I wouldn't surprise me if Vena didn't have just as firm a grasp on human psychology as Utena, but I think that his end goal is very similar to Utena's: to unlock Tres Magia's full potential. It's where the two of them are going to direct that potential afterwards that is probably very different for them.
Yeah, I think we’re starting to see the rumored undercurrents of the story come to life. Things’ve been hinted at for a while, but the conflict between her and Venalita is brand new. She seems way, way more solid in herself now, with her own vision, and isn’t just indulging herself. They might come to butt heads soon here, in a more serious way, once everybody’s all powered up. I can’t wait.
Speaking more to this chapter… I still don’t have Sulfur fully figured out. She doesn’t really seem to be a participant in the BDSM play the way the others are: she reminds me a little of Sister Gigant in that way, and I wonder what her resolve comes from and whether she might have more insight into the magical girl thing than the other characters. Or maybe she’s just angry. IDK, but it seems like her thing is resisting adversity. It seems like she wants to fight, knock-down, drag-out, bruises on both sides kind of deal. I wonder if the next chapter will show that that’s some kind of kink thing as well, like battles for dominance, or dominant masochism, or something about struggling. IDK. Right now she’s definitely the best she’s been, but she doesn’t seem thematically consistent yet.