The Depth (or Lack Thereof) of Steve and Buckyâs Relationship in Civil War [Spoilers, obviously]
(Before we start, this is a positive post about their relationship btw. lol)
The portrayal of the continuation Steve and Buckyâs relationship in Civil War has divided opinion among fandom, specifically whether they talked to each other enough after finally being reunited after death and time and torture. Putting to one side discussion of what we should reasonably expect from a Marvel movie in terms of emotions and talking about them, whether there was time for it with a war going on, and if the writers were intentionally no-homoing us (because then this would be a dissertation and not a Tumblr post lol):
To articulate my own perspective of disappointment briefly: of course the magnitude of Steveâs actions in Civil War indicate just how much Bucky means to him, and âactions speak louder than wordsâ after all, but watching moments between characters (and re-watching on a loop for 5 hoursâŠor is that just me) is much more rewarding than just thinking about an abstract concept in your head. We as a fandom obviously thrive on moments to gif and quotes to paste all over everything. Especially after all the beautiful things Chris has said in interviews about Steve and Bucky and quotes like âIâm with you to the end of the line,â and âEven when I had nothing I had Bucky,â from The Winter Soldier, itâs disappointing to not have nearly as many quotes and overemotional moments like that in Civil War. Thereâs nothing between Steve and Bucky to rival the sheer level of emotion in the Helicarrier and Potomac scenes in the Winter Soldier, and Civil War can seem emotionally stunted in comparison.
However, as someone who was also initially disappointed by Steve and Buckyâs interactions, after thinking it over I think itâs not that the writers didnât give them opportunities to talk about their feelings, itâs that Steve and Bucky had those opportunities and just couldnât do it. Steve asks Bucky if he knows him and Bucky says he only knows about Steve from reading about him, but later on the Quinjet demonstrates that he remembers specific moments together with Steve. He was lying, like Steve said; he canât even talk about it because it clearly means too much for him to emotionally process, especially into words. Heâs been living alone for two years after decades of being less than human, Bucky doesnât know how to go about expressing his emotions to Steve.
Bucky opens up another opportunity when he says âIâm not sure Iâm worth all this,â and Steve canât even reply. He pauses for so long trying to find a way to express how deeply untrue that is as we watch his expression cycle through multiple emotions, but itâs too much for him to even put into words. Instead he settles on reassuring Bucky that the things he did were not his fault, that they didnât affect his worth as an individual or to Steve. Soon after, Steve indirectly lets Bucky know just how much he is worth it by asking him about one his memories. Not in a way thatâs careful because of Buckyâs fractured memory, in a way that acknowledges the reality of their awful situation: just a normal âHey, remember that timeâŠ?â between long-time friends. Heâs letting Bucky know how much their shared history and their friendship means to him in a way that doesnât create a stressful outpouring of emotions that Bucky clearly isnât ready for. When Steve directly asked Bucky âDo you know me?â he avoided the discussion. When Steve prompted Bucky with a casual âRemember this?â Bucky opened up and showed that he did. He laughed and smiled and made a joke, and they were able to share the first moment of casual friendship between them since their past lives. Even reaching out and touching each other like they always did.Â
They care about each other very much, they want to communicate, but not only is Bucky still in a very fragile place - that he canât handle the weight of their past, of whatâs happening to them now, when confronted about it as directly as âDo you know me?â - but so is Steve, who wants to know if Bucky remembers, if they can get back what they had but, when confronted with Bucky thinking himself unworthy of Steveâs devotion, canât even gather his words together enough to directly respond to the idea. Steve has never done well with putting his emotions into words or accepting them from others that care about him, itâs not surprising how emotionally stunted he is now after undergoing more loss and suffering on such a grand scale. Itâs also not surprising that Bucky is emotionally stunted, not just because of what was done to him during his 70 years with Hydra, but since he still, even now, has things in his mind that other people put there against his will. Thatâs why he wants to go back into cryostasis, he doesnât what to process who he could be now or the relationship he could recover with Steve until he is the only one inside his own mind.
(Not to say that they couldnât have hugged in the mid-credit sceneâŠbut Steve didnât look so good, I think he might have cried and that wouldnât have been good for Bucky. *laughs and cries at the same time* I wouldâve liked for Steve to say something as simple as âIâll miss you until then,â but I think even that might put emotional stress on Bucky, which Steve clearly doesnât want to do.)
None of this is to say that I donât think you could possibly disagree and shouldnât have a problem with how their relationship was handled: thatâs fine and I donât want to argue about it! As someone that was disappointed but then basically had an epiphany on how to interpret all this in a way that made me want to lay down on the ground and cry about Steve and Bucky in this movie a lot more than previously, I just wanted to share that there is definitely a way to read their relationship in the movie as an emotional and realistic continuation of their beautiful story and hopefully I might be able to turn around the opinion of some others that were disappointed and you can enjoy the movie more! But itâs definitely hard not to want more between Steve and Bucky when thereâs two year waits between movies!
And of course, today we got the news that Bucky will indeed be in the (soon to be retitled) Infinity Wars and that Steve and Buckyâs relationship is one that the Russo Brothers are looking forward to continuing the most. So hereâs hoping for that open heart-to-heart! And a hug, tbh. ;)