That is true
and even as a big fan of Brandon, I can agree that they tried too hard to make him the flawless leader of the pack.
When in actual fact, he was struggling more than people realised.
Remember that episode in season one when he cheats on an exam because of the pushy teacher and Jim having ridiculously high expectations of him?
I felt so sorry for Brandon in that episode. It was a very relatable situation for a lot of students in real life who succumb to peer pressure.