This is just me yapping about Joaquín and some mischaracterization for a sec sigh
(Not proofread + I'm terrible at this)
So, something that bugs me a lot about this fandom (or, at least, how the fandom used to be) is the way Joaquín was/is hated and portrayed as a self-absorbed misogynist until the very end of the movie. Which, let me make VERY clear, is not true.
Well, to some extent, you could argue it is due to his words and actions (especially during the party), I'm not really denying that. Joaquín did do things wrong, and Im not defending them, but my main problem is that's all people see him as + don't recognize the character development that happens mid-story, not just at the end.
For example, the entire scene of Maria 'dying', followed by Manolo;
Joaquín is the first to arrive, and once he realizes the two in danger are Manolo and Maria, his face can only be described as terrified. (Sorry for the absolute dog water quality 💔)
He then follows this up by saying; "What did you do, Manolo?"
This isn't because he's blaming his friend. At least, not immediately. He's completely swamped with emotions and obviously distressed. Manolo was the only one with Maria at the time as far as Joaquín knew. I dont have much else to say about that.
*"Why didn't you protect her??"*
(No pic, sorry)
His whole life has been dedicated to protecting others. It's truly all he's known, and he most likely believes he could have saved Maria if he had been there because that's what he does best. He is willing to 'sacrifice' himself (quotes due to the medal), and I feel he expected Manolo to do the same, but he has no idea MARIA was the one who protected MANOLO.
"It should have been me." - *"Yes, it should have."*
For some reason, a lot of people seem to think during those 10 years Maria was away, Manolo and Joaquín had some sort of rivalry or distain for one another, but with how Joaquín was speaking to and cheering for Manolo during the bull fighting scene doesn't exactly support that. The two, as far as we are aware, remained best friends. After this moment, they STILL ARE, and I say that because while it's not outright, you can very much tell Joaquín had a change of heart. He was angry, terrified, and upset that Manolo didn't do more (even if he couldn't).
"Manolo... Manolo passed away."
He's not screaming or sobbing, but with Joaquín being Joaquín, I'd doubt he'd cry in front of Maria or the General (who were in the room with him). You can tell by his voice he's grief stricken. On one hand, he had thought Maria was dead, and now he just lost his lifelong best friend. There was a point where he'd thought they were both dead, considering he knew Manolo was gone before Maria woke up. And with his last words to Manolo, I doubt it made it any better.
I honestly feel like they built up the character development in this scene MORE than the scene at the end of the movie.
"Will you stay in San Ángel if I marry you?" - "Yes, but *but you dont-*"
It seems now Joaquín realizes not only that Maria's heart belongs solely to Manolo, but the mistakes he's made in trying to win her over. When the General begins talking about how Maria should be marrying Joaquín, he would normally support and jump to the opportunity of convincing her, and now he only says "General, this is *not* the time-" before being cut off.
When Maria also cuts him off and accepts his proposal, Joaquín isn't elated. He isn't joyful. He's saddened. He doesn't want Maria to be with him if that's not what she truly wants because her happiness is above his own in this situation. He respects Manolo and Maria's love for one another at that moment and knows there's nothing he can do to change it.
At the wedding (between him and Maria), he doesn't want to be there. You can tell he'd rather be anywhere else, honestly. Many people will say he 'begged' for it so hard and shouldn't have regreted it when it happened, but when he WAS insisting on it, he didn't realize how much Maria was not reciprocating (for the most part). He attempted to tell her she didn't have to, but she cut him off. It almost feels like he wasn't even going to say 'I do' after Maria.
During the final fight, it was originally going to be him who died and sacrificed himself until Manolo stepped in. Joaquín wanted to finally do something genuinely *just* for others, with no selfish gain involved. He wanted to be a true hero and sacrifice himself without the medal.
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I have a party to get ready for soon, so, yeah. That's all for now 🥀 I could've said a lot more, but I'm terrible at putting what's on my mind into words. This post was solely about these specific events and his mischaracterization, but i haven't even begun to scratch the surface of his character in general.
