Listen, I want to talk about the Dousy dynamic in the “one year later” scene because it’s making me lose my mind.
First, read this meta in its entirety. @theravennest wrote a gorgeous piece that perfectly encapsulates why Daisy and Sousa work so well together and I’m going to block-quote some paragraphs because I need white fans to understand this.
Daisy is a Chinese-American woman who has spent her entire life being abused, exploited, violated, fetishized, and neglected. By her parents, by the foster care system, by Hydra, by SHIELD, by the US Government, by Ward, by humans, by white people (especially white men), by the Kree, by Deke, by Fitz and the Team sometimes…
As a result of the neglect and abandonment she’s suffered, Daisy internalizes everything. After spending years being told that her pain doesn’t matter, she’s begun to believe it herself. Daniel, on the other hand, sees her pain, responds to it, and does his best to help her, regardless of whether it’s carrying her out of the place where Malick hurt her, watching over her while she healed, or encouraging her to talk to Jiaying.
Y’all, this ^ is exactly why Daniel and Daisy work so well together. Daniel knows what she needs, and gives it to her.
Let’s talk about this scene first. Daisy and Daniel are sitting with each other, casually. She’s in the Framework, catching up with her family, and Daniel is in the middle of what looks like a hefty and engrossing read. Do y’all realize how huge this is? Daisy Johnson being casual, domestic, intimate, comfortable with someone? This is big, because romance was never a priority for Daisy. She’s never had the time (or the luxury) to be casually romantic with somebody. She’s always had to constantly save the world at the expense of herself. That’s why:
…what [Daisy]’s looking for in a partner/lover is someone who is good to her, provides stability, shows her compassion/understanding, supports her desires/heroism, shares her zeal for doing good, understands her anger against people who have hurt her and her people, and knows when to be present with her.
Daniel shows up and is actively there for her through all the craziness. He doesn’t use the fact that their planet might be destroyed as an excuse not to give her the attention she needs and deserves (even though that’s a 10/10 excuse), and she’s not used to it all. During S7, AOS could have very easily ramped up Daisy’s “must save the world, no matter the cost to myself” mentality, but they didn’t. In the midst of what is arguably the greatest threat her team has ever faced, she takes a loop to figure out if he really does have feelings for her, talks about him to Mack, flirts with him, even kisses him. Daniel makes time to do the same too, most notably in 7.12 (second Dousy kiss!!!) And y’all, this is what I love most about them: he makes her a priority, so she makes him one of hers.
All this to say: it’s poetic that he’s sitting by her side, even though she’s meeting up with the team and he’s reading a book and they’re in space, approaching a nebula. It doesn’t matter what’s going on outside of their relationship or even what they’re doing as individuals. They’ve made the choice to be there for each other, so they will carve out time to care.
Second: this. THIS GIF LIVES IN MY MIND RENT-FREE Y’ALL. In the beginning, they are standing as close to each other as two people can get without touching. Daisy, though, looks at him before sidling closer to put her arm around him. My interpretation of this scene is as follows: She looks at him, as though to reassure herself that he really is still there. She (consciously!) moves closer to him, which brings her added peace of mind about his presence. Only then does she turn back to look at the nebula. Sousa, though, is starstruck. He’s gazing so intently at the nebula, but isn’t at all startled by Daisy. He brings his arm around her to accommodate her moving closer to him, but he doesn’t look at her or move his attention away from the nebula. He doesn’t need to look at Daisy, because he does it unconsciously. Even when he’s not intentionally paying her attention, he’s attuned to what she wants (and not just what she needs!)
Do you know what this does to Daisy? To know that this man cares for her, loves her so deeply that it’s just second nature to him at this point? It almost brings her to tears, even after one year of being with him. You can see it in the gif if you look closely. She’s smiling as she and Daniel move closer together, but it falls to a little half-smile and her eyes fill with something more.
I could write about these two for hours, but it’s late now. I might do a series where I analyze their body language in every scene with each other, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. Suffice to say that this is one of the most magical pairings of the MCU, and I am so, so in love with it.
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