>>/10258/
>  Well, it's two against one, so I guess my senses were wrong.

Don't be 100% dismissive towards your point of view just because of 2v1. A lot of closeness that would have been purely platonic often can be intended for shipping fuel. Had it been in Season 4 I might have agreed. 

> I don't really know how close friends interact normally, so I accept that I may have just strongly misinterpreted it all. 

 Know this feeling to an extent, at least in personal IRL experience over the last 10 years. 

> . I'm not watching like I used to, where each episode is a discrete package, I'm imagining the things inbetween the episodes, imagining the entire show as one singular continuous story (something which I don't think was ever really intended).

I find such things fun as well, btw. Overall... I need to get to how I treat show theories and such. 

> which is where I somewhat agree with your point that the lesson in this episode is a bit janky in delivery, on reflection.

That is a good word for it. "Janky" fits better than hostile. Feels like something is missing or uneven. 

> I didn't really know how to respond to it but I did see it, twas a fun april fool's

I am glad if you found any fun it, something of a tradition  Dolores Umbridge and Nightmare Moon  having done so in the past. 

Alrighty, in a bit of a hurry so I'll be off for now.

 Hoping to do something a bit special for next episode. Feel free to post your review whenever in case it takes a bit.