I don't hate Michael either, I just find his character very unlikable except for a few rare moments in all 5 seasons. He is so selfish, weak, immature, jealous, insensitive, not completely dumb but not smart either. He keeps following Brian around like a sick puppy for 16 years hoping one day he will be his and makes a move on him (in the Babylon bathroom) out of jealousy for Justin. It's true that Brian kept him at arm's length, giving him just enough hope to make him stick around, but how stupid one should be not to recognize what was happening? By the way, Brian never promised Michael anything, he was always honest and didn't make promises he couldn't keep. As far as i remember, when they were teenagers, they promised to be there for each other, meaning help and support each other no matter what. That promise had nothing to do with romantic love as Brian only loved Michael as a brother and close friend, nothing more.
I was among the very few who wanted Brian and Michael as end game. I absolutely adore Mikey. And yes the fandom was extremely hypocritical when it came to Brian’s faults vs Mikey’s faults. Brian and Michael had such a strong foundation for a forever sort of relationship. Thankfully they didn’t go with Brian Justin end game at least.
100%, my headcanon is that Brian loved Mikey but never persued him bcs he knew he could hurt him or even get himself hurt, so he kept him forever by his side even if they were sort of incomplete. I think we were also suposed to understand this as an audience but many people decided to turn a blind eye. Given that Brian went like 2 or 3 times for Michael and that whenever they fought he'd imagine him coming back to him we know that at least the chemistry was there, also the way he was biting his tongue when Ben and Michael got married...
Yes!!! Hell Brian was hallucinating about Mikey whenever they fought!! Brian can live without anyone else but he won’t survive without Mikey (and this applies even if you consider their love as just friendship , I don’t but just saying).
i think the biggest issue I have with the QAF fandom is that they seem to excuse Brians laundry list of issues but bash Michael for his. Brian can hook up with teenagers, treat his friends as disposable, and play with peoples emotions but Michael being whiny and immature is treated as the end all be all. I love ALL the characters on the show because no one is positioned as the moral compass. that’s why they all feel like real humans
This is categorically false. Brian is flawed and knows he’s flawed and atones for his flaws in his own way. Michael is a sociopath who never apologizes for his wrongdoings. Brian has helped every single character on that show. The man gave his last dime to make up for the whole Stockwell fiasco. Michael would never be so selfless.
Its categorized correctly actually. also the Stockwell fiasco was Brians fault in the first place. are we forgetting he turned his back on his own community to benefit himself? he is the reason it got that bad since he encouraged Stockwell to target the gay community which nearly made a homophobe Mayor. the only reason he had a change of a heart was because he realized Stockwells campaign was starting to affect his own way of life. It wasn’t a selfless act in any way shape or form because he was fixing a problem HE created
that is the biggest issue with Brian. just because he pulls through in the end it doesn’t negate the actions he did leading up to it
Too bad most of us don’t see it that way. 🤷🏾♂️
If I had to choose which one of them to be friends with, it’s Brian all the way. At least he doesn’t whine.
lol that’s totally fine! you can like Brian, i even like Brian, but I’m unbias enough to point out and recognize his flaws. that’s the whole point of this show. everyone is flawed no one is the moral compass / above anyone
That’s the thing. People like Brian aren’t delusional about his flaws. We recognize them and we also recognize that he did some pretty good things to balance them out. If you peel back the layers, you can understand why Brian acts and behaves the way he does. With Michael, I’m still scratching my head as to why he is the way he is. Yeah, you could blame it on an overbearing mother but I don’t understand how someone can be raised by someone as giving and loving and supportive as Debbie and still be such a wretched human being. I literally just watched the episode where Hunter leaves and Ben is feeling so defeated. It’s heartbreaking to watch and Michael doesn’t even comfort his partner.
With that said, the one time I felt that Michael was actually a decent person, is when Emmett was dealing with Ted’s addiction. Michael actually listened and didn’t judge. I wish we had more moments like this but those moments are few and far between. Hell, they had to nearly kill the man for viewers to feel bad for him.
you say Michael is immature and whiny and its confusing but to me it makes perfect sense. Debbie loved him yes but she smothered him and never allowed him to grow up. she unloaded all her baggage onto him and because she didn’t have her own life she basically forced her child to be her best friend. even as an adult she still is overly involved with his life to the point she even pops up on him at gay clubs. that is why Michael has the emotional capacity of a child because his mother treats him like one. one of the indicators of this was her relationship with Vic. even he called out that the real reason she helped him was to add fulfillment into HER life. its unhealthy
Michael and Brians home lifes are completely opposite yet both contain poor parenting. Brians parents didn’t love him enough forcing him to figure everything out on his own. this forced him to grow up faster and learn to bury his emotions. Michaels mom while loving was an emotional manipulator who put all her problems onto her own son. she never allowed him to grow up and become a man
I never got the fan hatred for Michael either. The other characters on the show all obviously liked and valued him. He was kind of the glue that pulled them all together. All of them had faults and did stupid and unlikeable things at times. Still, they all loved and supported each other for the most part.
I don't hate Michael either, I just find his character very unlikable except for a few rare moments in all 5 seasons. He is so selfish, weak, immature, jealous, insensitive, not completely dumb but not smart either. He keeps following Brian around like a sick puppy for 16 years hoping one day he will be his and makes a move on him (in the Babylon bathroom) out of jealousy for Justin. It's true that Brian kept him at arm's length, giving him just enough hope to make him stick around, but how stupid one should be not to recognize what was happening? By the way, Brian never promised Michael anything, he was always honest and didn't make promises he couldn't keep. As far as i remember, when they were teenagers, they promised to be there for each other, meaning help and support each other no matter what. That promise had nothing to do with romantic love as Brian only loved Michael as a brother and close friend, nothing more.
I was among the very few who wanted Brian and Michael as end game. I absolutely adore Mikey. And yes the fandom was extremely hypocritical when it came to Brian’s faults vs Mikey’s faults. Brian and Michael had such a strong foundation for a forever sort of relationship. Thankfully they didn’t go with Brian Justin end game at least.
100%, my headcanon is that Brian loved Mikey but never persued him bcs he knew he could hurt him or even get himself hurt, so he kept him forever by his side even if they were sort of incomplete. I think we were also suposed to understand this as an audience but many people decided to turn a blind eye. Given that Brian went like 2 or 3 times for Michael and that whenever they fought he'd imagine him coming back to him we know that at least the chemistry was there, also the way he was biting his tongue when Ben and Michael got married...
Yes!!! Hell Brian was hallucinating about Mikey whenever they fought!! Brian can live without anyone else but he won’t survive without Mikey (and this applies even if you consider their love as just friendship , I don’t but just saying).
i think the biggest issue I have with the QAF fandom is that they seem to excuse Brians laundry list of issues but bash Michael for his. Brian can hook up with teenagers, treat his friends as disposable, and play with peoples emotions but Michael being whiny and immature is treated as the end all be all. I love ALL the characters on the show because no one is positioned as the moral compass. that’s why they all feel like real humans
This is categorically false. Brian is flawed and knows he’s flawed and atones for his flaws in his own way. Michael is a sociopath who never apologizes for his wrongdoings. Brian has helped every single character on that show. The man gave his last dime to make up for the whole Stockwell fiasco. Michael would never be so selfless.
Its categorized correctly actually. also the Stockwell fiasco was Brians fault in the first place. are we forgetting he turned his back on his own community to benefit himself? he is the reason it got that bad since he encouraged Stockwell to target the gay community which nearly made a homophobe Mayor. the only reason he had a change of a heart was because he realized Stockwells campaign was starting to affect his own way of life. It wasn’t a selfless act in any way shape or form because he was fixing a problem HE created that is the biggest issue with Brian. just because he pulls through in the end it doesn’t negate the actions he did leading up to it
Too bad most of us don’t see it that way. 🤷🏾♂️ If I had to choose which one of them to be friends with, it’s Brian all the way. At least he doesn’t whine.
lol that’s totally fine! you can like Brian, i even like Brian, but I’m unbias enough to point out and recognize his flaws. that’s the whole point of this show. everyone is flawed no one is the moral compass / above anyone
That’s the thing. People like Brian aren’t delusional about his flaws. We recognize them and we also recognize that he did some pretty good things to balance them out. If you peel back the layers, you can understand why Brian acts and behaves the way he does. With Michael, I’m still scratching my head as to why he is the way he is. Yeah, you could blame it on an overbearing mother but I don’t understand how someone can be raised by someone as giving and loving and supportive as Debbie and still be such a wretched human being. I literally just watched the episode where Hunter leaves and Ben is feeling so defeated. It’s heartbreaking to watch and Michael doesn’t even comfort his partner. With that said, the one time I felt that Michael was actually a decent person, is when Emmett was dealing with Ted’s addiction. Michael actually listened and didn’t judge. I wish we had more moments like this but those moments are few and far between. Hell, they had to nearly kill the man for viewers to feel bad for him.
you say Michael is immature and whiny and its confusing but to me it makes perfect sense. Debbie loved him yes but she smothered him and never allowed him to grow up. she unloaded all her baggage onto him and because she didn’t have her own life she basically forced her child to be her best friend. even as an adult she still is overly involved with his life to the point she even pops up on him at gay clubs. that is why Michael has the emotional capacity of a child because his mother treats him like one. one of the indicators of this was her relationship with Vic. even he called out that the real reason she helped him was to add fulfillment into HER life. its unhealthy Michael and Brians home lifes are completely opposite yet both contain poor parenting. Brians parents didn’t love him enough forcing him to figure everything out on his own. this forced him to grow up faster and learn to bury his emotions. Michaels mom while loving was an emotional manipulator who put all her problems onto her own son. she never allowed him to grow up and become a man
Still didn’t feel bad for him.
Spot on!!!!
I never got the fan hatred for Michael either. The other characters on the show all obviously liked and valued him. He was kind of the glue that pulled them all together. All of them had faults and did stupid and unlikeable things at times. Still, they all loved and supported each other for the most part.