What do you think Dave and Brian’s relationship was like?
Thank you so much for the ask, anon! <3
It is hard to say when we know so little about the rest of Daves family. Are they in Dallas too and Dave is just happening to work for Brian? Are they dead? or has Dave been sent down to his uncle for some reason? What status does Brian have in the family? So what do we know?
1. Dave works for him. It is so hard to tell why he does it or how their working relationship is like. Dave seems happy enough in the hardware store, so I think Brian offered the job to him because Dave is family and that he cares about him in his own way. I dont know if Brian has a wife or any other kids. But if he is alone in Dallas, he might want to have someone to take over the hardware store. Or just someone to teach so that he has some kind of legacy.
2. Dave looks up to Brian. The Katz family are all soldiers, so of course, he would look up to him. I think he is eager to learn from Brian, both necessary skills, and also because he feels like an outsider in his own family. He wants to become more like Brian to fit into his family.
3. Brian seem to take him out to eat, which suggests to me that they probably are very close and dont have a strictly working relationship. So because of that, I think Brain actually cares for Dave, though in his own way.
4. Dave is probably afraid of Brian. He knows about his values and views, enough to know to correct his behaviour when he comes to interrupt Klaus in the diner. I think Daves own views dont match Brians and he is very aware of that. I also think Brain can be a very violent man, and that Dave knows that. I dont necessarily think Brian hit Dave, just that Dave has seen how angry he can be, and he knows he has to stay in line if he wants to avoid it.
So I think that they have a close familial relationship that is built on Brain taking a mentor role for Dave, and Dave looking up to Brian and wanting to be more like him because he wants to stop being an outsider in the family. I feel like Brain is such an important part of in his life, at least in 1963, and it makes me think that Daves family is a bit absent and that Brian dont have anyone else in his life. Brian likes Dave enough to take him under his wing, maybe because he can see Dave is struggling and wants to help him. It is hard to say and that is only my opinion. I also wonder if Daves dad is dead and that Brian tries to help out Daves mother the best he can by taking a lot of responsibility for Dave.
It is a lot of speculation, of course, we dont know enough to say for sure how their relationship is like. But I think it's a good relationship for Brain and less so for Dave. Though Dave dont realise this before he is on the other side of the globe and finally free from his family. I guess the war makes him see his family in a new light, especially one so brutal and meaningless like Vietnam.
