Ever since s2e7 I'm obsessed with "You're a Viltrumite in blood only! Well, your true education begins now." (Nolan to Mark s1e8)
and "You dare interrupt your education?!" (Anissa to Mark s2e7)
(because in s1e8 it was the first glimpse at what Viltrumite culture, Viltrumites as a society, actually looks like, and s2e7 reaffirmed the line.)
When Mark first said
("I was never a good student.")
I snorted because I thought he was referencing him failing school and college and being basically called stupid all the time.
But then I realised that maybe, maybe it was about the first scene.
Nolan already tried to educate his son β and failed (so spectacularly that he managed to fail his own lesson!)
Maybe Mark was remembering his father's words. I sure was.
In a way, Mark being a bad student saved Earth lmao.
