robby's first conversation of the day back in ep.1 is with donnie and—in reference to his sabbatical—robby tells him that he'll be back before his daughter sleeps through the night. now, 8 episodes later, we've watched robby grow increasingly reckless in both his actions and with his words—as though his every decision is one edging toward provocation. knowing his sabbatical is right around the corner makes all the risks he's taking feel strangely cost-free, like he's insulated from whatever might happen next. he even says as much in earlier episodes—that he won't be around to deal with the mess, that it won't be his problem much longer.
but his side-stepping during his conversation with abbot and his talk with whitaker in 2x9 are the first times his sabbatical isn't something he hides behind, something he uses to soften or deflect the sting of those comments about him not being here anymore.
with abbot, robby doesn't joke it off or reassure him. when jack tells him the sabbatical will be a lot of time to self-reflect and adds, you just make sure you come back. and if it gets dark, you call me, robby looks down and smiles widely with his teeth, but he doesn't answer. he doesn't promise anything. he doesn't even acknowledge him. instead, his face is taken over by an expression of amusement at the idea of ‘coming back.’ and then he just walks away!!!!!
he drops the pretense entirely when talking to whitaker; his words are direct, unmistakable: if i don't come back, you've got a swinging bachelor pad.
it's one thing to imply that the usual repercussions don't apply because you'll be gone for a while. it's another thing entirely to casually introduce the possibility that you might not return to your house, your home—the life those consequences belong to.
it's a chilling pivot. and once that notion enters the conversation, everything he's been saying all season starts to sound less hypothetical, less like dark humor, and more sharpened—like something he's been slowly acclimating everyone to.
