#k analysis

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

Hesitation

Hudson, brother, would it kill you to look at people and speak with confidence when you talk about K? It’s always the “uh” and the pause before giving her name and title. First in the VF GRWM, then in the Vogue GRWM, and now at the CSAs.

Girlfriend to Partner

"My partner, Katelyn" I will never get over how weird it is as a breakout actor to have your girlfriend/partner at every event. How much more obvious can this be?! I digress. The shift from girlfriend to partner threw me off quite a bit, but I find it interesting too. Partner can be seen as more mature/serious, but also comes across as less personal and not necessarily romantic either. After all, you can have many types of partners in your life. I'm curious to see how this plays out in the future. For all we know, Hudson could have chosen this to make their relationship sound serious in preparation for Season 2 shenanigans and beyond!

As a side comment - in my experience partner is most commonly used amongst LGBTQ+ couples, although it is becoming more common for everyone.

Wherever You Are

Ironically, the time Hudson spent on Connor's part of his speech was 5 seconds longer (how poetic given their first zoom meeting) compared to K's. I think it would have been a good 2 seconds longer still, if he was able to find K in the audience. I guess it's easier to find people (e.g. Jacob, Rachel, and Brendan) when you actually look at them though...

Love You

"Bye mom, love you!" "Bye bestie, love you!" "Love you too, girl!"

"Love you" is very casual, and often used as a throw away statement. This is not to say people who say it don't mean it. However, there's a stark difference between "Love you!" and "[Bye Huddy] I love you." or "I fell in love with [Connor] as a person." One is inherently more romantic and deeper than the other, and isn’t Hudson’s choice curious for tonight?

Finger Hearts

Fingers hearts are very Gen Z (I would know), however, they're not very Gen Z for your partner. They're a friend thing!! The finger hearts did make me laugh because guys… you're supposed to be in a romantic relationship!! "Uh... my partner, Katelyn, wherever you are, there you are, love you!" is not exactly exuding long-term romance... but it is giving two young Gen Z friends trying their best to play the part.

Stable

Answer featuring an anon! I was wrestling with how to say this and Anon came through for me in this twilight hour.

Using the word stable can imply a continuation of a previous state. It's steady, not supportive, doesn't allow for much change, it’s not giving “with me through thick and thin” etc., just keeps him where he is when he feels all-over-the-place or chaotic. Not always a bad thing, but certainly a far cry from an emotional support person in life.

Special Callout: Malicious Compliance

Seeding means to place something in order to cause (something) to begin to develop or grow.

I’ve talked about this in the past with Hudson and Connor and K, and where we might see the buffering lead. Hudson posted a story to his instagram, but the lyrics are far from the happy lovey ones he’s used before in relation to Connor etc. They almost seem to be about leaving a toxic relationship. Seems a little unexpected? I would argue it’s not.

We all know by now where I stand with Hudson and K and their buffering plan, but I want to remind people of something we all talked about right after the Oscar’s. In order for the break up to have lasting impact on Hudson’s sexuality and non-negative impact on his image things must happen:

K must be established as a person in her own right and it must be shown that Hudson has made a good faith effort to include her in his new life (image - he’s not leaving his normie gf as soon as he gets famous)

Hudson must be shown to be a devoted boyfriend and very committed to/interested in her only (will be used for his ‘straightness’ - DM and H’s team show this tremendously)

The breakup must make sense to the general public, it should not be a surprise. It should be a natural order of things, an inevitability.

The last point is the key here. In order for something to seem inevitable or obvious, it must be expected. How do you get people to say “I saw this coming! It just wasn’t going to work.” when you have been spending so much time trying to get them to accept how amazing H/K are and how great of a boyfriend Hudson is? Seeding. You plant the seeds: the blind item, not really being seen together, “she’s not trying to be perceived” (i.e. fame is hard for her to handle), and Hudson’s instagram story today. Traveling for work is hard and long distance relationships are hard (of course they work if you put in the time: Hudcon), especially with one person being a celebrity very much in the spotlight. Most people would easily agree and sympathize with both parities - if you give them the opportunity to.

I predict what we are seeing is the beginning of seeding. I’ve said since the beginning any big moves Hudson and Connor make will not be a surprise, and this is what I meant. What’s being planted here? Let’s call them seeds of understanding and expectation, by the time the break up reaches maturity it will have enough surprise to make the news but not enough for much blowback, and that’s the whole point.

I’d like to thank Hudson for making my job easy. At this point I feel like I’ve used all the fun titles like “Deja Vu” and “Mirrors” and yet he continues to repeat the same patterns. There’s only so much creativity one can have Hudson! Alas, let’s get into it!

Hudson posted his CSA’s post today. There are two pics I want to discuss:

The Photos

The first photo is a collage. The thing I want to draw your attention to here is the difference in candidness/vibes between the photos Hudson posts of others vs. with K. I’ve mentioned this multiple times and I see this pattern as important when we think about how Hudson likes to portray relationships in his life. Hudson doesn’t appear to like to lie or pretend, and we can see this in his personality/interviews and also in his social media. In this first photo, we see 6 photos of Hudson hugging people he knows well and enjoys being around in this capacity - big smiles, relaxed body language etc.. However, in the middle we have Hudson and K. They are doing what I would consider their second signature pose, the other prom pose!

There is a stark contrast between Hudson’s genuine poses with others. In 4/6 he is actually posing and yet you can feel the relaxed vibe. He knew the photo was being taken but it was natural becuase he was with his friends and having a good time. There are 2 where he’s not posing which gives us a look even more at his genuine happiness during the night spent with Jacob, Brendan, Sophie etc. and it’s clear Hudson wanted to showcase that. What he is also showcasing for us is his rigid, unnatural, and a little plastic, pose with K. He is with K and he showed that, but let’s think about the message he’s conveying here. He showing himself having a great fun time with everyone else at the CSAs but with K it’s one prom pose photo where they both have plastic smiles? Things that make you go hmm…

The second photo genuinely made me laugh. It’s a photo of the Ilya and Shane on the big screen, chests out while the whole cast was on stage accepting the award. And what else do we see? Yet another hand-drawn red heart over Ilya/Connor. Of course, notably, Connor was not at the CSAs due to filming conflicts and guest restrictions. Of course, Hudson would highlight the big award Heated Rivalry one that night, but he’s also highlighting Connor quite clearly in that. Yes, he was his costar and couldn’t be there and was likely missed by everyone. But, we just discussed how Hudson portrays people in his posts, not to mention we know he likes to love loudly. How is he portraying Connor? He’s giving him a place of prominence in his post. Similar to Hudson’s speech yesterday, this is not a canned “thanks to my costar, Connor”, this is a pointed statement. The biggest thing we can see is obviously the heart, which immediately draws our eye and isn’t exactly the most platonic thing we’ve ever seen (not to mention his pattern of drawing hearts on Ilya wherever he goes). There’s also the fact that Connor is the last photo. Hudson frequently puts the heavy hitter photos/videos as the last thing in his posts. Conveniently those have been Connor before, most notably during his Venice photo dump where the last thing was a video of Connor and K sharing ice cream.

One more note before our next section, notice how Connor is after K? This is not the first or even second time we’ve seen this from Hudson. Before we called K a buffer, we called her a shield, and this is why. She was posted earlier or more times in a post than Connor was frequently, to protect Hudson from having a post be easily clocked as really being about Connor. If it wasn’t for the red hearts of course…

The Parallels

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what I’m sure some of you were also reminded of with this post. On the left we have a photo Hudson posted in November, (accompanied by a very romantic song) with Connor, once again, featured prominently on the last slide. Except in this photo they are so relaxed they are asleep on the couch. A far cry from the plastic pose above.

The photo on the right is the infamous Valentine’s Day story Hudson posted. The original version of the “Oh damn I guess we were wrong… wait a MINUTE” reaction. I think we can all see the first iteration of drawing attention and placing Connor high in importance through this story (this time with Connor as Connor). The second thing I wanted to mention is the similar vibes the middle right and bottom right photos with K give to what we’ve seen from the CSAs this year. Seems like H/K have got some go-to poses! How interesting and not-candid of them…

Edited to Add: The Song Choice

Once again, Anons are coming through for the win! How beautifully Connor is a Hudson’s song choice?

I feel like we’re giving H/K performance evaluations at this point. This red carpet reads no differently than the VF After Party. I still don’t see the love…

When I saw that K was on the red carpet with him I was surprised of course. Upon reflection, however, it makes sense since she did come all the way to Toronto and there’s not necessarily any huge after parties.

Let’s get started! Here’s Hudson having K and his parents join him for photos:

First, Hudson beckons K to him. Where is the smile? Where is the fun? Where is the excitement? This is his first award show where he is up for an award and supposedly with his long-term gf, and yet I don’t see anything I’d expect to see, in fact he’s almost on autopilot. He looks happier seeing Sophie (who he saw yesterday) than he does his own gf.

Second, speaking of Sophie, look at the difference here y’all:

Hudson is standing closer to his own mother than he his to his girlfriend. And Hudson is standing closer (and smiling way bigger) to a good friend than he is to his own long-term gf. All the photos have a hand on their waists - it’s not an excuse.

Third, I kind of feel bad for Hudson because I’m sure he was really excited to have his parents there, but his smile is noticeably faker (again, very similar to VF) with that pic compared to the ones with Sophie and even the ones with the cast.

It just sucks to see the pressure of performing and the resignation on his face when he has to pose with K. When we know he’s excited and looking forward to these awards based on everything else!

Fourth, going off of that, you can literally see the checklist in his mind of what to do.

✅ Call her over

✅ Wrap arm around waist

✅ Pose for the camera and try to smile (K does this too, and it looks just as fake for her).

Hudson is inside his head and not present at all during this moment and you can tell. He’s really having to think about this session and his actions aren’t carefree like you’d expect. It would seem that it’s not very easy to pose with someone who doesn’t really have this place in his life.

Finally, where are the couple photos of Hudson and K? If we’re looking at photos, Hudson and Sophie seem way more like a couple (which I bet Connor loves, iykyk) and K seems more like a sister. Not quite the ringing endorsement we’re looking for!

If we remember way back to the VF After Party, Hudson’s team started pushing H/K quite heavily. I spoke about it then as an obvious attempt to try and make H/K catch on. For many reasons (a big one being the comparison to Connor), they did not.

However, since I assume the buffering is still the plan for now, for me this photo from Kalem is yet another instance of the VF After Party push. Let me explain!

Note: there are questions about whether or not Hudson’s friends have his best interest in mind. In this case, I don’t see how Kalem posting this would hurt Hudson? It pushes the current public narrative in a way that likely to seem more authentic because it’s a bts photo from one of him friends. Seems very on par with everything else we’ve seen H/K wise to me.

The Photos from 5/16/26:

The Timing

Kalem posted the first photo to his Instagram story on 5/16/26. The photo is most likely recent as he posted the second photo with everyone - with the same hair, outfits, blanket, and couch - to his Instants which means it can’t be a saved photo. Could it have been staged to look the same as the instant? Maybe; but the amount of effort that would take is not on par with what we’ve seen from Hudson so far. Nonetheless, whether or not this is a recent photo, it doesn’t change my thoughts on the situation.

Last week, among many topics in the fandom space, there was a lot of talk about how Hudson hasn’t been back to see his friends and family in Vancouver for a while. I didn’t really think much of the discourse at the time, given that he’s been so busy working. But I always find the timing of any H/K push in the wake of any strong doubt in H/K or telling Hudcon moments to be a little too coincidental. Was this posted to distract from Hudcon? To remind people of H/K? The possibilities are endless!

The Photo/Pose

It’s clear neither Hudson nor K is beaming with happiness or laughing here, I think there is a reason for that. After all, we know he hates playing the part. Additionally, I don’t think we can say H and K are mad at each other or there is tension between them just based on this photo. We’ve seen them be none-too-happy to be doing this H/K thing before.

Taking my own opinion that this is yet another push of H/K by someone in Hudson’s life, I can easily see a situation occur where:

Hudson has been told by his team that he should take advantage of being in Vancouver and/or that he needs to push H/K again.

Hudson, K, and Kalem are hanging out (for friendship or for this specifically) and they decide to take a photo for the H/K narrative.

Cue the planning of a somewhat intimate (but plausibly deniable) pose, and the plan for Kalem to post it - with “proof” that it was the same day too.

Which results in this “candid” photo (the “instant” photo from the hangout seems to show us the distance they normally have) of a pose that is not at all inherently romantic but would be considered so based on preconceived notions of H/K by most people. I think this explains both of their expressions in the photo, and Hudson’s disengagement well. Remember the VF After Party? Those two could not look less excited to be there together. Just because Hudson has agreed (for now) to push H/K, doesn’t mean he likes it or wants to put effort in, and this photo is yet another example of that.

Why?

Everyone’s favorite word (or at least mine)! Why is Kalem doing this? As I stated in the beginning, there’s really no downside for Hudson for Kalem to post this. So, I think it’s hard to make an argument he’s doing this to hurt Hudson or against Hudson’s wishes. My argument is Kalem was in a position to help Hudson (and K) with this, and that’s the most likely reason. Both he and K are friends with Hudson and both went to the HR premier with him. It seems that Kalem and K probably know each other and therefore it makes sense why Kalem would help them with this. They were likely hanging out for a while if the lighting outside is anything to go by - so it would be easy for them to have Kalem take the photo.

Why would Kalem be the one to post it? We’ve talked before about optics/how things are shared affecting how they are interpreted - this is no exception! I’d argue having Kalem post it makes it seem even more authentic. Kalem is a friend and through the last few weeks has become much more known in fan circles as one of Hudson’s longer term friends. He’s just visible enough to know fans would see the photo, but the photo was still not easily findable by most of the fandom. It appears more like H/K were just naturally caught like that and posted by one of their friends. In addition, Kalem doesn’t post Hudson much from what I’ve seen, so this adds a feeling of getting a behind the scenes look into Hudson’s life with K.

Conclusion/TLDR:

Wait a minute…

We’ve got an anon with eagle eyes over here! With what is likely K staying over at H’s place, we have the couch covered in a sheet with a blanket on top and the two couch pillows laid out for sleep on one foot of the bed. H and K are joking around and it is giving friend sleepover. Whereas with Connor we have a plain couch and him and H embracing like they were just relaxing together after a long day and happened to fall asleep. They are half holding hands and leaning on each other. Now that I’m looking at this again, it is such an intimate and romantic photo - and the difference between the two side by side like this? Lightyears.

Disclaimer: I didn’t start watching HR until after GG weekend so I had to catch up on everything that happened before. If I get anything wrong here someone please correct me.

So from my understanding, the reason people convinced themselves that H+K were in a long term relationship was because of some TikTok video that their friend Chelsea posted (and has since deleted) of what looked to me like a photoshoot from a long time ago (very old) where she put something about H was K’s “bf” and the subsequent DM podcast where it was said that according to fans H has a girlfriend and then she gave away some personal info about K.

So, to me it looks like Hudson’s team decided to use this for some reason and they gave the rumor some traction by having K appear in Paris, Milan/Feltre, Oscars weekend (Armani, VF party). And then there’s the Vday post which I still do not see romantic vibes in any of the photos H posted except for the very obvious heart around C.

So I guess my question is why are we even contemplating if they were ever dating at all when all of this stems from a TikTok video and subsequent rumor fueled by DM? We have no evidence that they were ever in a relationship (at least from what I have seen). And all of the K appearances planned by H’s team and the Vday post wouldn’t even be a thing to talk about if not for the TikTok video and DM rumor. It seems like people just keep grasping at straws to keep this rumor alive. Maybe I am missing something here but it just feels like we all got swept away in the chaos and forgot how this whole H+K thing even started.

In my opinion, if that TikTok video never existed and DM didn’t fan the flames, we wouldn’t even know who K was and she would just be another friend in H’s friend group.

Standing ovation 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. I agree with you, if the TikTok video/DM post never happened, we would have been none the wiser because it’s not like H actually acts as if he’s her bf anyway. It does feel like grasping at straws sometimes.

I just can’t hold it in anymore. I have a larger post coming about all the Hudcon from last weekend but genuinely every time I watch this behind the scenes video I have to pause just to smile because it’s just so much.

If you couldn’t already tell by everything else on my blog, I love analyzing behavior. It tells us a lot, especially the little things people do subconsciously or when they think no one will notice. In my opinion, this 14 second video tells us a lot about the dynamics between H, C, and K.

First, I want to point out that in almost all of these clips Hudson’s attention is fully on Connor. What does this tell us? Hudson is engaged with Connor and what he’s doing/saying, he’s focused on him and him alone in these moments. Of course a lot of us know that about them already but it’s fantastic to see this on display here. Hudson was debuting his supposed girlfriend that night, and yet he was fully in the moment with Connor a lot of the time.

“Fully busting naked! Hi baby, you look amazing/I missed you/I love you.”

Hudson greets Connor ("Fully busting naked!"). Hudson is visibly ecstatic that Connor is there. He does a little dance - which lowkey reminds me of Ilya's pasta dance - while giving him a once over and commenting on how he's naked, bust out. Which is honestly so cute! I will never be over the joy Hudson shows when he gets to be with Connor (even just for red carpet pics). Connor isn't heard saying anything but he's checking Hudson's out(fit) and watching him as Hudson's hands come to wrap around his waist. You can see a little that Connor is smiling, as much as we clown Hudson for having clingy sub energy to Connor's soft dom, Connor seems to love the attention Hudson always has in spades just for him too. Next, as Hudson goes to hug Connor, something catches his attention and Connor turns his head. We can see that Hudson notices Connor is not looking directly at him anymore, but Connor still opens his arms for Hudson's hug. I love this because it shows how in tune they are - Connor knows that Hudson wants a hug and Hudson knows that Connor still wants that affection from him even if he's not looking directly at him.

And boy does Hudson hug him! Well, maybe squeeze is a better term. You can feel the emotional release when Hudson gets to wrap his arms around Connor and sink into him. He says “Hi baby” and then something like “I missed you”/“you look amazing”/“I love you.” All of which are equally just… wow they love each other a lot. He buries his nose into his neck, eyes closed, and just pauses there for a second. I think this showcases beautifully the other part of Hudcon's dynamic. Yes, they give each other energy (e.g. fill their social batteries), but they also ground each other. They are each other's stability and emotional support, and with all the big moves being made Sunday for Hudson I can imagine having Connor with him finally, was an immense comfort. I also love that even though the other actress greeted Connor, he still turns back to Hudson to return his hug. I will never be over how much they miss each other no matter if it's been 20 minutes, 20 hours, or 20 days since they saw the other.

Connor, Hudson, and K

There are a few points I want to highlight for this. First, when Hudson greets Connor and turns away from K, she smiles at them and starts talking to the other women in line. She gives them their space and doesn't try to interrupt.

Second, when Connor is done hugging Hudson he seems to look at K and make a funny face. I can imagine he's sharing in the craziness of being at an event like this for the first time. Plus, they seem to have a joking relationship if the video from the restaurant in Venice is any indication. The next clip of Connor and K seems to show him telling her that her outfit is beautiful (it's possible he's talking to Nia but I think he's talking to K). We don't know how close they really are but at the very least these interactions show us they have a fun, relaxed relationship and there's no animosity there.

Lastly, Hudson and K really seem to barely interact when they are alone, like when they were leaving. When he's done greeting Connor (priorities, you know?), he turns to join the conversation between K and Nia, while Connor goes to greet the actress (I forget her name I'm sorry). The only other interaction we see is when he glances at her when Connor is talking to her. The fact that I have multiple clips for Connor and K and yet almost nothing to go off of for Hudson and K, when she's his buffer is... peculiar. But that's a pondering for another post!

Does he find excuses to touch you? He likes you!

Hudson, girl, stand up. Why in this third clip is this man literally grabbing Connor's shoulder and falling over in laughter? He really does have the Zendaya disease.

I kid but I really enjoyed being able to see this interaction between Connor and Hudson. It reads as so flirty to me. The way Connor is touching Hudson's shoulder/shirt not only breaches Hudson's personal space (connecting them further) and shows subtle affection toward him, but it also creates the feeling of a more intimate conversation between them. K even turns away to leave them be once Connor starts touching Hudson's shoulder. Connor and Hudson are wholly focused on each other. They are probably just chatting normally, but it feels so intimate because of their focus on each other and the way they both touch the other to create even more points of connection and affection. This clip reminds us they really do have such a good time together and probably are always touching behind closed doors.