Now that the dust has settled a bit and more clips and behind the scenes experiences have been posted, here are my takeaways from the event:
First of all, Sam somehow managed to do the impossible and unite all corners of Tumblr. I genuinely didn’t think I’d see this level of cross-reblogging and commenting from such different parts of the fandom. World peace starts here, my friends.
Second, the suspicion I had from the very beginning feels even clearer to me now: Steph is an employee, or at the very least a contracted asset, of Sassenach Spirit. I’ve said this before, but the parade footage and the additional context only strengthened it, so here’s why.
She was first “introduced” at the distillery launch, with the child included. Homecoming. Family. Home. The whole “domestic” framing.
The first person from Sam’s circle to follow her on Instagram was Alex.
On the night her Instagram was “revealed,” she posted a pumpkin carved with the company logo, with Alex commenting.
Then there was the branded distillery hat story.
Then the strange, awkward dynamic between her and Alex at the premiere, with him approaching her after she turned to him, looking lost.
Then she appears again at what, according to someone who worked the parade, was a fully business-oriented event, again with the child, for a window of about 36 hours.
Throughout the event, the only person she seemed to interact with or take cues from was Alex. He was the point of contact. The one guiding, directing, and managing the flow.
And then the biggest tell of all: across hours of footage, Sam doesn’t touch her once. Not once. Even on the bus, which was clearly supposed to be the “peak moment” selling the happy-family image, what we got was honestly heartbreaking. A child clinging to him while he can’t even bring himself to put a steadying hand on her. You’d think by this point they’d be closer, wouldn’t you?
Photos from the event show Sam petting dogs, putting his hands on a random toddler for a photo, touching people as he poses with them, but keeping distance from his supposed new “family” like they’re contagious. It was hard to miss.
I don’t see any affection toward her at all. And he knows how to show warmth when he wants to. If anything, I’m not even sure he likes her. But does it matter? On Instagram they’re already marrying them off. So what if he behaves like she has the plague, online everything is pink and perfect, which means: mission accomplished.
We’re the only ones seeing the cracks.
🎯🎯🎯
