SEVERE CHERIK BRAINROT + ANALYSIS BECAUSE IM 15 YEARS LATE TO THE PARTY!!!
(If only I wrote my university essays with this much energy)
It's the way Charles' mind is always open for Erik
He always leaves the door open for Erik and has a place reserved for him but never forces him to fill it
He gives Erik space EVERY time and the one time when he looks inside his mind it's with Erik's own permission and it's one of the most intimate ways EVER in which Charles uses his powers
by "accessing the brightest part" of Erik's memories
Which is a memory of Erik's mom before their lives went to
Mind you the memories of his mom are also the ones used against him but Charles is the only one who uses those memories to show Erik his full potential
Erik's memories of his mom are always weaponized against him to the point where Erik's reaction to that good memory is "I didn't know I still had that"
Erik is unbelievably vulnerable around Charles and it's because he chooses to
And then later at the end of the movie he deliberately cuts off that connection and Charles has to yell and beg him not to because "if he does it there'll be no going back" and Erik knows this but still doesn't listen
Charles could've stopped Erik but still didn't do it because he hadn't been given the permission to do so
Then we have the scene where Erik kills Shaw in the most insane and deserved way I've ever seen
(He kills Shaw with a coin. Bro.
It's the same coin Shaw had told him to move so many years ago but he couldn't do it and as punishment Shaw killed his mom
He passes the coin right through Shaw's brain)
Okay so the scene is like a montage of the shot switching between Charles and Shaw
Whom I argue represent the two sides of Erik's own personality and the "rage and serenity" mentioned by Charles earlier in the movie
Charles is holding Shaw still with his powers
He knows he can't let go because if he does Erik will get hurt
But also because he's in Shaw's mind he's feeling all the pain as Erik kills Shaw
Shaw is silent because he's paralyzed and Charles is screaming his lungs out because of the pain
It's like Erik is getting rid of Shaw but the anger, hate, trauma and the influence left behind because of him is silently settling itself inside of Erik while it hurts what he's built with Charles
And oh my god the way the helmet was originally Shaw's to begin with and Erik just puts it on emphasizes even more that he can never let go of what's been done to him (understandably so)
Charles to me is a present, physical representation of Erik's humanity and vulnerability (which he tries so hard to hide) and him shutting Charles out exactly shows that
It's the way the moment Charles was shot Erik immediately forgot about his act of revenge
Yeah they drive me INSANE.
So in this next movie (DoFP) Charles uses a drug which both can make him walk again and also as a side effect cancels out his powers completely
Jesus christ way to cut off everything related to Erik and pretend like nothing has ever happened
Him being paralyzed by Erik? Never happened
The times he used his powers with/for Erik?? Never happened 😀
But it's all just a coping mechanism because obviously he doesn't forget it all
Which the result of is just him becoming an alcoholic due to it all
Then there's Logan coming around and saying "the professor I know would never turn his back on someone who's lost their way, especially someone he loves" WHICH IS CRAZYYY LOGAN CRAZYYYY
In response to which Charles physically staggers and stumbles just with that one sentence
#CharlesXavierSucksAtCoping
They go and break Erik out of prison and what does Charles do??? Immediately punches Erik
What does Erik say??? "I couldn't disobey you even if I wanted to" (which, okay freak 🚨🤨) and Charles says "I am never getting inside of that head again"
This makes me insane because this time it's Charles who's slamming the door shut
The one whose whole thing is being open minded (HAH GET IT—) is the one shutting the door and he's decided on it long ago because the last time he did it it cost him so much and brought him a lot of pain and sorrow
Now Charles is the one who's afraid of vulnerability because he knows the consequences
Erik: "You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?"
Charles: "I sacrificed my powers so that I could sleep"
My take away from this? Charles doesn't give two shits that he can't walk anymore
He probably discovered at some point that the drug makes his powers go away and that's why as Hank said, "he uses too much of it"
He just doesn't want to be in anyone's head anymore, because the ability which he considered a gift and was quite literally a nerd about became his curse
He can't stand hearing people's thoughts and feeling their feelings because even if THEY don't hear HIM it's still overwhelming
Even if no one sees it, he's still hurting.
Then there's the "you abandoned me!" Scene in which both him and Erik crash out
And it's almost like Charles' lack of powers doesn't protect him anymore here, because guess what??? ERIK STARTS BEING VULNERABLE WITHOUT CHARLES HAVING TO READ HIS MIND
He starts yelling at Charles and blaming him, effectively pouring out his heart, mind and feelings right in front of Charles
Charles can't hide from Erik's thoughts even if he wants to because he always finds a way back anyways
And GUESS WHAT??? Charles falls to the ground here and can't get up, exactly like when Erik shot him on the beach years ago
It's like all the vulnerabilities and traumas that he's tried to run away from were never really gone at all
Later on in the movie Charles begins to come to terms with his trauma and not necessarily heal immediately, but acknowledge and sit with it (literally)
Then he admits to his older self that Erik was right. His older self doesn't deny it, he just says that Charles needs to learn how to hope again because the world needs it
Later again in the movie Erik puts on his helmet again and goes back to his own path because despite being told that they need him to work together with them he still can't let go of the path forged by his trauma
It's stronger, it's bigger, and I think Erik himself knows it and partially hates it as well
At the end of the movie Charles goes inside Erik's mind without permission not to violate, but to save himself from the debris that's on him because of Erik
It's almost like he's saying "you owe me this much at least after all that you did"
Part ways, while they're both in their most vulnerable moments
It's like they're acknowledging that they're each others' vulnerabilities and that it doesn't matter what they do, that fact remains
It's like they finally start to come to terms with the way that they can't get rid of each other, never fully
They've both left their marks on each other
Do I care? Absolutely not, you're very welcome 🥰