3 Nick and June 5x09 Thoughts
OK granted, I just skimmed this episode but I found their scene together to be rich with so much nuance so I’m going to do what I always do, break down my interpretation.
were giving me Early Seasons Nick and June vibes.
In the first two seasons, I said that one aspect of Osblaine that I relished was their ‘in between’ moments because I found those moments to be where we really saw how much June loves Nick even though she wasn’t ready to verbalize that (from a previous response to an anon who said they didn’t think June loved Nick):
I think it’s clear that June loves Nick and the reason why I think it’s clear is because there are moments in almost every one of their scenes that show this.
I think we have the more direct moments:
and the more direct gestures/facial cues:
But what makes it clear for me, are the moments between that, because that’s when you see her struggle and attempt to reconcile all of her situations.
[…] in 2x07, as I already mentioned, she has the “what about you?” line and they have the passionate kiss
but it’s this that I find telling:
because she allowed herself to give in completely, lose herself completely, and be with Nick and this reaction is a culmination of things […] but I also think it’s a self-admonishment because she allowed herself to just love Nick with that kiss.
And their scene and the dialogue around Nick this episode reminded me of this because June attempts to control her expressions. When Mark tells her he offered Nick a way to come to Canada, which is still on the table, she does her best not to smile
even when he mentions his name, she tries not to smile
which also happens when Mark says that he can set up a meeting between the two of them that very day
she does her best to react as if this is just business, this is just a means to an end
because she’s committed to her life in Canada now, she promised Luke that she would be “there.”
And when she sees Nick waiting for her,
like she’s seen him do many times before
(or appear to her like many times before)
she’s trying not to feel that pull, that jolt, that relief, that joy, she presses her lips together
to stop herself from doing this
but everything she’s trying to contain comes out anyway, and I think it’s important to note that it comes out when she realizes that Nick isn’t going to have a handmaid in his house because Rose is pregnant
but she’s also almost happy
because Nick will not participate in the Ceremony, Nick is still Nick, the same man she had to plead with so he would consummate his marriage with Eden.
While there’s also I think a bit of sadness and jealousy mixed in
But the moment he starts walking toward her, she’s grinning and flirtatious and familiar and knowing
because she can’t help it, the affection is there, the love is there, it’s very reminiscent of 2x12
which is especially evident in the way she says “I love you” which leads me to
it definitely brought me back to 4x09
which then brought me back to 2x12
which then brought me back to 1x03
This idea of each other as their … not even fantasy but as their peace, this idea that they would be happier and they would be content and they would be free if everything else went away and they remained or if everything else remained but they went away, that’s prevalent, and consistent with them and so beautiful especially since Nick’s response is saying the world can’t go away for a little bit because it’s going to be difficult for us to see each other
and June’s response is I don’t want to fuck up your life
but what really struck me about their entire exchange is the mutual sense of understanding and stubbornness about the “everything else” where they are both like, I have people I need to look out for and consider
I am coming to you as someone whose second nature is to ensure the safety of my family no matter the cost
June has seen what Nick will do for his family because he did it for her and Holly
and Nick has obviously seen what June will do for her family because of everything she has done and tried to do and is doing and will do for Hannah
but then after all of that is established, their obligations, their commitments, their charges, Nick tells her he loves her, thereby being like, you know even with Rose, even with my unborn child with Rose, I’m in love with you, and he says it in this matter-of-fact, my-feelings-haven’t-changed, I-will-always-be-in-love-with-you kind of simple, Nick way,
which he’s done in the past
and June is breathless and on the verge of tears because she can’t not say it back, not when she feels it this powerfully, not with everything they’ve been through and the way she lowers her head is one of those “in between” moments to me because she’s at conflict, because their lives are moving on without each other and yet they’re always present in each other’s lives, her love for him is always there so how can she still contain it?
3. Their physicality. I have also always said that Nick and June have a magnetic quality to their connection
The way Nick and June are so attuned to each other? I mentioned it in a previous post of mine, citing more the magnetic quality they have where you see them drawn toward each other […] I’ve already spoken about 1x08, how June turns away at the last possible moment, the way her eyes close at his touch, the way he hovers near her, that magnetic pull and physical attune
and you see that in this scene, he leans forward a bit and she leans forward a bit too
and the urge to kiss is so strong, Nick is about to do it and June is about to let him, it’s what they both want, it’s what they both feel, it’s what they both need, but their messy world hasn’t gone away so he curbs such a natural impulse, particularly since June and Nick are physical outside of sex there’s always this urge to physically connect
and June is breathless with the nearness of it and the absence.
Thank you @splitscreen @skyshipper @pegscarters @give-me-a-thousandkisses @midniightsrains @resistancerising56 for all of the good gifs.
