Originally Posted by
Tubercular Ox
Okay, so, having one example doesn't equate to having confidence that Rich is pursuing that example, but what if Rich were going for the storyline where the son who wants his father's respect only earns it after giving up on wanting or needing his father's respect? Movies with this subplot usually have a scene of the father looking on as the son lives an independent life, never communicating his respect to the son but letting the audience know that the son helped the father grow. Eugene is already set up for that, looking from afar is his thing.
If Rich were doing that, and if this is Eugene disguised as Julia, then the Giant could be setting Eugene up to learn that Roy has a different personality and different ideas when he's not burdened by their relationship. There's friction right now because Eugene is still burdened by the relationship, but he's trying, darn it, whatever his motives for trying are.
If this is what Rich is doing, he wants us to see these scenes so that Eugene doesn't pop up in the denouement and say, "I forgive you, son," with nothing behind it.
On the other hand, maybe Rich wants the opposite of that. Or maybe he wants 95% of that then subvert it hard at the end. I could write just as long a post about Sabine, but probably not about "It's just Julia" since that's a null hypothesis and null hypotheses are hard to defend positively.