beta
brett's gift (aka the dead bird/this whole revenge scheme) being misaligned with what the person actually wants (his brother's fear/hayden's shock) - his capacity for self-sacrifice in a way that is utterly detached towards his mental/physical wellbeing while ALSO not being able to comprehend what it means to treat hayden as an equal in this relationship. so like deep devotion but also hyper-rationality at the expense of empathy. meanwhile hayden DOES live in fantasy; brett is right that hayden didn't grasp what it meant to truly SEE him and accept him as a whole, and hayden is learning that the hard way. of course, hayden is also right to be confused and hurt - like huh? i didn't ask for any of this??
brett getting nauseas and dizzy when hayden hugs him after learning of his SA - hello repressed trauma, hello intense fear of vulnerability....
anyways, i actually think that hayden will need to be the one to aggressively pursue brett next season. (first season, it felt like brett being the more active party; second season it felt like they were more equal but operating with fundamental misunderstanding (they were going on fun, hayden-worldview dates + but brett was doing his own thing secretly) third season i think hayden will need to figure out what it means to accept brett as a whole and what it means to be brett's equal. i think atp brett feels "seen" and "rejected" by hayden; he's hurt by hayden being scared/upset by his "true" self so i don't see him actively going back to hayden anytime soon.
IMO hayden will tap into his more aggressive side. he might even resort to force. because i think fundamentally brett needs violence/force as well; gentleness isn't enough for him. we've deviated from some darkness so i would like to tap back into that darkness ;) i think the ending where hayden slams his against the wall is pretty indicative. also i think professionally, hayden will level up (become an actor) and become more of an "equal" to brett.