Oh I wasnt really coming for you for that smartest in the room thing. It was more pointing out that she like almost a nerd when it comes to her obsession with her work -
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and thats the root of her downfall
Dedra is still younger but she isn’t really older than Lonni Jung, her foil in a way. Lonni has a life outside of work, in comparison to her lack of. Its deliberate.
That reading of the dinner is a valid one. Just there are multiple layers and meta-themes present. When Dedra says “We didnt know what we were missing”, thats not just a cheeky insult at syril’s narc mom, but its also an admission. The empire took her chance of having personal connections and a life beyond fascism.
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Luthen tells her exactly that she is disgusted by “freedom”, because she never had it and doesnt know what its like, she never had and cant understand. Her life starts in a prison and it ends in a prison.