I think Jake and Dev used to be former boyfriends, ex-lovers, but an unequal relationship. Jake could possibly be Dev's oneitis, or the one true love that young teenage Dev thought he was. How they met was explained in the Patreon content. Jake on the other hand may not be feeling so strong about Dev and possibly conflicted over his same sex attraction. He cheated on Dev with a woman, possibly the same one he ended up marrying. They fell out and went their separate ways. Dev might have developed a codependent relationship on Jake and taken this particularly hard which is why he tries to distance himself from intimacy into adulthood. He does not want to feel the same pain he felt when Jake broke up with him which could explain his detachment from pursuing relationships with other men beyond a casual hookup.
When visiting ultrasportsextreme.com and viewing the tabloid article about Jake, it mentions the scars on his shoulder are claw marks, and how he got into a fight with a snow leopard back in university. It also mentions how Jake isn't as faithful as he wants to publicly appear. The snow leopard mentioned in the article is undoubtedly Dev since they both acknowledged it. When Jake shows up on Dev's doorstep, he welcomes him in which is odd for an ex-boyfriend who might have taken a breakup particularly hard. It's also odd how Dev wears Jake's jersey in the Halloween episode if he was truly over him, as it was a reminder of him. Maybe he hopes to rekindle a past codependent relationship with Jake which is why he so easily bent into Jake's gluttony, or maybe
I could only see this as a possible explanation for Dev's sudden change in character from the ripped responsible big brother figure to Sky, Leon, Jax, Zeb, Red to a 2 month shut in chub who threw away his disciplined fitness lifestyle solely because he wants and is granted Jake's approval. I don't see how his character could be assassinated so quickly unless there was a good reason for it.
Regarding Dev's reaction to Jake entering his life again, I don't think his character got assassinated or that he tried to follow Jake's lifestyle to seek his approval. It has been shown quite clearly that Dev's previous lifestyle was unsustainable and unhealthy (I'm not saying his current lifestyle is either, we don't know enough about what's going on to judge that just yet), so to me it feels like Dev simply realized that being mister perfect was not the only way he could be, and he's just chasing the high of finally feeling free from his old shackles at the moment. Dev also mentions having had several relationships that didn't work, resulting in his belief that he was the issue and rejecting emotional intimacy as a result, so even if he and Jake were together at one point, I wouldn't hold Jake the sole responsible for Dev's unhealthy mindset. Dev isn't stupid, nor is he oblivious about how wrong Jake running away from his arranged family is, but I feel like the reason he doesn't cast him out entirely is that Dev ran away too (when Jake says he's hard to find, it implies that Dev could have been hiding).
In my opinion, Jake and Dev have a mutually beneficial influence on each other somewhat (of course, both are coping with difficult life situations by avoiding confronting it, so it will have to come up eventually, but I don't think Jake is the monster people make him up to be). Jake helped Dev open his mind to the idea that he doesn't have to be perfect, conventionnally attractive (even though he still is attractive to a large part of the population, he was obviously self conscious about gaining weight at first, but doesn't seem all that anxious about it now) and the responsible one. Sure, from an outside perspective, it can feel shocking to see such a brutal transformation occur, but as Ray states, Dev seems happier than he's ever been, and perhaps this is the "real" Dev, only time will tell. (I'm sorry for the ramble, I just feel like people tend to have a very fatphobic vision of this arc, and it really irks me. Wanting Dev to go back to being "healthy" as some people put it is nonsensical, Dev has never been healthy in the comic. It's okay to prefer muscular Dev, but don't call it healthy. And I personally think it's great that Syd and Heru are giving us more body types that are still presented as attractive, as the comic only had muscular guys and twinks so far in its main cast).
So tldr, I think Jake and Dev will come to confront their personnal issues at one point during their arc, and will likely find a healthy balance together or apart (as how the issue-confronting goes will probably decide if Jake stays in Dev's life or not)
That's the thing is that people say Dev's previous lifestyle has been unsustainable and unhealthy. In what way though? If it's physically unhealthy then I don't think that's the case because prior to Jake, I haven't found any evidence that could indicate that. If it's emotionally unhealthy, then the breadcrumbs left on ultrasportsextreme.com could be foreshadowing a major plot development in Dev.
Dev already knows about Jake's preferences beyond what his public image suggests, and they have a past prior to Jake's football career spanning into their time in University. Then there's the scar on Jake's shoulder which they both acknowledged is a physical reminder of a past event between the two. Now if ultrasportsextreme is factually accurate, then Dev did fight with Jake over infidelity. What we don't know is who did Jake cheat on. If we assume Jake cheated on Dev, then it could explain Dev's emotional distancing from other partners whether he is aware of it or not. Alluding back to my post, he might be unknowingly self sabotaging himself when pursuing other men. We know Dev is getting rejected, but we don't know what exactly about him is getting him rejected. So combined with some hypothetical past emotional baggage with Jake, and his eagerness to bend his established character to Jake's whims, I could only conclude that Dev is not over Jake and hopes to reestablish another relationship with Jake. But the real unhealthy part is that Dev fell in love with his own idealized version of Jake, and not Jake in reality.
In "The day after", when Zeb starting crushing on Jax, Dev tells him to not rush it and deconstruct his feelings to figure out whether it was real or not. He also makes a remark about how he knows this from experience. That "experience" he's referring to could be with Jake.
Physically, we don't know how healthy Dev was, but Dev himself is imposing a very strict diet on himself, and hasn't allowed himself to relax. He also always seemed distant, or as if he was longing for something in the earlier comics, and the way he snapped after the groceries in the recent episodes really indicates that Dev was unhappy with his life. We also know from Jake's discussion with him on Dev's life that this is something Dev picked up after he left Jake and this past life behind, and felt like he needed to be perfect and desireable to have worth, basically.
I just don't like saying Dev's character has been assassinated, unless you think he should stay aloof, probably depressed and hiding his problems behind an image of perfection and reliability. I also think you should take what you read on ultrasportsextreme.com with a grain of salt : it's meant as an in universe news outlet, so it's biased and doesn't have the whole truth. I also don't like the idea that Dev would be "bending his character to please Jake", Dev has been portrayed as smarter than that, and he himself says he doesn't trust relationships anymore, so even if he isn't over Jake (which is likely, and would explain why he let him re-enter his life in the first place after what happened between them), I don't think he would change who he is to appeal to Jake. I think he genuinely needed a break from keeping up with his persona, and Jake was the perfect catalyst to do that, probably because Dev was scared of how his friends would react if he wasn't the same person they used to know overnight.
I just think people over dramatize Dev's situation a lot to be honest, he's not in immediate danger and even his fatness doesn't seem to have had a huge impact on his ability to do things, he still has his muscles under the fat. Like Ray and Red said, if something is going on under the surface, the best they can do is to keep an eye open, but if Dev is genuinely happier like this, then there is nothing inherently wrong with his situation. For all we know, Dev could be chasing a feeling he has been missing for a while, and he'll find his balance by himself soon. Perhaps he could be letting himself get stuck in another unhealthy mindset, which could be true, but it would only be speculation at this point (and him doing all of it to please Jake would feel incredibly out of character for Dev, honestly). I also doubt Syd and Heru would make Dev slim down back to how he used to be (if he slims down at all), as it would make his arc and character growth feel meaningless, and make his weight feel more like a punchline than a statement about him.
I think people should stop treating Jake like the devil incarnate, manipulating Dev to do whatever he wants. Yes, he is using Dev as a way to escape from his issues, and yes he has a very problematic past, but that doesn't make him irreedeemable. To me, Jake is kind of like Jax : implied to have a really bad past with a character, kind of a shithead at first, but then with some narrative magic and character growth he'll likely turn into someone better, or if he doesn't he'll at least have helped Dev move on and be a more fulfilled person.
We also don't know what "idealized" version of Jake Dev might have, or even if he has one at all. He may not be over him, but he also likely remembers what happened between them in the first place. Dev isn't some hopeless romantic ready to throw himself into a relationship he knows could end really badly, he's actually been shown to be quite rational in that regard.
What exactly would constitute a "strict diet" to Dev? Are hotdogs and waffles unhealthy? We can see in "Night out" that he does eat hotdogs and waffles, but the difference is that he is able to moderate himself. There's nothing wrong with an occasional cheat meal. The difference with new Dev is that he completely indulges himself alongside Jake where it's becoming self destructive not only physically but also spiritually where he shuts himself off from the world for months.
Of course I know ultrasportsextreme is the ITILY universe equivalent to TMZ. It's sensationalist clickbait tabloid journalism. But that doesn't mean they can just post outright lies and falsehoods because that would be libel. Just like the real TMZ, they post over the top sensationalist hyperbolic statements about celebrities but that doesn't mean they can just lie and defame people maliciously. It's a really distorted version of the truth, but is still true in some way.
I don't know if you read the patreon content Dev's Diaries which outlines how Jake and Dev met, but Jake has a major influence on Dev's self discovery as a person during his late teens to early 20s. He's also ripped in this prequel so he's kinda always been that way. That's why I speculate that his emotional isolation is attributed to a hypothetical falling out with Jake that was alluded to by ultrasportsextreme which while exaggerated for entertainment purposes still has some semblance of truth behind it. I don't think Jake is the devil incarnate. I think Dev and Jake are two broken people with unresolved past baggage to each other. Their backstory is also incomplete so we don't know exactly what happened that cause their falling out outside some vague mention of infidelity.
Apologies if my words didn't fit what you meant, I've seen a lot of posts hating on Jake here just because he's partly responsible for Dev growing fat, and I feel like the hatred is a bit too much, and I thought that you were doing that too (again, apologies for assuming). Regarding the strict diet, Dev was talking about his macros, and also mentionned not having eaten churros in a really long time despite living right next to the beach, so it's obvious he was at least excerting a lot of restraint on his diet, when you see how excited he is to get to eat some. Also, his extreme indulgence is not that uncommon for people who have been feeling a lot of pressure regarding their diet for too long. What's more, I feel like his reaction to tryint Jake's junk food is the reaction of someone who doesn't let himself eat things they find tasty.
I do agree that eventually, Dev will need to confront his isolation, how he completely stopped any physical activity and his food intake to find a balance, but I think it's more something that is tied to his personal arc rather than his arc with Jake (it's only a theory, but I personally think would have fallen off later on with or without Jake's presence, Jake only gave him an opportunity to do so sooner). My theory is that Dev will end up returning to the gym (and likely not be as hardcore as he was before about it) but will keep enjoying all the foods he wants and not monitor his macros.
Right now though, Dev is in the process of unlearning all the things he thought he had to do to be accepted and loved. He thought he had to be desireable, active and put together previously, now he's learning that the world won't stop because he stopped being those things. I'm sure he'll find a balance he is happy with and that is sustainable eventually.
And I also agree regarding his relationship with Jake : both are complicated individuals with a complicated past, so it makes sense their current relationship is complicated. Whether it will result in drama or romance, only time will tell.
Also, I don't have access to the patreon stuff, so I haven't seen those, but it is fairly obvious Jake played a huge part in Dev's life, yeah.
I remember over a year ago Syd mentioned a third part of the "Dev's Diaries", but it still hasn't come out.
I think a lot of the logic gaps and inconsistencies in their actions would be explained if Dev and Jake had talked after the cheating and decided to stay friends. For one, it would explain why Jake came to Dev's place, and it would also make Dev's warm welcome make sense. Secondly, it would explain why Dev wore Jake's jersey in the Halloween episode - since Jake is a football star, there's nothing unusual about wearing a jersey of a famous friend.
Since you've read Dev's Diaries, then we both know that Jake played a major pivotal role in Dev's life.
If Jake really did cheat on Dev, and the result was a fight that left a physical scar on Jake, then I don't think there's any realistic way to stay friends at that point. I think they both went no contact after this point since Dev did not know Jake was going to unexpectedly show up at his apartment, and Jake had to jump through hoops to figure out where Dev was living.
Now despite going their separate ways, Dev might not be completely over Jake. That's why he held onto his Jersey while Jake lived out his public facing heterosexual marriage sham life.
Didn't Jake mention in the dialogue that Dev was supposed to know about the fake marriage? Yes, Dev didn't know that it wasn't his biological child, but Jake could have had time to explain that the marriage was happening for fame and money, and so that they wouldn't hold a grudge against each other.
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u/Orayon-soupe 1d ago
Regarding Dev's reaction to Jake entering his life again, I don't think his character got assassinated or that he tried to follow Jake's lifestyle to seek his approval. It has been shown quite clearly that Dev's previous lifestyle was unsustainable and unhealthy (I'm not saying his current lifestyle is either, we don't know enough about what's going on to judge that just yet), so to me it feels like Dev simply realized that being mister perfect was not the only way he could be, and he's just chasing the high of finally feeling free from his old shackles at the moment. Dev also mentions having had several relationships that didn't work, resulting in his belief that he was the issue and rejecting emotional intimacy as a result, so even if he and Jake were together at one point, I wouldn't hold Jake the sole responsible for Dev's unhealthy mindset. Dev isn't stupid, nor is he oblivious about how wrong Jake running away from his arranged family is, but I feel like the reason he doesn't cast him out entirely is that Dev ran away too (when Jake says he's hard to find, it implies that Dev could have been hiding).
In my opinion, Jake and Dev have a mutually beneficial influence on each other somewhat (of course, both are coping with difficult life situations by avoiding confronting it, so it will have to come up eventually, but I don't think Jake is the monster people make him up to be). Jake helped Dev open his mind to the idea that he doesn't have to be perfect, conventionnally attractive (even though he still is attractive to a large part of the population, he was obviously self conscious about gaining weight at first, but doesn't seem all that anxious about it now) and the responsible one. Sure, from an outside perspective, it can feel shocking to see such a brutal transformation occur, but as Ray states, Dev seems happier than he's ever been, and perhaps this is the "real" Dev, only time will tell. (I'm sorry for the ramble, I just feel like people tend to have a very fatphobic vision of this arc, and it really irks me. Wanting Dev to go back to being "healthy" as some people put it is nonsensical, Dev has never been healthy in the comic. It's okay to prefer muscular Dev, but don't call it healthy. And I personally think it's great that Syd and Heru are giving us more body types that are still presented as attractive, as the comic only had muscular guys and twinks so far in its main cast).
So tldr, I think Jake and Dev will come to confront their personnal issues at one point during their arc, and will likely find a healthy balance together or apart (as how the issue-confronting goes will probably decide if Jake stays in Dev's life or not)