i think axel's motivations to not hurt miguel are an interesting thing to explore; how it pans to sam so often in his and miguel's final fight, and how much of his final choice is him having the integrity to fight fair, but to also be selfish and hope that sam will percieve his integrity and "choose" him. that was a really interesting dilemma to watch play out and i think that, while axel can be a good person, it's also really compelling to view him as slightly selfish and performative in his good-doing
ultimately, he's sacrificial in the end to the friendship/relationship him and sam could've had ala their deleted hallway talk, but i also find that scene really compelling... he never really shuns her for backing out of the tournament - i think patrick's delivery is really strong here in the way axel goes "you're a loser, and that's how the world sees you now" so matter of factly, not even to belittle sam but to address the consequences of her actions - and her sturdy response is what seems to stir him at his core. it's no personal dig at him; it's ultimately what she says about how things ended up for her, that mess up his psyche so much
i think a part of him believes that choosing his own morals and going against wolf is the way to go, but it's also what sam wants him to do... innately the decision he makes is selfish, but even in the end he never actually wins sam's total respect. and i think that makes his character incredibly compelling, that sam can be the catalyst for all these questions in his head about who he should be listening to or how he should be living, but that she can also be the sobering fact at hand: maybe he wasn't going to make the right decision in the end just for himself.
