Thomas going from defending Alastair to his friends and doubling down even when they all obviously disagree with him and wistfully remarking that he "like[s] his nonsense" in 1901 to saying him and Alastair are definitely not friends & that Alastair is objectively awful & debating if he should even speak to him in 1902.... like that has to be one of the most bizarre changes in character that has not and will probably never will be explained or even acknowledged
also like, Alastair aside Cast Long Shadows very obviously (imo) establishes a power imbalance in the Merry Thieves that never really gets touched upon again. Like, going off of it, Matthew and Thomas specifically should have had some sort of conflict and the fact they didn't feels very unsatisfactory to me.
Because Matthew is established as being someone who can be pretty controlling. Which is understandable given he spent his childhood insuring his dad and later Christopher didn't accidentally blow themselves up. But that bleeds into Matthew's other relationships too; he remarks in Cast Long Shadows that James doesn't need him in the same way everyone else does & how that makes him feel unnecessary & insecure. Like that's something... Matthew probably should have worked on in some capacity. Especially in relation with Thomas, who's established as being increasingly more frustrated about how everyone treats him. Like Matthew criticises Barbara & Eugenia considering Thomas' business their business but he does the same thing! Thomas is 14 when they start at the academy I think he in capable of making his own judgements and decision without you "saving" him all the time 😭 he's not a child.