This Is Another Scene That Absolutely Lights My Brain On Fire -

this is another scene that absolutely lights my brain on fire -

There's a lot going on here and imo the way Felix reacts to Annabel talking shit about Oliver is SO telling from a characterization standpoint. Like Annabel is essentially telling him "no one likes your boy bestie and the girls think he's weird." It's so interesting because Felix doesn't necessarily *defend* Oliver here, he doesn't enlighten her to his tragic backstory, doesn't tell her "actually he's really inspirational because you don't know what he's gone through to be here." He instead just gently chastises her for being harsh and snobby and then....the next scene is literally Felix fucking her while Oliver watches. THIS IS INSANE LOL. So much to unpack.

First of all, it's definitely worth mentioning that Felix DOES hype Oliver up to the people who truly matter to him (his parents, his sister, etc). Like Elspeth is fully aware of Oliver's tragic and triumphant backstory before Oliver even arrives. She's also been told that Oliver is intelligent and handsome ("I told you he wasn't a minger" said looking so pleased with himself for bringing a handsome boy home LOL). Venetia has also clearly heard all about how much Felix likes Oliver ("oh I see why Felix likes you so much.") These statements put what happens here with Annabel in a very unique context. It's almost like...Felix doesn't want to share these amazing things about Oliver with his peer group at school. We talk all the time about Oliver gatekeeping Felix but not enough about how Felix is kinda gatekeeping Oliver, especially from the girls at Oxford. Felix doesn't want irrelevant people at Oxford knowing how amazing Oliver is because Felix wants Oliver and his inspirational achievements all to himself. Hm it's almost like Felix and Oliver BOTH struggle with boundaries bc they're both terminally obsessed with each other lol.

What happens after this scene is enough to make me clinically insane LOL. The cutaway is literally Oliver bricked up about to cum untouched while crying and watching as Felix fucks the girl who was just talking shit about him!! The rituals are SO intricate here hahah. In my mind - it's almost like Felix is getting off to the fact that this girl doesn't know about his little secrets with Oliver. She's only allowed to see the most surface levels of him and Felix is literally turned on by the fact that other people don't have access to Oliver the way he does. He'll leave the blinds open while he fucks her in plain sight BUT he won't share even the most basic details about his close relationship with Oliver. He keeps Oliver all for himself but lets the world see him fucking Annabel. It's an insane metaphor honestly and so telling as to what is sacred vs. what's meaningless to Felix. Felix doesn't want to share Oliver just as much as Oliver doesn't want to share Felix. Two sides of the same coin imo, just expressed differently!