phew while (obviously) i did adore simone/michaela's extreme codependency the way the plot went wasn't a chemistry thing and the move was very intentional on the writers' part.

neither of them love that man (though michaela did, once). it is the security he brings. that heady hit of "quit your job, just let me take care of you." michaela's character is a symbol of just how shaky that security is. the duplicitous nature of it, and how draws you in, without realising a woman is giving up her agency to obtain it. it's the age-old hegemonic narrative driven to our heads since before fairytales even came to be was that a woman's teleological endpoint was to marry a man. happily ever after! get married, have babies, die. a woman's life simply ends after she marries a man. that's where she should be most happy.

of course, then. you are entirely dependent on him and his name and his wealth. your identity is consumed into his, michaela becomes just 'mrs kell' and she hates it. he loves it (cite: "i love you, mrs kell." and michaela's strained smile) because that is all she is worth. this is why the fantasy of transcending social castes through "marrying rich" is so dangerous. you become nothing but his wife - and you better be prepared to be grateful for the rest of your life.

that's why!! michaela who loves simone rawly and truly and wants to protect her; does the absolute most to stop her from marrying the first rich guy to bend a knee. its why she spent so much time breeding her for a highpaying job out in new york. because she knows simone is especially vulnerable - craves that life for herself and escape from her horrible fucking childhood and michaela doesn't want simone to make the same mistake as her to get it. she wants simone to keep her agency. to not give up herself for it.

that's also why!! when michaela discovers the photo she says!!! "i can never have anything for myself." because the point that this show is making is that a wife is only that—her husband's posession. and possession is not allowed to possess anything of its own. he takes simone from michaela because everything that is hers is his. michaela casts simone out because (deep and rueful sigh) she herself is afraid to lose the little power she holds. simone runs back to him because in that moment - when she's lost everything. her future, her present; michaela. then her abusive father turns to her and says "it's just you and us, now." and understandably spirals her into a panic attack. when she runs into kevin freaking bacon's arms it's not because she's in love with him some bs like that. it's her last ditch effort to save herself from her past. and she falls into the same trap michaela once did.