if a stock is being heavily shorted, charts go out the window. the primary MM doing the "selling" here has been MERQ, all the way down.
panicked retail has gotten caught up in this, and rightfully so, but what we're seeing is testimony to just how distorted the value of a play can be when price action is manipulated.
for example, if a buyer, or a group of buyers, sense there is a quiet period coming when retail will be caught off guard, a short play will load a lot of boats, and retail will be squeezed out in the process.
a version of this happened prior to the last PR. jmho.