so when aphmau said âaaron would be better off without meâ in the new episode i know we were supposed to feel bad for her but i was just like YEAHâŠâŠ HE TOTALLY WOULD
irene in that scene is supposed to exist as some kind of thesis statement of aphmauâs character. âyou deserve your friends even if they make mistakes because your friends make mistakes too and they choose to be with youâ which on the surface isnât like a bad message or anything but in context itâs in somewhat bad taste
a recurring theme in aphmauâs character is aphmau saying âiâm badâ and another character going âno youâre good, actuallyâ without any self reflection and thatâs super harmful. what ireneâs missing in that scene is that the important part of mistakes is that you learn from them, not that you make them. everyone can make mistakes, but not everyone learns from them. to be a better person you need to learn from your mistakes
i already explained how aphmau treats aaron badly here, but iâll highlight an important part of it in this post to talk about a part of this scene thatâs particularly tone deaf. aaron and aphmau are not on equal footing in their relationship. when they meet, aphmau has other friends and a parent who loves her. aaron has no one, and is being subjected to abuse that has altered the way he views others and himself. aphmau is the first ever person to be nice to aaron. as he says in emerald secret ep15:Â âshe saw me for more than i was, and more than i ever will be.â
thatâs the core problem with aphmauâs mistreatment him â he doesnât review what sheâs done and decide to stay with her, he is fundamentally unaware of what healthy relationships are like and believes that what aphmau does to him is justified, because she loves him and thinks heâs worth more than he actually is. aaron isnât self-aware when he decides to stay with aphmau. he has no way of knowing that he should ever leave her if she harms him, and therefore aphmauâs treatment of him is not justified just because he stays with her.













