Will Stronghold deserved better
Can we all collectively agree that Will was not obligated to return Layla's feelings?
I understand that it was crappy of him to hang out with Gwen and her friend group instead of his immediate one, but I get it. It's a universal experience to want to be friends with 'cool kids' and stuff. It happens. (I relate more with Will than I do Layla.) Also, Gwen's the resident gorgeous girl, so it's normal for him to want her.
There were other factors to this. He was the only one who had yet to unlock his powers, so he was given the sidekick card. He's in his parents' shadow, expected to live up to the family name, but doesn't have either of their powers (yet). When he does have his powers, everyone suddenly likes and respects him, including the popular girl. He liked being relevant, and to be seen by someone high in the social ladder meant a lot to him. We must also remember that she pursued him first, and made it her mission to isolate him.
Layla is honestly toxic when you think about it. In order to make him jealous, she fake dates his supposed enemy. She's lucky Warren was into it, otherwise it would've been incredibly manipulative. If it's not manipulative, then it was incredibly icky of her to do that. Imagine he didn't catch onto the fact that she was faking interest and thought she was genuine? What if he dated her for real, only to find out that it was not only one sided, but she only dated him for someone else's attention? That would screw with his self esteem on so many levels, and his anger towards Will would've been wrongly amplified.
What if Will wasn't jealous that Layla was 'dating' Warren, but more so upset with the fact that she's dating his 'enemy'. I mean, this is the same kid that was glaring at him for seemingly no reason. And after Will accidentally chucks his food at him (because he was tripped), Warren was quick to be violent. Will didn't instigate anything, and even apologised, believing that Warren would see it for the accident it was. He didn't think Warren would be unreasonable. We also see that Will was protective of his friends, which led to the unlocking of his powers. That means he doesn't see himself as better than them. He didn't treat them like lackies.
Will already had to deal with trying to meet with his parents' expectations, and then another representation of his parents' past is there to remind him of his role in life.
I just don't like the film's narrative of how Will was in the wrong for not 'seeing what's in front of him'. How he was partially vilified for simply being a teen trying to navigate the world around him. He has to deal with asshole parents. Asshole teachers and their problematic system, and terrible classmates.
