"I Like Hot Chicks" — A Look at Enjin's Emotional Intelligence
➸ A deep dive into Chapter 39's interaction between Rudo and Enjin and why I think it's one of the best examples of Enjin's leadership in the series.
➸ 900 words. No spoilers!
At the end of the climax of the Lady of Penta Arc, we see Rudo lash out in anger against Amo even when she's defenseless. He's seething and blinded by his own rage at the situation and Enjin and Gris have to physically pull him off of her. But in the moments immediately afterwards, Enjin doesn't jump in to share his opinion on Rudo's actions in the same way that others do. While Gris makes it a point to argue on behalf of Amo, Enjin just listens.
He takes the time to hear out Rudo's motivations for attacking her and then, without making a big deal out of it, reminds him what they're really there for: information on the Sphere which only Amo knows. He reads the situation but keeps it to himself, and when it seems like Rudo is starting to have a revelation about his own actions (and then looks horrified about them) — Enjin moves to take him away from other people to discuss it in private rather than with an audience.
Once outside, Enjin sits next to him and then just waits. I love the framing here. Enjin and Rudo are on the same step together, literally on the same level with one another. There's no power imbalance, Enjin isn't standing over him or facing him head on. They are side by side, and that eases some of that pressure on Rudo to speak and creates more of a peer-to-peer dynamic. Rudo's head is down and he's hunching forward and hiding his face, very clearly upset with himself, and that kind of ashamed posture sticks around for most of this conversation.
Enjin lets Rudo reflect on his own actions in silence. He doesn't push Rudo to begin talking nor does he start up on a lecture even when Rudo directly calls him out on it. Enjin knows that Rudo understands his mistake. He gives him the space to connect those dots on his own, unwilling to excuse it but also not piling on more shame.
When Rudo *does* eventually spill out his emotions, it reveals the emotional core of his internal conflict: the fear that violence is his default. That no matter how much progress he thinks he's made to not be that angry kid who hits people anymore, he's still the same person at the end of the day. He can't escape it. And he gets really upset with himself, starting to spiral away from talking about how upset he is with his past actions and starting to talk about the issues he has with himself as a person.
And obviously, Enjin interrupts with "Personally... I like hot chicks." It's unprompted, comes out of seemingly nowhere, and brings Rudo's monologue to a screeching halt.
It's such a great redirection of the conversation. He doesn't comfort Rudo or try to minimize the pain and frustration he feels towards himself right now, but he also makes it a point to stop the self-flagellation too by pointing the conversation back at himself. It's the first time that Rudo perks up from his hunched position since we got outside too. It takes him off guard and removes some of the emotional weight that Rudo was allowing to bury him.
Enjin proceeds to talk about his own faults. He establishes a connection between the two of them by acknowledging the areas that he could stand to improve about himself, admitting that it's a part of himself that he can't hide. And because Enjin gave Rudo the space he needed to self-reflect within the silence earlier in this same conversation, Rudo managed to connect the dots on what he can do better by himself. Enjin highlights this as proof that Rudo is already further along in his progress towards growing up than he was at his age.
Rather than just broadly reassuring Rudo that he'll be better one day, Enjin focuses on the fact that growth is something everyone has to go through all the time. Even adults. Even people like him. There is no linear path or finish line, and that's okay. They'll grow together.
But it's THIS panel specifically that makes me tear up. Because we're seeing Enjin through the eyes of Rudo here, and he looks so kind. They're once again pictured side by side, but Rudo is sitting upright now and looking at Enjin. He's letting himself be seen rather than hiding away, and Enjin in return is looking at him with all the love and support and grace that a mentor figure should give to a teenager who's still trying to figure it all out.
Rudo made a mistake and was ashamed of it, and instead of being upset with him or hardening his expectations for Rudo in order to force him to improve, Enjin is compassionate. He relates his own struggles as an adult to Rudo's struggles now. He invites them to apologize to Amo together, shouldering some of that responsibility and ensuring that Rudo won't have to do the scary part alone.
Enjin believes in Rudo's ability to grow into the person he wants to be, and he not only gives him the space to do that on his own but he also shares in Rudo's hardships when he doesn't.
In every way, Enjin leads by example here: showing Rudo how to reach out his hand to connect with others.
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