Hello I need to talk about these stinkers again.
Specifically, I need to talk about the fact that they are BULLIES. Because I feel like a lot of people (including myself) fall into the trap of ONLY focusing on either their dynamic with each other, or their dynamic with others in a world where everyone’s friends. Nothing’s wrong with that, I love focusing on those aspects as much as the next, but I also feel like the fact these 4 are bullies gets kinda glossed over, and it’s something I want to talk about. Because they’re stinky little shits. Who do stinky little things.
(FYI I do not condone these boys’ actions, but I will analyze the hell out of them because character studies are my favorite thing.)
Anyways with that out of the way I am now going to break down how they bully others, and why they bully others.
First, these losers. Their actions can be summarized in a single sentence: They act like Freshmen.
Anyone who’s gone to a public high school can hopefully understand what I mean. Freshmen boys tend to be the one’s who cause the most trouble. The ones who mess with people purely for shits and giggles. And despite Liam and Henry being Juniors, they’re so Freshmen coded it’s not even funny.
I feel these two lack the self-awareness to truly understand how their actions affect other people, so they’re constantly finding new ways to mess with people and get on their nerves. They don’t care if someone gets upset or uncomfortable. They don’t care about invading people’s privacy. They don’t care how their words affect others. Because it’s not hurting them. And as long as it’s not hurting them, it’s funny.
Drawing from my own experiences with Freshmen, I feel these two would follow behind strangers uncomfortably close. They’re the type to go up to random people and say ‘Hey, rate my friend.’ Or ‘Hey, my friend thinks you’re cute.’ But do not mean it in the slightest. They’re the type to throw random snack bags at kids purely for how they dress or act. Because they think it’s funny. And they don’t care what other’s think.
Now for Jake, the victim of bullying himself. Hot take: He’d be the WORST out of the four.
Because Jake knows what hurts the most. He knows how to cut deep, because other’s have cut him deep. He draws from his experience. He says stuff that he remembers other’s saying to him. And he’s does this all for the sake of his friends approval.
Because these are his first real friends. And without them, he’d go back to being a pathetic loner no one else wanted. He’s so desperate for the approval of his new friends he’s willing to abandon his own morals for them. But I do believe he has a limit. He’d never actively invade someone’s privacy. (Considering how he prevented Liam from doing so in the Comic Episode.) And I also cannot see him harming someone in any form. But other than that, Jake’s arguably the scariest out of the four.
I feel like this aspect combined with his charming playboy persona kinda gives him this ‘illusive bad boy’ reputation, even if that’s not who he truly is. So he’s essentially trapped parading around as someone he’s not.
Finally, Drew. Infamous for his ability to turn the word ‘freak’ into a slur.
I don’t view Drew as the meanest of the bunch, nor do I view him as some intimidating final boss either. To me, he’s more of a ringleader. Someone who controls the others, while doing very little himself.
He’s typically the one to instigate, then sit back and laugh as he watches the others do the rest. He’s eggs the others on occasionally, but ultimately, he’s more like an amused bystander. Consider the way he sat back and watched as Liam and Henry messed around in the clubroom in Episode 8, and consider the way he essentially did nothing but laugh as he watched Henry and Liam throw Hailey’s book around in the Comic Episode. Both times, he set the target on Hailey, only to sit back and watch as Henry and Liam did the rest.
However, Drew can absolutely be ruthless when he wants to, at least verbally. Because I believe what Zander said in Episode 2 holds a lot of truth to it: “They’re a walking reflection of their insecurities.”
I’ve already made several posts about Drew’s family issues, his codependency, and his overall lack of self-worth and loneliness, so I won’t be repeating them but my goodness is this boy an insecure mess.
He calls Hailey a control freak, yet is constantly shown trying to control Jake by pushing him away from the club. He tells Hailey to ‘get lost and know where she’s not wanted’ likely because he struggles feeling unwanted. He calls Hailey’s whole music concert worthless without Jake, because he feels worthless without Jake.
Drew and Jake are actually rather similar if you really think about it. Both are implied to have low self-esteem and abandonment issues, and both mask it by pretending to be more confident. But how they deal with their issues is where they begin differ, and this further reflects in their reasons for picking on others.
Jake is always changing himself for others, because he doesn’t know if he’ll truly be accepted for being himself. And the only reason he bullies others is because he feels he has to. Drew, meanwhile, finds ways to make himself seem like the best option. He’s constantly buying his friends expensive gifts, and talks down others to make himself look better by comparison. He does nothing to change himself, unlike Jake.
TLDR: Henry and Liam are Freshmen, Jake’s scary and I clearly cannot talk about Drew without spreading my Druffering propaganda. Have a good day. :3
