you know how KO’s whole thing is that hes empathetic and understanding, and finds solutions to problems instead of just punching them away? as established earlier in the series, when KO feels less useful compared to the others, but eventually learns that his new skill is maturity.

the show explains maturity as understanding, and looking for a better solution, and this is something KO does a lot, but…

theres one person he doesnt try to help or truly reason with. i think you guys can guess im talking about TKO.

KO thinks hes matured, that hes become a better person, and while thats true to an extent, he hasnt matured in the way that really matters–inside his own mind.

in TKO Rules, KO doesnt even bother trying to come to a compromise with TKO; he does something bad, and KO immediately shoves him into his subconscious and locks him away. and yes, its understandable that KO is afraid that TKO will hurt his friends and family again, because its happened before and hes seen the destruction he can cause. but thats not the main reason why KO is afraid of TKO.

before TKO was even introduced, we had an episode where the characters went into a simulation to face their greatest fears, and even when KO knew nothing about TKO, about what hes truly capable of, about what terrible things he is willing to do, he was still KO’s greatest fear.

Before Shadowy Figure brought TKO out, all he was was KO’s negative emotions. And KO was already afraid of him.

and we’ve seen just how accepting KO really is–he actually said out loud that he hated Venomous (which is a LOT coming from KO), but later on, he joined Venomous and Fink in a group hug after Shadowy’s first takeover. KO is wary of PV, but he tries to understand and reason with and empathize. he empathizes with literally almost every single character.

but he doesnt empathize with TKO. not because he cant, or not because he hates TKO, but because TKO is a part of him, and he doesnt want to accept that. KO isnt afraid of TKO hurting his friends, hes afraid of accepting that TKO is him, that deep down a part of himself is whats hurting everyone. so he shoves it all into a neat little box and leaves it to fester instead of trying to accept his flaws. he tries to act like TKO is a different person, which only forces his negative emotions to grow stronger, which makes TKO stronger. if KO accepted TKO as a part of himself, then his positivity and negativity would balance each other out and everything would be fine. but KO is a kid, who still hasnt matured fully, who still has more to learn. and hopefully thats how this will all end.

anyway thats just my theory, or analysis of KO’s mind maybe? idk this is just some stuff i thought up, and im sure others have thought of it too, but i figured i might as well write it down and post.