Not even a big shipper but that episode felt like super mega ship bait.
Regardless of its nature I am loving the dynamic. I adore how Lucy refuses to abandon her values no matter how cynical the world is, and how she brings out the best in people, even those who have buried every softer and kinder impulse in order to survive. Cooper Howard is still there, buried under the pain that hardened into cold pragmatism. Lucy’s compassionate resilience is so genuine and encompassing that it’s actually threatening to anyone who, from experience, feels these things are either a deception or weaknesses to weed out. Still hoping that Max reunites with them soon. He’s a good guy and I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt honestly, about the moral grayness— underneath is a hurting kid trying to be secure and strong enough to protect himself and people who were just like him, and make tough decisions that by design never feel wholly right or wrong. He straddles such an interesting middle ground between the other two and I’m really looking forward to how they navigate each other as a group. I can’t stand Max feeling like Lucy abandoned him. Need him to understand that the brotherhood can’t give him the belonging he seeks, but someone else still can. I just want them all to be dysfunctional besties together…!
