u/SubordinateTemper

I have no idea if this is even a trope, but… Best example I can think of is in the movie Big Time Adolescence. The protagonist, Mo, is a high schooler who’s best friend, Zeke, is a 22 year bum (and a terrible influence). Mo’s mother is apathetic to the whole situation but his dad openly cannot stand Zeke and is always suspicious of him, which leads to a sort of comical rivalry going on between them. Can anyone think of any examples of a relationship like this?

Burr Redding really gives me these vibes for some reason, but also we do see real proof of Keller with a BBW. He may have married her for manipulative reasons but still.

On my second rewatch of the show. For the record, Gloria was right when she said he doesn’t care for anyone but himself (which is why it’s ridiculous that she gets with him in the end, but that’s a whole other issue). Ryan is a weasel and a manipulator, a schemer who always has a plan to get ahead and screw someone over, even if Cyril is the exception to that. Except when he isn’t. Example: Ryan entering him and Cyril into the test trial for the aging pill to “get them both free”, even though this plan inherently puts Cyril’s health at risk (and Ryan isn’t stupid, he knows this). More obvious examples are when he makes Cyril box against his will for personal gains, or just generally using him as another pawn in his schemes.

But Ryan also loves his brother, very clearly, in a way that is tender and unselfish. He worries over him constantly, is willing to go to war for him, and has the capacity to be unbelievably gentle with him. It seems like he flips between seeing him as a pawn and someone he actually cares about. This all makes me curious about what their relationship was like before Cyril got brain damage. Ryan is constantly thinking in survival mode it seems like, but his selfish tendencies really go beyond survival and way into sociopath territory (if that wasn’t already clear from his kill count).

So, Ryan loves his brother. Yes. But of course, he’s literally the reason Cyril gets put on death row and he somehow had the nerve to be shocked by that despite his intelligence?? By the end of the show, he’s so torn up about Cyril’s execution that he’s sick over it, blaming himself, etc. But… what does he really learn from this? Because if Cyril were to somehow survive it again, I feel like Ryan would just go back to his old behaviors. He subconsciously (or consciously?) destroys everything good for himself. I think there are clearly festering mental issues and APD too. In your opinion, what do you think his real issue is?