[softspokenpsalms]

Just a heartbreaking reminder that Smoke follows through on his promises too.

When Annie makes Smoke promise to free her before she turns, he looks down at the thrown bones—unsure of what they mean—and asks, “What you mean, free you?”—flinching when Annie takes the stake from him and presses it to her chest, right over her heart.

Although her fate is already sealed—and she’s made peace with the thought of joining their daughter on the other side—Smoke, ever the protector, still assures her: “I’m going to make sure you get home safe.”

And Smoke does. He stakes her after she’s bitten by Stack—keeping his word by not letting her turn, and making sure she gets home safe. Not to the home they once shared, but home to the ancestors—home to their daughter.

Let’s not forget that when Annie reminds Smoke of their promise—he doesn’t hesitate, he doesn’t question her, he doesn’t ask if she’s sure. He just tells her that he loves her. She doesn’t have to pull those words out of him this time—he gives them freely. And in doing so, he frees them both.

It’s admirable that even though it breaks his heart, Smoke loves, trusts, and respects Annie so deeply that he chooses to honor her final wish.

I pray that we’re all blessed enough to find a love unselfish enough to follow through—even when the asks are hard.

[softspokenpsalms]

What really gets to me is Stack promising Sammie that he could drive the car on the way back—which Sammie does—but no one could’ve ever imagined that he’d be driving back alone.

There’s also the moment at the beginning of the movie, when Smoke and Stack pick up Sammie from the church, and Stack promises their Uncle Jed that he and Smoke will get Sammie back to him in one piece—which they do, more or less.

Even though it’s Sammie who physically gets himself back home, he does, in fact, make it back in one piece—thanks to Smoke making Stack promise not to hurt Sammie and Stack agreeing to let Sammie live out the rest of his life.

It’s beautiful—yet bittersweet—how, even if Stack doesn’t realize it, all three of his promises regarding Sammie were honored in the end.

[softspokenpsalms]

I love that there’s so much attention to detail in how the twins’ personalities differ. The way Stack hops straight out of the car, while Smoke takes his time—opening his door before stepping out—was literally everything for me.