Gotak: It’s fine. Sieun has the self-preservation of someone who’s met god and wasn’t impressed.

although suho’s relationship and care for sieun in more profound than beomseok’s relationship to sieun (because it’s sieun’s first true friendship), the way beomseok’s inferiority complex manifested in the breakdown of their friendship poisoned the way sieun views friendship and himself permanently.

even though beomseok’s arc ends in season 1, sieun seeing beomseok’s actions and insecurities in everything he interacts with at eunjang. suho’s coma is the most potent and physical reminder of the fallout of the trio’s friendship; specifically how both beomseok’s insecurity complex and sieun’s inability to act mix to form sieun’s eventual fighting philosophy.

at eunjang, sieun sees the trio and beomseok in everything, including the new group of friends he meets, more specifically in juntae. juntae is beomseok’s narrative foil, who presents himself shy, weak, and often cowardly, but doesn’t have an inferiority complex. sieun’s reluctance to engage with the new group springs directly from beomseok’s actions, and the thought that every group will end the same as the trio did. sieun’s involvement and subsequent aggressive fighting style in season two is because of the mental cage beomseok’s actions formed in him.

i’ve seen many people mention that they should have shown suho’s body laying in the ring during the “flashback” / dream sequence. however, i think his absence makes the scene more potent and cuts down to the idea that beomseok’s actions are permanently weighing on sieun’s mind, at every turn. sieun is trapped in the ring, frozen and looking towards where suho’s body was, with beomseok representing what keeps seiun trapped and reliving in that moment. beomseok’s actions physically impacted suho in the form of a coma, forever frozen in that moment. but for sieun, beomseok emotionally stunted him. the ring acts as a mental cage for sieun, keeping him from creating emotional ties with the people around him.

While I absolutely loved Weak Hero Class 1, the second season is what truly cemented the deep love that Sieun has for Suho. I've seen it said that all of Season 2 is basically a love letter to Suho from Sieun, and I couldn't agree more.

What makes Season 2 so devastating is Sieun's devotion to Suho when Suho is unable to give him anything in return. Throughout the season, we see Sieun visiting him several times at his hospital, sitting outside of his room. Visiting Suho is like a religious experience for Sieun; he feels that he must face the consequences of his actions that led to this - that in his mind, he must repent for the sin of "killing" Suho.

In other words, Suho is a god-like figure for Sieun in Season 2. He sees Suho everywhere, as if in a trance-like state - in his dreams, and in his newfound friends, from the way they eat to the way they fight. He views Suho as a standard of morality, his mind flashing back to when he told him not to cross the line. Messaging Suho and talking to him out loud is akin to confession - a way of coping with his guilt and despair over losing him.

After waking up from unconsciousness, Sieun's body immediately feels the need to see Suho. "I'm sorry I'm late," he says, as though Suho was expecting him. He doesn't want to disappoint him for not being there that day, and wants to assure Suho that despite everything, he is forever faithful to him.