The Sam-Evan plot was pure crack that had me gaping at the screen at
first, not understanding where the hell it came from but the more I
think about it, the more I like it because it's a continuation of the
mindset Sam was in in Shooting Star.
Sam's experience with the shooting was extremely traumatic, even maybe more traumatic than the others because Sam denied himself one of his most basic rights, the right to be terrified for himself. We only saw him talk about Brittany then lose it over her. From the very first moment, Sam was only talking about Britt. It was like he focused all his energy, all his thoughts on her without sparing a thought for himself, which is why he was willing to put himself in danger to rescue her. Sam didn't allow himself the time to worry about his own life and thus, his perception of the shooting was focused on how Britt wasn't there with them. This part manifests himself in how he never tried to reach out or interact with any of the others, even the ones we expected him to connect to. His distance from Blaine in particular was noteworthy because Blaine was right there, yet, Sam never interacted willingly with Blaine at all during the shooting despite the fact that Blaine was basically falling apart in front of him. Sam never responded to Blaine telling him that Tina wasn't in the room either, he shrugged off Blaine's and Artie's hands when they tried to stop him from standing up and he patted Artie camera away. It was like his mind was on a loop of 'Brittany isn't here'. He silenced the voice that was worried for his life and only focused on Brittany. Sam silenced his own fear.
The first time we saw Sam start to absorb the presence of other people was when Will and Beiste restrained him, which only complicated the problem. This was yet another restraint, another gagging. Sam was silenced repeatedly by Will in this episode, first by Will shushing him then by actually putting his hand on Sam's mouth to stifle his cries.
So Sam basically felt like he has lost his voice in some way so he came out with a defense mechanism: having a 'twin' who is collected and can deal with tough situations (as shown in how he jumped up to 'summon' Evan when the atmosphere became tense in the choir room), a twin that still has his voice. He kept switching between the two of them before settling on Evan to attend the first official club meeting. Because it was a room where Sam was no longer heard.
Evan was the one who came into the auditorium when Marley asked them to meet her there but the second he arrived, he switched into Sam immediately because he knew they won't shoot him down or silence him. Blaine actually gave him an excuse to disappear for a second.
After Will stopped Sam from switching to Evan, effectively restraining Sam again. However, Sam was virtually the only one who didn't let Will deter him from his attempt at adapting. Unique returned to wearing boy clothes and Blaine retreated into a shell and avoided looking at Will altogether till Will addressed him. Evan, on the other hand, told Will that 'Sam moved to Alaska', a sign that Sam no longer feels safe in Will's presence, no longer heard that he had moved far far away. Will had lost Sam's trust by shooting him down when he tried to switch to Evan and basically called him crazy.
The return of Sam's impressions was the sign that Evan was no longer needed. It came after Will told them that 'they will always have a voice in this room'. That declaration, followed by Finn's return and Will's willingness to actually listen to what they had to say are what made Sam come out and stay. He was just Sam throughout Outcast because Sam had a voice again.
Sam's experience with the shooting was extremely traumatic, even maybe more traumatic than the others because Sam denied himself one of his most basic rights, the right to be terrified for himself. We only saw him talk about Brittany then lose it over her. From the very first moment, Sam was only talking about Britt. It was like he focused all his energy, all his thoughts on her without sparing a thought for himself, which is why he was willing to put himself in danger to rescue her. Sam didn't allow himself the time to worry about his own life and thus, his perception of the shooting was focused on how Britt wasn't there with them. This part manifests himself in how he never tried to reach out or interact with any of the others, even the ones we expected him to connect to. His distance from Blaine in particular was noteworthy because Blaine was right there, yet, Sam never interacted willingly with Blaine at all during the shooting despite the fact that Blaine was basically falling apart in front of him. Sam never responded to Blaine telling him that Tina wasn't in the room either, he shrugged off Blaine's and Artie's hands when they tried to stop him from standing up and he patted Artie camera away. It was like his mind was on a loop of 'Brittany isn't here'. He silenced the voice that was worried for his life and only focused on Brittany. Sam silenced his own fear.
The first time we saw Sam start to absorb the presence of other people was when Will and Beiste restrained him, which only complicated the problem. This was yet another restraint, another gagging. Sam was silenced repeatedly by Will in this episode, first by Will shushing him then by actually putting his hand on Sam's mouth to stifle his cries.
So Sam basically felt like he has lost his voice in some way so he came out with a defense mechanism: having a 'twin' who is collected and can deal with tough situations (as shown in how he jumped up to 'summon' Evan when the atmosphere became tense in the choir room), a twin that still has his voice. He kept switching between the two of them before settling on Evan to attend the first official club meeting. Because it was a room where Sam was no longer heard.
Evan was the one who came into the auditorium when Marley asked them to meet her there but the second he arrived, he switched into Sam immediately because he knew they won't shoot him down or silence him. Blaine actually gave him an excuse to disappear for a second.
After Will stopped Sam from switching to Evan, effectively restraining Sam again. However, Sam was virtually the only one who didn't let Will deter him from his attempt at adapting. Unique returned to wearing boy clothes and Blaine retreated into a shell and avoided looking at Will altogether till Will addressed him. Evan, on the other hand, told Will that 'Sam moved to Alaska', a sign that Sam no longer feels safe in Will's presence, no longer heard that he had moved far far away. Will had lost Sam's trust by shooting him down when he tried to switch to Evan and basically called him crazy.
The return of Sam's impressions was the sign that Evan was no longer needed. It came after Will told them that 'they will always have a voice in this room'. That declaration, followed by Finn's return and Will's willingness to actually listen to what they had to say are what made Sam come out and stay. He was just Sam throughout Outcast because Sam had a voice again.
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