what scenes do you think did a good job of conveying that Eddie felt something deeper for Richie? I thought the hammock scene was flirtatious on his end, and I think his fixation on Richie when he thought he killed Pennywise was significant. itās annoying to think some people interpreted both scenes as friendly though, cuz y'know, āhe married a woman.ā Really hoping we get a flashback in the directorās cut that shows a pining!Richie and more outwardly flustered!Eddie
Okay this grew into a beast of a response because I got poetic and itās emotionally draining soooo heads up! skfkfks
I think those two scenes definitely jump out, but honestly there is SO much nuance to Eddieās feelings that causes him to be very difficult to translate to film, and what does get translated is easy to miss if you arenāt watching closely. The problem with Eddie, and the reason why people with untrained eyes are reading it as unrequited, is that he is TOO repressed to really have obvious moments of pining.
So what you really need to look for, with him, are little changes between the way he acts around the different people in his life. Around his mom and other authority figures, heās generally soft-spoken and nervous. He talks slower, and less often. Heās quiet and stiff, like a deer in headlights. Around the bullies heās defiant but jittery. Around the Losers, heās loud, animated, and emotional (which in the novel and miniseries means heās quick to tears, but in the movies it comes out as anger - either way, theyāre emotions he canāt express at home).
So we have baseline Eddie, and friendship Eddie. The best way to confirm that his feelings for Richie are unique is to pay attention to the differences between how he acts around Richie versus his other friends.
First, the way he talks to Richie. When they interact, itās like friend!Eddie gets dialed up to full blast. Heās not just loud and animated, heās literally obnoxious. He feeds into every comment Richie makes, he thrives on reacting to Richie and instigating shit with Richie. Itās more understated in the book because we can rely on his inner monologue to fill in the blanks with his thoughts and reflections on their interactions. In the miniseries, itās softer, but itās there - heās more argumentative with Richie, but never leaves his side either, and takes every opportunity to get his attention the same way Richie does to him. In the movies, heās a literal freak who wonāt shut up if Richie is nearby and he not only takes the bait every time Richie sets him up, heās the one instigating the bickering half the time. He comes alive around Richie, because with Richie he can be as loud as he wants, as argumentative as he wants, and as wild as he wants. He can express any emotion he feels. He doesnāt feel stuck, or trapped. That feeling never goes away - itās why he stuck to Richie like a magnet in Ch2. They feed each otherās energy in a way none of the other Losers can fully match up to. With Richie, Eddieās eyes shine more, he laughs more freely, and nothing else matters but the present moment.
Even more importantly, in every version of IT Eddie generally avoids physical touch, even with his friends, with the exception of Richie. This is important (and something Dennis Christopher caught onto and has been open about) - Touch is Eddieās primary love language, but itās reserved only for the person he really truly loves. Otherwise he avoids it. He feels uncomfortable hugging his mom. He feels nothing when heās with Myra. He jokes around with the Losers and loves them to death but he never really physically interacts with them unless he doesnāt have a choice. Touch is his literal nightmare scenario - heās terrified of the leper touching him and infecting him. But with Richie itās not like that. With Richie itās easy. In the novel, he pretends it annoys him but he secretly likes when Richie touches him and calls him Eds. In the miniseries, Eddie and Richie are basically never not touching each other and that was a conscious decision Dennis and Harry made.
In the movies, Eddie and Richie have easy and natural physical chemistry, they grab onto each other, lay with each other, stand extra close, etc. Eddie never jerks away or stiffens, he lets Richie touch his face, his arms, and even his legs, which is tbh really intimate for someone who is terrified of physical contact. This is unique to Richie because Eddie generally avoids touching the other Losers. Even when theyāre all hugging after Ben kisses Bev in Ch1, Eddie doesnāt join in. When Bill is crying and everyone is comforting him, Eddieās movements are awkward and stiff. But after the blood oath, he hugs only Richie, and itās completely fine, because itās Richie. This continues into adulthood when they just slide back together like puzzle pieces - finding an excuse to arm wrestle, Richie patting him on the cheek, standing close to each other, grabbing onto each other, etc. Itās easy, and itās unique to them.
Up until and including his death, itās only Richieās touch that he seeks out. Even when Richie canāt be physically with him, heās clutching that jacket like itās his lifeline. Richie knows this is how they communicate, with a combination of really UNtender banter and very tender touching. So when heās in denial about Eddieās death, he pulls out all the stops to get him to wake up - caressing his face and his neck, fully embracing him, refusing to physically part from him because itās Eddie and theyāre always together.
So... there really isnāt a scene that puts a spotlight on Eddieās feelings, there are just a bunch of subtle moments where he becomes Richieās Eddie instead of Regular Eddie that all add up to something really obvious. The hammock scene sticks out because it showcases the unique physical comfort he feels with Richie, and the scene where he rescues Richie sticks out because he becomes so alive in that moment and he needs Richie to share that excitement with him.
But really every moment between them, in every version, in every timeline, all point to one basic fact - what they had was special, and Eddie doesnāt need to spell it out for people who refuse to see it. What matters is that itās there.
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