Yes, Again, This Is Just Fiction, But...

I am really, really getting worried about Alex. Even more so than last year when I wrote a similarly titled post a few days after the dark events of “Queer Eyes, Full Hearts”.


Obviously, a lot of my worry has to do with the potential trouble to come in that future episode (I'm guessing we're looking at seeing it about a month from now), but there was plenty about this past week's “The Closet Case” in and of itself to make me wonder if once again Alex could find herself on the brink of imploding.

Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional (or untrained, for that matter), and I hate taking this blog so darkly, but that didn't stop me from over-analyzing Alex's mental state before. So here I go again...

First there is the breakup with Sanjay.  Alex seemed to take this one really hard - even though her gentle sobs and quiet cracking voice in the dorm with Luke were more subtle than a full out bawl would have been, it was still painfully and more effectively heartbreaking to watch (actually it still is – I've watched it a few times since and my eyes still get misty. That scene's also further proof of how talented Ariel Winter is – her voice and overall acting abilities made that feel so real I have to remind myself again that it isn't – and I'm having trouble doing so).

Since we've only seen one breakup on-screen (Alec last year), I can't say for certain this is the most devastated she's been about losing a boyfriend but I'd bet on it if I had to.  I think she felt her strongest ever romantic connection with Sanjay, and I have a feeling it's going to be a long while before she gets over this.

Then there's the coping action Alex took – she snuck home late at night to return to the comfort of her own room. I find this troubling because she's been in college and away from home for less than two weeks, and she was looking forward to her independence for quite some time, yet at the first sign of adversity she came running back.  Will this become a recurring trend?
 
Now to some degree I'm not surprised Alex would eventually become somewhat homesick, but this still seems like what used to be an atypical attitude for Alex – until recently she's always had tons of self-confidence and self-sufficiency but lately we've seen her become more and more vulnerable and in need of a helping hand (remember last year when she didn't get a date to homecoming even though that too drove her to tears she kept it to herself – if Haley hadn't mentioned that she saw Alex crying nobody would have known).

One thing we don't know – did she come up with this idea herself, or did Luke talk her into going home?  The latter could have happened – I don't remember Alex ever getting a car to use for herself (unless Brie drove her home - Maisie's too young to drive).

And while to some degree this might be just a plot device to keep Alex on as a regular part of the show (for now?) without having to film most of her scenes at school (i.e. we see her more at home than at school) it's still a sad development.

Finally, there's Alex getting into her own bed, thinking she was alone, only to find Dylan in there. Now clearly this was totally an innocent moment and a complete misunderstanding, but I'd still expect the moment to take a mental toll on her (heck she still can't get that image out of her mind of her parents doing, well, you know, when she and Haley and Luke were trying to surprise them with breakfast in bed for their anniversary years ago – I can only imagine how scarring this will be).

And one thing that didn't come up this week is how her academic life is going. It's entirely possible that not only does she have all this on her plate, but that she still could be dealing for the first time with adversity with her studies (and of course any other troubles could exacerbate this).

And, oh, don't forget there's that other unfortunate coping mechanism she started turning to late last season when things got rough. We haven't seen that yet in the first three episodes, but...

So, all in all, there's again cause for concern for Alex. And, unlike last year there's a lot more reason to believe it will manifest itself into something far worse in the not very distant future.

I don't know how long I can keep my fingers crossed hoping that I could be totally misreading everything.