And to think. I sat in that very chair, being applauded and envied and clapped on the back after I won the Contest. Different men in the big clothes, different faces sweating in the heat, but nothing very much has changed. Was my grin really any less smug? Of course not. If anything I was worse. But at least I earned it.
He’s finally growing. This scene hit me because you can see the cracks in his arrogance — the start of realisation. He’s not who he thought he was, and he might even care. Progress!
