Thank you so so much for the request @nobigsecrets I decided to take little moments of the different dialogues/moments between Sullivan and Howitt, I really hope you like it💖 If I haven't included a particular scene you wanted or if you want a more detailed scene just let me know, thank again for the request!🤍🌷
Sullivan and Howitt through the episodes of "BOOTS" - Part 2/2
Read part one here! :)
Let's continue this little Sullitt-journey, shall we? :)
Episode 6
The last episode ended with Ochoa's death, which was a turning point for the whole series - and in a way also for the relationship of Sullivan and Howitt. We have that important scene between them in the duty hut, after Sullivan gave the alcohol to the recruits. Howitt asks Sullivan "What are they saying out there? That it's my fault?" He looks awfully pained and sad in that scene, it's undeniable that he's feeling horribly guilty and sad. I'm sure Howitt would feel the same if that happened with any other recruit - but it happened to Ochoa, who he just grew fond of (remember how proud he was of Ochoa when he shot "all fives" during his first time, calling him "my boy"?).
Sullivan has maybe heard that there are indeed such rumours among the recruits and doesn't want to confirm it to Howitt - or maybe it's just Sullivan's nature not being able to handle feelings (his own and his coworker's) properly by talking - anyway, he doesn't answer Howitt's questions. His face looks serious and tensed, I'm pretty sure he senses how devastated Howitt is. He turns around, shuts the blinds and hands Howitt a cup of alcohol.
Small sidequest from the Sullitt-story: The fact that Sullivan makes sure the blinds are shut and no one sees what's about to happen in the duty hut shows how Sullivan is used to keeping things secret. He knows they're about to touch a sensitive topic and he wants to keep the DI's privacy - not showing the recruits and alcohol consumption or maybe even possible tears or other emotional outbreaks from Howitt. And also: The fact that there is a bottle of alcohol standing in the duty hut! I guess Sullivan got it for the DI-team along with the alcohol for the recruits...but I'm wondering if any of this was arranged with Fajardo.
Anyway: Sullivan turns around, walks over to Howitt and hands him the cup, clinking their cups together with the words "Semper Fi, brother!" and takes a sip. Howitt replies "Semper Fi", drinking as well. It's obvious how much softer Sullivan's face and body language is after turning towards Howitt. When clinking their cups, he gently sways his shoulders a little (unusual for him, being always rigid and direct). He's tilting his head, a faint smile on his lips, his expression forgiving, trying to offer comfort. His "Semper Fi, brother" was another try to provide comfort when not knowing what else to say. It's his way of saying "we're in this together" and "remember why you're here", at least that's my guess. I think it's heartwarming that Sullivan tries to find a way to comfort Howitt, to be a Marine "brother" to him and support him (even if alcohol is a more than questionable way - it's Sullivan's way. And he's definitely better at providing comfort than Nicholas "Oprah" Slovacek :D ). I'm not sure how to read Howitt's face before saying "Semper Fi" in the 5th GIF - maybe he did expect different words from Sullivan and is a bit surprised, maybe I'm reading too much into it. I love characers showing vulnerability, and this here is such a lovely scene because of that - Howitt showing his pain and Sullivan being there, acknowledging it and trying to comfort him (in his own way). It drives me a little mad that we never truly know what Sullivan thinks of this incident with Ochoa - and what he thinks of Howitt.
(all GIFs were kindly created by lovely @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire )
Episode 7
Oh boy, a lot to unpack in this episode! First the "I'll get him there"-scene: Howitt and Sullivan watch the recruits clean the shower. They're standing quite close to each other and Sullivan asks Howitt "What do you think of the new kid?", refering to Jones. It's the first time that we see Sullivan asking Howitt for his opinion. He probably wants to gather information about Jones to assess the situation with Jones and Cope and knows that Howitt is a great source for opinions and observations :D Howitt seems to be surprised by Sullivan's question (or by the fact that Sullivan asks him about his opinion), looking at the way his eyebrows shoot up. When he mentiones that he didn't expect Cope to last that long (4th GIF), Sullivan gives him a ...surprised/angry/attentive look... don't know how to interpret his face here. I think he's just taking notice here that Howitt picked up on Cam, too. When Howitt then says that he guesses Cope won't make it because he doesn't have "the kill" in him, Sullivan promises him "I'll get him there!". I think this little conversation is valuable to Sullivan and his little "Project Cope". Again, Howitt provides more information than being asked for - but I think this time Sullivan doesn't mind.
GIFs by @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire
Then we have the "beer mug speech", a scene that always breaks my heart for Sullivan... but also my Sullitt-shipper heart :(
Howitt is waiting outside the duty hut, while Santos is calling his family. He hears the door, is surprised to see Sullivan entering - he's not on duty, after all! He turns around, saying "Hey, Sullivan! You Good?", to which Sullivan only replies "wake those fuckers up!". From this sentence and his body language alone, Howitt senses something is wrong - he lowly asks "Woah...hey man, have you been drinking?" He's clearly concerned, subtly trying to hold him back with (barely) touching his arm, keeping up with his pace. But Sullivan can't be stopped at this point anymore and after kicking that trash can and waking everything up, Howitt refrains from trying to hold him back - probably he doesn't want to undermine Sullivan's authority in front of the recruits, but also because he knows how bad tempered Sullivan can be, even when sober. So he just huffs, puts his hands on his hips in clear frustration and listens to Sullivan's speech. The frustration probably results from the fact that Sullivan rushes in during HIS shift, gaining the control of the situation without speaking to Howitt first. But maybe it also results from the fact that Howitt - once again! - was not able to "crack" Sullivan, to get him to talk to him about what's wrong, to make a connection to him (another clue to that we'll see in a later scene).
During his emotional (and in Howitt's eyes probably pathetic) speech, the camera shows Howitt once more, fighting with himself to keep his mouth shut. I think he does this after the line "it is your one true love. Nothing else lasts." Howitt takes a deep breath in, crosses his arms and swallows whatever he has on his tongue. He probably struggles hard not to interrupt. After his speech, Sullivan just rushes of without another word to Howitt.
GIFs by @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire
The next day, during the recruits training, Howitt stands close to Sullivan muttering to him "Quite a... performance last night. You're... you're alright?" with a clearly concerned look on his face. Sullivan, charming as ever, just responds with "Never better!" and flees, again. Howitt is left behind, reacting like this:
GIF by @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire
This time, it's not so much frustration, but clear concern and worry on his face. He breathes out through his nose, looks after him and turns his eyes down. He know something is seriously wrong with Sullivan for storming inside the squad bay at night, giving this kind of speech totally out of nowhere... but there's nothing he can do. And this drives me insane. Because we see that Howitt of course has his flaws, but he is a good comrade overall, a good guy who's supportive and looks after his recruits. He's emotional and able to learn from his mistakes – so I think he could have been able to offer some kind of comfort to Sullivan, if only he talked to him. Of course there would have been no way Sullivan could tell him the whole truth...but I'm pretty sure Howitt could have been a source of comfort for him.
Then we have the pit fight between Cope and Jones. When it's clear that Cope is winning, Howitt wants to separate the two of them – but Sullivan grabs his arm and holds him back, saying “give the recruit a chance to defend himself.” Sullivan obviously has no restraint in holding Howitt back (not like Howitt in the “beer mug speech-scene”). And another thing is: Howitt does listen to Sullivan! Although his initial thought of separating them was right, he follows Sullivan's “order” and steps back. I'm pretty sure he has huge respect for Sullivan, despite his anger issues and drunk speech. Of course Sullivan is using his power and Howitt's respect for him to achieve his goal (which is to strengthen and prepare Cope). He doesn't give a shit about correct training in this moment - he just wants to hold Howitt back to give Cam the experience of true rage, of striking back, sacrificing Jones for it.
GIFs by @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire
Only when McKinnon,t(heir superior) oders to stop the fight, Howitt steps in again, immediately – while Sullivan first eyes Howitt for a second, then reluctantly follows him to separate Cope and Jones. Both of them use their whole body to push Cope back and get him away from Jones.
GIFs by @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire
Episode 8
In the last episode, Sullivan and Howitt only have one scene together - this is also their last :(
Fajardo comes into their camp, immediately ordering Sullivan off with a "You! With me!" Both of them walk away, leaving McKinnon and Howitt behind. McKinnon shots Howitt a questioning look, who just answers by raising his eyebrows and shoulders a little (bad screenshot), suggesting a "no idea what it is this time!":
When Jones is nowhere to be found on the next morning, the three DIs meet up. Howitt let himself get carried away again, talking shit about Jones ("That Jones kid had a screw loose but I never thought he'd go UA!"). Sullivan seems to have enough, snarls back "He's impulsive, he's not stupid!"
GIFs by @pr-is-ci-ll-aa
He tells Howitt and McKinnon about Jones sleep disorder and adds "If he hit the swamps, he's in trouble.", Howitt reacting with a "oh shit!"-expression.
In this last interaction, again Sullivan is telling Howitt off, who doesn't even try to fight back. I think he sees Sullivan's point which is why he doesn't argue. But of course there's also the possibility that he's just annoyed by Sullivan and that's the reason why he shuts up - but I think after his experience with Ochoa, Howitt takes this situation seriously.
After that, Sullivan asks McKinnon to be "let off leash" - and disappears in the swamps.
Thank you so much for following me with these two :) I think they have such an interesting dynamic. It's a shame we never get a hint of Sullivan's opinion about Howitt (or do we? Did I overlook something? If yes, please somebody tell me!) and that we didn't get more of them together. They have some chemistry in my opinion and the series leaves much room for interpretations - I wrote some fanfics about them, you can find them on my ao3 :)
And also a huge thank you to all the wonderful GIF-creators (and in case of this post, especially THANK YOU to @laughing-from-my-dumpster-fire who created the used GIFs just for the sake of me writing this analysis <3 )
Officially adding Boots to the fandom list! I came across this gem over the past weekend and couldn't help but binge it from start to finish. I'm disappointed that Netflix didn't want to make a second season for it, but I'm hopeful that maybe some other streaming service will pick it up.
That being said, oh my lord, I have not had a character obsession this bad in a while. Nicholas Slovacek has me in a chokehold and does not seem to be letting go anytime soon.
