I am sorry if this is too random, I mean I know it is, but I happened to watch the video from the famous last hugs and it hit me how the Larry hug is an oxymoron. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but even though they literally crush into each other and the emotion is there it is also evident to me at least that they are both very self conscious still, even when they all bow together at the end (although here I get this feeling mostly from Louis) . It becomes even more obvious when you watch it after the hugs with the others boys, how much more intense, even in these mere seconds, but at the same time awkward, for lack of a better word,it was compared to them. I see many people using this hug as proof of how bad their relationship was by the end and how ruined it was because of Larries or how they were basically forced to hug because everyone was looking, but to me it's more like they didn't even know how to exist like that in public anymore by that time, some fans truly fed on crumbs while others were firm believers of their enemies narrative and there they were in the middle trying to have their own truth amidst all this chaos.For me this hug was a mirror of this period in their life, full of emotion and love but unavoidably affected by everything else going on in their lives at the time. Meaningful and intense but still not too loose and free and how could it be? Anyway this is my own personal opinion and what I feel and see because obviously there are as many views as there are pairs of eyes.
i agree with you! you can seen by their faces that it was a hug between two people who have a lot of respect and love for each other. i can't see this and think they were enemies, and even if you don't believe in their relationship, you can't deny that their faces show nothing but affection.
and yes, i kind think it was also awkward for them. you can see there's a little hesitation before the hug, and i can only imagine how that must've felt for them because 1) like you said maybe they didn't know how to exist like that in public anymore, so their emotions would be very visible (and they were) 2) they were being sold as being enemies so there's a question there: do we just don't do this and let this narrative keep going? or do we say fuck it and hug anyway because it's the last time we're gonna be able to do this as a band (and also in public)? and so that leads me to 3) since they decided to do it, they knew the weight of that hug, not only for them, but also for us because they knew what it would look like, and they know the fans they have, so obviously we would freak out watching that happen in front of us and it must be really awkward, you know? people cheering just because you're hugging someone. but yeah, in the end it was important for them to hug each other. it was a goodbye to the band and to the fans, and they wouldn't want to go on hiatus on a sour note, they wanted to show us they were ok and still loved each other.(and then we had the whole mitam promo that was them both sitting next to each other, having their inside jokes and fonding so hard all the time)