Richard and Henry’s relationship perfectly paralleled Julian and Henry’s dynamic.
Henry and Richard’s relationship perfectly mirrored Henry and Julian’s relationship. Richard entered Hampden as a completely fish out of water (He hated where he came from, never had any friends, had a destructive home life and had never felt seen or understood by anyone) Henry too, entered Hampden with a broken home life and a secluded nature, a soul stuck in time if you will. Julian saw right through that, and took that to his advantage as he began to craft Henry to whatever he wanted him to be.
Henry did the same with Richard. He could read Richard like a book, he instantly knew Richard was ashamed of where he came from and wasn’t very happy with his past. “You’re not very happy where you are either” because Henry was once in his position until he found the embrace of Julian.
Henry never saw himself in anyone else in the greek class due to his past failing to relate to any of theirs. despise all of them having many things in common such as their shared seclusion and feeling unseen and alone, Henry could never relate to Francis’s warm luxurious past with a loving grandma and a sister-like mother, or Bunny’s standard American childhood or Camilla and Charles being orphans yet having each other throughout their childhoods. However, Richard and Henry shared a common factor: Their father’s wrath and negligence. Julian became the father Henry never had, Henry became the protector Richard never knew he needed.
Henry also immediately saw through Richard’s infatuation with Camilla which perfectly resembled Henry’s own infatuation with her during his first year at Hampden as quoted by Francis that Henry was absolutely enamoured by her.
In turn Richard too became dependant on Henry not only for his survival but in every way possible. Henry was the only one he had; the rest of the greek class purposely left out Richard and made him feel like an outsider and barely giving him the time of the day they never viewed Richard as intelligent or anywhere near their level, they had no faith Richard would even figure out what they did to the framer but Henry knew he was smart enough (Henry said all this to Richard when he opened up to Richard about what they did to the framer and the bacchanal). The rest of the greek class did not care very much for the inexperienced boy, meanwhile Henry took him in, cooked him food and drove to his dorm late in the night where they both couldn’t sleep.
Henry chose to follow the footsteps of his mentor and continue the cycle with Richard. I believe Julian also had a mentor who shaped him into the way he is, and Henry in turn tried to prove his growth and his knowledge by following his footsteps and taking Richard (the poor boy who so clearly mirrored him and triggered all the emotional turmoil he once had and since tried to bury deep into the crate) Henry not only wanted to please his mentor, but wanted to blossom into another version of him. That was his greater goal.
We all know very well that Richard worshipped Henry and wanted to reach to his level in which he’d never succeed the same way Henry never reached to Julian’s level and i doubt Julian ever reached the level of his (possible) former mentor. Henry was Richard’s sole purpose in everything he did. Both Richard and Henry were eager to please and serve those higher than them.
And in turn, Henry left his subject (Richard) the same way his mentor left him. Julian left Henry and thus Henry saw it as a signal to do the very same. Fortunately for Richard, his relationship with Henry did not progress to the level of Julian and Henry’s relationship due to their lack of time together, but there is no doubt in my mind that if it had escalated, Richard too would’ve found himself with a gun to his head.
My very last point is Richard’s relationship with Henry’s mother who had never shown a big interest in Henry’s friends and only ever visited for Henry, but in the epilogue, she held Richard’s hand and embraced him the same way she once embraced her son, further proving that Richard had transformed into a reflection of Henry that was well hidden inside him but very much fostered.
Richard now owns Henry’s car that Henry loved was black and opulent and perfectly resembled his style and he used it for every occasion whether to drive away or to the murder spot of Bunny, or take his friends out to lunch, or to drive to Hampden or to his apartment. Richard in turn drives it around everywhere, never to replace it.
In Henry’s arms Richard was the frail little boy he was told to suppress by a father who never knew him. Under Julian’s wing, Henry was the person his real father never loved nor bothered to understand.
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