While Malcolm may have been aware of his circumstances to start with in "Army Buddy", his callowness is what made him lose sight of the fact that Dewey was toying with his pride. Manipulation doesn't always imply that the victim is unaware of whats happening to them.
In "A.A." after doing all they can to persuade Dewey to surrender the car-key to them, they were so desperate for it, precious time was running out, Reese and Malcolm didn't think to explore the possibility that Dewey may be lying to them, which he did. As fun as time at the arcade might have been, he clearly was enjoying himself with his mindgames.
The situation in "Blackout" was that something very simple was denied to him. He only wanted freaking cereal for dinner one evening, only Hal had other ideas superseding Dewey's. So upon learning that everyone had different, conflicting plans, he took matters into his own hands and spiked Reese's food. One would have thought that they realized by now that snubbing Dewey and rubbing his face in it carries its own penalties.
Dewey has evolved from the cute, credulous family underdog, to the most formidable master of psychological warfare ever born. He puts everyone in the shade. Never f**k with Dewey.:lol:
what's important to malcolm isn't whats important to dewey, malcolm knew he was trading in his dignity/self respect but just because he has a 165+ iq doesn't mean he still wasn't 17, kids need money and unfortunately we never get to see dewey at that girl crazed stage in his life, we see maybe the beginning of the beginnings of it. the manipulation i talk about wanting to see can never happen to malcolm, reese is the perfect example of what malcolm would need to be for the dewey/malcolm manipulation i want because dewey/reese manipulation is what i want just interchanged with malcolm. it can never be possible because malcolm is just too smart and doesn't even trust dewey enough for any superior manipulation to occur.
in a.a they're just teenagers who want the car, NOW, dewey was only 12 or 13 (12 in the beginning of the sixth season, pearl harbor). i'm sure once dewey were to turn 15 or 16+ he'd be just as "crazy" as malcolm and reese are about the car. also he has the ability to play his mind games because his whole family still underestimates him every chance they get, he was born into a family of (then) 4 and with little money or parent supervision he had to find his own definition of fun.
in blackout drugging the whole family was thanks to reese, dewey was just bumbed and looking for revenge and luckily was at the right place at the right time to learn and develop his next move. yes he did one up his own family and outsmart them but then again reese confessed to have done the same thing and we all know reese is a bit slow.
he has evolved by being a student and taking a backseat to his brothers while secretly honing his skills. in the later season we get a chance to watch him exact revenge on his family for the years he's been taking advantage of and dismissed. his finely crafted schemes are made possible by the families ability to still dismiss his capabilities, thats what makes him such a dangerous enemy.
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