Where does the Machiavelli statement about “dealing out severities all at once” versus “giving out benefits slowly” apply to this episode?

I included the idea because Devon, upon being betrayed by two people, both of whom he gave out benefits slowly, dealt his reaction with a sudden harshness.  Many would say, “How very un-Devon! He should be quick to forgive, he has made mistakes himself.”

This “nice-guy” Devon was being kinder by dealing his responses swiftly, harshly and directly.  The alternative is the Billy Abbott personality flaw: instead of confronting the person or people with whom he wants to settle an issue or right a wrong, he sneaks around, takes his time, uses secret surveillance, lowering himself beneath the person he even went after, as Adam is more sympathetic at this point than Billy.

Devon is a true adult.  he was not going to sneak around and sabatoge with Dr. Nate Hastings or live-in partner Dr. Elena Dawson slowly, drawing out pain for a woman he loved with all his heart, a cousin he trusted with all his mind, and a free-clinic completed with the two that helped the most in need of that health care, feeding Devon’s spirit.

/matherton horowitz/