#michael johnston

Bear doesn’t say a single thing about Nikki as a person in his speech. He doesn’t say that he loves her kindness and how she cares for others, he doesn’t talk about how he loves her creativity or care-free spirit, he doesn’t talk about what he likes about her.

He talks about nice things she’s done for him. He talks about what she means to him. He talks about her being there for him, and how he likes how she’s treated him.

And while I won’t pretend that those things aren’t important, they are the only things Bear mentions in his big vulnerable romantic speech.

Bear’s “confession” tells us literally nothing about Nikki other than that she’s been nice to Bear in the past.

But in a subtle way, his “love confession” tells us a LOT about Bear and his actual feelings for Nikki.

He likes that she’s been nice to him. That’s it.

He likes that she’s been nice to him, and whether it was an unconscious process or not, Bear has responded to Nikki’s being nice to him by becoming obsessed and infatuated with her.

To the point that, once he’s (albeit initially unwittingly) in a position of power over her, he completely disregards her personhood and begins to feel entitled to her and her body.