i also think that fans’ overestimation of elias’s level of control over the situation/the people around him is a result of them kind of buying into elias’s own elias propaganda. his biggest advantage is people THINKING he’s an all knowing chessmaster, but i think the way peter talks about him, as a hustler and an opportunist, is so much closer to the reality. he’s a guy with a plan! but the plan depends MASSIVELY on his ability to roll with the punches and know when to take advantage of situations that he did not actually engineer himself. he doesn’t pull it all off because he’s an omnipotent puppeteer he pulls it off because he’s flexible and goal oriented. “yeah i can work with that” - king of the ruined world 2k18