*Heavy Spoilers*
Max was indeed portrayed as a dick most of the time in the first half and I guess Mikhails introduction of Max as someone who sold secretly made videos of his mother and sisters didn't help much either :-). Although I think that the plotline "Total dick with hidden depths" isn't completely unique, it was well written and his development felt very natural. I thought that his lack of social skills might even be a side effect of him sharing some traits with his autistic brother?