idk abt this chapter, it really feels like petty writing. All this weird forced build-up in the last few chapters of how our protagonist was going to fall into this trap, and then they retconned it like this.
It doesn't feel smart, it feels stupid.
I don't mind "dominating" protagonists, but this is textbook definition of "Antagonist's IQ dumbed down to 3 to make protagonist seem smart" situation.