I finally have a chance to touch on the scene between Roman and Gerri, and, as usual, my thoughts may be a bit controversial, but here we go. When we see them again, Roman is propositioning Gerri for advice after having fired her in the last episode, and Gerri rebuffs him with a firm, “No.” This seems to shock Roman, who then quickly plunges into damage control, attempting to cajole her and convince her his firing of her wasn’t real. As he puts it, “Dad fired people all the time. I was just feeling kind of fire-ish.” I can understand the logic behind Roman’s statement because, if one recalls in Season 1, Logan fired Frank, and, shockingly, Frank came back to Waystar and to Logan again anyway later on. Even Gerri was shocked by this, to which Frank replied, “Baby needs shoes, moth to a flame […]”. This moment in Hunting between them sort of sets us up for what Gerri does in Tailgate Party by refusing to return, but again, Roman had seen the Old Guard kicked so many times he naturally thought Gerri wouldn’t permanently abandon him. Sadly, he thought wrong, and she has firmly–and gladly–removed herself from the picture. Most of the discourse online has cheered Gerri on, saying Roman got what was coming to him, and, to degree, I can agree with this. However, Gerri says something interesting that I’ve seen no one comment on which is the line about his dick pics: “[…] I will sue and I will go public with the many, many pictures of your genitalia that I have in my possession.” This struck me as quite pertinent because many fans debated about Roman’s sending of the dick pic in Season 3, wondering whether the one he sent his father was the only one, whether when Gerri asked him to stop sending, “the items”, she had been receiving photos before. This confirms that Gerri had received photos of Roman’s private parts before, and, until the moment she took the CEO spot, likely entertained his proclivity for sending them the same way she engaged in his other kinks. This brings me to my point, which is, did Roman deserve for Gerri to walk out on him? Sure, to a degree. He treated her poorly several times this season, and expected loyalty in return, which was foolish of him. However, was he the only one in the wrong? Not in the least. What many seem to conveniently forget when discussing their relationship is that Gerri willingly entered into a pseudo-romance with him, dancing the dance and leading him along as much as he led her. She was no virginal ingenue out to sea with a predator, she was a willing participant in their relationship, and she is as much responsible for its dissolution as he is. Her inconsistent communication with him in Season 3–her vague outlining of what was appropriate, her pulling back suddenly without any real clear sit-down conversation–is largely what led Roman to send her the photos. He even says to her, “I’m not so sure, I feel like you do want them, but you’re being kind of typically minxy.” Of course, she did seriously tell him to stop, but us fans remained confused through the run of the season like Roman did, and so I can’t help but sympathize with him now. He knew better than to send the photos and sent them anyway, and Gerri knew better than to enter into a relationship with her boss’s son and then turn around and throw the responsibility for it’s destruction in his face as though he was the only villain in the story. I am prepared to get a heap of criticism for this opinion, but I still stand by it. There’s something about the endless backing of Gerri and lack of actual critique of her actions that rubs me wrong. I do, however, still hope for some sort of turn in their relationship, naïve as that may seem, because, truly, they were much better together than apart. They were a more powerful team when they worked alongside each other, and to see the show just throw it all away feels cheap. I am interested to hear what others think about this scene, and, of course, discussion is always welcome, whether you agree or disagree with me.
