Thinking about Cassie and Compton again and the very beginnings of their friendship.
Compton, once he gets to Green Needle Gulch, has very recently been to jail and is not proud of that fact. He is afraid of being judged and hated for what he did, and, you know, I think about what that might have meant for these two. Ford brings back this guy who apparently had some "trouble with the law" and everyone has questions, everyone is curious, but no one asks. And despite that he still feels judged.
I think about how Cassie was one of the first ones to tell Compton that it's fine, and it doesn't really matter. She doesn't ignore the elephant in the room, silent about the topic until someone else brings it up. She tells him, outright, that it isn't important.
"I have a somewhat checkered past myself," She says, flippantly, and she does not judge him. "It's not like that," Compton says, anxious and in a rush, because he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea.
And Cassie looks at him and says, "that doesn't matter."
"What matters is who you are now," She tells him, confidently.
Thinking about the idea that Cassie is the one who teaches Compton about self-forgiveness, and that she is the one who shows him the importance of re-invention when it comes to identity. That no one is one thing. He isn't just one thing, and he doesn't have to feel ashamed forever.
He can improve. He can be the best version of himself, and that is what people will see.
I think she is one of the people who refuses to look down on him. She vibes with him at a time when Compton feels very, very vulnerable. And I think that's an essential pillar to the foundation of their friendship. There are others, but that's one of them.
Anyway, TL;DR: Funny joke "I was once a criminal" Cassie O'Pia doesn't bat an eye when Ford brings back this tiny, box shaped little guy who has been known to accidentally blow his lid-- and was recently in jail. Thusly, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
