If you haven't played/watched season 2 episode 2, do NOT read this-- it won't make sense and you WILL have the episode spoiled for you!

With that out of the way... I think we've got a lot to talk about, my Luktra fam...

Episode 2 is the first time this season we've seen Lukas and Petra together.  I know the trailer left me both excited and apprehensive-- I didn't know what to expect.  I figured we'd have some kind of explanation for the hesitance they both showed in episode 1.  But what we got was...

Nothing.

Throughout the whole episode, I don't know if Lukas and Petra so much as spoke a word to each other.  They hardly even looked at each other-- let alone acknowledged each others' presence.  What happened to the duo who went through everything together in season 1??

You guys... I think they've had a falling out.

Everything would fit-- time has passed between seasons, and Lukas keeps talking about change in his narration.  Petra no longer trusts Lukas's judgement like she did in season 1-- now she follows Jack's guidance.  And Lukas?  He seems to be doing everything he can to stay away.

If you watch in episode 1, Lukas is the only one to not give an excuse for not coming to see Petra.  Axel and Olivia both state reasons they're too busy to come.  Lukas, however, just goes quiet and hangs his head.  He just looks guilty, and doesn't tell Jesse anything.  And when Jesse meets up with Petra in the mines, she reacts most strongly to the fact that Lukas has chosen his writing over spending time with her.  Both of them show agitation at the mention of each other.

In episode 2, they finally see each other again-- and seem to be avoiding each other.  Petra hurriedly makes preparations to leave with Jack-- despite the fact that the Admin just destroyed their town!  She doesn't plan on sticking around even to help with repairs.  They hardly look at each other, let alone speak to each other.  The closest they come is to debate over what path to take-- ultimately deciding differently and forcing Jesse to choose between them.

MCSM season 1 showed us how both of them respond to conflict.  And what we see here would match up with that.  Petra's response is to lash out initially, and then to storm off.  In episode 7, she would have been perfectly content to go off alone had Jesse not gone out of her way to approach her.  And in episode 1 if you're unkind to Lukas, he leaves-- and then flat-out states that the only reason he came back was that he thought they'd have a better chance of helping Petra if they stayed together.

In the long-term, Lukas is likely to avoid conflict-- for the most part, he avoids approaching or confronting others, even to make amends.  And Petra struggles to admit to being wrong.  We do see her come to Jesse on a few occasions to apologize for her actions, but it's an obvious struggle-- and her actions involving the Champions' City mess show that she prefers to handle things herself for as long as she can-- only seeking help when it's clear things are far out of her control.

If Lukas and Petra fought, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet to predict the following-- Petra would initially express anger, probably driving Lukas to the defensive, and then storm off.  Lukas most likely wouldn't risk standing up to her anger, and would go his own way as well.  The initial anger likely wouldn't last long, however, and would soon transition into guilt.  However, instead of seeking to make amends, Petra would likely transition into feeling unworthy of his forgiveness-- sinking back into her "lone wolf" mentality because she "always seems to cause more harm than good" and managed to hurt even her closest friend.   As time went on, she'd find herself falling farther and farther from her other relationships as well, going off alone and keeping herself busy, as she did at first.  Beacontown would become foreign to her-- the home of her friends, but not her.  Lukas's popularity as an author there would bring up the painful memories daily-- she'd find no peace, no escape there.  And so she'd move on-- to Champions' City, where she could get away from it all-- and where Stella could find occasion to take advantage of her confusion and pain to manipulate her.  The Petra we knew in season 1 wouldn't have let Stella manipulate her.  She was shrewd and discerning.  When Ivor tried to cheat her out of a deal, she wasted no time in going after him-- armed only with an iron sword, like the one she used in the mines in season 2.  In season 2, Petra is in crisis-- confused and hurting, and ultimately taken advantage of.  She lacks the will to stand up to Stella-- instead meekly submitting to her manipulation and stooping to the level of performing petty tasks, though deep down she knows Stella will merely change the deal again when she completes them.  Deep down, she feels she deserves it-- that this rift between her and her friends is her fault, and this is her punishment for it.  She is broken.

Likewise, Lukas would retreat as well-- turning to writing, as Petra turns to fighting.  He'd bury himself in his work, ignoring the pain he felt every time he penned her name.  Every time he did, he'd contemplate seeking her out to try and make things right-- and then dismiss the thought, believing she'd never forgive him.  So he'd try to move on, finding new ways to keep busy, new friends to make him laugh, carefully avoiding the adventures Petra invited the team on from time to time.  He'd settle down, taking in the strays that wandered by his home and caring for them.  He'd do his best to go on-- to leave the past in the past.  To accept that old friends go and new ones take their place,  that no one can escape change forever.

Each fearing they couldn't be forgiven, neither would go to make amends-- and the wounds left behind would fester, slowly tearing them apart.  The thought of seeing each other would become unbearable-- and when they finally did, they'd keep their distance-- terrified of confirming their deepest fears, that they couldn't be forgiven.  If only they realized that the guilt and longing they felt plagued both of them-- that they weren't alone in their pain, that forgiveness would be granted the moment they asked.  But neither realized, and so the rift remained...

Now, this is all speculation-- but at least to me, it seems consistent.  Will their friendship be mended?  Only time will tell-- but I sure as heck hope so.  Something is clearly plaguing both of them, and it's taking its toll...