After episode 8, the hate Hailey was getting was genuinely insane, and it still is to this day. She’s not even my favourite character, but the way people villainise her just to make Drew look like a saint is wild. I don’t understand why people can’t enjoy Drew’s character without putting Hailey down. It’s the same situation where a female character is treated like an obstacle to a ship.
Hailey is, to a fault, a very empathetic person. I hate that people frame her as controlling when she’s really not. She never told Jake to stop hanging out with the Jomies. She only ever asked why he did. People also forget that what characters say is not always the truth. Drew is an unreliable narrator. She’s only ever asked Jake to take control of what he wants.
The club room scene where Drew and Henriam are messing around and Hailey tells them to stop is not her being controlling. Her asking Jake to step in makes sense because it is very obvious they would never listen to her.
I also disliked the way people framed Hailey leaving the room as her not hearing him out. She had every right not to. Her friends trusted Jake with something extremely sensitive, only for her to hear him making fun of it to her bullies, who have bullied her since middle school.
People also forget the timeline of TMF. Hailey has only been Jake’s friend for a month, while his friend group, ie Zoey and Drew, have been bullying her since around seventh grade.
confession #1287
