Vicious

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, child abuse, and bullying.

When Emilia first reconnects with Vicious, a decade after he threatened her and forced her to leave her family in Todos Santos, she is determined never to trust him again. Indeed, his first move following their renewed acquaintance is to use his money to coerce her into accepting a job with him, despite her reservations. To Emilia, this serves as further evidence that Vicious is not worthy of her forgiveness and heightens her suspicions that he will never prove worthy. Despite these initial misgivings, Emilia’s attraction to Vicious leads her to forgive him enough to begin a sexual relationship.

For Emilia, this decision has both risks and rewards. When she and Vicious have a relationship that is sexually but not emotionally intimate, they do not build trust for one another. Thus, when Emilia learns that Vicious has been having sex with her in Dean’s apartment, she assumes this to be an elaborate trick to get revenge for her choosing to date Dean when they were in high school. It is only after Vicious puts something that matters to him at risk—his money and his personal history—that Emilia trusts him enough to offer forgiveness and empathy.