#okay #i was talking with @whistletoit and got to thinking. #does anyone feel like shelby’s dad is a tad gay coded? #for one, he literally just straight up seems like he’s gay. #i know it’s a stereotype, but he’s so clean, so high energy, social, borderline effeminate in mannerisms and build. #obviously, some men are just like that, but if they were trying to give shelby the picture perfect all-american life, you don’t think they would have chosen the dad as less of a stereotypical pretty boy? #the mom and younger siblings were cast, and the house decorated, with an almost sterile attention #but they didn’t think about the dad? #no, the casting is intentional. #if they wanted to portray a hyper-masculine, overbearing, southern dad, they would have. and they didn’t.
#when shelby is sitting on the cliff at the beginning of the episode, we assume she’s struggling with the fact that she just kissed toni. #and she says, “god, in your wisdom, give me the faith to be what you intended.” #and then we fade into her dad saying the exact same thing in his little living room conversion therapy thing. #he doesn’t say, ‘give kyle,’ the person who is later named, he says ‘give US.’ #upon first watch, i thought HE runs conversion therapy, but he mentions kyle going to ‘a place’ for that. #instead, i think he runs a support group for conversion therapy ‘success stories’ who want to help new ones.
#and then in the scene where she’s singing at the pageant, the focus is on him. #not the mom, or the parents as a collective, HIM. #and when shelby continues her compliance act, he rewards her with the dental surgery she wants. #that’s notable just because they made it SO clear that it is NOT a good idea for her at this age. they specify that it’s permanent surgery. they specify that it will hurt a LOT. #his response? “if it can be fixed, the pain is worth it.” #i see him as a highly repressed gay man turned homophobe who’s gotten good at playing a game. #he’s convinced himself it’s a choice, or at the very least, puts on that pretense, and is now rewarding his child for doing the same.
#anyway, moving on to the actual gifset, i was rewatching this scene, and for such an integral part of shelby’s journey, it’s oddly centered around him too. #and the way he delivers his lines is just so… personal. #when he talks about kyle choosing this or that way of life, it makes it seem like he had to choose too. #and when he talks about how much pain kyle is in? either he and kyle are the absolute best of besties, or he relates bc… yeah. #and the way he says the lines “i don’t want you to be alone” just gives me vibes like he’s felt that, and doesn’t want the same for her. #he’s begging her to choose a different path because… he didn’t? and he had a bad time? got kicked out, maybe? #and as a response, he repressed himself so hard that now he thinks it’s a choice, and he started wanting to ‘help’ others like him. #in past scenes, he comes across as super creepy, but here he just seems genuinely so SAD for her.
#it by no means justifies or excuses his actions, because clearly the environment he’s created is pretty toxic for everyone in the house regardless #and he is absolutely still at fault for how much trauma he’s caused shelby in her own journey #but to think of him this way gives more depth to him than just the typical homophobic christian dude. #and if there’s one thing the wilds has been consistently good at, it’s giving us villains who are complex. #well either way, these two did an excellent job with this scene.
