#curiousser

This week in the Rhett and Link universe…. is one of the important ones.

After a long while, various things happened that were HUGE VALIDATIONS of the One Story Theory and of course Rhett and Link’s secret romantic relationship.

Despite having watched the trailer, I believe none of us expected they would take it so far. Once again I wonder, how much does the crew know? There is not one single chance in the universe that they aren’t at least aware of what is going on but they don’t discuss it openly with Rhett and Link. I refuse to believe that some of their camera men may be zooming to Link’s -even flaccid and, okay, covered - cock touching Rhett’s ass as they spoon *fully* naked and somehow think “Yeah this is just the style of comedy these two married men have, that's all”. IT. IS. IMPOSSIBLE.

Furthermore, I checked the comments and I am once more disappointed. Apart from some very few solitary cases, which seem like they might have been coming from gay men, most remain as blissfully ignorant as ever. Not only this but you see remarkably obtuse comments coming from people who comment in a way that shows they think they have deciphered “the big message”. There was that one comment that nearly made me run into my wall; someone saying “the guys were addressing the problem of the parasocial fans”. Oh yes, what a great way to shut parasocial affairs - by igniting them even more! If you don’t want a parasocial relationship (I don’t say they do but shutting those off is not their priority right now), then you simply do not expose to your fans literally what you look like in your most private, intimate moment!!! I cannot believe how much people refuse to see what they are basically screaming at this point. What else are they supposed to do? A porn movie? Nah, I don’t see how they will be able to surpass this one unless of course with a kiss (which they have refused to give so far) or with what they could have done from the beginning and saved themselves from this torment - a coming out statement video. Anyway, I really can’t imagine what the next step farther may be, after this one. I have a question in case anyone who’s been to the live screenings or is in Mythical Society knows; Rhett and Link said there will be two shocking moments in this season. I assume this is one of those. Have we already seen the other one or is it the one coming in this Sunday’s or the next’s episodes?

Another thing that concerned me is how few views Wonderhole has again. It seems it gets even fewer viewers than the first season, although maybe it is too early to judge. But what is especially concerning is that Rhett and Link advertised the fourth episode by showing the naked cuddle in the trailer and yet people choose to pass. It makes me wonder; what if this trailer was the reason they are skipping it? This would not be promising at all for their goal. It was also concerning that the comments which were - let's say - less obtuse, were equally alarming in a different way. Many guys but also women expressed disgust over this episode, some saying they did not sign up for this or that Rhett and Link's comedy is taking the wrong way and they need to become "themselves" again (*facepalm*). Ironically, this was exactly the concept of this episode. But before seguing to the central point of the post, I will just wrap up my observations regarding the reception of the episodes by stressing that things once again do not look promising. In a sea of ignorant, simple or negative comments, only once I saw a person seriously asking "Are you trying to tell us something?". Only once. And apart from 2-3 gay guys, whoever else discussed the homoerotism perceived it clearly as the comedy of the episode or as something gross and meant to be laughed at. They did a live screening of this. Are Rhett and Link sure they are ready to expose themselves so irreversibly and vulnerably to the opinions of thousands of anonymous people? Similarly to the GME, I will ask again. Is this the right way?

Wonderhole S2E4: When they don't know who you truly are

There you go. The main title of the post in the middle of the text because this is how I roll.

The episode starts insignificantly once again, with Rhett and Link exploring a storage unit they bought. There is nothing of consequence here and the only thing that agrees thematically with the rest of the episode is that Rhett and Link sexualize out of nowhere the most irrelevant of situations, such as sniffing whether some teddy bears have been used questionably. Keep that in mind for later. There is also a perhaps meaningful motto they share in the beginning: "The key to the safe is inside the safe. The key to unlocking yourself is inside you".

Rhett and Link find a flyer from an Institute of Platonic Companionship. You will notice that as we progress in the video, they generalize it as "Institute of Best Friendship". However, this is not the actual name of the institute. The actual name refers to "Platonic Companionship".

Rhett and Link visit the institute and they are welcomed by the secretary who is pleasant, friendly and quickly perceives they have strong "charisma" with each other ("chemistry"), something most of us see too, but there is also some vibe about him as well. He knows there are four Charles Lincoln Neals to exist (is this some joke that Link's son has probably visited the institute too?) and says he's looking for a good friend "something long term" *awkward side look at them*. Link later acknowledges that the "dude has some weird energy". Rhett agrees and reckons "he needs to match with a weird friend". Change the word weird with the word queer. In the end of the episode, the secretary reckons he needs to make a family... but he first needs to find the "friend"...

Rhett and Link jump into the experiment that is about to evaluate their friendship right away. Their first test is how they will handle the presence of only one cookie between them. They are in a cold, minimal environment with their own crew and the institute's cameras recording them. Seeing this, Rhett believes they have to try really hard to prove what great friends they are. They decide the obvious, to actually share the cookie, but Rhett thinks it's not enough and suggests one of them should chew the cookie and mama feed half of it to the other (a homage to the notorious episode with a revenge dish literally served cold by Link), something that NOBODY ELSE would consider a necessary step taken to prove a good friendship! Besides, it absolutely does not solve the hypothetical problem of not sharing perfectly fairly - in fact it's much harder to judge whether you share exactly half when you have a ball of chewed food inside your mouth than when you have it neatly on a plate! The ultimate proof is that indeed Link realises he calculated wrongly and fingers food back from Rhett's mouth into his own and REeats it. As you will realise, this is not about them showing intimacy intentionally to the viewers. It is actually about genuinely misinterpreting what people expect from typical best friends. Rhett and Link believe they are showing the pinnacle of friendship to the researchers / audience and perhaps their own loved ones (if their own crew is a metaphor for them) but what they show is actually not received as such at all! Why is that, I wonder? Let's move on and perhaps we will find the answer.

Mamafeeding Rhett breaks Link's acting composure for a moment - he laughs genuinely.

They are led to another room, where the researchers explain them some basic stuff about friendship evaluation (Rhett and Link's consent to the further evaluation is clearly presented as absent and perhaps violated) and then proceed to evaluate their performance to the first test, of which Rhett and Link are very proud. Surprisingly, the researchers say their scores tanked the moment they started sharing mouth juices (sorry), so much that they fell beyond zero in the friendship scale or, as we said, the ACTUALLY PLATONIC COMPANIONSHIP scale. The researchers (AKA the viewers) are confused, they don't know how to interpret Rhett and Link's behaviour but encourage them to try again. Rhett and Link are concerned by those unexpected results.

They are led to an empty room for the second test. Even though they are not given any information about it just yet, they impatiently jump to the assumption that it must be a test of how willing you are to be physically close with your friend in order to be protected from cold. It is interesting that this is also inspired by their real life experience, just like the babyfeeding. This is another weird as heck idea they (RHETT) come up with, with those mental leaps they do in order to perform as "great friends", just like with the cookie. It is once more completely unfounded and unjustifiable, because the physical closeness needed for warmth is a scenario that makes sense only in potentially life-threatening low temperatures. There is absolutely no need to make such an assumption when you are clothed in a somewhat chilly but perfectly safe room. Defying logic, Rhett and Link choose to undress entirely, including their underwear, hug tightly and rub each other vigorously and try to make every inch of their body touch. This is once more not enough for RHETT, who reckons they need to lie down too so that he can get "enough on Link" and so they lie on the cold floor (which kinda defeats the purpose of regulating temperature) and spoon very tightly, again trying to touch as much as possible. We say "spooning" but it is so tight it could be sideways fucking and it would not look different. Even Link wonders why Rhett spoons him so tightly and Rhett shares vulnerably that he always wished to be the little spoon, which is true, as we know. So, they switch and this is as vulnerable as we have ever seen from Rhett (and Link but the wonderhole here is Rhett). He also tries to spread his hair on Link's face behind him and generally motions himself in a very delicate, feminine way. It's very much a switching confirmation and a confirmation suggestion that Rhett is or wants to be in touch with his feminine side, something that we delusional shippers have been speculating for a long time.

With a knock in the glass window the employer notifies his presence and politely wonders whether they are ready to start the actual second test. Embarrassed but nowhere near as mortified as they should logically be in such a situation, Rhett and Link finally realise the second friendship test was not about how tightly you press your skin and bone(r) on your best friend. Link laughs at the realisation, suggesting he is less self-conscious of the assumptions that can be drawn from this, which is also the case in real life.

Turns out the actual test was them standing on opposite ends of the room (the employer said "he can't stress this enough" which is a nice little joke squeezed in, a jab about Rhett and Link's apparent inability to bloody stay off each other for a minute or two) and give hints to each other in order to find the correct key that would save a baby (doll) before it drowned. Apparently, this was a test evaluating their communication skills and perhaps the shared work for a common goal.

Link starts to give clues frantically but Rhett stops him. He reasons that all this time they were trying too hard, so this time they should chill out and just be their natural selves, the natural best friends they are. And this is the game changer. The table turner. Because so far somebody could argue that what Rhett and Link mean is that they try so hard to prove they are good friends that they overdo it and get mistaken for lovers or at least that they are into each other. BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT THEY SAY AT ALL!!!!!!! This time, Rhett suggests that they should UNDERperform, the exact opposite of what they did before. So what do they do? Rhett initiates a casual conversation and of all the things in the world they could talk about within the one minute that this test takes, they end up talking about a gay uncle Link had never talked about before and Rhett teaching Link what a sex wedge is. It's not only the topic discussed; Rhett looks like he smoothly chats up Link or, not exactly chatting him up, but making the air between them more weighted, you know what I mean?

Okay I don't know if it comes off in the screenshots and the gif but everyone who watched the episode will know what I am talking about. Rhett is one smooth bastard, he proves it in the bra GMMore as well. He doesn't need to say much or straightforwardly enough and yet you still get the message. He can get in someone's mind and we canonically know that he gets in Link's mind more than in anybody else's. I find Link's response to him interesting: he looks a little heated up and he braces himself as he laughs, this is a characteristic response he has towards Rhett very often in real life too. While he's a good actor, he's not that great of an actor for me to not believe that his response here was partially spontaneous, meaning that Rhett was getting in his mind both according to the script and regardless of it! Their relationship is so meta that it doubles up as both fake and real at the same time XD

Another thing I should point out is that for the third time in a row it is Rhett who sexualizes their interaction. Here we see him be the teacher to a rather naive and innocent Link, who did not even realise that his uncle had to be gay in order to have a husband. This is something that also reflects the truth of their past, Rhett whose mind has notoriously always been in the gutter served as the teacher of ever oblivious Link. In reference to what I have said about Link being the initiator of the affair between them, I think this new information enriches it rather than invalidates it. So far I still think that Link was the one who made the big move or the one who first spoke openly about his feelings or his orientation. Rhett is not the guy who makes the big moves, Link is. But it was Rhett who brought him to the point of no return or to the point of realisation, he was the responsible one of creating an atmosphere that Link could not fight any longer. Even if we consider the Newlywed Musical plexiglass kiss the final frontier, it was Rhett's iniative, Link had no idea Rhett woud do that. (But I believe a lot more was happening off the cameras.) Relatively recently, Link said it is all Rhett's fault that they are going to hell and here in the blog we (me and the close followers) agreed it was not just about leaving Christianity but also about initiating a homosexual relationship, and so I wondered at the time why Link would put the blame on Rhett, as it would not perfectly agree with the One Story, and the answer is probably this one. Link did not risk everything between them out of thin air; Rhett had charged the dynamic between them so much that Link felt like he had the green light to at least try and he could not stand suffering the lingering electrified state any longer without any resolution.

Anyway, this is their attempt at a casual best friend chat and the baby drowns before they remember to exchange clues about how to save it. What does this tell us though about Rhett and Link? Why is this the game changer? The table turner? Simply, because in this case they tried to underperform and be natural. What does this mean? It means that they do not act gay for each other because they try hard to convince others that they are close friends. They act gay for each other BECAUSE. THEY. CAN. NOT. HELP. IT. Whether they try hard or they do not try at all, they are drawn to each other physically, sexually. THEY DO IT FOR THE CAMERAS BUT IT'S NOT ONLY FOR THE CAMERAS. THEY DO IT FOR THE SHOW BUT IT'S NOT ONLY FOR THE SHOW. THEY DO IT FOR THE SHIPPERS BUT IT'S NOT ONLY FOR THE SHIPPERS. IT'S WHAT THEY ACT LIKE BUT IT'S ALSO WHO THEY ARE. This is one of the most massive, the most important confessions they give us. It might as well be some metaphor too that it's so beyond their power to fight it that they end up causing collateral damage (drowned baby). This could hint at the risk of their career (their baby as they call it) or the relationship with many of their loved ones.

This time the researchers are not patient at all with them. Their behaviour has changed completely and their polite confusion has morphed into anger and rejection. Now, right in this scene, we do finally get the commentary about the people's (viewers and real life acquaintances) refusal to see the truth and their insistence on misinterpreting what is in fact perfectly obvious. Trying to explain their behaviour, the researchers assume they are not true friends or that they claim they have been best friends for forty years for profit, which is something that quite a few of the viewers have hypothesized. Then the researchers reject their relationship, whatever that is, as harmful to both them and the society:

Researcher A: Objectively, you guys vomited into each other's mouths, you took off all your clothes in a public space and watched a baby drown. Researcher B: Yeah, you're really not a good influence on each other, nor are you a good influence on society. (...) Researcher A: And we will just leave you on this; based on our scientific evidence, we think it's very important that you guys never talk to each other again.

Many groups of people are represented by the scientists here. First of all, those who completely miss the mark and consistently misinterpret everything, even going out of their way to twist the narrative and create a misleading impression (i.e sharing food is vomiting, getting intimate in a technically empty room is an act of indecent exposure, getting carried away by a charged conversation is watching a baby drown). It's a fine example of totally misunderstanding and refusing to see the truth either out of intellectual inadaptability or out of problematic convictions. This is especially shown through the researchers' advice that they should stop seeing each other because they are a bad influence to themselves and everyone around them. This is probably not about the fans only but also their loved ones, as we know that some of them consider Rhett and Link a bad influence on each other. Then, it's also those who understand what is going on and this is why they reject Rhett and Link's relationship even more, because it's immoral, because it's godless, because it sets a bad example for the society.

You know what group of people is not represented? Shippers. Or, rather, they are very discreetly represented by the secretary, who perceives their chemistry instantly, observes all their strange sexual interactions and states he wishes for a similar "friendship".

Quite defeated, Rhett and Link leave the institute and share a meal in Rhett's car as Rhett is about to drop Link to the airport (in the friendship scale giving rides to the airport is the 90% mark).

Link says: "I feel like I have been told that I am adopted... Or, I always thought I was adopted and I was just told that I wasn't". Adoption and best friendship are not good fits for an allegory. Change the word adopted with the word gay though. After a long and hard fight with yourself to accept who you are, it must be twice as hard to be virtually rejected because everyone refuses to accept or acknowlegde your identity.

Rhett says "I feel like we wasted 40 years of our lives pretending to be best friends. What else have we been doing?". This is sort of true, they have pretended for almost forty years and what's more - as Rhett ponders - this has not only affected their own lives but the lives of people they hold dear, and that's no light thing.

Having internalised that everyone finds their relationship weird, inexpicable, confusing or even harmful and problematic, they decide sorrowfully to part ways after this final ride to the airport (this might refer to that time they tried to redefine their relationship and keep their distances). At the last moment though, Link can't take this any longer and sure of their true relationship and feelings, he demands that they go back and prove to everyone that they are the bestest of friends (come out).

It is late at night and the institute is closed so they break in illegally and the alarms go off. These are all symbolisms of the risks that are meant to be taken - the imminent danger and the gravity of the situation is acknowledged.

They plan to take the final test of friendship in order to prove that they are best friends. The final test evaluates how much pain they are ready to take for each other, in other words the price each is willing to pay to prove what they feel for each other. In the first round, Rhett puts a significantly lower pain setting than Link, which makes the torture device to punish him with pain. Link is offended that Rhett selected such a low pain setting and Rhett explains that he did it because he took into consideration also how much pain Link was truly capable of tolerating. This has their current situation written all over it, in perfect agreement with the One Story theory. Rhett is not willing to risk as much as Link for their supposedly shared ambition to come out and bring the truth to the light. This angers Link but Rhett justifies it as an effort to also protect Link from damage and pain he is not considering thoroughly in his rush to get through with it. Rhett receives the painful punishment, just like he is the one who suffers more from the deeper understanding of their risky and perilous situation. This leads to a bitter back and forth between them, with arguments and miscommunication, which in the episode is represented as Rhett overperforming the bare minimum to prove to Link that he too gets affected by the risks that come in their difficult situation (we have discussed many times how they constantly seem to be at different wavelengths - when one pushes forward, the other retreats, even Link). Next they decide to dial a number that is important to them and Rhett responds sentimentally while Link responds sexually, so the miscommunication continues. As they keep challenging each other, they finally commit to dial in the same number, which proves their ultimate, unprecedented friendship. Since they pressed two digits, we should probably assume they both dialed "99" and this must have been a technical decision because dialing "100" with its three digits would make the outcome too obvious.

Police and the scientists of the institute storm in bewildered. The policeman interrogates Rhett and Link and finds they both acquit each other from any responsibility for their illegal intrusion. The policeman takes them to custody (while this is obviously a better "bad" ending for them than the eternal entrapment or death that they suffer in other videos, it is still a bad ending, it's like they try to build up courage or to exorcise the grim future that is looming over their heads by expecting it with such certainty). The researchers, shocked and moved, finally realise; the reason they could not understand their friendship is because they set the new standard for it, they changed the theoretical never-achieved-before 100 into a reality. The reality is that they took a fall for each other as the scientists repeat over and over. Ready to take the biggest amount of pain, ready to assume all responsibility for their wrongdoings.

Because they took a fall for each other.

There are two ways to interpret this and both are likely true. One is that it is a reference to the freefall of Wonderhole 1, the whole jump off the plane thing, and it signifies their dreaded downfall when the time comes.

The other is: taking a fall for each other = falling for each other.

This is the ultimate message of this episode. People interpret their relationship in all sorts of ways, regardless whether they sense the sexual vibes or not, but they always refuse to entertain the most basic, the simplest possibility. No, they are not fake friends, they are not faking it for the money, they are not doing it only as fake stuff for the views, they don't secretly hate each other, they are not bad for each other, they are not immoral, they did not get corrupted by the Californian lifestyle, they did not lose God in the way and act as degenerates and they are not lovers and not friends.

In a world that is obsessed with boxes and hysterically defined boundaries and relationships that need to tick off certain criteria, they say their simple truth. It's real friendship. And it's a real romantic affair too. Rhett and Link won't accept one to be taken from them for the sake of the other. They were true friends and they committed to each other and cared deeply and enjoyed each other’s presence a lot and they fell in love.

Although I was never a big fan of Stevie, the announcement of her departure made me realise what an integral part of the show she is. She provides a nice balance and is able to counteract the chaotic energy Rhett and Link have without appearing overly strict or motherly. Let's be real, the show will suffer a little, although I think Chase and Matt Carney could be good substitutes. The problem, like you said, is that Chase and Matt Carney are men and might have trouble fitting in in the dynamic, they might seem like third wheels to RandL's friendship, unlike Stevie who was like an "older" (figuratively) sister to them.

Rhett said something correct though. Rhett and Link were doing GMM before Stevie showed up and they were pretty entertaining on their own too. I feel like Stevie's superpower was her organizational skills off-cameras. It's there I think they might suffer the most with her absence.

Sorry for the long ask!

Hi, always great to hear from you!

Totally agree with the way you feel about GME; it feels voyeuristic and IMO downright cruel to Link (and Rhett by proxy), even if he does not have the clarity to realise it at the moment (there are moments he definitely does, such as the NUMEROUS times he has complained about his boundaries getting crossed during the GMEs) or if then he elects to not watch his performance later.

About Rhett, I have had over time a similar thought but I was actually wondering about the exact opposite, whether he has the sexual attraction but not the romantic feelings. I think, however, Link would not turn a blind eye THAT much, if this was the case. The fact that he still tries, that he still hopes someday they can be more open about what is going on shows that there must be a foundation for this optimism.

I think Rhett’s attraction is both romantic and sexual but it is vulnerable to obstacles and menacing conditions. For example, his anxiety and his fear is so gigantic that it causes him considerable health problems. If we’re being realistic, such deeply set fear will inescapably kill (a bit of) the love or the enjoyment of the romance. Link’s insistence on coming out, which Rhett dreads and if he does agree to do it, will only ever be halfheartedly, also wears out the feeling. It’s also been years since they started, the volatility of the romance won’t stay skyrocket high forever.

When Rhett is constantly annoyed and afraid of Link and what he will say or do, that inevitably sabotages whatever attraction or love he probably feels by being close to Link. In fact, the aftermath of this daily situation can be even impacting negatively their private moments. It seems however that this mostly remains unaffected, otherwise we would probably observing changes in Link’s behaviour as well.

Could that mean that Link loves Rhett unconditionally and therefore more than Rhett loves Link? Maybe. I believe however that there are specific reasons Link’s love is less vulnerable to threats:

While they come from very similar backgrounds, Link’s parents and children seem more accepting than Rhett’s.

Link seems to have enjoyed his marriage less than Rhett, so he’s also more willing to turn the page.

Rhett is clearly primarily attracted to women so a full commitment to Link for life is not a decision without a consequence, while… I don’t think Link would be losing much in this department……..

Rhett cares way more to stay in this career long enough to manage to do something “big” in traditional entertainment.

Rhett is still more concerned with religious matters.

Excluding the children, I believe Link is the most important person in Rhett’s life, and the love of his life, but when you have all these things to consider and all these fears and the very real imminent danger hanging over your head, and it seems like you are the only one who is so conscious of everything that can go wrong, well I think it’s very normal that Rhett doesn’t look as lovey dovey and horny as they looked the first years.

This is definitely true, they hope for more valuable feedback than vague exclamations. They need to foster an audience which views them as writers and comedians, besides internet funny personalities. They want the easter eggs and extra layers and all the thoughtfulness to be analyzed and appreciated for the effort it took, but this does not change the fact that almost more than half of those easter eggs and extra layers have very clear homosexual significance, does it?

The problem Rhett and Link have is that they are people hugely prone to self-reference. They perceive the world through a very personal - if not egocentric - lens and as such, their creations are always an amalgamation of their experiences and personal beliefs. It is very hard for them to speak or be adequately knowledgeable (even Rhett) about things that they are not directly associated, invested or affected by, and this is why their creativity always revolves around the story of their life.

Maybe their ultimate goal is not to come out through Wonderhole but indeed to evolve as artists and boost their career opportunities, above all. Especially not Wonderhole 2, I don't expect big things from it either, I analyzed this in detail in the recent post about the EB where they're discussing Wonderhole 2. But Wonderhole 2 is still full of self-reference so far, either because they want to pass the message as a secondary / side object or because they can't help it.

about Rhett's behaviour towards Link: I see this problematic attitude too but I don't think Rhett is like this only with Link... he's known to be competitive or condescending even with his wife and his sons and everyone else he is very familiar and comfortable with. I think it's a character flaw inherited by his father. Link being his best friend and business partner in a job that comes with popularity and fans makes him the most vulnerable target to Rhett's shit. However, they have said they speak extensively about those sentiments of competitiveness and jealousy between them and they work it out together, they don't let it come between them for long. I feel Link knows the root of this behaviour Rhett has and forgives him. And, quite often, he pays him back!

that moment in GME: what Rhett said was hurtful, I felt it like a cold shower myself, but it was another of these instances Link was trying to expose something. In fact, Link was saying SO much that Rhett probably felt like he had no other solution than to state matter-of-factly that he doesn't want to have sex with him. It was the only way to put a stop at him, probably. Link was getting out of control.

100% to all of that

I am still owing that GME post... You know, when I rant I don't like GME... I mean it hehe. So I will have to push myself a little to examine some data......... more thoroughly before commenting on that part.

A tiny little moment in the latest EB caught my attention. During their irrelevant answer to a random EB question submission, Link said something like: "We have a mantra here, it's a new mantra but it's good. It's 'Don't talk about it'". You bet I found this curious, it could be the mantra smoothening their recent fights. Like, let's not talk about it because it always makes us fight, let's pretend the problem does not exist. IDK

If Link is actually having a crisis where he's about to do something worrisome, and he deals by talking about it like it's no big deal, a true friend/caring lover/lifelong partner would see that and not give preemptive disclaimers in the vein of 'if you do this it's deal breaking, so keep to your lane', because obviously this approach will make a person on the brink double down on it even more. I don't know them, but Rhett's disingenuous commentary, and Link going 'la la la' in his head was jumping from the screen. I really think they were trying to broach a topic that they can't really put into words even in their private lives, so they are going circles around it, hoping that the other person eventually taps out. Also, it wasn't lost on me that Link was deflated afterwards, something in the way he was trying to laugh towards the end… I don't know what this big, mysterious weirdness that Link needs to express is, but the whole thing read to me like a teen movie where the nerdy kid caves in and hides his nerdy side to the bully popular kid he idolizes, and the popular kid knows that and represses him on purpose because he doesn't like the nerdy kid trying to break out of the school strata. I know I'm probably seeing things that aren't there, but the way that whole segment could make any sense is only if it's interpreted as a metaphor for whatever is really going on with them. In any case, it really reinforced my belief that Rhett probably had no intention of going along the tandem jump, or even at this point being a good encouraging friend. I don't think he has that big of a heart that he's doing it just to protect Link, he's doing it for himself, and this is the real question. Sorry for the wall of texts, but if you have the chance, I'd love to hear if this made any sense ^^;; Have a great rest of your day/night! (part 2/2)

ANSWER:

It was so valuable reading your input, not only because you see things that make me feel like I am not the weirdo crying in the desert but because you also provided additional, new ideas to entertain. There is not really anything I disagree or I think vastly differently about. I only refrain from considering Rhett straight away self-serving and not acting out of care for the most part. I don't disagree but it's maybe some sentimentality in me that still hopes in Rhett's mind he's trying to protect Link. Again, we don't exactly know what Link was truly raving about so technically we cannot judge Rhett just yet. I have to agree however that even in the most optimistic scenario it seems Rhett cares first and foremost for his own image and career and Link's interests and safety are secondary but, alas, so interwined with his.

You added to this a financial dimension that I had not taken into consideration. At the time of watching I thought this was some sort of red herring to cover the real topic they were discussing, much like they did by mentioning fleetingly hobbies and motorbikes. But you bringing this to the foreground made me think about it. What could be so financially irresponsible that could cause problems to Link's family, friends and business partners? Link is a very rich man and a big purchase - private islands notwithstanding lol - should not be it. It could be an investment but Link is financially frugal and cautious, I doubt he would take such a risk irrespective of Rhett's and his family's interests. Besides, there is almost an element of moral preaching in Rhett's stance, a legal purchase or investment would not justify this.

And then I remembered something that could be relevant, always thanks to you. This is something I haven't talked about almost at all. I have criticised many times how GMM has fallen to an irreversible loop of eternal food tests because they made the mistake to follow the clicks blindly and they created this type of audience for themselves. I have said how they must feel completely trapped in it as creators. Surely you will have noticed how frequently Link allows small jabs against their morning show. Have you noticed when they do something in GMM or GMMore, sometimes he will comment "Boy isn't this interesting?" or "Aren't you entertained by this?". He does this very often. Other times, especially in GMMore, he looks like he can't wait for the segment to be over. It actually happens very often. In their latest interview with Steve-O Link actually verbalized it, he explained how he feels trapped in what GMM has become, I think he said something like "he's squeezed in the corner". Then we have the time they seemed to have had a fight, shortly after Wonderhole. During those off days Rhett was really angry and made pointed comments addressed to Link like "That's his new motto, Stevie. I am not contributing" and "Now, this is teamwork, man" and more. (Recently it seemed Stevie also was temporarily at odds with Rhett and Link seemed irritated by her stance. I have noticed Stevie takes GMM very personally, she sees it almost as HER thing above all else.) So... what if Link wants to throw the towel...??? It's not that he doesn't want the creative partnership with Rhett anymore, not at all, but what GMM has become drains him. Furthermore, the merging of their identities with GMM and its popularity might be perceived by him as the obstacle to him exploring or expressing his true self and so he might have started becoming very negative against it. Rhett is certain GMM is their source of safety and income and the best provider of budget for their creative works so he thinks Link leaving GMM would destroy them. Link leaving GMM would cause a load of financial and legal issues he would have to take care of, it would cut him short of any income from the new episodes that is the biggest provider for his family, it would ruin the relationship of trust between him and Rhett and it would also cause enormous changes to GMM and Mythical (in which Rhett would like to keep working) and severe consequences for all the employees. Idk... it kind of fits? Maybe this is why Rhett stressed so much that he takes the most joy out of serving people by entertaining them and he is not considering stopping that... and that he would not be friends anymore with someone who does his thing irrespectively of anyone else.

The part about the mistakes they made, and the half-bakedness aspect was spot on--I had honestly forgotten the hole in the trailer bit for instance--and you were also completely right about this: "This must feel now to you like a massive impersonal project that kind of lost its focus due to all those people meddling and not a deeply driven vulnerable work made by Rhett and Link in earnest", because it's exactly what listening to the EB made me think. So it was very reassuring reading your thoughts on how the truth is found not in the convoluted flashy plot, but in the subtler moments (like the merging of the chips, the truck, and so on), and this is to me a brilliant deduction. The part about Link's acting versus Rhett's was also reassuring, and I agree with you that Link brings out his raw self when something hits close to home, while Rhett does the exact opposite. When I was watching that scene I kept thinking Rhett's acting was weak on purpose so that the scene would not be as emotional (the way he shouted 'Link!' was almost comedic) and to keep things a bit light hearted, because even in the most poignant moments they tend to lessen the drama where they can. But like you said, Link tends to be more genuine in his expression than Rhett (not to mention that his lines in that scene were probably connected to other frustrations he has about other things never changing... *ahem*), while Rhett is more guarded and likes to have control over what he shares.

The point you made about the show feeling a bit like it was lost in translation is also very insightful, because it really does feel like that in the end, which is weird given how long they were working on it... and I agree that it stems from the fact that they are trying to say something in a very roundabout way, that's buried under multiple layers, while also including many distracting plot elements as a red herring, and then expect their audience to divine it. I think their overarching problem is that they don't know if they honestly actually want their audience to be in the know, and hence the half bakedness. I think through this process they are also trying to make up their own minds. It's like having a secret that you both want people to know and not know, and simultaneously leaving hints while also covering them up with fluff to throw people off the scent :D

I also wonder what it was about the first episode that changed drastically and why Rhett didn't want to go into it, because afterall if it was just a simple hardship in filming an idea it might have been interesting to analyze and explain what they learned from it, so the fact he didn't want to talk about it at all, made me think it was something else. And it made me wonder if it was at all connected to that reality show in the first episode, because from everything in the series, this bit was the most disconnected for me. But this could have been just another layer of inconsequential fluff ^^;;

Anyway, sorry that this turned out so long, but I found everything you said very thought provoking and eye opening, so I had all these thought afterwards--it also made me feel a lot better towards the series from a Rhink perspective, so thank you for that as well! I don't like to think about them in jaded ways, but like you said sometimes it's an inevitable result of the fact that they do have a massive company to keep running so not everything can be as intimate a process as we'd like :)

I am so glad you found my answer useful and thought provoking ❤️🙏 It was wonderful reading your reasoning afterwards because it feels so reassuring how we land on the same conclusions. Needless to say, this part is a big truth:

I think their overarching problem is that they don't know if they honestly actually want their audience to be in the know, and hence the half bakedness. I think through this process they are also trying to make up their own minds. It's like having a secret that you both want people to know and not know, and simultaneously leaving hints while also covering them up with fluff to throw people off the scent

I agree, especially in Rhett’s case. First of all, Rhett has a LOT of second thoughts about it (to not say he straight out does not want this) and he is overcomplicating matters, maybe subconsciously even in hopes of being proven right about questioning this decision they’ve taken. Link not so much, although I agree that he too overestimates a bit how confident he feels about it.