Jonathan: Do you remember the first day we met? It was the first day of senior year. I knew nobody. I had no friends. I felt so alone, and so scared. But I saw you on the pizza van, and you were alone too, just smoking by yourself. And I just walked up to you and I asked.....I asked if you wanted to smoke some weed. You said "yes".......you said yes. It was the best weed I ever smoked.
Do you ever think about how Mike saying "it was the best thing I've ever done" and telling the story of their first meeting was really him saying
"If I could do it all over again, I would. Even this. Even you dying, even fighting the monsters, even being here right now. I would. And I would do it without a single regret or a second thought."
I would like to give more appreciation to this line right here because I love it
“You were just swinging by yourself.”
Like idk something about how Mike was just so attentive and aware of Will from the start. It’s not just about how Mike went up to Will and asked to be his friend.
It’s about how Mike saw Will on the swings just alone and- idk maybe he felt comfort in the fact that Will was there. Like, Will being able to swing alone without being self conscious made Mike feel better. Maybe it’s the fact that swings are always paired and that seat next to Will was empty, and Mike took that spot.
I just think this little detail. This little observation Mike had to Will sitting there alone and joining him. I feel like it means something.
There's something in Finn wolfhard being a breakout star in s1 and humongous names like Steven Spielberg saying that the kids changed the limitations of child acting bc they're so good. And then suddenly Finn wolfhard after S4 being known generally as the worst one, as the guy who can't act, just "not as good" as everyone else. Because of the monologue. The monologue the writers praised and hyped up as his best work, as something they didn't know if he could do bc he hadn't ever done it before, generally something they were really proud of.
So, if his supposed "best work" is something that people come away from feeling like it's his worst? That means there's a disconnect in the way the writers are looking at the scene vs the way the general audience sees it, which is funny bc if we look at that scene at face value, he's confessing his love. So if theres something deeper about the scene that changes the meaning, that changes that scene from bad acting to great acting, from a love confession to...
People don't talk enough about the fact that the moment annabeth truly started respect Jason was the aftermath of the incident in ithaca. After Jason came face to face with his mom's ghost trying to lure him into gaia's trap.
This was not only a pivotal Jason moment but a huge stepping stone in annabeths character development.
She was able to compare Jason's situation to Luke's, and realised how truly noble Jason was, since he could've easily ended up like Luke considering the familial issues they both had, but didn't. Annabeth always worried in MOA that jason would turn his back on the team, but He didn't give in to the remnant of his mother's temptation of evil, even after all that he's been through. Which caused her to understand that jason is very trustworthy and is like the last person to betray anyone.
A part of me wonders that annabeths real reason to mistrust jason is only partly because he is Roman, and mostly because he bore some sort of resemblance to Luke, which was quite painful for her since she trusted luke only for him to backstab her. This may be a stretch, but it's a Lil theory I had.
’Annabeth took a shaky breath. ‘No other right choice, maybe, but ... a friend of mine, Luke. His mom . . . similar problem He didn’t handle it as well.’
I feel like, based on her tone when she talked about luke to Jason here, this is also the moment she truly realised that she shouldn't have put luke in a pedestal like that, even after the evil stuff he did. She realised that Luke could've changed, but he chose not to, and chose revenge instead, to me, this is the moment she FINALLY came to that painful conclusion about Luke, many many books later. Bc even in lost hero, annabeth seemed very wistful while talking about Luke to Jason (I mean, jason even sensed nostalgic attraction from her tone, so there's that).
I also feel like that's the moment annabeth was freed of her doubt of Jason's intentions. We know that she was very mistrustful of him during MOA and I feel like she always had that lingering doubts up until this moment tbh. But based on what she witnessed, she realised that Jason was truly a good person with a good heart with genuine morals. A hero through and through. Which is what made her admit to Apollo that "Jason was truly one of the best of us" a VERY high praise coming from a child of Athena, who's fatal flaw is hubris.
Even if Will hadn't encouraged Mike, that moment wouldn't have felt right. Because no matter how you spin it, saying those words in that situation cannot be unprompted. And to be genuine, to convince me that you just wanted to say it from the heart, it has to be.
I was just thinking about why Hopper's apology in season 2 over the radio felt so much different despite that common "I hope she can hear him" energy. That's what it was.
Even in the shed, this was there. When Joyce spoke, they didn't know this was something that would help. She was just trying it and absolute worst case scenario, getting through to him to say goodbye and make sure he knew he was loved. She did not know it would help. Jonathan's joining was also unprompted because he was under no obligation to. His mom already got it covered and could have kept talking. The same is true for Mike, even the way he starts talking from out of the shadows emphasizes the unexpected and thus voluntary nature of it: he did not need to do that. He was not the only one capable of doing and therefore it was not required of him. He just wanted to and thought he should. Even in knowing it could help, he still wanted to help in that way and chose to be vulnerable when he was not the only one that could. My example is always that Hopper was not close enough to volunteer like that and so he didn't, despite being present.
The key difference I finally pinpointed is that no matter what, those stakes will always keep the words from feeling voluntary. However good it was, those words had an undeniable ulterior motive. And by interrupting him with the pizza earlier so we can't know for sure what he was going to say, the writers ensured that.
One of my favourite shots in the show will forever be this one
The one where Will turns to look at Mike in the shed scene
Because instantly there is a sense that this monologue is different. That it’s more intimate. That it says more. The way he turns into the shot and it’s this huge close up of his face and he’s illuminated by the light. Everything about it just feels so special and it just tells you that this monologue is different. And I love it so much.