#hope I got the right balance of defending kinn here

[fromperdition4]

Kinn's Soft Heart

Alright, I love Tankuhn, and I see how hard he's trying to protect his brother from the guy who broke his heart - but this was the worst thing he could have said to Kinn.

Because Kinn is thinking about his loved ones here, and that's his main problem!

Almost everything Kinn does is for his family - shooting Tawan after his last betrayal, taking over as heir for Tankuhn, sharpening his edges to be the leader his family needs him to be - and wanting to do what's best for his family is what's driving him to follow through with his plan here too.

So many characters doubt Kinn's motivations in this episode, believing he'll be swayed by his old feelings for Tawan - brought down by his soft heart:

But Kinn isn't fooled by Tawan. He's only playing along with him so that they (Pete) can get evidence he was sent by the minor family, and maybe figure out what Vegas is planning, along the way.

Where he makes a misstep is in not talking to Porsche about his plans.

Which I see as an overcorrection on Kinn's part.

Because we see him want to bring Porsche in - he goes to him after meeting with Tawan, probably to talk over what they should do about him refusing to cooperate - but then he finds Porsche chumming with Vegas.

And as much as Kinn loves Porsche, as much as he wants to trust him, he's been in a similar situation before - when he ignored Big's warning about Tawan (and probably other warning signs as well), and hurt his family in the process.

So, after all the reminders Kinn's gotten about his previous mistake - one of the biggest regrets of his life - he's now faced with the possibility that he could be fooled again.

And that, along with all the jealousy he feels whenever he sees Porsche being friendly with Vegas, leads him to accept Tawan's terms and leave Porsche in the dark. Then, when Porsche (who has his own trust issues to work through) gets caught spying on them later, Kinn punishes him - thinking, once again, about his family first and what it would look like if he didn't.

But, of course, Kinn does still know, in his heart, that Porsche wouldn't betray him. Even when he finds Porsche escaping with Vegas (while coming down to Porsche's cell to finally talk things out), he still ultimately trusts him.

Because he loves Porsche.

And Kinn will always put his loved ones first.