Let's talk about Charlie Dalton, because why not
it's mostly my headcanons and his relationship with Neil and Todd though
I just think he is a chaos junkie who desperately starves dopamine all the time, never misses to surprise everyone- whether in a good way or a bad way. His pranks are troublesome, but he is 16- so let's cut him some slack.
Today I am going to rant about my headcanons about Charlie and his relationship with Neil and Todd.
Neil and Charlie- It's implied that Neil and Charlie definitely were friends even before Welton, so maybe I thought they might be neighbors- or at least, their parents were close friends so the children got to hangout whether they liked it or not kind of friend. Charlie is the manifestation of the kind of friends that Mr. Perry never wants Neil to hang out with, but he seems pretty chill with Charlie befriending Neil. Though maybe Charlie acts a little less chaotic and knows how to behave when he has to (except with Nolan), I like to imagine Mr. Perry is just letting Neil be friends with Charlie just because of his family name and wealth. It is mentioned that his family is filthy rich and Mr. Perry is implied as a self-made man, he needs connections with upper classes, and whether he likes or not, Charlie is useful for him. I think Charlie was the closest to Neil, even more than Todd did- since he was the most understanding with Neil's interest in acting, knew Neil and his problems. And it's not implied enough in the movies, but Charlie is the one who encourages Neil to talk to Keating, and acting upon it since he knows damn well that his friend has no idea what to do in such situations, which explains how much he knows about Neil.
That is why every time I think about Neil's death, I think Charlie would never be the same as he was, still a rebel, yes, but he would be more cynical and pessimistic- as he has lost hope for authority, and as he grows up, it's going to happen even more. With his childhood friend is literally ripped out of his life, being 16, that's TRAUMA. My headcanon is that he never contacted any of the boys after being expelled, or at least not in person- until they have all grown up.
Todd and Charlie - Their relationship is kinda rocky, since they are the exact polar opposites in literally everything. Charlie is loud, Todd is not. Charlie likes to push his limits, while Todd tends not to, Charlie is the definition of extrovert (he picked up two girls lurking in the dark how else can I explain) and Todd is the embodiment of an introvert. But Charlie seems to like Todd despite of his indecisiveness, which show how he treats Todd and Cameron differently even though they are basically the same on some parts, being overly cautious, and Todd doesn't try to befriend them at all, and he might not have talked to any one of them if Neil wasn't in the way. The way he responses differently towards Todd and Cameron in the same situation, shows that he is more tolerant towards him.
And I bet that Charlie was definitely the first to know something was up between Neil Perry and Todd Anderson *cough*
well everybody knows that Anderperry is real but Charlie's eyes when he looks at Todd just hits the spot
Which goes to the day when Charlie had to break the news to Todd about Neil's death- with dried up tear stains and his voice all croaked up.
I think as much as he couldn't, he knew he was the only one who can bring the courage and will to tell Todd the tragedy, since he knew how Todd was going to react. He understood his raw emotions and the sudden shock of losing Neil- as they were both, on different ways, the closest to Neil. That's why he was the one to tell Todd, and why he was the one who had to break the news. That's why he kept distance with him when Todd ran off to the snowy yards, waving the boys off to keep distance as well. He knew Todd was going through some bad shit, and since he had to stay strong for the rest of the boys, he gave Todd the chance to grief on his own way.
Which concludes on my headcanon about Charlie's absence after his expulsion, I think the boys are left with serious trauma, and the two main pillars who kept them together, Charlie and Neil both gone, they might still be friends, but the dynamics are going to shift. I like to think inside the little brain of mine that Charlie writes to Todd sometimes, not often, but whenever he reminisces of Neil- nothing very fancy, but writes about how much he misses his friend, and his current state without him by his side, since he knows more than anyone that Todd will feel the same way as he does.
And I like to canonize Charlie bonding closer with Todd- but in a very toxic way. (don't judge me let me enjoy it)
And that is the end of my TED Talk thank you for reading this crazy rant.
putting in a clip of happy boys because I don't want to end this angsty
