I see this discussion continues unabated, and it still revolves around an irrelevant concept. Pick any two wires in the entire circuit. Then ask if those two wires are attached to each other at one end. If yes, then ask if those two wires are also attached to each other at the other end. If yes, then and only then do you have two wires in parallel with each other. That is not the case for any two wires in this circuit. In all cases, two wires may be attached to each other at one end, but one wire will continue downstream to the next outlet, and the other wire continues upstream to the previous outlet. That is not, Not, NOT a parallel circuit. All discussions about the rules for parallel conductors are meaningless in this circuit.