*nod* That's how I read Oliver's reaction there, too. To be completely fair, I can see why, intra-textually, *Lex* might not think Oliver's apology is sincere. Oliver's general bitchiness towards Lex being the primary reason, simply because on its face that's not really the behavior of someone who understands or acknowledges that the other person has reason to resent them (and here I'm thinking primarily of their first meeting in Wither but also their interaction at Ollie's in this episode). Given that Lex and Ollie both know Ollie bullied Lex when they were younger, I can see where it would seem kind of *odd* to Lex for Ollie to act as though he's got no understanding of why Lex might be resentful of him (whether that's a valid reading of Oliver or not, I can easily see where it could be Lex's reading of him).
As member of the *audience*, though, I found it to be a sincere apology. Particularly when, as you note, Ollie just 'took' Lex's rebuke of him. I think that if Ollie's ego was invested in that apology, i.e., if it had been a false apology, something that was more about Ollie than about Lex, then he would have tried to defend himself or throw that rebuke back at Lex in some way. He didn't and that suggests to me that he was sincere.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-10-30 12:45 am (UTC)As member of the *audience*, though, I found it to be a sincere apology. Particularly when, as you note, Ollie just 'took' Lex's rebuke of him. I think that if Ollie's ego was invested in that apology, i.e., if it had been a false apology, something that was more about Ollie than about Lex, then he would have tried to defend himself or throw that rebuke back at Lex in some way. He didn't and that suggests to me that he was sincere.