The way the handcuffs symbolise their relationship (or rather what, for now, ties them to each other: the mafia world) and how Kinn uncuffed Porsche first. We then see a shot of Kinn’s hand still locked into the handcuffs. No matter what, he can at least free Porsche, but he can’t free himself
Vegas is clearly emotionally starved, the only love he is familiar with is his little brother's. He is subconsciously…
That makes a lot of sense for his character, thx for giving me more insight! I did fumble on my words a bit there, it’s not that I think he’s being genuine with Porsche in general, more so that I agree with you that he craves warmth.
I wanted to express that it is indeed the hug, on its own, that is sincere (it’s a form of affection that is meaningful to him, unlike how it would be if Kim perhaps had hugged him- Kim is much less emotional in his pursuits).
I saw many people commenting on TikTok that the scene in itself is just Vegas acting kind the entire time without any feeling involved, which is why I was wondering if others felt the same on here. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks differently
Just wanted to hear people’s opinions on this, especially from novel readers, but I felt that Vegas was somewhat genuine with Porsche during their hug? I know that Vegas is ill-intentioned: he’s trying to get Porsche to trust him, to rely on him, and I know that he’s also trying to rub Kinn the wrong way. This is a manipulative stratagem. At the same time, I have the impression that Vegas, as twisted as he is, innately wants to be understood and accepted in a way. So when Porsche spends time with him, completely defenceless yet willing to hug someone like him so openly, I do feel that, even just on a subconscious level, Vegas truly wanted to feel that warmth. From a cinematic perspective, the reason I interpret it this way is also because Vegas closes his eyes during the hug. It has pretty much become a cliche at this point that people with purely evil intentions have their eyes open in moments of intimacy (particularly with something like a hug where the other person can’t see their expression). It’s symbolic of deceit. Yet during their moment, Vegas did close his eyes, which to me represents vulnerability. A side of him even he himself may not be able to comprehend slips out of him, forgetting his plans, and just feeling the moment. And I find that the music reinforces this, the instrumental is calming and gentle. This unknown part of Vegas can only momentarily come out here because Porsche invites him into his embrace without any qualms, and is vulnerable himself (and is barely conscious at that). so it’s like a chance for Vegas to just stop putting up a front. I know it’s more complicated than that, but I do believe that Vegas felt a connection there and that the hug was meaningful and not JUST a tactic.
I feel that Kim will end up being one of the healtiest persons in the series to be around even if he has that…
Agreed, and may i add that Jeff is such a joy to watch. He's charismatic and really nails the role.
You immediately get a sense of what his character is like. I'd even argue that Kim is possibly the most intruiging character at present due to how meticulous, unpredictable yet intentional he is. Tho Porsche might be going head to head with him for most interesting character as he stole my heart this episode
It's really fascinating how we all watched the same episode and yet we perceived it differently, i keep seeing…
I really love the fact that people are interpreting the episode in different ways, especially as they portrayed the scenes with complex visuals and with such a visceral force behind it. How i see it, it's a mix of both of what you said. But i'd like to explain how i thought the episode went about conveying the former idea, about Porsche feeling violated. There were many instances that hinted at this, from more obvious to less obvious aspects. Most notably, when Kinn tells Porsche: "Are you accusing me of hurting you?" and Porsche replies: "Did you not?". One could try and dismiss it as him saying that Kinn has hurt him in the sense that, he made him go through the disciplinary punishment and also how he's been cold to him. But it's pretty clear that he's referring to sexual intercourse. Especially because he challenges him right after to basically kiss him. To me this scene represented Kinn's ability to abuse his power with the whole "your life is mine (and therefore i can do whatever i please to you - which is wrong and denotes of rape/non-consent)". I feel like Porsche was challenging him to see if Kinn truly believed that he could have his way with Porsche (kissing him even tho he's unwillling, ehich THANKFULLY he doesnt end up doing for his own set of reasons and which is equally conflicting to Porsche himself than if he had kissed him). Of course, there's the nuance here of Porsche wanting to also confirm his feelings. Another moment was the misunderstanding between Pete and Porsche, how Pete tells him about his "first time". Porsche's reaction is that of concern because he thinks Pete went through the same thing as him = something painful/unwanted/cruel. And immediately sympathises with him. If it wasnt about feeling violated, and that Porsche was just thinking about the first time between two consenting men, it would just make gay relationships seems harmful and predatory. But we know that Porsche is open-minded about homosexuality, and wouldnt associate sex between two men as smth negative. An important sequence to consider is also the bathroom scene. Porsche is clearly overwhelmed. It is partially about his confusion about how he feels about Kinn, sure, since there is most definitely and attraction and romance developping, but the scene focuses more on a sense of trauma. And it's juxtaposed with the disciplinary punishment he went through. Whilst he's basically having a mental breakdown, we see the marks on his body that he got from the punishment (i dont think this is coincidental, i think it's a physical manifestation of his feeling of violation). He's having a sort of out of body experience that seems to represent trauma (especially with the flashbacks). Like his body is not his own. The experience is associated with the idea that he is wounded (mentally and emotionally), and that he is deeply troubled by it (and this is reflected with the lighting the lighter so close to his mouth). Most significantly perhaps, he hugs himself (that part was so heart-wrenching). It's like a coping mechanism, someone who is seeking to heal their injured self. If it was only about processing his sexuality, i feel like they would have just jumped straight (heh) into the scene where he is making out with the girl (and it would have been a show of frustration more than anything). But it really feels like he's hurt, he feels lost, he needs help most of all, and it's quite telling that Porsche asks Kinn to leave him alone whilst covering himself up with the blanket (a sign he feels that his body has been transgressed) rather than confronting him angrily instead. I feel that the series has neatly explored the key elements that consistute Porsche's damaged sense of self. And i must say that i find it really cool that the series is touching on that topic in such a way, between characters that do have romantic feelings for each other, because it's unforunately very real. Porsche is pained but he's also starting to love Kinn, so everything is even more hard for him to process. Which is why the episode really made a point about how he withdrew within himself, unable to really talk about what he's going through..to anyone. Bottling eveything up instead. What i really wanted to express with this is that we were all questioning last week's episode, and we had two ambiguous questions: 1. Was it rape? 2. If it was, was it romanticised in the series? And regardless of people think about the answer to the first one, i am glad, because I truly feel that the series is handling this well and with depth, they're not romanticising the act anymore whilst still leaving perplexing ambiguity (because not everything is black and white in reality either). And I really hope that in the next episode they could go even more into it with Porsche finally revealing his own thoughts.
Anyway, all of that to say that the execution of this episode was masterful and Iove Kinnporsche. Honestly, this was just an excuse to rant haha. I appreciate it if anyone read this far x
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This episode...THIS EPISODE
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLvQ266v/?k=1
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZML7HKaXg/?k=1
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZML7kPX71/
Also this show is the only thing on my mind rn
I wanted to express that it is indeed the hug, on its own, that is sincere (it’s a form of affection that is meaningful to him, unlike how it would be if Kim perhaps had hugged him- Kim is much less emotional in his pursuits).
I saw many people commenting on TikTok that the scene in itself is just Vegas acting kind the entire time without any feeling involved, which is why I was wondering if others felt the same on here. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks differently
You immediately get a sense of what his character is like. I'd even argue that Kim is possibly the most intruiging character at present due to how meticulous, unpredictable yet intentional he is. Tho Porsche might be going head to head with him for most interesting character as he stole my heart this episode
What i really wanted to express with this is that we were all questioning last week's episode, and we had two ambiguous questions: 1. Was it rape? 2. If it was, was it romanticised in the series? And regardless of people think about the answer to the first one, i am glad, because I truly feel that the series is handling this well and with depth, they're not romanticising the act anymore whilst still leaving perplexing ambiguity (because not everything is black and white in reality either). And I really hope that in the next episode they could go even more into it with Porsche finally revealing his own thoughts.
Anyway, all of that to say that the execution of this episode was masterful and Iove Kinnporsche. Honestly, this was just an excuse to rant haha. I appreciate it if anyone read this far x
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLWPtbEn/