#omgcheckpleasecritical

It always pisses me off a little bit whenever I see this fanon on Tumblr or in fic that Kent realized that he treated Jack badly when he saw him at the Haus and is now seeing a therapist because he realized that being mean to Jack that one time means that he has anger issues.

Like??? Maybe he could be seeing this therapist because he’s a closeted star athlete in a homophobic sport? Maybe he could be seeing a therapist because of the trauma connected to his boyfriend/best friend almost dying and then cutting off contact after Kent was forced to move away from him? Maybe seeing the therapist could be a result of being a star athlete in a very physically and mentally draining sport in addition to being the team captain, meaning that his every move is being scrutinized by Canadian hockey pundits who are probably very critical of him?

Yeah, I’m in agreement with you, anon. I always cringe whenever I see reviews enthusiastically praising Check Please “subverting expectations” in regard to its treatment of gay characters. What I find “subverting expectations” tends to mean is that it subverts them where Jack and Bitty are concerned and lets them be fully accepted by their teammates and straight friends, but it doesn’t let characters like Kent and Whiskey have that same kind of acceptance and happy ending. I’m still salty over Kent’s teammate Carl making homophobic comments that Kent had to listen to and then Ngozi instructing us on the chapter notes to “ignore Carl”. Just, y’know, ignore homophobia. It’s not that bad, you guys. It’s not like it affects LGBTQ folks in multiple dangerous and detrimental ways in a daily basis. No, no; it’s just a silly thing that should be easily ignored when it affects Kent.

Based on what Bitty says to Parse in 4.19, I think we are meant to think from canon that it was an intentional suicide attempt. 

To me, it makes Parse look more sympathetic than ever before, because 4.19 not only confirms Jack’s overdose as a suicide attempt, but it also confirms that Jack ghosted him afterward. So Kent’s issues with Jack aren’t so much about him being a jealous ex. It’s about him searching for closure after his boyfriend tried to kill himself. 

I also am just very “???” at Bitty lecturing Parse on Jack’s overdose as if Parse wasn’t there to see it and was totally unaffected by it. Because Parse was there, he’s well-aware that Jack cut him out of his life afterward, and he was extremely frustrated and hurt by it. Bitty is the one who wasn’t around for the aftermath.

I also really dislike the implication that Parse wasn’t allowed to have any kind of emotional reaction to Jack’s overdose. Because to look at the situation as an outsider, one queer teenager has tried to kill himself, and canon is basically trying to said another queer teenager is wrong for having an imperfect emotional reaction to his boyfriend/best friend’s attempted suicide. Like, how very dare this queer teenager be upset and confused and angry by situation. The nerve, to be a gay teenager and react badly to the attempted suicide of a fellow gay teenager.

TBH, it was the least surprising thing ever to me. When there are two characters that a part of fandom feels were both separately screwed over by the creator, the natural solution to their fans is to have them find happiness with each other. I’ve seen it happen in fandom after fandom, and the fans’ tenacity in wanting to give two unfairly treated characters a happy ending always makes me smile. 

Personally, I don’t get two much out of the pairing, and I sort of like the idea that Kent shows up in one of his fancy sports cars and whisks Whiskey off to the Aces and becomes his mentor/big brother figure. But the ship is fine by me, and I honestly just like to see people having fun with the characters. 

Okay, so while I dislike Kent’s ending on so, so many levels, I’m actively squicked by the implication that Jack was allowed to have anxiety and issues during his time in Juniors Hockey (which we know he did, especially in regard to living up to his dad’s hockey legacy), but that Kent wasn’t, and that Kent was somehow responsible for managing Jack’s anxiety/mental health.

I’ve been reading Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada's National Sport by Laura Robinson, which is a book that examines the toxic masculinity and rape culture within Juniors Hockey, where Kent and Jack were playing. It is a deeply troubled system that allows vast power disparities between coaches and players, fails to prevent extreme hazing even when there’s express bylaws against it, is ripe for giving predators continued and unhindered access to victims, and is overwhelmed by the idea that women exist to be used by men, mistreated, and then unceremoniously disposed of, and that women who try to speak out about sexual assault are “attention-seeking troublemakers.” 

And above all, there is a prevailing attitude of homophobia--that not living up to traditional masculine standards and breaking from the group in any way is a betrayal of the team and hockey itself.

However, Kent’s story arc ends on the conclusion that he was at fault for Jack’s anxiety during this era--him and no one else, because he was involved with Jack and therefore should have been looking out for him. (Even though they were only hooking up a few times and not officially together, if we go by Jack’s final word on the matter. Somehow, Kent is still responsible.)

Think about that for a moment. The pressures of Junior Hockey, with all of its homophobia, misogyny, and hazing, and their effect on a queer teenager with anxiety, somehow aren’t the responsibility of the straight white men who built and maintained that culture. It’s not the fault of the coaches who turn a blind eye to hazing or seek to enable it. It’s not the fault of a system that allow flagrant homophobia to run unchecked. It’s not even the fault of Bad Bob, who knows what the Junior Hockey system is like but is never shown objecting to or even worrying about Jack’s participation.