Absalom uses people, no doubt about that. But not much better than Absalom is Joab. Joab convinces David to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem. When Absalom is not allowed to come before David, he uses Joab to get what he wants.
While David is reconciled on the outside with Absalom, on the inside there is still conflict between them. Absalom misused the love of his father to use it against him. And you know that things are not going to get any better between Absalom and David.
Absalom was handsome (last person that was mentioned as such was Saul, take that as a hint!). He was charismatic, able to convince people to do what he wanted them to do. All this foreshadows something much worse that’s coming up.