Do you think Josie is in love with Hope and just doesn't realize it yet? Because the shit she's been doing for Hope in these episodes are NOT at all normal bff behaviour
You may go ahead, call me a clown, and even paint my nose red because after last night's episode... I don't just think Josie is (still) in love with Hope. I think she's starting to realize it.
Hear me out... We don't need to get into the obvious because, at this point, we all know Josie has had feelings for Hope and vice versa. It's canon, it's undeniable, it's been made explicit through dialogue, and anyone who refuses to acknowledge that is straight up disregarding what we've seen on the show and know to be true.
Focusing on these past few episodes, though – especially since Hope almost effectively killed Alaric –, it's undeniable that Josie's response to what happened has been... Odd, to put it simply, coming from someone whose father was pretty much beat into a pulp. We know Josie has a good heart, but we've also seen her be fiercely protective of her own. After all, Josie's relationship with Penelope ended in great part due to the animosity between her and Lizzie and, in recent times, Josie has always prioritized Lizzie's safety (at least where the whole Merge situation is concerned) to her own – and, with that, her own relationships. So it's incredibly kind and forgiving (almost uncharacteristically so) of her to be this concerned with Hope after what she's done. The implication here being that Hope very clearly isn't just any other person, not to Josie.
There are quite a few scenes in this episode that, in my opinion, were very clearly leaning towards Hosie (and we'll get to them in a second) but, ironic as it might be, the one that stood out to me the most, and the one I think is most indicative of just how much Josie still cares about Hope, was a scene between her and Finch.
Now, fair warning: some things about this scene analysis of mine are a reach, and I very much recognize that. But please, bear with me.
Watching their final scene, there's one very clear sentiment that stands out in-between the rest and that is one of guilt. Through virtually the entire duration of the scene, Josie avoids eye contact with Finch, with the exception of when, in contrast, she's being open and honest about her feelings regarding what Lizzie did at the hospital and how she selfishly half-wishes her sister had carried out her plan. With that being said, though, at its core, this scene is about how Josie is absolutely alone through all this, and I think it's fair to assume she doesn't feel alone because she's not seeing eye to eye with Lizzie, and much less because her sister decided to go into the therapy box without her. Losing Alaric's guidance, despite playing a part, is definitely also not the end-all-be-all aspect in this, as supported by Josie's directed focus towards finding a way to get Hope back, this episode – not her father. No, the real reason she feels this way is because Hope is a very important element to the relative balance there is to her life, an anchor of sorts who usually aids in her in figuring out what's next, and her not being there is sort of the final straw.
But... Finch is there. Surely, she's not really alone. Except that, she is. And she knows it. Has known it since the beginning of the episode; maybe before, even, and that's where all the guilt comes from.
Here's where the reaching part begins. When Finch shares that she thought Josie would "go in the box" with Lizzie, Josie averts her eyes when responding. Knowing this scene is about Lizzie for the most part but not exclusively, as supported by the context provided by the entirety of this episode, it's not hard to imagine that being left out by her sister brought about similar feelings to having been left behind by Hope, days earlier – both instances proving to be something Josie, herself, had no say or control over. But while this moment can be promptly dismissed as overthinking things, the one that follows offers a little more clarity to Josie's state of mind.
I won't screenshot the whole scene in here because I don't want to make this post much longer than necessary and there are still a few things I want to cover, but hopefully you'll get the gist of it (and, well, I'm assuming you've watched the episode by now).
Despite having avoided scenes between Josie and Finch for the most part for the sake of my own wellbeing, I genuinely felt Kaylee's acting choice of having Josie look somewhat detached from Finch in a moment where she arguably said some rather okay things was pretty strange. That is, until it clicked. Maybe – just maybe – this scene is supposed to feel strange because Josie's heart is just not in it. Again, it hasn't been the whole episode. Time and time again, throughout this, Josie has shown that her heart is set towards finding Hope (who, herself, is hurting) and making things right. Not just because Hope shouldn't be going through this new stage in her life alone, but also because Josie, herself, doesn't feel whole with her being gone.
And, just maybe, Hope isn't feeling quite whole, herself.
Even though no-humanity Hope is an undeniable badass, it's clear something is amiss. I mean, even Clarke knows it, with how he read her like a book. Now, I will not go into how, when Ryan mentioned how Trudy is "one of those people who loves with their whole heart immediately", Hope showed an inkling of emotion. Perhaps some sort of recollection of someone she personally knows who is just like that.
No, I refuse to clown over this. Like, absolutely not.
But either way, Ryan proceeded to point out how Hope, all things considered, is way more privileged than he is in the sense that she at least has a home – not in the physical sense of four walls and a roof, but a conglomerate of people who wholeheartedly love her and would do anything for her, who are still trying, despite everything, despite how hard she might try to push them away, to do right by her, to show her support, to be there for her. Josie is, of course, at the forefront of that. And even though Hope tries to play it off like she’s not affected by Clarke’s words, it’s very clear that he struck a nerve by the way she responds to the comment in such an offensive (perhaps defensive) matter, having been called out on her bullshit. The thing is, Hope knows he’s right. So, she’s headed back home.
Like I said, though, there’s moments scattered throughout the episode that can indicate that there are still unresolved feelings between Hope and Josie, with Josie being the one closest to a breakthrough, in my personal opinion. These were the ones that stood out the most to me, especially within the context of what was going on with these characters in this particular episodes, but some noticeable mentions also include:
Tldr; Josie is in love with Hope, has started to realize it, and it has become abundantly clear. I haven’t been this hopeful, no pun intended, about a possible future relationship between these two in a very, very long time, and I think the show will suffer immensely if it doesn’t capitalize on this chance to properly dig into their dynamic.
Update: Cont’d because, as it turns out, I wasn’t done talking.
After Josie hangs up the call with Freya, she's visibly shaken because, for the first time, she's confronted with a thought she didn't want to have: what if Hope really is beyond saving? What if there's nothing she can do to convince Hope to turn her humanity back on? It's something that leaves her visibly shaken, as evidenced by the way she reacts.
And all the guilt I've mentioned earlier, it isn't there just because Josie is beginning to realize there's still something there, where her feelings for Hope are concerned. That actually starts to kick in a little later on. At this point, she feels guilty about having spent the night with Finch while her dad and Hope were going through all these terrible experiences by themselves.
This is where her avoidance of Finch first becomes apparent: when Finch reaches out to try and soothe her, Josie looks anywhere but her way. She actively avoids looking her girlfriend in the eye, and proceeds to snap ever so slightly at the mention of needing to "relax" because the last time she did (with Finch, that is), she wasn't able to be there for the people in her life who needed it the most. We won't get into whether or not that is healthy for Josie, it's just what it is.
This is also the first time during this scene that Josie actually faces Finch and, when she does, it's definitely confrontational. Here, it seems she's projecting her own guilt onto anger towards Finch, the person who was with her when she "failed" the people she actually loves. Josie inevitably catches herself after this brief moment where she slipped and all but exposed her real feelings about the whole ordeal, and ends up apologizing to Finch for the outburst.
But also... It's a little too late for it. Because, by now, Finch knows this is not her place. That she's almost a side plot to Josie's main narrative. And the fact that this scene comes about after the one where Cleo mentions the fact that "We all have people we will go to extraordinary lengths for" is just rich, because it absolutely hints at the fact that Finch is simply not one of them.
