>"enough that both of them apologize at different points in the episode to try to repair the friendship."
That's a good point. The mere fact that there are two -- Nick's to Schanke and Schanke's to Nick -- resonates, and should inform the story structure.
Nick was prodded to his by Natalie; Schanke may or may not have been prodded to his by anything besides circumstances.
Schanke pre-emptively accepts Nick's apology even as Nick is still trying to articulate it; Nick accepts Schanke's apology by chalking up the incidents to "temporary insanity." Both of them seem to want to give apologies when they owe them, and both of them seem to want to shortcut accepting apologies when they're owned them.
The dying Patric Delahanty also apologizes to Schanke... sort of. Patrick says: "I'm sorry you believed in me."
the dual apologies
That's a good point. The mere fact that there are two -- Nick's to Schanke and Schanke's to Nick -- resonates, and should inform the story structure.
Nick was prodded to his by Natalie; Schanke may or may not have been prodded to his by anything besides circumstances.
Schanke pre-emptively accepts Nick's apology even as Nick is still trying to articulate it; Nick accepts Schanke's apology by chalking up the incidents to "temporary insanity." Both of them seem to want to give apologies when they owe them, and both of them seem to want to shortcut accepting apologies when they're owned them.
The dying Patric Delahanty also apologizes to Schanke... sort of. Patrick says: "I'm sorry you believed in me."