This will probably be the last time I speak on this.
I'm always open to different interpretations and disagreements, especially when it comes to discussing a series. That's part of what makes storytelling interesting. What I struggle with is reasoning that begins and ends with "my favorite character shouldn't suffer" or "I didn't like seeing him kiss someone else."
The fact that some viewers watched a survival-driven scene and completely ignored the context of why the character did what he did is honestly baffling. Not every kiss is an act of love. Not every physical interaction is driven by desire. Sometimes people lie. Sometimes they manipulate. Sometimes they negotiate. Sometimes they do whatever they can to stay alive.
When a character is trying to survive a dangerous situation and the audience reduces the entire scene to "he kissed someone else," it feels less like media analysis and more like refusing to engage with the story being told.
I do feel sorry for the actors and crew.
Imagine spending months creating a story with moral ambiguity, character development, and actual stakes, only for some viewers to reduce the entire discussion to "the protagonist shouldn't suffer."
Perhaps I was wrong to assume modern audiences had moved beyond the storytelling standards of decades-old soap operas. 😉