I Think That Kevin Making Jean Promise Him To Stay Alive Was As Much A Promise From Kevin To Jean. Kevin

I think that Kevin making Jean promise him to stay alive was as much a promise from Kevin to Jean. Kevin once said “give me your game” to Neil and he delivered on his promise to make Neil someone worthy of being on the court with him. Kevin said “promise me you’ll never try again” and delivered on his promise to keep Jean alive.

“I was only alive because he made me promise to survive. If he died, who could hold me to that?” Kevin could not die because he knew it wasn’t just his own life on the line. Kevin could’ve wanted to die a thousand times—and a thousand more after Riko broke his hand and he thought he’d never play again—but he could never allow it to happen because he knew he knew that Jean would be on his heels. Kevin’s fear of Riko and Tetsuji wasn’t just rooted in his own survival, but also the survival of the life he’d willingly and inextricably tied to his own.

“A month in the Nest without it, maybe two, and he would have no recourse but to kill himself... I would have slashed the tires on his car before I let him escape us, and he knows it." Kevin ran to save his own life (of course he did, of course he should have) but Jean wanted to die and would’ve done anything short of killing Kevin with his own two bare hands to make it happen. Everything Kevin has done to save his own life has also been done to save Jean’s. Kevin never could’ve stopped Riko from killing Jean but he could stop Jean from killing himself and he did. He still does. “I hate you.” “Sometimes you do. I don’t care.” You can hate me all you want so long as you are alive to do it.