okayyy no one burn me at the stake please but. can we talk about maddie and xavier.
because i'm a mally shipper, i love them, i want them to be endgame. it would be really cool if the stuff they're foreshadowing about wally crossing over is just to make us think that's the direction the story's going, only for them to subvert this in the end by finding a way for them to be together.
BUT if they are indeed building up to wally crossing over and we get him saying, "go and love some more" it will emotionally devastate me. and also. if that happens and they're going to go with another ship for maddie. the set up for xavier and maddie is there and it's good stuff and i'm not going to pretend it isn't there! (yes there's also room for them to go the simon and maddie route. i see them more as platonic soulmates but i could also see them in a romantic light if they wanted to go that direction.)
i'm a sucker for a good second chance romance. and a GOOD second chance romance to me is one where both characters grow and learn something in their time apart so they have what they need to work out as a couple this time, and that's what they're setting up for maddie and xavier! i actually really loved that picnic table scene at the end of this episode, with xavier talking about both of them communicating with ghosts and facing their fears to get things done. maddie pointing out how well xavier gets her. and then xavier wondering if their relationship would have been different if they were the people they are now, with how they've changed and grown. that's the good second chance romance stuff!! (it's low key giving the stancy thump on the head speech from season 4 of stranger things actually.)
and like. let's talk about how kind and caring xavier has been all season. his checking in on maddie constantly to make sure she's okay, showing that he's someone who will be there for her now. her staying over at his place so she can feel safe. them both being the ones who can talk to ghosts. him being the conduit to talk to her father. this is some good stuff! it will still be good stuff if they leave it with them as friends who recognise their ship has sailed and they can be there for each other as friends, but i also think if the ghosts move on and we're looking at what would work well for maddie romantically in the aftermath, xavier's been making a compelling case for why it could be him in the end.
