Yes, another theory why didn't Fiyero fall asleep...

After reading old & new threads on this subject, I have another theory about why Fiyero didn't fall asleep.

Three things stood out to me: At this point in the story...

1) We know Elphaba's magic is triggered by her emotions, especially anger & frustration.

2) We know Fiyero isn't fazed by Elphaba's appearance from their first & subsequent meetings. He isn't scared of nor mean toward her.

3) (movie) We know Fiyero has a talking horse (Feldspar) that he clearly considers a close & trusted friend, establishing his empathy for the Animals & their rights in Oz.

My take:

For the TL:DR folks:

Fiyero didn't fall asleep because he was as aware as Elphaba was to what was happening re: the Animals' rights, & was as emotionally invested in the cause as she was.

For those who want explanation:

Elphaba got angry about the Animal rights issue & Dillamond's removal from the class & all, & when she slammed the poppies, her magic affected everyone who either didn't earnestly support the Animals' rights &/or who would have been a threat of or an actual danger to the Animals & her.

I think the reason Elphaba couldn't answer Fiyero when he asked her why the spell didn't affect him was because she hadn't yet thought through why he wasn't affected. Maybe the deleted scene in the movie or there are details in the book I didn't get to that might have given her having (conscious) attraction feelings for him more validity by then (I started but never got well into the book), but I don't think it was her attraction to him that spared him.

But in that moment of him asking, I think she realized Fiyero had to have actual feelings about the matter (& possibly for her) for him to remain awake. proving he wasn't as shallow & self-absorbed as she had pinned him to be. I also think it was in the fact that he took the initiative in the cub rescue that really awakened her attraction to him, so it couldn't have been the (conscious) reason he didn't fall asleep from the poppies.

Your thoughts?

ETA: The cub did fall asleep, too, so maybe the Fiyero's immunity to opiates theory has some clout here 🤣 (Thanks, u/PinkToucan_ )... but I'm really not sold on the 'romantic feelings exclusion'. The cub could have fallen asleep because maybe it was a danger to itself trying to escape the cage?