I’m definitely happy to accept the explanation of “this is what the author wanted to do to make the story happen” as the definitive explanation for it. It’s a work of creative fiction. Some elements just need to exist for the sake of the story actually happening and being entertaining. It’s just annoying because it’s a decent show and that particular element kinda glares at you. I’d imagine it’s one of those things that’ll be significantly less pleasant to deal with on rewatches, since your brain will be screaming “this entire subplot hinges on these two assholes being pathologically incapable of basic human communication” at certain points.