// Luke Was And Is A Momma's Boy (not derogatory in any way)
I want you to look me in the eyes & still say confidently that "this boy hates his mom" and "she's an utterly terrible mom/person" after seeing all this transpire. You can't because it's just not true.
Luke makes the move to hold his mother's hand before remembering he can no longer do something he took for granted when he was alive. Instead he hovers it over hers as a way to be connected with her still and hopefully let her somehow know he's there with them. He can't offer that comfort to her that says "he's with her and he's sorry and he loves her" when both of them really need it the most. He has to sit by and watch them mourn their only child, the same way they have been for the past 25 years, with what's probably his favorite kind of cake on his birthday but without him home and at the table happy and celebrating another year of life.
Like any parents, really, his mom and dad wanted him to do the secure thing like going to college or trade school. Where he wouldn't have to worry as much about financial or positional instability. They think it's what's best for him, and maybe for some kids it is, but Luke is a special kind of kid and the personalities of him and his mom were just that way, opposing and prideful. They're opinions were never going to aline on matters that really mattered, to either of them.
Both Luke and Emily were/are stubborn and passionate to a fault. When they do something, they do it with all their being, even if that is standing their ground and fighting with each other. This doesn't mean they don't still love each other so very much and both of them now, 25 years later, know that both sides were at fault and the blame didn't solely fall on one of them.
I believe Luke would have it intense, critical words with anyone that came after his mom, most likely believing that they're doing it for his honor and in his defense, because he knows that parents and children fight and the blame and ire shouldn't be focused solely on his mom when he was equally to blame for what happened.
As he tells Julie when thanking her for giving Unsaid Emily to his mom, "I didn't have many regrets in my life, except running out on my parents, especially my mom", meaning Luke has changed in more ways than one since that day in Dec 1994.
Luke has realized some things and finally processed a lot that was bottled up inside. He's finally been able to lift a weight off his chest that was resting there, heavy and emotionally-charged, for 25 years and it's allowed him the chance to really breathe again.
I think he would want people to back off his mom and really think about what they're saying about their relationship. For people to think deep about where the ire is coming from because based on what we've all seen of their interactions and the things Luke has said himself, his mom was just trying her best.
That's what most parents are trying to do...their best...and it may not always appear to their kids that way. Especially to a teenager, as Luke was back then, since teenagers are idiots (kindly) and haven't had the same experience and exposure to the world as their parents have. His mom just wanted to protect him from the real, harsh realities of the world that Luke and other teens like him think they know everything about. They think they are ready and capable to take in anything thrown at them but they really aren't and they likely won't realize that until they're older and have gained new insight and/or had kids of their own.
In the end, after everything, they both still love each other... through fights over music and storming out of the house and stubborn, prideful behavior....and that's not going to ever change. He's always going to be her little boy. There will, of course, still be many 'what ifs' in both their minds of how things could have gone different had either of them made one small choice differently. But they can't change what happened, no matter how desperately they wish they could, so they've got to make the best of it in any way they can.
The shared, cathartic experience of Emily receiving the song was a way for both of them to finally get some much needed clarity and resolution (or as much as can be expected given the circumstances of him not being alive and there in person).
Their new, slowly healing relationship will never be ideal but things they both wish they could have said to each other before it was too late are now the out in the open. They're one step closer to ultimately healing their mother-son relationship and we should all be supportive and happy about that, rather than dwelling on things which they both have apologized and taken responsibility for maturely.
P.S. Hope this was comprehensible and if you find fault (factually or in your opinion) and feel the need to give me your thoughts, on or off anon, then feel free to do so!
