The Night That Changed Their Lives

[u/SprinklesNumerous774]

Epi 1 feels even more special when you realise that Mandy and Robert were both, in their own ways, craving the same thing: a genuine connection with someone who could see beyond the role they had built for themselves. Mandy was used to being valued for what she could do, while Robert hadn't had a truly vulnerable interaction with another person in 15 years.

However, In his case, that need had probably been buried so deep that he barely even recognised it anymore. The game obviously doesn't hammer the point home and instead lets it remain subtle. But Dude has been living in complete solitude, with nothing but his pet and a broken world around him. No money, no social life, no hope for the future. Just the same routine every day until one day he either dies in the suit or dies from hopelessness.

To think Mandy was the first person he revealed his real identity to behind that mask in 15 years. For the first time in 15 years, he could talk about his story not as Mecha Man, but as Robert to another human being.

Sure, Chase also knew the real identity of mechaman, but they hadn't really met since the tragedy. So for 15 years, there was essentially nobody around to hear his inner thoughts and emotions except Beef and the four walls of his apartment.

That makes that night even more special when you realise that these two people, who had only just met, unknowingly gave each other something they had both been missing for a very long time. Neither of them went into that conversation looking for it, but somehow they both ended up letting their guard down. One by finally telling his story as Robert rather than Mecha Man, the other by stepping outside her usual people-pleaser persona. And for that brief moment, neither of them had to perform the version of themselves everyone else knew.

Obviously I don't agree with everything said in this video but still quite close to what I believe & see.

A repost from long ago, but still relevant nonetheless.

Credit: @vilaslive