Tom is jealous of Kyra because she and Alex share the Point Blanc connection that he’s been trying without success to get Alex to open up about; his lifelong best friend, ever since the events of season 1.
Think of the frustration. Your friend returns a completely changed person, haunted with something you’ve not seen or experienced in order to help him. And I think that’s the core of Tom’s issue: he feel useless, unable to help Alex with what he’s going through. He’s trying to come to terms with the fact that Alex is now of a new, strange world and he, Tom, doesn’t belong in it.
So when Kyra shows up and Alex finally gets relief and a person to actually recount the events of Point Blanc with, and sort of fork through the murk of it all, Tom feels dejected, useless and unwanted. Left out and like he doesn’t fit in. Like he can’t do anything to help, at least not enough.
That’s why he ends up lashing out at Kyra and being super protective of his friendship with Alex. I’m glad that in the end he realized he’s still valuable.
One thing I really do love in the Alex Rider TV adaption, both in season 1 and now in season 2 is the constant subtle hints that Alex is actually not your usual kid, despite still being very early in his character arc.
And I’m not talking about the flashy parkour sequences or fight scenes. I mean the offhand comment that Alex knows about the law, or is extremely involved in multiple outdoor activities. His character is shown to have an intelligence and ambition above his peers, be proficient with a gun and competent in tasks that while as simple as pitching a tent, highlight he’s already a class above his own and most likely has extensive knowledge on other useful topics too.
While it’s nice to see him show off a little in the bigger scenes and get a glimpse of the spy extraordinaire to come, it’s also brilliant to see the impact of Alex’s upbringing with Ian included frequently in seemingly mundane scenes and is something I’ve enjoyed picking up on.
Give me Alex Rider’s politics teacher just being absolutely…astounded by the amount of knowledge this kid has on not only the socio-economic climate of literally every freaking country but the most freakishly good instincts of how each new politician that comes along is going to fare. It’s at the point he now has a secret cabinet of sticky notes on Alex’s off hand comments of each new public figure because God Dammit he always turns out to be right.
Give me Alex’s Riders politics teacher who stands up for him against others in the staff room because his essays provide the freshest viewpoints he’s seen in over 20 years. Ethics, politics, morality, social structures, negotiations, public figures, military influences and ulterior motivators; Alex Rider handles each topic with a grace and insight he hasn’t seen since university. Quite frankly he doesn’t know whether to be impressed or terrified. He settles on curious.
Give me Alex Rider’s politics teacher who’s family served in the army, who recognises the shadows of war in those dark brown eyes even if he can never understand why. The only one that seems to notice that seeing Alex’s controlled, efficient steps through a boisterous crowd of school children is like watching a ballet dancer glide through a swarm of drunk seagulls.
Give me Alex Rider’s politics teacher who let’s the poor kid take a nap in class or snack when he wants to (partly because 50% of the time he looks ready to drop) but mostly because deep down they both know there’s nothing that he can teach him here. Alex had an already pretty unusual and impressive grasp of foreign affairs before his uncle died and in the years since then? Well, he’s pretty sure Alex speaks more languages fluently than he has fingers.
Give me Alex Rider’s politics teacher whose subject gives him more of a glimpse into his talents than most people are allowed to see; who takes one good look at his extra little piece of the puzzle and thinks yeah. This kid is brilliant.
