The lesson learned? That whether or not something is a dependency is
in eyes of beholder. LOL
I apologize, but I have no idea about what does means "eye of the beholder".
It's a shortened reference to a common phrase in the United States - "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".
What one person might find ugly, another person might find beautiful. The beauty of the object is dependent on who is beholding the object and what value that beholder places on the object.
The typical scenario might be a party, whereat a man introduces his fiance to his friends. After the engaged couple walk away, the friends whisper to one another, "Wow, she was ugly!", "Yeah, but he seems to really be mad in love with her.", followed by "I guess it's true what they say, 'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder'."
Of course, a third friend, who like the engaged man also finds the fiance attractive, might add, "And boy, would I like to be holding her!"
In Richard's case above, he's modifying the phrase to mean that what one person sees ("beholds") as a dependency might not be seen ("beheld") by another person as a dependency.