#great thoughts

the reason I've had such an issue with a lot of the "think critically of your media" sentiment I see online, is that people aren't really thinking critically about what a story(media) is saying, but what potentially bad thing it could be saying.

people would say "remember that no story is perfect!", but then demand stories be perfect anyway and condemn them as problematic for... not even their actual flaws, just perceived and potential flaws. stories would be condemned as saying something bad just because you could force a bad thing out of them, even if the argument wasn't logically sound. you could never enjoy something without a constant disclaimer of "I pretty promise I'm aware of the bigoted tropes and I don't believe them 😁" . it was exhausting.

as an example: I've seen people condemn the trope of robots or aliens (non-human people) acting like autistic people as implying autistic people aren't human... but it does not at all logically follow "this robot acts autistic, therefore if you're autistic, you're a robot", and none of the stories I know of with autistic "coded" aliens and robots are used to communicate that! yet the trope gets accused of that, even though it usually just exists to say "people should be treated as people even if they're weird", or ask "what if you don't fit in?" or "why do we(humanity generally) act this way? what if we didn't?" etc.

there's nothing inherently wrong with that trope. it's not actually saying anything bad, but people would twist it into saying something bad, and get angry at the pretzel they just made for being twisted!

but that's not actual critical thinking! you're not analyzing something to find out what it is, just what the worst possible thing it could be is (even if it doesn't logically follow). like that cursed mirror from "the snow queen".

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all this to say: your method of asking "what is this story trying to say? what did this story say? and is that true?" is so much better and such a realer example of "critical thinking" than what gets passed off for it a lot of the time.

Self-care days are self-love.

Allow yourself to relax, treat yourself like you would do to someone you really care about, be kind to yourself.

Devoting a little time to care for yourself is essential for your well-being.

A) Their way too focused on Thomas being a liar and wanting him to be a good person, and like Patton, are not giving Thomas breathing room to make mistakes and learn from them.

B) Throughout the episode, they're either working together, fighting, or insulting each other.

C) They pushed Thomas into this relationship, EVEN WHEN Thomas said he wasn't interested and that he didn't want to. (Virgil seemed to realize they may be making a mistake by doing this, but Roman was hellbent on getting Thomas to talk to Nico by any means necessary.) And throughout the episode, Thomas is really hesitant when trying to get Nico's attention or flirting with him. Granted, this could be because of his social anxiety, but I also think it's because Thomas just wasn't interested. Also, Thomas is clearly not okay, but instead of trying to focus on his feelings, and understand why he's like this, they push him towards a cute boy to act as a distraction. There basically repressing Thomas's emotion and problems in favor of romance and companionship. (Though Logan was doing a similar thing in trying to get Thomas to clean his house and not understanding or seeing the root problem of Thomas's intrusive thoughts and anxiety).

Combine this with the events of WTIT, and you find that Thomas isn't mentally or emotionally prepared to handel this relationship, without first addressing his issues and growing up a little. Ultimately, Virgil and Roman are trying to play the role of Patton and keep Janus at bay, while doing their own jobs. And this creates a situation where Thomas feels bad about himself while forcing himself into a relationship that causes more strife and grief. What Thomas WANTS is to be in a relationship, what Thomas NEEDS, is to work on himself, his issues, and perhaps even seek help for his mental health.

Side note: I don't think there needs to be a third aside, because Can Lying Be Good, Selfishness VS. Selflessness, and SVS Redux were Patton and Janus's aside episode. I think the end card of SVS Redux shows them being on good terms now, and perhaps in the final, we'll see them cooperating and even coming to an agreement in regards to Thomas.

Anyway, these are my totally not angsty and normal Sunday afternoon thoughts. What do you think?

You point C is absolutely, 100% pure perfection and it casts a different, very interesting light on how Thomas and Nico's relationship might evolve in the future.

As you said, Virgil and Roman pushed Thomas towards a cute boy, just to distract him (and themselves) from the aftermath of the wedding. So the relationship between Thomas and Nico isn't based on desire to be together/know each other, but on a need. "I need your company, because I am alone and I'm not strong enough to face it". To quote your amazing words:

What Thomas WANTS is to be in a relationship, what Thomas NEEDS, is to work on himself, his issues, and perhaps even seek help for his mental health.

And this... oh man, this really makes me think a lot about how the next episodes (and the next season!) will talk about this relationship. I would love to see Mr. Sanders & co. explore the concept that Nico and Thomas aren't each other's nurse: Thomas should solve his own issues first (just like Nico should solve his own), then he can seriously start considering a relationship with him.

Hence why I would like to see some Sides who are not head over heels for Nico and, specifically, Janus.

Why Janus? Well...

1. He's Thomas' self preservation and a very cynical guy. Of course he would see the rest of the world as enemies and no one would be good enough for Thomas.

2. He would make Thomas aware that this relationship isn't something he needs right now.

but the facebook page for where i’m staying posted today that they had an incident of a stranger entering someone’s cottage last night and i-