brian kissing justin in front of all his friends/family and clients at kinnetik's launch party really kills me because it's such an explicit and powerful declaration of not only how much he loves justin but how he views him as his partner. brian so often prioritizes his job over nearly everything (which makes sense considering he feels this need to have independence and power which arguably stems in part from his horrific childhood) much to the annoyance of others (sometimes including justin) at times. but here is brian, at the beginning of taking this risk of creating his own agency, acknowledging he loves someone, which is virtually unheard of, to the point of viewing them as integral to his success publicly and where he makes his money.
it is actually incredible how much of s3 and beyond demonstrates the immense amount of emotional growth brian underwent through how he and justin's relationship mixes with his work. he gets back together with justin (a signal that he's going to try and be more vulnerable again) in his office at vanguard; brian loses his job because he decides to, knowing the immense risk, fight for what's right at justin's encouragement and example; justin names his new agency (which is also an interesting parallel to justin naming his son in the pilot). as i previously said, brian's job, and the money it makes him, represents, on one level, a certain amount of freedom and independence, but brian bringing justin into the business side of his life indicates that he's letting himself embrace the freedom that comes with letting someone in and displaying vulnerability as he's letting himself (bit by bit) to embrace his (funnily enough considering his character) repressed desires. he doesn't have to be hyper-independent and isolate himself - he can love, be loved, and have a romantic partnership.
gummygunk
kianamaiart
andulkaphoto
