Great writeup. Gonna make a guess, with the nature of the episode, that May-May is actually in cahoots with her husband and sons.

Him being the only person willing to assist in his old teacher’s suicide suggests that, for sure. But though it’s been some time since I’ve seen this film, which I greatly enjoyed, I think Stéphane is what happens when a person keeps “acting” emotionless - eventually, the mask becomes the person.