That look in Tobey's eyes when he's holding Tom's Peter back from killing Norman. He didn't have to say a single word. They both just knew. That look is haunting me it won't leave my mind.
It was so, so important how they did that moment - how Tobey didn't just snatch the hoverboard out of Tom's hands with a web - but rather he could look him in the eyes, look his younger self in the eyes, and stop him from making the same choice that he did. Not just physically stop him but to make him understand, and let him make the choice to let go himself, instead of making it for him.
I love how they really framed Tobey's as the oldest and the wisest. He's had all this time to look back on that choice he made. All this time to think about the things he would have done differently. All this time thinking if he had just known, wishing he could just go back in time and talk to himself, to stop himself. He never thought that one day he would actually get that chance.
That look. That look that won't leave my mind. That look that said you know you shouldn't do this. You know May wouldn't want you to do this. I know the pain it will cause you. I've felt it. I feel it every day. I don't want you to go through what I did. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did. I don't want you to feel the pain that I do. Please. I love you. Please. It didn't help.
And Tom's Peter listens. He makes the choice Tobey's couldn't. His younger self didn't have him to offer him his strength and compassion and wisdom and perspective. Tobey's Peter can never go back in time and save himself, but at least he could save this version of himself. He can go on living, and the pain will fade more and more every day. Whenever he looks back on his younger self at least he'll know, without a doubt, that in another world, there's a version of him that he was able to help. Who didn't make that choice.
(And then Tom's Peter could then do something else that Tobey's couldn't, that being curing Norman, which he said he's been thinking about for years. Even though he was dead he still wished he could go back and help him, and now he was finally able to give him a second chance.)
(And the fact that Tobey says in the very next scene after May dies that ever since he got here he's been trying to find Peter because he feels he needs his help. I know he probably got there earlier but part of me thinks he got there right after or when May died, and he goes through the portal a few hours later. Yes Peter needed him because of the villains but the real reason he needed him was because of May's death and how he was grieving - and how this universe's Peter was going to make the same decision he did if he didn't find him and help him.)
And Andrew. I saw someone else say that he's still grieving Gwen, which is so true. From his conversation with Tobey it sounds like he really just sunk himself entirely into his work as Spiderman in order to, maybe not so much cope but just keep himself occupied to block out the grief.
He thinks about her every day. Sees her falling. Feels the weight of her in his arms again and again and again.
And when MJ fell, every fiber of his being was screaming not again. Not again. Not again.
In that moment, he just saw Gwen. Like he does every day. Only this time it was all too real.
And this time it was different. MJ's Peter couldn't get to her, just like he couldn't get to Gwen. This time he was here. This time he could do something about it. This time there was someone who could spare Peter the pain he lives with every moment of his life.
Maybe when he caught her, for just a split second, it felt like he caught Gwen. He had relived the most horrible moment of his life again. That moment that lived in his mind, that was always there underneath everything else, burning just a little but without end. Then somehow, this time, it ended differently.
The worst thing that happened to Andrew's Peter was a tragedy, but the worst thing that happened to Tobey's was a choice. They're both things that they can never change, but wish they could. They're both things they were able to spare this young version of themselves from. This boy who's full of so much potential and been through so much already. This boy who needed them. This boy who is them.
Obviously this whole movie was about second chances and compassion. You can always give second chances to people, no matter what they've done. You can always start over with them. Everyone except for yourself. You will always know what you've been through and what you've done. And you can be compassionate with yourself, but you can never truly start over. We can never get second chances in life - we can only have them in the eyes of others.
I wish I could go back in time and be there for my younger self. I wish I could help them and guide them. I wish I could protect them. I wish I could save them. I think about it all the time. I think a lot of us do. But in the real world we can't save our younger selves from pain.
Tobey and Andrew were able to fulfill the impossible dream of giving yourself a second chance. Of saving yourself.
I think what this movie was saying was that, as much as we wish we could, we can't start over. You can't give second chances to yourself so that's why it's all the more important that you give them to others - because if we could give ourselves even one moment of the past that could be changed, we would all do it in a heartbeat.
no spoilers but No Way Home was absolutely worth the hype. nothing beats that feeling of screaming with a theater full of people who love this shit as much as you do.
In the 31st century, others will find their graves.
It takes a Kryptonian a long time to die. Their lifespans are longer than that of humans after all. Recent research suggest that a being with at least 20% Kryptonian DNA in their lineage lives 2.34 times longer than the average human. For full Kryptonians — the last children of Krypton who died centuries ago — that number would've been much higher.
Kara Zor-El would've outlived her human counterparts by centuries.
That's immediately apparent when the xenoarchaeologists find the second grave.
Finding Kara Zor-El's lost grave had already been a miracle in and of itself. Scholars have been theorizing for centuries where it would have been. Some have speculated that her grave would be in Metropolis where she had died. Others say it must be somewhere near the Fortress of Solitude, near the Temple of Rao where many Kryptonian descendants have gathered in pilgrimage for generations.
Surely it would be somewhere in the ruins of the old National City, Supergirl's home. And to everyone's surprise, there they find it after 12 years of digs, in the center of one of the preserved sites that had been excavated near the Arcaeyx.
The first tomb is newer — 700 years old at the most. Under all the dust, dirt and age, the House of El sigil stands out in stark relief. Excitement ripples over the team as they compare it to the sigil that had been found on Kal-El's tomb on the ruins of Metropolis.
It's authentic. This is the grave of Kara Zor-El. The final resting place of Supergirl.
The second tomb is older. Much older. The tests say that it's at least a millennia old. It's surprisingly well-preserved, for a grave its age. It's in at least as good a condition as the first grave, suggesting that it had been maintained and painstakingly cared for until the other tomb had joined it.
The insignia etched on the marble of the tomb causes a near-frenzy among the xenoarchaeologists. It's familiar. They examine the symbol — a lush tree with two Ls forming the roots.
It's one of the old logos that had been used for L-Corp and the Luthor Foundation. It's also the personal insignia of the most famous Luthor in history.
Lena Luthor.
it's an exciting revelation, and a huge find. The team searches the vicinity, but there are no other graves in the area. Once the tombs are retrieved to be preserved and further studied, attention is turned to the monument.
There are scorch marks on it, but they're unusual enough that a Kryptonian expert is called in, and he confirms that the marks are from laser vision. And the odd thing is, the results indicate that the marks were made during the process of carving, and not some external event. It's apparent in the deeper grooves of the marble, as if laser vision had been used to carve the statues.
The statues.
Each one, in itself, is an extraordinary find. But what's even more extraordinary is how they were found.
As if the insignias alone aren't enough to confirm whose bodies reside in the tombs, the faces on the effigies leave no doubt. Both marble faces are familiar, based on old documents and records. One is more so, simply because Supergirl had lived through enough technological advancements on Earth that her likeness has been recorded in less antiquated methods. But there are enough preserved visual records of Lena Luthor to confirm that the face painstakingly carved into the marble is hers.
It's no surprise that the two were buried side by side. After all, history tells of the abiding friendship between the two women. Their partnership has had a long-standing impact that is still felt to this day.
It would make sense for Supergirl to preserve her closest friend's tomb, and then join her when her own time came.
What is surprising, however, is the way the statues are posed. Both women sitting close together on a slab of marble, each facing the other. Their poses are casual, clearly relaxed, and the position of intimacy is undeniable.
Lena Luthor's arm is propped up casually, draped elegantly over a slab of marble, her head tilted curiously and resting against a languid wrist.
And as for Supergirl... this might be the only existing depiction of her where she is not standing, proud and majestic. Instead, she sits comfortably, limbs loose. The marble smile directed at her companion is bright, almost tender, even under centuries' worth of grime and age.
In the middle, their hands meet, fingers tangled together. And upon close inspection, an inscription has been etched onto the wrist of Lena Luthor's likeness.
There's a lot of discourse regarding the statue among the team. Several of the researchers debate the symbolism of the poses.
"Their twined hands clearly symbolize their close bond of sisterhood."
"The seated pose indicates their close companionship. Clearly the creator, if we can attribute it to Supergirl herself, meant to portray it as a mark of the life-long friendship between her and Lena Luthor."
"What about the glyph etched on the second statue's wrist? If I know my Kryptonese, I believe they are meant to signify love." An old researcher from the Crab nebula named Horvax puts on his trifocals and peers at the statues. "But I think there must have been some kind of mistake by the artist, or perhaps I just can't read it right under all the dirt, because it looks to me like the glyph for :zhao, which means 'romantic love', rather than ukiem which means 'familial love' —"
One of the researchers, Spyrx, a young imp from the fifth dimension, scoffs. "You think Supergirl, the person who compiled all the ancient Kryptonian texts in the year 2251, made a mistake with a glyph she etched on a statue she made?"
The older researcher splutters. "Well, perhaps. It's not unheard of. Why else would she inscribe that glyph on her friend's likeness?"
"Horvax." Spyrx sends him a deadpan look over the statues' heads. "They're gay."
"Oh." Three eyes turn to the statues. It takes a minute, and then Horvax' eyes widen behind his trifocals.
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