not very coherent rn but one of the most beautiful things i found about the final sequence of nope was oj and lucky working together. lucky and the other horses on the ranch are what are known as “bombproof” horses, but that doesn’t mean they don’t freak out sometimes. a “bombproof” horse is bombproof because the horse has been exposed to a variety of stimuli hundreds of times over (combined with their natural temperament as you’ll notice ghost is not this way) AND the trainer can recognize when a horse is overwhelmed.
a good trainer builds up trust with a horse to provide them with confidence to succeed at their tasks. lucky is only reactive when someone ignores his cues (at the beginning of the movie) and pushes him past the point of his training. you’ll notice oj never does this, even in the confrontation with jj, as lucky is doing tasks he is trained for, like galloping without a rider to a familiar point, and dealing with stimuli he’s encountered before, the flags, mask, and blow-up men. that’s not to say that lucky isn’t extremely brave, loyal, and, well, lucky, but oj created an environment where lucky could perform the best he could in horrible conditions.
and that’s why it’s not surprising to me that lucky returns to oj at the end. he’s confident that oj will be able to direct him to something he can do. there is certainly a big scary thing in the sky, but lucky knows that oj won’t steer him wrong. in a movie about spectacle and perception, oj and lucky look for each other. oj respects lucky’s boundaries and limitations which provides him with a safe place to return when he becomes stressed. any horse, even the most ridden, will kick you if pushed far enough, but it’s about being able to recognize the cause and give them their space.
crazy movie. many thoughts. a lot about the horsemanship and connection to animals and the responsibility one takes when you own an animal
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