#(cont.) I want to give Gwen and Miles hugs - Hobie is the fucking best - Pavitr will never outgrow his hubris -

[finch1pinch]

gotta say I really do enjoy the beginning of Across the Spider-Verse and Gwen’s monologue while she’s pounding on the drums (beware spoilers ahead obviously!)

on the first viewing(yes I saw it in theaters twice) its mostly just a recap of the first movie to get everyone who hasnt watched it over 15 times and knows the plot and a lot of the lines by heart. But as I enjoyed it for the second time in theaters and now when im listening to the soundtrack, Gwen’s monologue is her coping with the aftermath of ITSV. She’s gone through a lot of shit, her mother died, she accidentally caused her best and only friend’s death, shes having tension with her dad due to her double life, and she finally got the courage to make her first friend in a long while, and now she can’t interact with that friend at all. She just got a taste of being able to depend on other people to have her back and BOOM! now shes back to total isolation. and she doesn’t know how to cope. No spider-person ever really does. all of them are bouncing from one responsibility to another than none of them ever have any time to truly process the shit they go through on a daily basis.

That is why Gwen keeps repeating that “He’s[Miles] not the only one.” as she bashes her drums. She’s using him as a vessel to process her feelings. She knows she isn’t the only one, but its a little hard to believe when there is not physical proof of it. So Gwen monologues about how Miles and her are similar.

And while she is dealing with her sudden isolation, she joins a band.

“I didn’t join a band so I could talk about my feelings, I joined so I could hit my feelings with sticks.” (apologies if I misquoted)

She wanted to have friends again. But she can’t connect with any of her peers because they don’t get it. None of them can hope to understand her position as a spider-person who has people around her dropping dead left and right.

And Gwen also doesn’t really give them a chance to be her friend.

because she wasn’t really searching for new friends, its presumably been a month or two since she went through the collider, she’s desperate for connection with her peers. The problem is that none of the kids her age are her peers. Miles is her peer. Hobie and Pavitr end up being her peers and her friends. the bajillion Peters her age are her peers.

Her joining the spider society is both bad and good for her because of this. She’s finally got peers that she can connect with, despite the lack of Miles’ presence, but she also has really shitty role models now. said shitty role models are doing exactly the opposite thing that you’re meant to do with parenting teenagers. They are clipping her wings rather than Miles and his dad “You gotta let him spread his wings man.” Jess and Miguel (and sorta Peter?) won’t let her visit Miles based on rules that are theoretical AT BEST, and she’s effectively trapped in the spider society due to her dependence on the watch so that she can avoid her dad. (side note: WHY DID NOBODY HELP HER PROCESS AND FIX HER DAD SITUATION???) does anybody else think this is a classic setup for an abusive situation? Though she does have Hobie and Pavitr, she is still being isolated from Miles because he’s a “bad influence.”(read: anomaly) I will ask you all again, does anybody else think this is a classic setup for an abusive/culty situation??

I’m sorry but the idea of canon events feel like grade-A bullshit meant to corral the spider people into a single template. They are straight up scaremongering that forces the spider people to endure trauma that they wouldn’t have to go through if they all just flipped Miguel off and helped each other! (can you tell I despise Miguel, i’m aroace i’m immune to the hotness) Miguel 👏 is 👏 making 👏 a 👏 fucking 👏 cult! 👏

All in all, the isolation that Gwen faces after ITSV made her very susceptible to the kinda culty thing that the spider society led by Miguel has got going on rn. All spider people deal with heavy isolation and loneliness, so the thought that maybe all that sacrifice and isolation did actually need to or was meant to happen, is comforting to them. they went through all that pain because they had to, rather than all the deaths could’ve been avoided. The other spider people have never been in Miles’ shoes, in terms of having the ability to actually change so-called fate. So they don’t get it. But now, with Gwen’s father quitting the police force, Gwen is once again Miles’ peer. They both know that they can avoid their dad’s deaths. And you bet they’re going to try.