okay purely rambling here butâ
You know WHAT I like that Geoffrey Brenner is mean and pretentious and has out-bitched John at every turn. Because seriously, we have this cocky little string bean of a white boy who is drawing covers for this century-old magazine at the age of 28. He's popular, he kinda thinks very highly of his talents and position, he thinks he knows everything about art and the art worldâsomeone should push him? Jostle him! And be a little bit of dick about it?
IRL, if I were mentoring John, yes I'd probably have an hour-long conversation with him just to understand who he was before administering critique. I'm a teacher who likes human beings and I meet students where they are.
But John is so over-confident and irreverent and charming and quippy, I can understand how Brenner just has no tolerance for any of that. Like, we get John's very over-confident POV when he strolls into the art gallery:
"People like this did not frighten him. John Rich had been an art major at Samwell, one of the gayest, artsiest, liberal arts colleges in the United States of America. Before that, he had been working at pretentious art galleries around Boston, and before that, visiting avant-garde exhibitions as a toddler with his mom."
"No problem. If there was one thing John could do, it was talk about artâhis art or anyone elseâs. Heâd been explaining his âpracticeâ to art professors and competition judges since he was in high school."
John is just so...comfortable with everything. And never once questions himself. The way he navigates the art world is just matter-of-fact. He belongs. And the way that he talks to his boss upon meeting him? Given John's persona on Cover Sessions and his first impression with Brenner, it's no surprise that Brenner thinks: "Well. This man clearly believes themselves to be some sort of savantâa child-prodigy. Given his effusive charm, he's probably has never been pushed. Well, luckily, I'm here."
[On that note: John, Brenner, and Tyler are like this weird triangle of characters.
Geoffrey Brenner treats John the exact same way that John treated Tyler. That is, lots of assumptions and loads of condescension. But where John is really bad at assessing people, Geoffrey Brenner is really good. (He's just mean.)
Geoffrey Brenner and Tyler Hughes are two characters who want the exact same thing from John: vulnerability. Brenner wants it because it's best for the his magazine and if intimidating John is how he's going to get it? Fine. Tyler wants John's vulnerability because lol he admires John's genius and just wants to be close to the Real John Richânot the guy from the YouTube show. Every single time Tyler does that "tight smile" of his? That's his bullshit detector pinging because he knows he's getting John's persona and not John.
(And John and Tyler are the same because they're both incredibly insecure, but Tyler seeks out connection in spite of that and John fucking runs in the other direction.)]
Anyway. In the vast majority of cases, i would not wish Brenner upon anyone. But for a cocky privileged artist who is coasting on talent and carefully placed defense-mechanisms? Yes, kick his ass!