Two episodes into season 2 and I love getting to see the Cate and Hiroshi side-by-side comparison.
We already knew Cate had abandonment issues because of him and cheated on her partner like he cheated on her mom, but we also get Hiroshi pulling away when his mom mentions Billy because it’s so clear Keiko’s fond memories of Billy are vastly different from Hiroshi’s memories of him. Hiroshi saying “[Billy] was always more at home when he was at work” when Cate can say the exact same thing about him!
Thinking about the scene where Hiroshi tells Cate that if she needs someone to blame then to blame him. If Hiroshi could speak to Billy one last time, would he want him to say the same, to take the blame for the way Hiroshi’s life has played out, his own abandonment issues and involvement in Monarch? Keiko told Lee “the only thing [Billy] cares about more than Monarch is me and you” but where did that leave Hiroshi who was a child at the time, constantly left behind while they chased monsters?
Then we get the scene where Cate tries to put the blame on herself and May gives her perspective, tells her that yes, she fucked up, but it wasn’t on her alone and it was still the right thing to do. The contrast of those two scenes! May knows her at this point and doesn’t tell Cate what she wants to hear, but what she needs to hear.
Cate, Kentaro and May fumbling through things they didn’t understand was a clusterfuck in season 1, but I think it was necessary before they get involved with Monarch proper. Also interesting that Monarch began with the Keiko/Billy/Lee trio and after losing all three of them by the time he turned 18, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn Hiroshi mostly worked alone.