One specific pet peeve of mine is when ppl take tennas reaction to spamton in the hidden cutscene at face value and therefore assume he doesn’t recognise him. And write stuff where he “actually” recognises him and they have an actual heartfelt confrontation. Or have continuous scenes where tenna continues to be comically oblivious 100% genuinely.
Like sure I guess you can see it that way but I find it kind of. Boring? Like, the trademark of a good toby fox gag is managing to be both funny and character driven. And the interpretation of tenna knowing well and truly that this “creature” is spamton is miles more interesting imo
Tenna is conflict avoidant. This goes without saying. What’s important here is that one of the most prominent kneejerk ways he responds to any sort of problem that threatens his control over a situation is pretending the problem doesn’t exist entirely.
(Cutting away when the fun gang goes north on the island board)
(Cutting back to TV Time and trying to start the next board after the fun gang find out about toriel)
(Once again pleading for the return to his games long after the point of no return)
These are just a few examples. He does this constantly. He tries desperately to drown out change and conflict with predictable routines and an oblivious persona.
IMO tennas reaction to spamtons sudden appearance is a similar case. The change that spamtons presence confronts him with is the prospect of even the slightest form of reconciliation between them. Having a genuine interaction with spamton (maybe even forming a mutual understanding that they both have blame in the way things turned out between them), after years of growing resentment and placing all fault on him is not something tenna has prepared for at all and thus despite his initial backhanded comment about even being willing to see “that little mailman” again in his time of need, he feigns ignorance.
Plus, tennas treatment of spamton just doesn’t make much sense to me if he really doesn’t know it’s him? The pause in the middle of his freak out like he has to comprehend what’s happening on a deeper, personal level? How targeted all the insults sound? The fact he only shows a protective urge over the pipis when ‘strangers’ are present in this version of the cutscene, but is fine leaving it out where an entire crowd has gathered in the spamtonless counterpart? (kris can take and consume it in this version, too) It’s extremely easy to read it as him just fucking with spamton to avoid having to start any form of discussion with him.
My point is that smth I find interesting abt that scene is that spamton is the one who actually reveals himself to tenna and is willing to put aside his side of the mutual resentment for just a second to try and talk to him, acknowledge the evidence that tenna still cares about him despite it all! And tenna is the one who shuts down the possibility of anything coming from it because he’s too stubborn to let go of his share of the bitterness.
Anyway. Tennas inability to properly converse with spamton is not simply a misunderstanding but rather an instance of a widespread pattern of avoidant behaviour he has. To me.
