They’ve formed an uneasy truce, a frayed fragile trust that rests on a knife’s edge. They travel together, bound by this strange undeath that they share, but rarely turn their backs to each other. Even at night, they sleep on opposite sides of their campfire, glaring at each other through the flames. When they fight, they always keep the other in view, just in case.
But, once, after many months of this, they are driven by bandits into an abandoned shack. They heave in breaths, clutching their swords as they slump together against the single door, holding it closed while the enemy pounds on the other side.
Blood splatter covers most of Nicolò’s face, his clothes, his sword. His eyes are wild and he looks like a madman. Yusuf knows he must look the same.
Yusuf tries to crack a smile, to lighten the mood of certain doom that permeates the air as bitingly as the iron scent of blood. “Not sure we’ll get out of this one alive.”
Nicolò casts him a withering look, which makes the joke worth it. Yusuf feels a little crazed in the face of such danger. He wants to laugh. Almost does, until Nicolò says, “They might separate us.”
Yusuf’s body clams up suddenly, like whiplash, entirely rejecting the words. “They can try.” He can’t help his growl.
Nicolò’s face, impossibly, softens.
Outside the bandits pound on the door. Soon, surely, one of them will think to just burn the shack down. This is not the ideal place for a step forward, for budding kindness, for maybe more... yet, they are here just the same.
Yusuf’s heart stirs. Is this man not his longtime enemy? Yet here on the edge, Yusuf would crawl from his own grave with his bare hands to keep them together. “They will not take you from me.”
“You’ll be dead,” Nicolò says, brow pinched like the words pain him.
“Death will not stop me.” Yusuf clutches Nicolò’s arm, clawing through the blood.
“Yusuf.” Desperation tightens Nicolò’s voice, and Yusuf has never heard his name said so sweetly.
Yusuf drops his head back against the door. The pounding has subsided, and, as he suspected it might, a hint of smoke fills the air.
“Terrible time to fall in love,” Yusuf mutters to himself, but Nicolò must hear, because his bright eyes widen further and snap to Yusuf’s face. But Yusuf returns the gaze with no embarrassment. Maybe he wanted Nicolò to know, for him to truly understand the lengths Yusuf would go for him. For them.
Nicolò swallows hard. “I will go first and draw their attention to me.” It’s not the exact words, I love you too, but no less a declaration of such.
“You will not,” Yusuf says.
“While they kill me, you must kill them, Yusuf. All of them.”
“You aren’t listening -”
“If they take you, I swear I...” He licks his lips, takes a strong breath. Smoke wisps between the boards of the ceiling. They haven’t much time. “I will find you. I will never stop searching.”
What a foolish man, to think Yusuf will let him fall first. “Nicolò -”
Nicolò dips forward and presses their foreheads together. His eyes close. It is the gentlest touch they have yet shared and steals the air from Yusuf’s lungs.
Too soon, it is gone. Too soon, Nicolò moves away and reaches for the door. Too soon, he throws it open and Yusuf chases after him into danger.
They were strong warriors before, but in always keeping each other in their line of sight, they limited themselves, stretching themselves too thin, expecting betrayal from every angle.
Now, with trust strengthened and love blooming, they only fight outwards, not within. Nicolò turns his back to Yusuf, and Yusuf to Nicolò. They are two swords, one being, and cut through their enemies with a relentless fierceness that only comes from the desperation to protect.
The last enemy falls. Tall flames swallow the shack. A billowing smoke cloud plumes into the air.
So between Joe and Nicky who do you think is the deadliest in regards to getting the other back? I think they would have two totally different styles.
oooohhhhhhh gosh, I don’t think I could choose one over the other.
Certainly we see it a bit more front and center with Joe in the movie. But I’m big supporter of seeing Nicky snap in the sequel. That boy has some pent up rage, I’m sure of it. And what better reason for him to let it out than someone taking Joe from him. (Temporarily of course!!)
Ugh. I just really wanna see some more overt protective!nicky in the sequel!! please Greg/Gina, give it to me!!
Ok, I’m gonna go off on a tangent about protective!Nicky because I need to, and I feel like I haven’t seen people point some of this out:
After Joe is stabbed by Merrick, and the Headbutt of Love™, I always feel like Nicky is trying his fucking hardest to put his body between Merick and Joe. Nicky’s shoulders are turned towards Joe for the rest of the scene, almost like he’s trying to curl around Joe protectively. You can see see the guard’s hands like DIGGING into Nicky’s shoulders, they’re trying to make him face Merrick, but he fucking **won’t**
Just look at that face, he WANTS to snap!
Ok, the other big protective!Nicky moment that I think gets, understandably, overshadowed by Joe’s reaction to Nicky getting shot is how Nicky fight Keane in the smoky room.
This is probably the same gas that knocked them out before the van scene. Where we see Joe hacking up a fucking lung, and Nicky looking visibly out of it.
They both have got to be in a lot of pain here. I mean Keane flees the room almost as soon as his mask is ripped off. But Nicky still fucking flings himself at Keane to give Joe time to recover from (probably) having his trachea fractured.
He’s constantly giving Joe weapons and ammo. Making sure Joe is armed well enough to defend himself.
And, I can’t for the life of me remember who said it, but I’ve seen Nicky described as a battering ram, going through people first, trusting Joe to clean up behind him.
We also see him second through the door after Nile (which like, YES Nile, your first mission with the team and already stepping up!!!)
But Nicky also spends a lot of time covering the rear. Like for instance right after going through the door after Nile and seeing that there is no immediate threat, he turns around to cover the rear as the rest of the Gurad makes their way into/through the room.
He does that multiple times moving through the group going from being point to being rear guard. And I think, at least it’s my head canon, that it’s because Nicky has a need to put himself between everyone else and what he perceives as the biggest threat or danger. And this is with the whole group, not just Joe.
We see him pull it off to a frankly unnecessary degree here:
He’s at the rear of the group, with Joe, he takes bullets for Andy, then moves through the WHOLE ASS group where he checks a hallway to make sure it’s clear (conjecture as that is off screen, but he wouldn’t move passed the hall without checking) but then stays behind to be the last one into that hallway while covering the direction they aren’t going/haven't cleared so is most likely to have people coming from it.
He may not believe in what he fought for all those years ago, but I don’t think the self sacrificing virtues of a Knight ever left Nicky.
Nicky reaches out and catches Joe’s arm before he can storm out of their room.
“Joe.”
“I can’t think in here.”
Nicky lets go, but Joe doesn’t move now.
“You aren’t telling me something,” Nicky whispers, hoping a low voice will soften the accusation there. He doesn’t wish to hurt Joe. He only wants to help.
“I despise this side of myself.” Joe runs a hand down his face. “I didn’t wish to burden you.”
Nicky takes a step toward him. He won’t touch again, not until Joe does, but he can offer closeness instead. He will do his best to share the weight on Joe even if he doesn’t know what it is.
Joe looks at him and instantly deflates, body sagging like a marionette with the strings cut. Nicky inches forward, ready to catch him if he falls, but he doesn’t. He merely closes his eyes and slumps down in a way that makes him seem smaller.
Nicky’s fingers itch for his gun. Whatever demons Joe’s facing, Nicky’s ready to kill. He need only a direction to point his barrel.
“Joe.” He knows Joe will hear it in his voice.
Joe does - he must - because he steps into Nicky and buries his face into Nicky’s shoulder.
“You cannot fight everything in the world for me, my love,” Joe says, muffled in Nicky’s t-shirt.
He can damn well try.
A muscle ticks at the edge of Nicky’s jaw. His muscles are tense, but he still draws up his arms to wrap them around Joe’s waist.
Joe’s hands dangle at his sides. Though Nicky holds him, though they are pressed chest to chest, Joe does not reach back.
Nicky wonders if six grenades will be enough. Or should he go in for some heavy explosives.
“Joe,” he says again, even more dire.
Joe sighs. “Fine. I will show you.” He backs away from Nicky. Nicky, reluctantly, releases him from his arms.
Joe crosses the room toward the chest of drawers where they keep their clothes. He digs through the drawer they keep their shirts, then pulls out one of Nicky’s t-shirts. Only, it’s pink. Nicky hasn’t owned a pink shirt in a while. He just bought a pack of really nice white ones and - oh. No. No, that couldn’t be what Joe was upset over.
“I know how much you liked the new shirts,” Joe says, and holds up the offending garment. It’s splotchy pink, the shade a hint or two lighter than Joe’s red socks.
Joe looks ashamed, eyes downcast, frown deep, and Nicky is ready to throw the shirt out the window for all he cares, or light it on fire.
But that’s not what Joe needs.
So instead, Nicky steps forward. As he crosses the room, he pulls the gray t-shirt he has on over his head and drops it on the floor.
Joe’s eyes lift. That frown eases into something a little more slack-jawed. A pleasant reaction, certainly, but not the one Nicky is after right now. Lust can come later, after he’s made his point.
When the newly pink shirt is in reach, Nicky snatches it from Joe’s hands and puts it on.
“I look good in pink,” Nicky says.
Joe, blessedly, laughs.
Nicky spreads his arms out and Joe steps between them once more. This time, he holds him back. He plants soft kisses along Nicky’s jaw.
“I didn’t think you would be angry, but...”
Nicky understands. “You were embarrassed.”
“A proud warrior,” Joe says, “undermined by a misplaced sock.”
Nicky hums. He presses his cheek to Joe’s, enjoying the pull of Joe’s beard against his clean-shaven skin. “I could place a grenade in the washing machine.”
Joe laughs again, and any remaining tension in Nicky’s body floats away.
“You do look good in this shirt,” Joe says in Nicky’s ear. “But I think it’d look best on the floor.”
What is your favorite character trait of Nicky? What do you like most about him. And the same for Joe, what's your favorite thing about him? I love your analysis and posts
I’m a big fan of Nicky being protective and the tank of the group.
I already went off on a whole ass tangent about him in another post, so I’ll spare you for now.
Like he has a big heart and he cares for people SO MUCH.
So much that he puts himself in danger to protect everyone else. Like he’s taking bullets for Andy (and Joe, cause Keane was TOTES about to shoot Joe before Nicky threw himself on Keane and then caught a bullet for his troubles!) He’s sleeping between Joe and Danger. He’s covering their six. He’s doing this unnecessarily extra slide:
No one else is doing it like my protective boy! Joe said it best when he said “He think’s your a mouse Nicky.” Nicky is a fucking tank and I love him. the end.
OK. lol got that out of my system 🙈 🙈 🙈
Now, Joe’s turn
You ready for this? I love how much Joe CARES about his family.
First of all, I can not for the life of me find it but I swear I saw someone saying that Al-Kaysani loosely translated to one who is kind? (I’m sorry if I got that wrong.)
Edit: I miss-remembered, it was actually in reference to the comics where when Joe introduces himself to Nile he adds “called al-Tayyib” to the end of his name. According to google Tayyib means good natured. and al-Tayyib means good natured one, or the good.
Like literally this poet introduces himself as Yusuf (...) the good. Knight!Nicky who??? Joe is over here serving us epic chivalrous vibes.
now what I know you’re all here for Lo going way over the top while analyzing this movie.
Let’s go in order shall weeeeee????
Look at this face???? That is the DEFINITION of heart eyes. He so gosh darn happy to have his family together again!
When Nicky is praying (sleeping?) on the helicopter I feel like Joe’s smile is such a sign of reassurance. Like he’s so ready to give Nicky a little pick-me-up going into what is probably a very stressful mission. There are children’s lives at stake. And from what we know about Nicky (empath!Nicky for sure) I’m sure Nicky’s really worried. Joe gives him a little smile and I read as more assuring than flirting. But maybe that’s just me.
Next we see Joe acting as a spotter for Nicky.
Spotters are pretty important for snipers, I’m no gun expert but from what little I’ve read up on them one of the most important jobs of the spotter is to protect the shooter. And like, of course Joe would be spotting for Nicky, they work in tandem in basically everything they do. but the fact that it is a thing for Spotters to be looking after their partner has me all types of warm inside.
We talk a lot about how much Nicky seems to really care about people. (“We could do some good” + “So where are the girls”) But it’s so obvious if you look for it that Joe is freaked out by what he’s seeing. His face when he’s sees the pile of shoes, and his disgusted relief when talking about hem later really shows me a caring/empathetic guy who is shaken by the thought of those kidnapped girls.
Nicky is the knife, we know. (heck I even participated in that joke lol) but I think we don’t give enough credit to the fact that while Nicky is protecting Joe’s front, Joe is protecting Nicky’s back and he’s fucking nuzzled into Nicky both times we see them sleeping.
Joe is the first person to suggest finding Nile, and pushes back against Booker objects, even before Nicky does.
Joe is also the first person we see talk to Nile. Obviously we can assume and have some info about deleted scenes that Nile met them and had conversations before they actually sit down to eat. But Joe still takes the lead on answering Nile’s questions.
He also delivers this gut punch of a line after helping to tell Nile about Quynh:
Sure, some of it is fear that it could happen to him or Nicky (or the rest of them) but that’s also someone he knew for 500 years, a member of his family.
I already talked about my take on the lab scene as it relates to Marwan’s acting, (I love how quickly Joe goes into make-Nicky-laugh-mode.)
I’m gonna skim over the big fight, even though there are some peak empath!Joe moments. (reaction to Nicky’s death is the obvious one)
Ok and the last moment I’m gonna point out. Even though Joe is very obviously pissed at Booker, he still turns around for one last look. And Booker reassures him with a nod because I think he knows how much this hurts Joe to leave him. (Booker & Joe are best friends, we all know it’s my brotp by this point lol)
Just like Nicky’s anger is still there even if it’s less overt than Joe’s. Joe’s empathy is there, even if he tends to mask it with sarcasm and jokes and winks.
tl;dr:
Nicky: his protective streak
Joe: his empathy
No I’m not JUST being contrarian to what most of the fandom is saying about each character.... but I also low key I am
What is your favorite acting moment from Luca in the movie? What made you go wow he's good , something like that
Ugh the more I watch Luca, both in repeat viewings of TOG and in his other movies, the more I fall in LOVE with his fucking -RANGE-
My god the boy can act!
My absolute favorite moment from him is in the scene where they first meet Merrick. I mean, the whole scene is a great scene to just watch Luca/Nicky in.
Just look at him:
He is simmering beneath the surface. ugh. I love it all
Ok, but my absolute favorite moment is this:
It’s so subtle that I’m sure I’m seeing things. but something about the post-headbutt moment just fucking gets to me!!
Nicky is being all worried about Joe and as soon as Merrick crosses over to be closer to him than to Joe, Nicky curls his shoulder’s in toward Joe, sort of putting his own body between the two of them.
And then he just STARES at Merrick with fucking daggers in his eyes. He is fucking pissed, and I love it.
