Because of the 30 pics limit, this can't fully fit into my meta lol. Yet in its own post, it's easier to see without distractions from other sections of the meta.
The foundational emotional beats of both their arcs are very similar in the finale. It's just that for Hunter, we only saw the first puzzle piece.
Luz feeling the pain of the absence of both her dad and Papa Titan (who gave her life and magic). Hunter feeling the absence of both Flapjack who brought him love and life, and on an arguably darker note, his father figure and primary caregiver Belos.
Look at the matching gestures:
It's the pain of bereavement.
Now check this out. Here's what's missing for Hunter...
Saying goodbye via a powerful and cathartic first attempt at a grief practice. His heart would have to be ready, though, not just his head. It would easily take months before he'd try this, and it's not a one-off thing he'll have to do. I feel that his therapist would help him towards readiness for this, and he could perform this for the first time as one of his biggest therapy breakthroughs:
2. It only makes sense that once he does his version of Luz releasing the glyph sheet above, his heart will have room for Waffles and significant progress not just in therapy, but also his palisman-carving lessons and progress in Hexside:
3. Waffles entering his life will be just so wonderful:
It's so cute to imagine Stringbean as an older sister to Waffles.
We saw Hunter experiencing the pain in all three specials,
but we didn't see his ensuing depression in full swing,
(I keep saying the following but...here goes: the closest to a glimpse that we get is this:)
and neither did we see the letting go/real goodbye, happening onscreen.
(when I look at the glyph sheet here, it makes me think of Willow showing Hunter the flyer derby photo of him and Flapjack in For the Future)
But yeah. Those would be the missing chapters before we arrive at these:
For #1 in the list above, there are a variety of practices that experts and therapists have come up with:
(Book: Bearing the Unbearable by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore)
that could nudge the heart closer to the first - and possibly the most difficult - development, of accepting that Flapjack isn't coming back, and that all his hope for any goodness in Belos would have to die and be grieved as well. Luz letting go of the glyph sheet outside Eda's house was just the beginning of her own difficult journey of acknowledging that Manny and Papa Titan were gone.
Hunter had no palisman for many many months, before he carved Waffles. Compared to Luz who navigated her pre-epilogue chapters with Stringbean.
He would have his own version of Luz's journey, which she outlines in the the four screenshots above this paragraph, before he mastered the skills to spend the rest of his life creating wonderful palismen for the people of the Boiling Isles. I think Luz's new chapter of going to further her studies at the University of Wild Magic, parallels Hunter's mastery of carving.
123 notes
·
View notes