I'm kind of confused. Why did Keith decide to steal Shiro's car? When it was the teacher who was insulting him? It was hilarious but I was confused why he did it lol
I think it was meant to show how younger Keith was a kid that was really struggling–he has no one in his corner. It’s more than just “acting out” too. Because, he dealt the blow to Shiro very deliberately–he wanted Shiro to notice his skill, to take him under his wing, to sign him on for the garrison. He pilots that sim with deaft control and total command. When Shiro shows Keith an old spaceship, Keith knows the whole history behind it. He’s interested in this stuff, wants to build a life around it.
When Shiro first arrives, he catches Shiro’s eye–because he’s so blatantly withdrawn and closed off, and you can see that Shiro wants to kind of reach out to him. Keith very deliberately has his walls up here, is trying so hard not to get his hopes.
And you just have to look at how Keith’s entire mood lifts when Shiro asks him if he wants to give the sim a try. No one’s ever been like Shiro before, no one’s ever really given him a chance.
And you know what?? Shiro’s so impressed!! Keith can do every one of these drills in his sleep, and Shiro knows a pilot when he sees one. When the teacher gives Shiro the list, Shiro makes a point of asking about Keith and doesn’t even mention anyone else, “Is this guy on there? Looks like he’s just about ready to fly the real thing.”
Keith stealing Shiro’s car isn’t payback. It’s a confused and cornered kid desperately attempting to take control of a situation that was always out of his hands. He’s not mad at Shiro, he’s mad at himself for believing that he actually had a chance, for “falling” for Shiro’s nice guy routine and thinking he could reach for the stars. When Keith says his name’s not on the list, given how everyone else has treated him in the past, he feels like Shiro’s just going to turn on him too. And he doesn’t want to wait for that. He doesn’t want Shiro to see him as just some troubled kid and write him off.
It’s the confirmation that–yeah, this is too good to be true, time to wake up. Stealing Shiro’s car puts an end to that fantasy, but at least it’s an end he decided for himself rather than one that was dictated outside his control.
So he turns on Shiro first. He gives him a reason to leave. If they’re gonna say he has a discipline problem, why not at least give them what they asked for? Keith outright admits in his vlog that he pushes other people away before they can reject him. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. But of course, Shiro isn’t like everyone else. When he hears Keith’s name has been omitted from the list, that he’s just a discipline case that would never make it at the Garrison–his previous enthusiasm is completely gone. He can’t believe that they’re literally going to just count Keith out like that.
And it’s obvious from the way that Shiro treats Keith afterwards that he can tell there’s so much going on beneath the surface there, that Keith’s dealing with a whole lot and he needs some sort of support or else he’ll just keep punishing himself until he starts to crash and burn. Keith’s act of defiance is a pretty clear warning sign, and Shiro’s not about to let him just fall through the cracks.
And I honestly do believe his giving a second chance to Keith was very important on a personal level, because honestly, at some point or another, he probably needed to hear that. We know he’s been told he wasn’t well enough to be capable of certain things before–it’s not a stretch to say he may have even struggled to get into the garrison’s flight program becasue of his chronic illness. People like Sam Holt were there to vouch for him on missions so he got that chance. He wants to be there for Keith because he knows how much it means to have someone in your corner.
