection to Amanda, but he either didn't express it in a healthy way, and/or he simply was incapable of truly caring for anyone. In my opinion, he was too far gone. Their relationship is honestly much more complex than people think it is.
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