ALRIGHT BUCKLE UP here we go again, friends. Today I’m going to tell you why I think that from the very beginning Kinn intentionally sent an unknowing Pete to Vegas to manipulate him into submission.
So in my previous post I tackled the scene from episode 4 where Pete and Porsche discuss and have some revelations about good vs evil. I also stated in that post “I think Kinn knows (HE KNOWS) that, in addition to basically being [Porsche’s] bestie, Pete is probably the most empathic of all his men...” and I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on that. Because I may have let my mind run a bit wild with that idea during my rewatch, and it’s not only greatly satisfying to me, but relevant to my point.
So, in that previous post I outlined 4 occasions where we the audience gets to see Pete acting with a fair amount of empathy. TD;LR is 1) he’s nice to porsche when literally no one else is and this includes 2) speaking up to Tankhun when he thinks he’s being unfair (would also add retroactively that Pete speaking up to Tankhun is pretty major esp when we see how anxious he can get around the family). 3) The way he observes the family and internalizes all they’ve been through, and 4) When he calms Porsche down by helping him to understand that Kinn is also Going Through It.
Also, just for funzies I will add this bit where, once again, Pete is the only one to speak up in a situation he doesn’t think is Right (but also lol because he DOES stand by, watching in abject horror, and fascination, as Vegas removes the guys cochlea right after.)
(Also, nevermind the fact that its literally in his job description to commit murder, A MAN COULD DIE)
AND Also this:
Which CAN be considered a silly throw away line, but is important to part of my theory, which is this: Kinn knows that Pete is a bit of a special case. Kinn knows he has this empathetic streak. Knows he’s a bit softer than his colleagues, but that he’s still lethal and competent. Kinn has witnessed the empathy manifest in some of the same ways that we have, like in his friendship with Porsche, and in this throw away line about Macau (which, if you are still wondering why it’s important to my theory is because its behavior that KINN IS WITNESSING).
Additionally, and in my last post I mentioned as well, When Porsche is having an emotional crisis; having his worldview essentially shattered, Kinn sends Pete to sus out the situation and to help Porsche through it, because, lets be honest, if he’d just wanted someone to tell Porsche to suck it up and get back in there, he would have sent Ken. And also, Kinn cares about Porsche. He wanted to see Porsche come out of the situation okay and trusted Pete to help him do that.
Have I convinced you yet that Kinn knows Pete is an empathetic man? Because it’s important for the next bit.
I think Kinn sent Pete to Vegas specifically and intentionally. I think that Kinn knew that Pete would affect Vegas in some way, (with his empathy) and that he could use that to his advantage.
Kinn is an extremely competent strategist. If you’re not sure of that statement, just remember that the entire show is a series of events orchestrated by his father, for gods sake. And that Vegas’ entire Tawan plot was months if not years in the making. Okay, this is a family of people who’re playing an insane game of chess with each other, and the entire point of chess is to be able to predict your opponents move, BECAUSE YOU’VE LED THEM TO MAKE IT. If you still don’t agree with me think about how tankhun got out of being the main family head (he doesn’t seem all that crazy to me, js) or about Kim who’s somehow managed to stay “out” of the game for so long (spoiler alert, its because he’s getting ahead and manipulating situations so he WONT get pulled in. he just never counted on Chay happening to him lol).
My final point and the bit that really brought this theory home for me is this conversation:
Kinn approaches Pete, after, and I cannot stress this enough, MULTIPLE failed attempts on Pete’s part to spy on Vegas. Naturally, Pete is Confused. Just look at him:
and he says:
Pete’s REMINDING him. He’s like ‘hey, idk if thats a good idea. last time was a bit of a failure, maybe spying isn’t my thing’ and typically when someone fails their job multiple times... they aren’t asked to continue doing said job. I would imagine the consequences for failing at your job as a mafia bodyguard could even be something like death. That is, unless they’re NOT failing at their job, and they only think they are because they’re being used for another secret purpose. I would also note that regardless of their “failure”, Vegas does seem interested (drawn, even?) to Pete (aka that temple scene; the weird/sexual tension aside, Vegas and Pete were clearly trying to figure each other out. Vegas: why is the cute bodyguard so intriguing and how is he so BAD at this spying thing??, and Pete: I’m gonna die, he’s gonna kill me, but also he’s acting in a way and doing an activity that’s completely unexpected and I wanna make it make sense, figure him out--wait no. no no no.).
Why else would Kinn, a man who surely has a NUMBER of highly skilled spies at his disposal, continue to send in someone who continuously fails at their job? Unless that was the real goal all along.
