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Sometimes people are just dumb. It’s very possible that Reggie hadn’t given any thought to the question, he just felt like he should be the one making choices. Apart from the context, this is a transcript of a store meeting I was at essentially. If memory serves the assistant suggested a course of action & the manager stopped them because they were the one who should be making decisions, & then they repeated the idea unironically. Sometimes people are just dumb.

Although in Reggie’s case it’s almost endearing because he’s so transparently insecure. His attitude is childish & petulant, because he’s not confident in the real sense of the word. Which is essentially his main character flaw he’s always trying to overcome. I can certainly empathize. I struggle with character flaws I’m keenly aware of all the time, so it must be much harder to deal with ones you don’t really understand as flaws.

Alex & Patty essentially accept Reggie as he is, having met him at point where he came across as genuinely confident & skilled. Jo has forgiven him because she caused their falling out in the first place. Carol tolerates him because she trusts the value others place in him & sees some value in him as well. (In actuality they are very similar characters deep down.) John has developed some level of respect for him in spite of the rivalry he’s on the losing side of at the moment. Thomas sees him as a misguided friend, in addition to being useful. Victoria loves her brother, but is wary of him as a matter of course for their family dynamic. Although at the same time she’s beginning to see him as a person via interacting with him in a social setting. People don’t always make that connection with siblings. In some ways accidentally ending up in her brother’s peer group, & vice versa, has actually strengthened their family bond in ways I don’t think they understand. In a family whose baseline is adversarial seeing the human side of one another can alter that dynamic.

The short version of all that is he’d have a lot easier time if he could get out of his own way. The intense desire for recognition & validation through adulation really hinders him. Someday, if he learns his own worth he’ll be able to see the value in others, which will help him make real connections.