Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-25396609-20191130155818/@comment-4010415-20191213003254

Some people were saying that Adam's actions in Volume 3 didn't give off any abusive feelings, but he backhanded her. In a swordfight, you don't backhand your opponent. That's a very personal and emotional way to attack someone.

Even in the Adam Character Short, we see a display of how he manipulated and controlled her in a mentally abusive way:

Adam: Blake, I'm sorry. I told you it was an accident.

Blake: Was it? This wasn't the first time humans have died on missions you led. How many more accidents are there going to be?

Adam: I don't know. I'm out there fighting for us, and when you fight, people get hurt. What, do you want me to just abandon our cause? Like your parents?

Blake: (worried) No! I'm not saying that! I... I don't know.

Adam: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought them up. I just get scared when it feels like you don't believe in me anymore.

Blake: (putting a hand on Adam's shoulder) I never said that.

Adam: (smiling) Thank you, Blake. It's good to know I've still got you...

This seems like a normal scene at first glance, but if you actually break it down, especially knowing that Adam's nature toward Blake has been abusive to some degree, it becomes clearer what he was actually doing here.

1. We enter a scene where, yet again, Adam went on a mission during which an innocent person died. Blake appears to have brought it up, and Adam insists it was an accident. However, Blake has her doubts and decides to openly question it.

2. "I'm out here fighting for us" - Adam puts himself on a pedestal as some sort of hero, telling Blake "I'm doing this for us".

3. "What, do you want me to just abandon our cause? Like your parents?" - Here, Adam attacks something that he knows Blake is sensitive about. He targets a raw nerve that he knows will cause great emotional pain for her. She gives him the exact reaction that he wants - a panicked "No! I'm not saying that!" She is emotionally shaken and becomes uncertain.

4. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought them up. I just get scared when it feels like you don't believe in me anymore." - He patches things up by apologizing and making an excuse. He acts like it was a mistake to bring up her parents, even though he did it on purpose. His excuse for why he brought them up still places blame on Blake, not him. Basically saying "I brought up something that's painful for you because you made me scared."

5. Blake comforts Adam by putting her hand on his shoulder and saying "I never said that", and he thanks her for it. Adam played the victim, changing the subject from him possibly killing innocent people on purpose, to "Blake, you're attacking me, so I lashed out because you upset me, I'm sorry, woe is me". He made Blake feel guilty for questioning him, and when she comforted him, he thanked her and rewarded her for showing the behavior he wanted from her.

This is likely why things went on for as long as they did. He made her feel guilty for questioning him, so she stopped asking questions. She stopped thinking about whether or not the innocent deaths were accidents, until he slipped up in the Black Trailer.