A small, wide-ranging consideration: perhaps the fight against drug dealers, whether they are Buddy and Vinnie or even whoever is still above them, will be the concluding theme.
BADIK doesn't really need a theme, in the end as a slice of life, nothing can happen and still go on. but in this last chapter 2 non marginal things happened:
- with Riona a boundary was crossed that I doubted would be touched, we have reached a level of ‘wickedness’ that cannot be forgiven (Patrick was very close, but the direction was clear, with his sick wife he could not be ‘punished’ that much)
- but especially with Lana's flashback, even Jill, who herself didn't have all these points of contact with the affair, becomes heavily involved. now Buddy is also her problem. it wouldn't surprise me at all if somehow the other LIs don't get much more directly involved as well
perhaps we can already consider Sage involved, although there is still the Morgan card to play (which predictably from mere hint in chapter 9 we now know will be a future theme). but also Bella (parental incident? James?) and Maya and Josy (here I struggle more to find a hypothetical connection, for Josy it could be Tommy if the withdrawal was something real and not a forgotten cue like Derek's depression) in my opinion will end up with some pain related to the actions of Rox and co.