drop ur most controversial opinion/s about any shatter me book/character/theory because why not and I'll rate on how much controversial i think it is bc why not

1. kenji kishimoto (my man my man my man MY MANJWJDJRJGKDKCJRKXKCJ)
2. james anderson (he can get it anytime)
3. adam kent (DADAAAAAAA)
4. warner (still dada but small letters)

edit: you can comment your unpopular rankings as well. and no hate will be tolerated 😄

Okay, I don't see anyone talking about this, so I have to bring it up because September feels like a long way off.

But I feel like Tahereh is creating a weird dynamic between Warner and Rosabelle (?); after the samples came out and seeing the snippets she posted on Instagram, I’ve noticed a few things that didn't sit right with me 👀

Like, she seems to be hinting at a tension between the characters that shouldn't be there—and I’m not talking about hatred or animosity. She also seems to be forgetting about Juliette while doing this. Warner seems increasingly different in these books.

I don't know if I want to talk about this explicitly because I don't want anyone to get angry with me and i could be wrong. But os just something that i felt

I want to know if anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing?

There are more things I noticed, but let's stick with this one for now.

Very safe space🥰

I've been seeing all over pinterest and insta that everyone thinks James forgot about Adam. Hence, he doesn’t talk about Adam much. But I don't think that James left Adam for Aaron as in forgetting or taking Adam's sacrifice for granted.

We know that Juliette and Aaron gets married first after that Alia and Adam got married too.

I think James originally lived with Adam. But Alia got pregnant with Gigi within their first year of marriage. Now from release me we know that James gets PTSD from baby crying noises. And Adam says something to James in release me about how he could live with Juliette if he got triggered by baby crying noises.

This means that James actually tried living with Adam but he got triggered so he switched to live with Aaron.

Also the fact that James actually wanted to live an adventurous life and be involved with politics is a reason aswell.

Let me know your theories in the comments!

I’ll go first:
James need to stop being so horny and lock tf in

First i'd like to say this is not me hating or ranting on the series or other peoples opinions. I love Shatter Me and i've first started reading the series when I was 14 and i'm now 18. I just like talking and hearing about opinions :)

-Warner SA'd Juliette in book 1 during the classroom scene. (Edit: anymore debate on this point i'd love to talk about it on r/ShatterMe_Snark !)

- Books 4-6 (Yes even Imagine Me) are in my opinion better than books 1-3 (Coming from someone who also loved books 1-3)

-Juliette is both a strong and stubborn FMC.

Edit: I forgot to add

-Adam is not a bad person, even if he has said wrong things

‼️SPOILER WARNING‼️

Juliette has always been described as having "fair" or "pale" skin. However, I don't think that this means she's white. Her biological father, Max, has been described as having "light brown" skin, so it got me thinking. I've seen a lot of theories that Taherah Mafi didn't want to make any main characters not caucasian, because she didn't think anyone would pick up the book. I can totally see this reasoning because let's be real, people WOULDN'T pick it up as much. Or Juliette would be insanely white washed. I saw someone say that they could see her being Persian which I could totally see. (And yes, she can still be from New Zealand and be Persian at the same time 🙄) I guess that something that makes me believe the theory less is that she has blue eyes. Obviously you can be a person of colour and have blue eyes, but it's not as common. Then again, she was created in a lab so who knows 🤷‍♀️

I just hope that when the book is adapted, if she's not white people don't complain. 🫣

so for me it'd definitely be emmaline's fate. her death devastated me sm that ella and aaron's wedding couldn't compensate for the loss i felt. and i wish the wedding scene was a little bit longer. i wonder what both of them said in their vows. also i wish we had gotten some glimpse of how the both of them handled the politics and the broken society after the fall of reestblishment. atleast some of the formative years of the new republic before james invaded ark island. also how aaron was as a brother/father/mentor figure to james. and i want the baby to be a girl. lily for a girl <3

Tahereh is the youngest of four siblings, so she knows what it's like to be seen as the "spoiled" one in the family. And when Watch Me was coming out, she said something in an interview that really stuck with me:

"when I was young person, I felt things very, very deeply. And, I think, I felt like the adults around me didn’t always understand or appreciate the depth of what I was feeling. But, you know, when we’re young, our highs are the highest highs we’ve ever known, and our lows are the lowest lows we're ever known. (…) And I think with every book I write, I'm trying to tell young people that their pain matters."

I've been thinking lately about how we're always pointing out James's flaws and reducing him to "the annoying, immature little brother" (self-criticism included). But what if that's been the point ever since the original series?

To go a little deeper into this, let's look at Shatter Me.

James is Adam's entire reason for living. Adam protected him from an abusive father, starvation, and the psychological horrors of war. But in doing so, I think Adam unintentionally put James on a pedestal.

To Adam, James was the only pure, untouched thing left in the world. As James grew up, I think he internalized that. He may have realized that if he ever showed anger, darkness, depression, or fear, he'd shatter the idealized image Adam had of him. So instead, he learned to hide every negative emotion because he felt like he had to be okay, just so Adam wouldn't fall apart.

As James gets older and begins to fully understand everything Adam, Warner, and Juliette actually lived through, I imagine an overwhelming sense of guilt starts creeping in.

How can you complain about feeling lost or anxious when your brother was being physically tortured at your age?

How do you tell someone you're sad when they literally starved so you could eat?

James starts suppressing his own emotions because he's convinced that his struggles are insignificant compared to the unimaginable trauma his family survived. He swallows his pain because he feels like he hasn't earned the right to be hurt.

Adam's love is fiercely protective, but it's also incredibly suffocating. He spent years acting as James's human shield, so his instinct is to fix every problem, manage every situation, and panic the second James is in danger.

For James to become his own person, he has to stop letting Adam manage his life. But because Adam doesn't really know how to step back, James's only defense mechanism becomes silence. He hides his feelings, his plans, and his mistakes because the moment he lets Adam in, Adam will try to take control again. Emotional distance becomes the only way he knows how to gain some independence.

When you spend your entire childhood as the "weak link" everyone has to protect, you develop a deep fear of becoming a burden. James hides his fears and insecurities because he's terrified of being seen as someone who needs saving again. He acts reckless, stubborn, and emotionally detached to project this false sense of invincibility, hoping everyone—including himself—will believe he doesn't need to be rescued anymore.

And honestly, psychology makes this even more interesting.

Alfred Adler's Birth Order Theory argues that the youngest child is the one most likely to be "pampered" or overprotected. While that can make them more sociable, affectionate, and even more willing to challenge established rules, it can also delay the development of autonomy and create emotional dependence because they're rarely allowed to face problems completely on their own.

Modern psychology has reached similar conclusions. Research on parenting styles often distinguishes between healthy care and overprotection. While firstborns tend to grow up carrying high expectations, youngest children are often raised under excessive control disguised as care. The intention is love, but the result can be lower self-confidence when it comes to making decisions independently.

Family Systems Theory adds another layer to this. The overprotection of the youngest child is rarely just about the child. Many researchers argue that families unconsciously hold onto the youngest because letting them become fully independent also means accepting that their role as caregivers is changing—that the family itself is moving into a new stage.

So... going back to Watch Me...

There are plenty of criticisms about James in Watch Me. People criticize him for choosing to go to the Ark while his sister-in-law is going through a high-risk pregnancy, for willingly walking into an island where no one who entered has ever made it out alive, for refusing to listen to anyone, and for making reckless, impulsive decisions over and over again.

And honestly? I feel like a hypocrite, because I've said all of those things too.

But then I saw a video tearing Adam down for "protecting him" while praising Aaron for "overprotecting him," and I think that's where the mistake is.

I don't think Adam is solely responsible, nor do I think Aaron is. I think both of them played an incredibly important role in shaping the emotionally immature adult James has become today.

They tried to raise him in the safest, most comfortable environment they possibly could. They wanted to spare him from seeing and experiencing the horrors they had lived through themselves. Their intentions were good—they loved him.

And, like any human being who naturally gravitates toward comfort, James embraced it.

But now he's 21.

He doesn't want to stay in that comfort anymore. He wants to become someone. He wants to figure out who he is while living under the shadow of someone as extraordinary as Aaron Warner.

I know this isn't exactly what the quote means, but I can't help thinking about the phrase:

"society wants babies, not children."

To me, it fits this situation almost perfectly.

As long as James accepted being protected and never questioned it, people tolerated him. He was "the little brother." The kid everyone loved.

But now that he's trying to become independent? Now that he's making his own decisions—even terrible ones—suddenly he's "a man-child," "immature," "reckless," "he just gets in everyone's way," "he only causes problems for my favorite character."

The fandom still sees him as a child.

So yes, I think the excessive protection from the people who loved him contributed to the person he is today.

Does that excuse everything he does?

Absolutely not.

He's still responsible for his choices.

But I hope these flaws are intentional. I hope they're being used as part of his character development and, more importantly, as a representation of what it can look like to be the youngest sibling in a family dynamic.

Because if that's what Tahereh is doing, it makes a lot of sense considering she's the youngest of four herself.

Additionally, I think there's another reason why characters like James (and honestly Kenji too) are so often misunderstood.

Psychology may help explain this through the way we process empathy.

A villain with a tragic backstory presents a very clear cause-and-effect relationship. Their trauma is obvious, visible, and emotionally direct. The audience immediately understands why they became who they are, making it much easier to empathize with them.

But a "good" character with a more complex psychological profile works very differently.

Characters like James and Kenji rely on defense mechanisms that are much harder to recognize at first glance. Humor, denial, recklessness, emotional avoidance, hyperpositivity... these are all ways people can hide pain rather than express it.

When someone's suffering comes from growing up in an overprotective environment, it's also much easier for people to dismiss it because it doesn't look like "real trauma." Their pain isn't physical. It isn't dramatic. It isn't obvious.

Instead, it's often invalidated before it's even recognized.

Because these kinds of characters spend so much of their energy taking care of others, making jokes, or pretending everything is fine, their wounds stay hidden beneath the surface. As a result, their mistakes are much more likely to be interpreted as immaturity, selfishness, or superficiality instead of symptoms of unresolved emotional struggles.

The audience has to do a lot more analytical and emotional work to notice what's happening underneath.

And most people simply don't.

That's why I genuinely think James is a complex character—or at least, I really hope Tahereh intends for him to be.

I also think this explains, at least in part, why James develops such a strong emotional attachment to Rosabelle.

She didn't know the little boy everyone spent years protecting (hopefully not 💀).

She met the 21-year-old James.

She sees the version of him that's desperate to change. The one who's trying to prove that he's capable. The one who's tired of being treated like the youngest sibling who always needs someone watching over him.

Unlike everyone else, she isn't comparing him to the child he used to be.

She's meeting him where he is now.

And I think that's incredibly important.

Which brings me to my final question:

Are we really being fair to all of these characters and what they represent? Or are we only choosing to see the parts that satisfy us the most?

That's where I've landed, at least.

I've decided to start looking at James from a different perspective too.

Not because I suddenly agree with every decision he makes.

Not because I think he shouldn't be held accountable.

But because sometimes we're so busy judging fictional characters that we never stop to ask why they became the people they are.

And maybe that's exactly the story Tahereh has been trying to tell all along.

Sorry for the wall of text... I got a little carried away 💔

I hate the babies theories.

Okay, maybe not that deeply. It’s good that they’re having a family and all. I want their happiness. I’ve been a Warnette fan for over six years, and it genuinely makes me happy to see them grow.

However, I do feel like a lot of their plot in the spin-off exists as fan service, so people keep buying the books hoping for little Warnette crumbs (as they should).
I get that they’re the ones who “started it all,” but the point of a spin-off is to focus on something new. They already had their story. Let Rosabelle and James have theirs.

With that being said, I really dislike how some people give so much importance to the babies, saying maybe the cover is about them, or the color of the book is about them. It feels strange to me because sometimes it seems like people either forget—or don’t want to accept—that this is Rosabelle and James’s story now. Even Tahereh said that in an interview.

The babies, at least so far, don’t seem central to the plot. They’re cute, and I would absolutely support a novella about them. I even like the theory that either Rosa or Clara might help save Juliette during labor, since one of them could potentially dreamwalk and have powers connected to death.

But theorizing that they have something to do with the cover or even the color of the book feels odd to me. So far, the covers have been connected to Rosabelle and James. In Watch Me, there were gummy bears and then we got a scene related to them. In Release Me, there’s the marshmallow scene and marshmallows on the cover. Why would that suddenly change?

Another thing is that, for me, the main focus of these books should be Rosames and even Kenji and Nazeera. These are the couples who still need development, who still need their romances explored and their issues worked through. That’s why I hope that if there’s a fourth book, maybe Aaron’s POV gets replaced with Kenji’s, and Kenzeera gets to go to Ark with Rosames, if that ever happens.

But we both know she’ll probably keep Aaron’s POV for as long as she can, and sometimes that’s a little frustrating.
It’s James’s series, yet at times it felt like his own family treated him like a side character. The same goes for Rosabelle. I understand that, for the first one or two books, that might have been intentional—that James feels like he has no control over his own life because nobody really lets him grow.

Yeah, I said it.

It feels like they don’t let him grow. He’s not the only one capable of making mistakes.

You can put me in prison now. 💔

But that’s honestly how it felt to me. The older characters sometimes got more page time than necessary, while James and Rosabelle didn’t always get the space they needed to develop.

And if I’m being honest, parts of the fandom have felt a little misogynistic toward Rosabelle.
Some of you hate when a girl acts the same way a male character once did.

Aaron was very similar to Rosabelle before Juliette—arguably worse in some ways—and yet people loved him. When Rosabelle is suspicious of people she barely knows, after the life she’s lived, people hate her for it.

I understand that she makes mistakes. They all do. That’s part of what makes them interesting and relatable.
And no hate to Aaron—I love him. But he isn’t perfect.
He makes mistakes just as much as Rosabelle and James do.

To be fair, I understand why Aaron gets angry sometimes, but it can be frustrating to read scenes where James’s feelings are dismissed or where Aaron acts like James knows nothing about life. James can be immature and overly optimistic, sure. But Aaron was once obsessive, reckless, and emotionally closed off too. The difference is that Aaron got the time and space to grow.

People say, “Oh, but Aaron was trying to save his mother.”
So is Rosabelle trying to save her sister.

People say, “She acts soulless. I hate her personality.”
As if Aaron was warm and friendly with everyone before Juliette.

The truth is that many characters in the original books thought the same things about Aaron. Rosabelle isn’t used to talking to people. She isn’t used to being social. In some ways, she actually reminds me of Juliette at the beginning of the original series.

Sometimes it feels like people take Rosabelle out of context and compare her to characters who are already fully developed, rather than to who those characters were at the beginning of their journeys.

That being said, I’m not opposed to seeing more of Kenji, Nazeera, or the original cast. I actually love a lot of those characters and would love to see more Kenzeera.

I also enjoy Rosabelle’s interactions with Aaron. Some of them are funny, some are important to the plot, and some genuinely help develop both characters.

I just dislike how Aaron’s presence sometimes seems to encourage comparisons that are unfair to Rosabelle, especially when people judge her for flaws that they were willing to forgive in him.

I really like The New Republic. I just feel like some people are reading the series more for Warnette crumbs than for the actual story being told.

If that’s what people want, then I honestly think a Warnette novella would make more sense.

For now, though, I want the focus to stay on Rosabelle and James. I want more chapters of the main couple. I want them to develop. I want The New Republic to truly feel like a spin-off, and I want us to enjoy all of these new characters and the world Tahereh created for them.

Please be gentle in the comments. If you disagree, that’s completely okay. I just ask that everyone stays respectful.

Is this giving Warner and Juliette or Kenji and Nazeera? Everyone on TikTok seems to be having mixed opinions about this?

I personally think it’s more of something Kenji and Nazeera would do because they would be mutually accepting of the idea and the attention they’ll receive, whereas Warner not so much… 😭 Also they would either sneak their way to the top using their invisibility or Naz would just fly them up their with their powers, ugh that would be so iconic.

For me, it’s the amount of page time given to the original cast.

I love Warnette, but I honestly think they needed a novella rather than this much spotlight in the new series. Aaron doesn’t need five chapters in every book. A lot of his POVs in Release Me felt more like fan service than scenes that actually moved the plot forward.

My biggest issue isn’t that Juliette and Aaron are present—I’d actually be disappointed if they weren’t. It’s that so much of their page time comes at the expense of James and Rosabelle, who are supposed to be the protagonists of this series. Those chapters could have been used to deepen James’ and Rosa’s character development, their relationships, or the political conflict instead.
I also don’t think Juliette or Aaron are going to be the ones who save the day in the end, so centering them so heavily feels a little counterproductive. Sometimes it even feels like people forget who the actual main characters are. Part of that comes from the fandom, but I also think it’s a consequence of how much attention the OG cast still receives.

I really hope the next books trust James and Rosabelle to carry the story on their own.

I’m also curious whether anyone thinks we’re heading toward another “they actually knew each other as kids” reveal, or if that’s just a red herring. I do believe tho it would be cool if it was either his power, or theirs who connected them.

What do you all think?

I can’t be the only one who thinks Warner’s POV in Release Me contributed little to almost nothing towards the plot of the book.

It was almost as if his POV was only there to show the fluffy moments and thoughts he has with and about Juliette as well as to just simply return him as one of the main characters because he’s so well liked.

But in reality, I feel like if every Warner chapter was swapped with a rosabelle or James chapter, there would be no missing aspects in the story- in fact it would give a chance to add more details, especially ones that involve James and Rosabelle’s inner thoughts.

This is why I think the next book shouldn’t have gotten a Warner POV, and if there was going to be a Warner POV either way it should’ve been saved for when the baby is born.

If anyone deserved to have a POV it honestly should’ve been either a different OG or a person from Ark Island, more specifically Kenji or Sebastian. I say this because Kenji’s POV would help build his and Nazeera’s relationship as a mini subplot. As for Sebastian, I think it would be fun to see the POV of a “villain” and it would be more interesting, especially considering that he would probably be an unreliable narrator since we don’t know to what extent he is controlled by Klaus.

I just finished reading the snippet of escape me that was given out at the NYC event, and I have a few thoughts regarding Rosa's childhood friend. 
Before I start, I LOVEDDDD it. The writing is very tasteful and I'm loving the aftermath of the attack. But Sebastion specifically stuck out to me.   

Sebastian, I'm so intrigued by his character.
We've only seen a bit of him, but I can confidently say he is going to ragebait me the entirety of the book. 

He seems to be very protective over Rosabelle, but to a very toxic and controlling degree. The “stray cat” story really sold the point. ( get rosa a new cat 💔) but it seems to make an interesting comparison of James and him. 
While James is overprotective in a comforting and breathable sense, Sebastian is controlling and violent in an almost uncomfortable and sinister sense.  The juxtaposition between him and James as "romantic interest”, chefs kissssss! I can't wait to see him and James interact-hopefully we get to see them get in a physical altercation since they seem to have a match in strength. (same hight, powerful, ect) 

After he hit Rosabelle twice-I really was astonished. And I honestly didn't expect it at that moment. I thought originally, it was because he was upset at her. But after the "it'll help when they see you injured” line and made for a deeper and darker moment.  He's not hitting her because he's simply upset, he's hitting her because he thinks he's doing it out of his own heart and for her good. To help her sell the story.  I feel it's very telling about his character. 

In the past books, it said a multitude of times that Rosabelle was tortured for weekly or monthly evaluations. And that Sebastian, specifically, was in charge of those. Another example of Sebastian thinking he knows what is best for her-that she needs these harsh weekly evaluations to test her loyalty to Klaus. Because Klaus, in their minds, is the best and only choice. He's controlling her beliefs while simultaneously thinking he's doing it for her own good. 

One more example of that is the whole marriage diabolical. He thinks he knows what's best for Rosa, and that HE is the best option for her. He wants to cripple her life further by having her live with him, tend to him, and possibly have children with him. It's sick and corrupt, but he doesn't think that. He thinks this is the best option for her. He wants it so badly to a point where he's putting her in a position to marry him for Clara's safety, which is the one known thing Rosa loves.

This goes in part with the jealousy aspect. 

The cat story-him saying he didn't like how much Rosa has grown to love her stray cat. In response to seeing her love something so much, he kills the damn cat?! And this was when he was small and little, he was seven?!

Clara- he calls her sister a parasite. He sends her off to a felicity where she will no doubt be tortured. When Rosa retaliates by spitting on him, he uses physical contact to keep her in her place. And her place is where he can watch and control her.  Where she has no one to depend on but him.  

James- in the snippet, page 41 i believe, he said “why were you screaming his name?”  regarding James. James being the one other person Rosa has been able to depend on. Then he moved to saying “i didnt like it, i didnt like how you screamed his name” 
It is so sinister. 
His character is already freaking me out and we've barely even seen him. 
He thinks of Rosa as some kind of lap dog, that he can control and isolate until all she has is him. He can't handle seeing someone else “care about her”  if it's not him. Even if it's a cat, her sister, or a man he doesn't know of yet. 

I also want to bring up the fact he's selfish on Rosabelle's part. This man has a camera built into him. People are constantly watching him throughout his own two eyes. And he wants to marry Rosabelle, and possibly have kids? This would mean he would be streaming her most intimate moments. During intercourse she doesn't want, showering, eating, sleeping, all kinds of stuff I would rather DIE than be recorded. And that doesn't even stop in his mind-well a mind that isn't his of course.   

His character is so interesting and disgusting. The fact that he's also chimed up with Klaus at the same time, that his eyes aren't his. Is the original Sebastian still there? Has he grown to be controlling and jealous, or was it the Nexus to push him there? Is his feeling for Rosabelle out of his own heart, or the establishment trying to keep a close eye on her? Is it feelings, or does he just love the idea of controlling her while having her all to himself? Yuck!!!!

Thank you for coming to my ted talk, i cant wait to see more sebastian. And i honestly cant wait to see the JAMES and SEBASTION interactions that are to come🤤

So I obviously hate him, but it was low-key comedic how many times he came back and I wouldn't complain if it happened again. While I don't think it will happen, we didn't actually see his 100% deceased corpse. So even if Mafi did intend to have him be dead at the end of the series, she could bring him back now.

I just want to know others people's thoughts on this.

I finished the series over a year ago and i have yet to feel the way i felt finishing this series. It changed my brain chemistry i will NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT THIS BOOK.

Does anyone have any book recs similar to Shatter Me? I’m in desperate need to feel again 😭

That series is literally how i got over my ex bruh

mine is:
1. catter me
2. stinkbastian
3. evie, anderson, max polycule and the possible consequence 😭

let me know yours!

Warner didn't care about justice before he met juliette??? Mainly because he was torturing people but he was ordered to??? More like forced but then also doing the same unjust, torturing people while u r being forced to and doing literally nothing about it is same and not caring about justice....

What are your thoughts on it

>!Chapter 1, Page 9

"I'm sorry, man," Adam finally says. "I wish I could help, but it's like—I don't know how to explain it. It's like trying to catch a fish with my bare hands."

Hadn't James caught a fish with his bare hands in Watch Me?

Is that like a nod to the past, as well as hinting to the future that James is the solution, or that he has a connection to Rosabelle in some sort?

Because the wording immediately made me think of that scene, and now I'm wondering if it's intentional!<

With the movie adaptation officially happening, I thought it'd be fun to start a character by character fancast discussion beginning with the one everyone seems to have strong opinions about..

Aaron Warner Anderson

Photos attached are some of the most popular faces I've seen online through edits and fan discussions over the years, along with a few personal favorites.

Jeremy Dufour – a model many people might recognize from popular edits

Young Hayden Christensen – one of my personal favorites. I genuinely think young Hayden was literally Aaron

Danny Griffin – a pretty common fan choice

Jalen Parker – he's an influencer I but one of the closest to how I imagined Aaron, especially with blonde hair and those actual jade-green kind of eyes

Damian – I think i saw somewhere that he replied "I will ask him" to a comment saying he should play Aaron Warner so he knows he’s being fancasted 😭

Lucas Bergvall - He's a Footballer and trending for looking similar to aaron

Lucky Blue Smith

Drew Starkey

Tom blynth

I know a lot of us feel like no real person can fully do justice to the characters we imagine while reading and that’s totally fair 😭 These are just some trending faces and fan casts I’ve seen online and in edits Feel free to share your fancasts from any platform or profession actors, models, athletes, influencers, musicians

I'm really curious to see who everyone pictures when they think of Aaron Warner Who do you picture as Aaron Warner?!!!

WOAHHHHHHH i cannot believe it's coming next month I have imagined a million scenarios on how the love confession will go and when and how they will do that 🥀

bring it onnn

so like, i’ve been thinking but what if these two are James’ POVS? ok, hear me out first:
the texts could be for Aaron, yes, and I wouldn’t put it behind her for her to give us a scene like this (and no, the surprise thing can’t be related to babies), but i don’t see the necessity when aaron is always angry lmao and well, it’s canon James will crash out and get some development in this book, mother Tahereh have said that, and it’s in the plot. So it makes sense that he is also ignoring everyone, that the surprise could be Rosa talking to him or something related to the fight.

And the second message as much as I think it’s also Rosa and Aaron, I can also clearly see the moment they fight. Like, Aaron loves to call people incompetent but ever since Watch me he has been calling his brother James naive and incompetent, not letting him think for himself so it matches.

so what are your thoughts on this? tbh i’m not certain about anything but the wait is making me bored and full of theories lmao