

What exactly was Yui trying to do at the end of _OreGairu_ season 2?

I interpreted it in three ways:

  1. She's going to fight for Hachiman and declares war on Yukino.
  2. She's trying to maintain the status quo of the group and just have them be friends forever.
  3. She's giving up on Hachiman and letting Yukino have Hachiman whilst also making Yukino admit her own feelings for him.

Which one is right?


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oregairu
What exactly was Yui trying to do at the end of OreGairu season 2?


My own interpretation is actually different from any of the ones you've
listed.

We discover over the last few episodes of Season 2 that Yukinoshita has a lot
of trouble even identifying what it is that she personally wants. Where
Hikigaya has to have an external reason to help people but is otherwise
incredibly self-sufficient, Yukinoshita needs an external reason to do
practically anything at all (mainly via her mother and sister), and once she
has an external reason she forces herself to conform to it. Yuigahama may not
be intellectually bright, but she's incredibly perceptive when it comes to
people's emotions and social cues, and she has picked up on this fact. She is
also perfectly aware that Yukinoshita is starting to feel romantically
inclined to Hikigaya, which puts Yuigahama in a very difficult place: she
wants to maintain her friendship with Yukinoshita, but the entire reason she
befriended her in the first place was to get close to Hikigaya in a way that
won't cause her to be judged or ostracized by her social circle.

Additionally, Yuigahama is aware that Hikigaya is undergoing an emotional
shift of his own and is allowing himself to become closer to both her and
Yukinoshita. This is simultaneously thrilling (because it means that she has
successfully gotten him to notice her, finally) and terrifying (because she
recognizes that she's in a love triangle, and him choosing one of the girls is
going to destroy their current social relationships no matter what).

So the question becomes: how can Yuigahama gain what she most wants (a
romantic relationship with Hikigaya) without destroying their current social
dynamic? Well, first off she can't come out and explicitly confess to
Hikigaya. No matter how he responds to that, their social dynamic is dead
(this is the same problem that came up with the Ebina/Tobe interaction earlier
in the season). Additionally, she is feeling guilty about taking advantage of
Yukinoshita's obvious lack of experience when it comes to dealing with
romantic feelings.

The answer that she arrives at is her double date (cherishing and celebrating
their current social dynamic) and the final confrontation with Yukinoshita
(which may destroy their social dynamic).

The trouble is that because Yuigahama cannot explicitly say what she wants to
say, we have to rely largely on subtext. As I read it, the subtext goes like
this:

  * She gives the cookies to Hikigaya. This is a clear indicator to both Hikigaya and Yukinoshita that she is interested in Hikigaya; she is tacitly admitting that he was the one she wanted to make cookies for all along.
  * She then tells Yukinoshita that she "wants it all". My reading of this is she is saying, "I want Hikigaya, but I also want to maintain my friendship with you." Of course, there is only one way this can work, which is if Yukinoshita gives up on her own feelings for Hikigaya.
  * She then assures Yukinoshita that if Yukinoshita leaves everything to her, she will ensure that outcome. This little bit of manipulation is pretty brilliant (and underhanded) because it plays right into Yukinoshita's inability to identify and act on her own desires. Yuigahama is saying, "I know it's difficult for you to act on your desires, so why not act on my desires instead? I will give you the friendship that you've never been able to gain on your own as long as you give up your desire for Hikigaya."

And at this point, Yuigahama has won the love triangle match. Until, that is,
Hikigaya interjects with his insistence that Yukinoshita needs to solve her
problems on her own or she will never escape the cycle she's currently stuck
in.

At which point the really fascinating part of this scene occurs, which is that
Yuigahama says she thought he would respond that way and immediately backs
down. The implication here is that Yuigahama entered into this whole gambit
believing that she would probably fail, but did it anyway because she did not
think the status quo was maintainable and that forcing her friend and her
crush to face the emotional currents that underly their little threesome was
desirable even if it leads to her losing Hikigaya.


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Both Yukinoshita and Hikigaya are very alike in a lot of ways. Needless to
say, both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama have amazing quality and are wonderful
friends, but the longer it takes, the more painful it could get. I can see
this being a huge problem considering the situation.

I myself couldn't agree more with Hikigaya's interjection, If he didn't say
something, Yukinoshita would have lost much more then just a chance with
Hikigaya. At the moment, she is going through a change and needs time. It's
important for both to finally come out with there feelings. But, if
Yukinoshita can't get her own thoughts and feelings together, she won't be
able to decide for herself. They can make it known to Hikigaya their true
feelings and put the ball in his quart finally. He may be dense but I think he
fully understands the situation and needs a bit of a push to come up with his
own desires. In the end, even if both or one backs down, it's still up to
Hikigaya to find his own path or decision.

We have to remember that Hikigaya has a history or even a little post-
traumatic stress when it comes to rejection. I mean we have met two other
women in his life who have rejected him. So, this could be a bit hard for him
as well. Someone's bound to get hurt either way which sucks I believe.


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I thought maybe Yui was proposing sharing Hikigaya, as there were hints that
they had come to an understanding about him.

That part where Yui sits uncomfortably close to Yukinoshita seems to suggest a
particular change in fondness. I thought this was indicating possible yuri,
but she still likes Hikigaya and she also knows Yukinoshita likes him. If
everybody likes everybody, why force a choice.


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I think she actually thought that if anyone of both yui or yukino confessed
their feelings for hikigaya then it will disturb there friendship and they
won't be friends like they were then, so she meant that if she tells yukino
about what to do with her problem then she will win the battle royale and
yukino and hikigaya would have to do what she says which is to drop her
(yukino) feelings for hikigaya as she (yui) was ready to do and remain best
friends forever with hikigaya and no one would confess their feelings for
hikigaya. The gist is that she wanted to maintain the status quo and not to
disturb it. She felt that their friendship was important than her love and
wanted to keep it. she was like the problem is having a romantic relationship
with hikigaya (for both of them as if one got into a relationship the other
one would feel jealous and ruin the perfect friendship they had), so why not
remove the possibility of that and remain friends forever.


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