In this episode, we once again invite Dr. Tabitha Dell'Angelo to help us analyze Ilya Rozanov's identity through the PVEST framework. We aren't just asking why Ilya is the way he is, but what it actually feels like to be him. We trace how growing up in Russia with a harsh father and constant pressure creates a baseline of stress that never really lets up, and how his coping (humor, control, emotional distance) both protects him and holds him back. We wrestle with the tension between understanding and excusing behavior, and land in a more complicated truth: Ilya is someone adapting in a maladaptive system. Regardless, he still chooses vulnerability and love and becomes a fuller version of himself.

Read Dr. Tab's article here: