Like you don't necessarily want to speak for Emmie, I don't want to speak for Maggie here, but I think I know where she's coming from. Or at least, I know how I interpret her points here and how I see this episode. When she says "we," I think she's referring to a hypothetical audience member that is following only the explicit cues that the story has given. You and Emmie might disagree with Maggie (and me, though I'm not sure exactly how firmly I stand on this point) on what those cues are. OR, your natural inclination might be to assume full three-dimensional humanity to all characters, regardless of what the cues are. I think those are two different issues, and I'm not quite sure which one is where the disagreement comes in.
I know for myself, I didn't even really notice Cordy as a character until around The Puppet Show (though to be fair I missed WttH on a first watch!). It's very easy to read Cordelia's being nice to Buffy in WttH as being just about a new apparent high-status person that Cordy wants on her team (she's from LA!!!). The first ten episodes mostly involve Cordy saying ridiculous things for comic relief. Her nightmares are ludicrously shallow in ep 10. So the cues suggest to me that there is no depth there. This episode is where Cordelia actually speaks about emotional wants beyond the shallow aspirations she's shown before.
Of course, you and Emmie could be following different cues. Or, you could not be following the cues at all, and looking strictly at her actions. Her actions are indeed a legitimate reason to dislike her! But I do think there's something to be said for Maggie's point that the in-story cues don't portray Cordy as a real person until this episode, and I think that's what the statement about the audience (and the "we") is a shorthand for.
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I know for myself, I didn't even really notice Cordy as a character until around The Puppet Show (though to be fair I missed WttH on a first watch!). It's very easy to read Cordelia's being nice to Buffy in WttH as being just about a new apparent high-status person that Cordy wants on her team (she's from LA!!!). The first ten episodes mostly involve Cordy saying ridiculous things for comic relief. Her nightmares are ludicrously shallow in ep 10. So the cues suggest to me that there is no depth there. This episode is where Cordelia actually speaks about emotional wants beyond the shallow aspirations she's shown before.
Of course, you and Emmie could be following different cues. Or, you could not be following the cues at all, and looking strictly at her actions. Her actions are indeed a legitimate reason to dislike her! But I do think there's something to be said for Maggie's point that the in-story cues don't portray Cordy as a real person until this episode, and I think that's what the statement about the audience (and the "we") is a shorthand for.