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It was a really big missed opportunity to not explore! I thought that when we saw the abuse scene with him and his dad, they would point out how his dad is extremely racist (let’s be honest, he is). This would then lead to a deeper dive into Billy’s character, and how he was only being “racist” towards Lucas because he knew that Max would get hurt because of it. He needed to stop it before the news could get to his dad as if it didn’t matter if he saw it. But if his dad saw, he would also begin to abuse Max. Which was something he would not let happen to his little sister. This is coming from my own experiences as an older sibling, and what I already know about psychology (with it being my major).
I think the thing that bothers me most about the racism storyline with Billy is that it’s handled so poorly, it centers Max so much, that it becomes a “not all white people” storyline. Lucas is incidental to it, really, because at the end his feelings about what happened aren’t even discussed. He never gets to talk about it. The white people “fixed” the racism for him and now it’s done forever and we never talk about it again. Only Max even knows what Billy said? Who makes a racism storyline where the whole point is to valorize white people? What kind of seventh heaven ass storyline is that?
And I understand at the end of that story not liking Billy. It couldn’t be me, because I want Billy to learn differently and be better to Lucas. I want an actual resolution. But I guess I understand if you just skate on the surface, thinking Max is good white person and Billy is Bad white person and not thinking beyond that. Because the story doesn’t ask you to.