tbh i was upset with this at first—but looking deeper into ian's monologue, i can see where he's coming from. From a reader's perspective, especially those who rooted for jo, this was really unsatisfying bcs we see a lot of ian/jo development and at some point it felt like they were gonna be endgame. Ian choosing tj is both selfless and selfish. It's rational, he belongs to a whole different world and making space for jo is something he tried but failed. Ian tried to love jo, he did, but not enough to erase the past that still holds him back. Tj is something who understands that past, was a part of that past. Ian would face more conflict with jo and ti, although from a different viewpoint, like a healthier relationship, jo was the better choice. Still, ian, as a character, really sacrificed a lot, and I really love his decision. As a jo stan, i really did not like this, but as someone who actually understood ian's inner monologue, i agree with him at some point.
tbh i was upset with this at first—but looking deeper into ian's monologue, i can see where he's coming from. From a reader's perspective, especially those who rooted for jo, this was really unsatisfying bcs we see a lot of ian/jo development and at some point it felt like they were gonna be endgame. Ian choosing tj is both selfless and selfish. It's rational, he belongs to a whole different world and making space for jo is something he tried but failed. Ian tried to love jo, he did, but not enough to erase the past that still holds him back. Tj is something who understands that past, was a part of that past. Ian would face more conflict with jo and ti, although from a different viewpoint, like a healthier relationship, jo was the better choice. Still, ian, as a character, really sacrificed a lot, and I really love his decision. As a jo stan, i really did not like this, but as someone who actually understood ian's inner monologue, i agree with him at some point.