charmac - Tumblr blog

charmac · 1 day ago

Text

Okay, we're going to talk about Dennis and women. Something has shifted, and I need everybody to hear me out on this.

When 17x02 aired, this line where Dennis pushed back against Mac's misogyny initially stood out primarily for being absurd, given Dennis' own history, but I posit that this does appear to be more than what we had joked about being his #feminist moment.

Why is he going out of his way to make a distinction here? He has nothing to gain from doing this, he's in opposition with Mac and Charlie for no discernible reason. Why not side with them, shift the blame onto the opposing team? If this isn't to do with his improved alliance relationship with Dee - who he still singles out when conceding that she is one woman who "ruins everything" - then... what could have prompted him to take a step back from his war on women?

What changed?

I believe the answer is that Dennis' "mental health day" has given him somewhat of a different perspective. In his constructed fantasy, he assigns random women (and the pot of flowers) that he sees in the doctor's office waiting room roles to play. They are clerks, cashiers, receptionists. Although these are roles that are traditionally subservient to whomever they are serving (both to their boss and to customers), they still have control over Dennis. He has to work within the boundaries of The System, and he gets increasingly frustrated because he does not understand the rules, looks foolish and antiquated when he tries to offer alternatives. Despite this, he reminds himself that these women are not solely an extension of this oppressive structure, that they are individuals with opinions which may even align with his own, and they did not choose these things of their own free will; they are simply doing what they were taught. Throughout the episode, he continually acknowledges that it's not personal, and that while he is upset, he's more upset at the situation than he is at them. We see him attempt to bypass the system, which doesn't work, so he instead has to make an effort to communicate and compromise with them on their terms, which has the effect of lowering his blood pressure and dissipating his anger toward them. Most importantly and most interestingly, it seems like through this, he's developed a sort of... solidarity with them, which I suspect stems from his regret over dehumanizing himself for so long.

A couple years back I made a post talking about the way Dennis treats the customer service workers in DTAMHD, and it seems like what I said at the time has become surprisingly relevant.

There's an interesting dichotomy when you have [Dennis as] simultaneously a raging misogynist but also strangely far more patient and candid with women (more specifically women he's not trying to DENNIS or women in positions of power – title or age – that he's trying to gain something from). [...] Dennis doesn't actually have any resentment toward most people by default. [...] He's not At War with these people, [...] everyone starts at a base zero and declines from there. I can completely understand having him mostly interact with women in an episode where he's actively trying to quell his rage, reminding himself they're people too, just caught up in a system that dictates they behave a certain way... do what's expected of them....... [while the people caught up in their system] see them as a representative of a much larger collective that ignores any and all individuality........... #i think i was saying dtamhd is showing he can see women as people in his mind with (considerable) effort and that he empathizes w them

If Dennis is fighting against his usual opinion of women, then naturally that indicates that prior to this, he sees all women as a part of the system; they enforce it through compliance, they inconvenience him, and oppose him. They are an oppressive force which he feels he has to fight back against. This is all still true within DTAMHD, but his view of them has softened.

Now we have Tammy, who is unusual in several notable ways; first and most obviously, she is older than the women Dennis typically pursues (he is out of his comfort zone, inexperienced). Second, she is married, but has a noticeable rift between her and Trey (his advances are not necessarily unwanted). Third, she has already met and been involved with Dennis (she knows him). Finally, she is associated with Dennis' "high school" romance (and as a result, has seemingly achieved the same status as Maureen).

His approach with her is different, as a result. He tries to impress her with his pheromone serum, which fails. Then he tries to connect with over something he assumes must be a symptom of adulthood, more specifically, of being middle-aged, and thus there must be a mutually desired remedy for their affliction.

Dennis offers her this solution, and his cooperation to make it happen. He wants to tap into the excitement that her plotting created twenty years prior. Teen drama is the antidote to the poison of adult drama. She is a victim of this marriage, trapped and in need of help. And she doesn't dispute this, she says that her marriage isn't easy; Dennis has firsthand experience with this, of course. But he lies, asserts that he's free, unlike her. He assumes freedom is something that she must desire, because he desires it. In his initial assessment of her circumstances, he's very obviously talking about himself - he's the one who is feeling trapped, depressed, and his life that used to be so exciting is now dull and dreary. His commitment is, of course, to the gang, and he has had to compromise who he is in order to both protect himself from them and continue to be useful to them.

Tammy is the breadwinner, the one responsible for supporting them - we have seen this of Dennis as well, he's consistently put in this role. Whether Dennis subconsciously understands he and Tammy are alike (prior to Dee informing him what the situation with Trey is like) or he's simply projecting, there is commonality. The last time we saw Dennis pursuing women in 15x02, he was turned down until he stopped trying to connect and understand them and simply regurgitated everything they wanted him to say. Attempting to establish rapport inhibits his ability to sleep with younger women. He wants to, but he has nothing in common with them. Here, we have the opposite.

His mistake with Tammy is - as always - assuming that sex is the way to solve this dissatisfaction with current circumstances. It is a means to an end. A tool. Something he offers as payment, a bribe to get what he wants, give them what he assumes they want. We have seen that Dennis craves human connection, but his systems don't allow for it. As long as he tries to adhere to them, both he and the women he tries to collaborate with will be victims of it; there is no benefit to be gained.

Although apprehensive, Tammy is willing to entertain whatever is going on, and is shocked that this is the only thing Dennis is angling for.

On top of everything else, Dennis doesn't even want this; Dee talks him into it, and then from start to finish, he is attempting to create a riveting narrative. That's what originally grabs him. Finding stories to emulate and inhabit. He was cast in this role by Dee, and Tammy was to be his scene partner. There's no yes, ands, she has no interest in playing along. So he moves on, tries to switch up the genre while still sticking with the theme, the "thing" that he and Dee are doing; forbidden love. Instead of trying it Dee's way - an affair with a married woman - he defaults back to what he initially found exciting. The Romeo and Juliet storyline with Trey Jr. and Kerry Bitaberry.

He succeeds in inserting himself within the narrative, but it's unsatisfying.

He justifies his actions and his distaste for the situation to Dee as being acceptable (because yes, Kerry is above the legal age of consent, and he asserts he has done nothing wrong), but he also points out that Tammy and Trey must have disapproved of her relationship with their son because she was "robbing the cradle".

"Women ruin everything." "Well... This woman does."

He doesn't like Kerry, and beyond that, she is a bad person in Dennis' eyes. Bad enough that his treatment of her is warranted. But he still views her as a person. An individual with free will, beyond her role in his story. Being cast in this role that she believed she chose ruined her life. Did Dennis choose to be seen as a serial killer, or did he go along with it, believing that he was taking advantage of an opportunity?

Regardless of whether or not he believes Kerry is deserving of her punishment for dating someone underage, there's no larger force at play that this attack serves to dismantle. He isn't treating them like some sort of hivemind where if he hurts one, the rest will suffer. If he no longer feels the need to tear down the opposite sex, and he didn't personally enjoy anything about it, if it didn't benefit Dennis, and it didn't benefit Kerry, what was the point in the end? All it does is make him feel like a piece of shit to see their lives ruined. Whatever grudge he had against them has dissipated, and he doesn't know what to do anymore. He doesn't enjoy having sex with women. The DENNIS system was never about sex, it was a necessary step in a system designed to retake establish power through emotional devastation. What is left if he doesn't want either, if they both leave him feeling unsatisfied, or worse? He can't connect with them or anyone else, he feels trapped by his friends, his escapism is ineffective. The God Hole isn't being filled by anything. The system is what it is, we're both victims here.

Where does this leave him? What does he have left? Why is he utilizing these tactics? To win his competition with Dee?

It has always been a win-lose thing to Dennis. He's not fighting anyone anymore. He doesn't want to fight them, he wants to overcome alienation and isolation. Being othered has made him feel inhuman. His journey through DTAMHD was impeded by automation, but the thing he was seeking the entire time was to be able to communicate with others without the system getting in the way and dictating things for them. Put simply, Dennis is a robot stuck in an automated loop that he has not been able to break out of.

#oh dennis...#god i cant wait to see where this goes at the end of this season #the big speech is coming..#dennis pleads to be seen as human #ehrhhhhhhhhh #sunny 17

129 notes · View notes