I'm so devastated on Deacon's behalf
Imagine you're a dork bookworm with no friends, no girlfriend, too low in confidence and too much of a loser to pursue something you actually want for yourself in your life.
But then you meet these little key people who, alongwith your cousin, change your life for good. You gain confidence, you learn to stand up for yourself, and you make new friends along the way...
...Only to find out that you placed your trust on the wrong person this whole time.
Man. MAN. I'd be DEVASTATED.
Tbh my words are not wording enough right now. I don't know how to explain to y'all how strongly I feel for Deacon. What Deacon saw as genuine friendship and companionship was nothing but a layer of lies and deceit. As someone who has been on the receiving end of such disingenuous friendship before... I can understand just how gutted he must be right now and I feel so bad for him. As the reader who is aware of way more context than what my favorite character knows, I've been bracing for an eventual reveal, a 'betrayal' scene where Deacon finally sees Wave's true colors. But to find out that Wave was the Old Man himself. THE person they were supposed to stay away from has been WITH them this entire time, observing them, learning things about them they shouldn't give away, deceiving them.
All those ingenuine words, and for what. I feel so, so angry on Deacon's behalf. That part was entirely unnecessary, and yet he just HAD TO say that right before he drives things to shit. Right before the big reveal is due to come.
What a heartbreaker, man.
I also really wished to see Buddy and Deacon develop a genuine friendship. The dynamic they've had in s2 is most certainly not actual friendship, but rather a sort of extended trust through Chase. They both trust Chase in their own ways and so they are willing to extend that trust to someone Chase trusts. It's not enough to qualify as an actual friendship, I'm afraid.
I was so happy to see them interacting in that Narnia rip-off book, but it turned out to be a one-time thing that never really went anywhere in terms of their relationship. I'm so sad about that.
I really crave seeing a dynamic between them where they are actual friends to each other, not simply tolerating each other for Chase's sake. Though I can admit, had they become friends sometime during s2, Deacon probably wouldn't be letting his guard down so much around Wave because Buddy wouldn't have let him. And then the plot might not have progressed to this point, at least not as easily.
Now that s3 is confirmed though, I really really hope we get to see such a dynamic between Deacon and Buddy, where they are actual friends, finding meaningful companionship in each other.
I can really see them being a great duo, much better than Deacon could ever have been with Wave, even if he was not the Old Man. Buddy making Deacon let go of his inhibitions bit by bit (like he did in that Narnia book). Them causing and/or running into shenanigans. Deacon introducing Buddy to some of the modern day stuff, brownie points if it's book/fiction-related. Both of them finding that they really enjoy each other's company despite initially finding each other intolerable. Them yapping about Chase together.
Again I seem to not be able to properly put into words why exactly I like imagining them as friends. Maybe it's because I just really love the potential dynamic, or maybe I'm just coping from the devastation Deacon just suffered through and want my boy to be happy and have a TRUE friend, one who's honest and genuine, who's always got his back, who's always encouraging Deacon to be his better version not necessarily because it's his duty but because it's just the effect his presence leaves on those close to him, and who will, eventually, be a part of their family.
(Buddy will claim Deacon as his best man in the wedding, sorry Chase 😔)
