#My girl is amazing
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kasienda · 2 months ago
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Why I love Marinette Dupain Cheng
So, I just watched the London Special and I have feelings!!
I want to preface this by saying that I very much didn't resonate with the second half of season five for a lot of different reasons, but that the special really worked for me, gave me what I needed to get to a place to be excited about the potential of season six.
Marinette is a 14 year old superhero who is fundamentally a good person. She tries to do right by others, and when she realizes that she's done harm she genuinely tries to fix it. Now, her character is often portrayed as someone with ADHD. She is subject to tunnel vision, hyperfixating, anxiety spirals, and not always being great at taking other perspectives into account. She's never been good at anticipating how her actions and choices might hurt someone else.
And I LOVE that about her!!!
You know who else is not great about taking other people's perspectives? Fourteen year olds!! Developmentally, they're LEARNING THIS AT THIS AGE!! They're also LEARNING to make decisions and accept responsibility. And they are NOT good at it!! Take it from someone who works with fifteen years olds DAILY!! Even the most "good" well behaved teenager does and says thoughtless harmful things that hurt others sometimes in excruciating ways. And you ask them, "What were you thinking?" after it's blown up in their face and the answer is ALWAYS, "I don't know" OR "I wasn't thinking."
Developmentally, middle school is about fitting in. It is not easy for kids at this age to stand up for what is right, to make decisions that are healthy, to communicate in healthy ways. Marinette's whole character is about learning to do that! And to showcase that you have to show her making mistakes, sometimes even big ones, and learning to take responsibility for those choices.
Marinette salt hurts me so much because the salt seems to paint her at this malicious manipulative girl who wants to control Adrien and the world on whole. That she's malicious in the choices that she's made.
Meanwhile, the narrative is not framing her as in the right when she makes these choices. Kagami told her she disagreed in almost the first scene. Nathalie told her it was time to tell the truth. Throughout the whole special, it's obvious how much the choice she made is weighing on her, how much she's wondering if this was right. She seems to know on some level that it isn't.
THAT IS SO RELATABLE!!!
Have you ever lied to a friend or to your parents? And then, realized huh, I probably shouldn't have done that, but now you're in too deep and don't know how to take it back? Have you ever NOT told someone about a hard truth about themselves or about you because you didn't want to hurt their feelings, and then have to watch as they get hurt or rejected again and again because they just don't realize what the problem is??? Or confronted with someone around you who has lost a lot and just not sure at all what to do in the face of all that? And then to be given the choice to maybe ease the hurt of that loss with a lie? You think you WOULDN'T at least CONSIDER doing that for someone you love??
Do I think it will bite her in the butt? YES!! AND I AM HERE TO SEE IT!
Nathalie tells Marinette they should tell the truth. And Marinette's like, "but you'll go to jail." And Nathalie nods, accepting this. "But then Adrien will be alone." And Nathalie responds with "he'll have you."
DO YOU KNOW HOW TERRIFYING THAT WOULD BE TO HER??
If she does tell the truth, Adrien DOES lose Nathalie. That would hurt him too. Adrien DOES have to deal with the backlash of being Hawkmoth's son both inside his own head and with the world at large. And maybe in the long term, that would be the better choice. But how many of us choose what's better in the long term??? (THE ANSWER HERE IS ALMOST ZERO! I DON'T CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE!)
Bunnyx tells her there will consequences good and bad to every decision she makes. And what matters is how she faces the consequences. How she tries to take responsibility for them in the future.
Marinette is not trying to hurt Adrien here. She's not trying to manipulate or control him. It also doesn't mean she thinks what Gabriel did was right or that she condones his actions. It certainly doesn't mean she's okay with abuse. Everyone saying that she is has the benefit of the global perspective of knowing everything in the show! Marinette does NOT have that perspective.
Does that mean she isn't causing harm? No! She IS probably causing harm here. As so many of us do unintentionally, or sometimes even knowing that we're doing it because doing something else feels impossible to face in that moment.
And when the truth comes out, and I do think Gabriel's identity will come out (I'm less confident about the senti reveal, but that's more because they're literally not allowed to say the words), Adrien is going to have a LOT to work through. But the thing about Adrien, that all of his defenders seem to misunderstand, is that HE IS FORGIVING! If she explains it all to him, he will be angry and maybe hurt, but he is also going to be the first to understand. He's been the one right there next to her with a front row seat to all the pressures she had to face often completely on her own. I think she will be way more angry and hard on herself than he will be on her. That's kinda who his character is. He's NOT VENGEFUL.
This whole show from the beginning has been about characters making mistakes, sometimes learning from them, and being forgiven for them!! And it's the FORGIVENESS AND UNDERSTANDING given to each other after the fact that has brought the characters together time and time again. Watch origins and look at the class dynamic. Then watch guilt trip. The class has come together in a way they absolutely were not in the beginning! Because they have gotten to know each other and forgave each other. Watch Alya apologize to Marinette for telling Nino about still being the fox, and watch Marinette smile and say she knows what it feels like to need to share your secret with your best friend! Watch Ladybug ask Chat Noir if he understands the weight of a secret, and have him dryly agree that he is familiar with the feeling.
They are all flawed characters who make mistakes, who do things that hurt each other even when they're are trying SO HARD to do the opposite, and that's why I love them!!
I like characters making mistakes! I like there to be conflict in my stories.
And what I love about miraculous is that so far, the resolution to conflicts has always been one of listening to each other, and coming to a place of understanding and forgiveness.
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shuteyeshuttle · 6 months ago
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Yes, Yes, I am aware that Percy gave up immortality for Annabeth
However,
Are YOU aware that she gave up immortality for him, TWICE ?!??!!! 🔱
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ficsinhistory · 4 months ago
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There's a criminally low amount of content about Wendy and man, I intend to take matters into my own hands! Her character is amazing, so here's my character analysis of Wendy's journey in the series, along with my two cents because her writing scratches my brain in the best possible way!
Spoiler for the entire Netflix series, Sweet Tooth.
Season 1
To begin with, after Gus, Jeep and Becky, Wendy is the most important character in Sweet Tooth. She, and by extension her mother, don't appear so early in the story for nothing. Not only that, but to talk about Wendy is to talk about other characters too, because her arc is intrinsically linked to the others. Even this season, where she appears relatively little.
As we already know, she is a hybrid girl found and raised by Aimee since she was a baby, which started the life of this woman in the story. Wendy is curious, likes to paint, loves her mother more than anything and helps her keep their little family of rescued hybrids safe and in peace.
What may go unnoticed, however, is how the PPreserve and rescue of hybrids as we know it only happens because of Wendy.
Aimee wanted nothing more to do with the outside world and was content to watch society burn, focusing only on looking after her daughter.
But Wendy listened to the people on the radio, realizing that they were afraid,andnot only felt sorry, but she also felt compelled to respond and help. She almost responded once and only didn't because her mother wouldn't let her.
Do you understand?
Wendy is such a youngchild, no more than nine years old, but she is already trying to take an active role in alleviating the suffering of others in the face of horrors. A fundamental characteristic of her character is compassion and that makes me so delighted!
 She's a child who should hate humans who aren't her mother. She should be selfish and only think about her life, and it would be normal because she's just a child.
 We have images of her in a peaceful life with Aimee. It could go on like this. But Wendy doesn't want to.
Because she has so much love inside her!
She loves her mom, her home, and these children she doesn't know but wants to have a safe place for. Which drives her to care for Bobby, even if her mother didn't let her.
This girl sticks to her ideals and acts on them because it's the right thing to do! She says that they have to help!
Wendy convinces Aimee to rescue hybrids, officially takes Bobby in, and assumes responsibilities as an older sister, taking charge of the Preserve with her mother. She learns ASL because not all her siblings speak. She knows what each one does and has been through.
Damn, the girl is a born nurturer! She's intelligent, brave and kind. So sociable and ready to put herself in a position to help that it's touching!
And it's not even for herself because we find out later that Wendy feels actively different from her siblings!
Probably because she's a highly developed hybrid and takes on too much responsibility to interact as an equal with the other children. Plus, she's not human either and doesn't see herself entirely as her mother either!
Wendy remains in this limbo that leaves her lonely and sad. A person who loves to be cared for but finds it difficult to let herself be cared for, and yet focuses not on her own feelings, but on others!
Things then get very ugly as the Preserve is discovered by Abbot.
And guess what? She wants freaking help, wanting to do anything she can for her mother and siblings, even though she's terrified, because sees herself as the leader of the place just like her mother!
Aimee decides that they need to run away, and Wendy needs to leave the place she has known all her life, separate from her mother and guarantee the lives of her siblings, all without losing control. After all, she's the big sister they trust with all their hearts, and they're her little brothers. And Wendy doesn't want to separate because, listen, it's dangerous for Aimee and she's worried that, more importantly, being alone might mess things up.
She is afraid of not guaranteeing everyone's life.
Wendy is fleeing the house she's lived in forever from people who actively hunt children like her and all she can think about is looking after the younger ones! It's an unimaginable amount of stress and tension that she handles like a champ! So much so that they make it to run with her leadership!
The problem was that the Last Men got there first, and they were captured. I can't imagine what a blow that must have been.
Her mother, the person Wendy loves most in the world, put her in charge of the family, relying on her intelligence and decision-making skills in her absence, and they were all caught. Not only that, with captivity leaving them incommunicado with Aimee, Wendy became "mom" until they were rescued.
And this initiates one of Wendy's main traumas and much of her arc in Season 2: her parentification in the mission of keep her siblings together and alive.
She really is Bear's sister, because like Becky, Wendy swallows her own feelings in the name of caring for a greater goal and does not process what she feels.
Because her mother has asked Wendy to be strong and she can't be wrong, afraid or insecure because it will cost her dearly!
She's a kid who's always felt responsible for others now having to really be the main support since everyone sees her as the person in charge, without Aimee.
To make matters worse, one of her siblings, Roy, is taken away and there's nothing she can do about it. A fact that haunts her all the time in captivity.
HOWEVER, when he's taken away, Gus shows up and GUESS WHAT???
WENDY IS THERE TO HELP THIS DEER BOY AND ADD HIM AS ANOTHER ONE SHE CARES FOR!!!
DO YOU UNDERSTAND? SHE SEES GUS AND SAYS: "YEAH, HE'S PART OF THE FAMILY NOW" EVEN THOUGH SHE ALREADY HAS SEVERAL OTHER CHILDREN TO LOOK AFTER AND DOESN'T NEED TO DO THAT!
THE GIRL HAS JUST LOST HER HOME, MOTHER, A BROTHER, BUT SHE LOOKS AT GUS FOR A FEW SECONDS SEEING THAT THIS BOY IS IN NEED OF A GOOD HUG AND SUPPORT AND PROVIDES IT BECAUSE WENDY IS KIND LIKE THAT!
Season 2
So much that her first scene of the second season is her personally taking care of Gus. He's having a nightmare and she goes there to get him out of it.
And boy, the second season isn't kind to Wendy at all (neither is the third, but that one isn't kind to anyone).
She and her siblings are stuck in the worst place in their old home and being treated like animals, with Wendy trying to maintain everyone's dignity. She doesn't want them to be treated like captive animals eating dog food, but her siblings need to eat and, with options scarce, she accepts her defeats.
The trials have only just begun, and she must feel like she's already failing because looking after her siblings is everything to her!
Even her name, Wendy, is significant in this respect.
Just like Wendy Darling from Peter Pan, the big sister who looks after the brothers well-being like a grown-up even though she's still a child. That is what she is! A child with a lot of pressure having to act like an adult because she's the big sister.
I think that's why she got attached to Gus so quickly.
He, like Wendy, is one of the few hybrids in the series who grew up in a loving home and was raised as an ordinary child since he was a baby. Gus is probably the only child in the series that Wendy has connected with on an equal footing, not being a sibling who needs her care. He's smart, brave and has this sense that they can't be treated like that too.
Gus understands and thinks similarly to Wendy, and she notices this. So much so that they both end up in this season as the "father and mother" of the hybrids in captivity, working and deciding on plans together.
Gus talks about running away and Wendy shows that them were already trying and failing miserably. She then officially introduces the rest of the hybrids to Gus, and we see how much she loves these children.
(And I have to say, I think it's really cute that the sign she chooses for Gus is his antlers).
As an older sister myself, I can say that Wendy is excellent. This girl knows everything about her siblings to the point of being able to tell Gus every quirk that he's going to have to deal with. She cares and tries to accommodate each one as best she can.
And then we're hit with Roy's reminder. And how everyone there is counting on her.
Because Wendy misses her mother, is scared and hungry as much as any of them but can't afford to just be like that. Because the others actively depend on her. To the point where Jojo asks when Roy is coming back, even though she's been in the same place as them the whole time.
 All the children see her as this figure of answers that Wendy isn't but needs to be.
Wendy is 👏🏽nine👏🏽years👏🏽years old👏🏽!
Then they manage to come up with a plan to call Aimee on the radio and thanks to Bobby's skills, they get the key and manage to escape. With Wendy taking the initiative by knowing how to operate by observation.
Except that she's starting to crack under all this pressure. And the most devastating thing is that it's not even about her.
It is for her family.
Wendy is👏🏽nine👏🏽years👏🏽years old👏🏽, is surrounded by bad people (so the possibility of dying is very real) but her concern is that if she doesn't make it her siblings will pay the price.
Like Roy. Because Wendy feels responsible, even though it's not her fault.
This girl doesn't even think about her own life!
And that's what makes Gus' support vital. Because, up until this point, no one was looking after Wendy apart from Aimee. Sure, her brothers care and love her, but she's still the mother figure, the leader, the nurturer.
But Gus is supportive and looks after Wendy just as she does him. He assures her that she will not only make it but will go with her to help. He brings optimism and perseverance to her care and caution.
Is very nice that, in Wendy's arcs in general, she always has to accept help in order to be able to help. She gets help from Gus and later from Becky. She doesn't have to deal with everything on her own. She's not alone. She gets as much love and care as she offers.
Returning to the escape, the two of them cross the zoo to the radio room, a sequence that cements their connection and how Wendy and Gus now work together as equals.
They reach the radio and Wendy has her confidence renewed with the help of Gus's reassurances (which is ridiculously cute by the way), warning Aimee. However, things start to go wrong.
They almost get caught, which forces them to hide again, and Wendy comes across her brother's formaldehyde-dipped corpse.
Do you realize how insane this is?!
 Wendy now has confirmation that Roy is dead, that they are in serious danger and more pressure as if didn't have enough already. Not only that, but their mother also doesn’t answer. They end caught and the few means been taken away from them, with Bobby on a leash and Jonnhy reinforcing security with cameras.
Not only that, but now she and Gus must tell the truth about why Roy isn't coming back.
... except that Gus lies without thinking twice and puts Wendy in an impasse that she does not see much way out of other than agreeing.
 We realize that despite the brief time they've known each other, Wendy trustsGus even though she doesn't agreewith him. The girl could have denied everything on the spot, but decided not to because the moral was already low and it was a lighter way out, although not ideal. Even though she knew deep down that it wouldn't work out and would come back to bite them later.
Even so, Wendy isstill going to have some much-needed words with Gus because doesn't agree and says that lying creates a rupture that will be difficult to mend. That's what her mother taught, and he's put that trust in check (and so has she).
But above all, Wendy is distraught by the whole situation.
And Gus understands. Because he sees that, although the lie is one of the reasons she's so angry, much of the anger comes from the guilt Wendy is carrying. Of being captured and losing Roy. And he shares his experiences to make her feel better. That he understands because he's been there. And that things will get better. They will not end up dead, and they'll all get out of this together.
And Wendy brings Teddy into the conversation, revealing for the first time what is really bothering her to Gus.
She doesn't know how to look after her siblings without her mother and maybe can't do it on her own.
She is being truly vulnerable for the first time since was kidnapped, expressing doubt and fear freely and being the comforted one rather than the comforter, to which Gus replies that she doesn't have to do it alone, because they'll think of something. And that she can do it because Wendy is clever (Jesus, they're so cute!).
And Wendy is accepting help from someone other than her mother for the first time, and it's lovely to see. Because, remember, Wendy is 👏🏽nine👏🏽years👏🏽years old👏🏽. She's just seen her brother killed, has to lie about it and can't mourn properly, having to look after the siblings left without their mother, who doesn't even know if she's alive.
Guilt, responsibility and family are major elements of Wendy's arc. And the series talks about how in order to deal with all of them in a healthy way we have to forge connections in love, experiences and mutual affection. Beautifully illustrated in this conversation.
Finally, she has a foothold again...which is immediately ripped away from her.
Seriously, as soon as these poor kids have finished talking, Gus is taken out of Wendy's hands. Literally. She's still fighting it, but there's no way.
Man, the look on her face when Gus is carried off can only be described as devastated, her eyes glistening with tears, and so absorbed that she doesn't even react to the guard's mockery.
 The first person who really understood her since the whole ordeal began is going to meet the fate that Wendy knows killed her brother.
This leaves her so shaken that her next scene is of her curled-up crying, hugging Bobby.
Dude, that's a hard blow! The girl lost her mother, her home, one of her younger brothers and now her new best friend in two days tops!
 Fortunately, Gus not only returns, but informs her that he has bought them some time and brought a nightlight for Teddy that Wendy had mentioned. This makes her incredibly happy and grateful, as well as making Gus accepted as another older brother by the rest of the hybrids.
So much so that when dog is found, Wendy and Gus are called in to see and organize the next steps.
A quick aside to say that I congratulate the writers for handling Wendy and Gus' arc like champs. Sweet Tooth is about Found Family, friendships forged in the face of adversity and I'm thankful every day that the most canon romantic subplot was Rani and Adi (and we know how that one ended).
 However, they've managed to translate Gus and Wendy's dynamic well in a way that makes it clear that they are best friends, but their connection is stronger and deeper than just friendship per se and different from what either of them has, and we understand well why they end up building a family together in the end. They are basically soulmates who decided to get married, having had a strong enough love from the start regardless of the form.
Anyway. Wendy now has the support of Gus in leading the children and everyone begins to organize for the escape with the signal given by Aimee and Jepp, who are together. However, they have nowhere to go, Gus still has his own traumas related to his return to Yellowstone and Bobby is on a leash. Not only that, but the lie about Roy is getting out of hand.
Jonnhy then shows up to take Gus away at Singh's request and everyone must wait alone with the others until he returns, at the same time as the adults get on the Last Men's radar. However, they couldn't reach the zoo and have to leave town.
And we get one of Wendy's stand-out scenes of the season.
Her mother is alive, but she's and Big Man aren’t coming back, and no one knows why they left or if they'll return. She is then faced with the harsh possibility that will be in charge not until Aimee rescues them, but from now on. She's going to have to be the "mother" for real now because waiting is no longer an option, she's going to have to act.  Wendy will now have to guide them and come up with an escape plan, a👏🏽nine👏🏽years👏🏽years old👏🏽!
 If before she was the mother figure with the only grace in all the pressure of keeping everyone together being the rescue of the mother, now she has to actively get them out without knowing when or if can see her mother again, taking on a position that no child should take on.
But Wendy is too brave and too full of love for her family to give up and disappoint them. Not when they are the ones she holds most dear. Even though she's overwhelmed, afraid and grieving.
Gus then returns, informed that the rescue has gone and that they are on their own, and brings exactly what was missing: somewhere to go. He brings hope and perspective, a light at the end of the tunnel. And we see how much Wendy values this and genuinely cares for him.
He then gives more details about Yellowstone and tells stories about Bear, this being the first mention of the sister Wendy has, even though she doesn't know it.
I have to say that she's a real one impressed with Becky and that it's amazing how alike these two are.
This little girl has just as much talent for leadership and strategy as her sister, and just as strong a temper. I mean, this nine-year-old unashamedly states that she hates the cell guard, is happy to hear about the death of the Last Men, has a firm and somewhat cheeky personality, as well as resorting to violence without blinking an eye. I am sure she'd have her own army under other circumstances too, lol.
Escape plans are being made when things start to go wrong. Gus is taken away again, and it's becoming apparent that things are different for him. 
The children begin to question Wendy about the obvious difference in treatment, asking why he can have some freedom and if wouldn’t ending up running away like Roy. Of course, she knows that Roy is dead, but that brings up something very real: Gus has different circumstances. Those bad people want him alive, a grace that she and the others don't have.
Wendy replies that they can trust Gus of course, but the doubts are already there.
Rani's visit bring some relieves, but rock bottom arrives when the cell guard reveals the truth about Roy and Wendy is confronted about the lie alone in a claustrophobic scene and she ends up folding under so much pressure and giving in to mistrust.
And I don't blame her.
To begin with, Wendy is alone taking onthe consequences of a lie that was Gus's idea, which she would never have told if it hadn't been for him, who goes against everything Aimee taught him. Her mother and the person she love most.
Now it is brought to light that the person who is helping her the most is also the one who is being "favored", no matter how much she wants to ignore it.
It is in this fragile state that we see how Wendy's trauma has left its mark on her.
She loves Gus very much but is so overwhelmed and worried that she chooses fear and distrust over her inherent empathy and goodwill.
Because Wendy is only nine years old and is a scared child, no matter how much tries to want to be more than that, tasked with a duty that's too big and too stressful. And what's a bigger breach of trust for frightened children than lying?
That doesn't make it any easier for her. On the contrary.
Wendy got attached to Gus, remember? She loves him as much as her brothers, he is her best friend. But her best friend also lied and came back from what was supposed to kill them.
Something that her worry and above all her guilt cannot let go of.
Because Gus always came back while Roy didn't. While none of her brothers would come back. And Wendy won't let it happen again.
She couldn't take it.
Even if this separation makes you more tense, stressed and lost, because that's how fear leaves you.
That's why I find it symbolic that Bobby is the first to trust Gus again.
Bobby is the embodiment of Wendy's love and empathy. The child she took in before his mother allowed it because it was the right thing to do. From her thought of having to help others hoping for the best, not the worst.
A thought she still has. It's just... buried under guilt and pressure.
So much so that when Wendy angrily confronts Gus about letting Bobby go, he just... apologizes.
Because he recognizes that his best friend doesn't really see him as different. Because Wendy is just desperate to keep everyone together, alive, and having a tough time with it, which affects the way she acts. And that yes, he had made things worse, despite his best intentions. That Wendy reacted like him after finding out the truth about Paba and Birdie because lies hurt. And this sincere response moves her so much that he manages to calm her down, even a little.
Because they're still friends, they're still each other's support. That's thetruth and it hasn't changed.
So much so that when Wendy is threatened, Gus doesn't hesitate to protect her, although he ends up panicking after learning what happened to Peter and the results of trusting Singh.
And Wendy supports him immediately after he returns from what was essentially a torture session with Abbot.
At that moment, we see her returning to the way she really is.
A brave, kind, empathetic and loving girl who wants nothing more than to help those in need and relieve their fears. Especially those she cares.
And Wendy ignores all the misunderstandings from before because Gus arrives frightened.
Her best friend is trembling, terrified, and she does not hesitate for a second. With the necessary space given, he says he's feeling guilty, afraid, and the roles are reversed.
Now Gus needs to be comforted. And Wendy acts like him, bringing her experience to make him feel better. Assuring him that they will make it and make it stronger. Together.
Because they are friends. Family. He is one of them.
This attitude restores their bond and marks Wendy's choice of friendship, love and connection over fear and mistrust.
The day of the escape arrives, and we see this bond cemented when she entrusts one of the most important parts of the plan to Gus. Not only that, but she also openly supports him when doubts about him threaten to return.
After all, this is the boy who protected and helped her, Wendy doesn't need to fear. No need to give in to fear and anxiety.
She's only nine, but she's already chosen the right path more than most adults.
The plan is put into practice, the guard is subdued, and everyone escapes. A hilarious scene with a little personal revenge on the guy.
However, the soldiers are alerted by the flare that Jepp throws, and Teddy almost gets caught. Gus sets himself up as a distraction for the others to escape and guarantees his friend's life, providing a scene that shows just how important he is to this Wendy.
She is simply paralyzed by Gus leaving. We can see her conflict clearly because she loves Gus as much as her brothers. She doesn't want them to be separated. And only the reminder that this is the chance at his request for everyone to be okay that keeps her going.
Because again, Wendy is full of love and compassion, feelings that overflow in everything she does and even inspire everyone around her.
It inspired Aimee to rescue other children. Rani to see hybrids as more than wild animals. Gus to talk and fight for everyone's life.
Wendy is a symbol of this. How no, it's not easy to maintain empathy, kindness and a sense of community in the worst of times... but it is possible. It's necessary. Because we only really live when we love and connect. Otherwise, it's just survival, which turns you into a shell of what you once were and fought for.
And all the kindness she shows is reciprocated in a beautiful domino effect of positive consequences in which Gus refuses to leave with a newly arrived Jepp without the others, which saves her siblings, makes her reunite with her mother because she refused to leave her best friend behind and ultimately generates a successful escape.
Wendy got everything she wanted thanks to her love, empathy, and resilience. Gestures that could be described as naive or weak, but which turned out to be her greatest asset.
And she can be a child with her siblings and mother in a new home once again. All because Wendy decided for the love and unity that allowed connections with like-minded peers.
... Unfortunately, that doesn't last long.
Because Aimee gets the Sick and Becky finds her.
The end of the second and third seasons dealt with the same arc of community, siblinghood and family that has always been Wendy's hallmark, albeit from a perspective of mourning, maturing and new beginnings.
They finally arrive in Yellowstone, their new place to call home. Life seems to be working out again.
Her mother is there. Her brothers are there. Gus is there. They're eating real food once again. She can go back to drawing. Everything is fine, she made it. They've made it. She even has new friends, Becky in particular who is always genuinely nice to her.
And then her mother calls her to talk, and Wendy finds out that Aimee is going to die (not only that, I dare say that Wendy was the only child who knew, as the only one who didn't wish her mother well when they separated).
The person who has always looked after Wendy, the person she loved most in the world... is simply leaving and will never come back. With one last request from her mother in front of the fire for her, for everyone, to explore a world that is theirs. After everything she's been through.
And this beginning of the end comes with Tiger's warning that Abbot is coming after them.
The children need to hide, and they split up.
Wendy is only nine years old and has to say goodbye to her mother for good after all she's done to find her again and keep everyone together. Not only that, but her best friend is also falling behind, and she finds herself in the worst position she could want: unable to do anything to help.
 And she doesn't take it well at all. Wendy is numb to the facts, still doing the best to maintain order, but her mind couldn't be more disturbed. She wants to go back and fight. To help Gus and, especially, Aimee.
And Becky, poor thing, is trying to console her as best she can.
Except that Wendy gets progressively more impatient and irritated because still has no idea who Becky is, only that the warrior tells her to wait while all the people she loves most in the world are risking their lives. To stay safe.
For a girl who has never done anything but take risks and fight for those she cares about regardless of the danger.
Even though Becky still tries to appeal to her siblings, Wendy jumps in and runs off into the chaos. Which, considering everything she'd done so far had been for them, shows that this girl has a lot of personality.
However, she ends up being caught, taken back by Becky and discovering that they are sisters.
...at the worst possible moment, because between her grief and the urge to do something, Wendy is overwhelmed and ignores Becky. She only comes to her senses when she is saved from bisons.
Reality finally hits. She has a sister who loves her and has searched for her for years, and who she genuinely feels is there... but doesn't know. Becky is not familiar.
Nothing about it is.
Wendy has been the big sister all her life. The one who protects all her life. The leader of the hybrid children and whose care came from her mother. Now Becky arrives, with Aimee on the verge of death, and has her as precious family. Wendy is on the other side this time. The protégé instead of the protector.
This girl is nine years old and her whole reality is disintegrating.
Fortunately, she manages to arrive in time to have one last conversation with her mother before she passes away with a final promise of consolation.
Then we have the funeral scene. Not just of Aimee, but of Wendy's childhood and innocence. Poignantly represented when she stops wearing her bow on her head.
A symbol of childhood.
So much so that in the next scene she appears reading a story about...growing up.
Because she'll never be the child she was. Life has taken a lot from her. Now it's up to what she's going to do with all these changes. With all the numbness of grief and the new relationship with Becky.
We also see that she is going to accompany Gus, choosing to help him as his brothers are safe. It makes sense, he is one of the most important people in the world to her and they've been through enough trauma bonding and life connections to seal that Gus is as much a priority to Wendy as her mother was. They find Birdie's possible location and they go after her in Alaska.
Season 3
Things start off lightly with a car ride, one of the few scenes in which Wendy and Gus are children. The two are even much more in tune this season, clearly being a rock for each other, providing mutual support, wearing complementary colors and all.
We also see Becky trying to be a good sister and ensuring the safety of her dear little sister and Jepp struggling to be a father of three.
It is also remarkable that Wendy's grief for Aimee still affects her and her relationship with Becky, for example when she sniffs out a family killed by The Sick.
They arrive at a casino and, a few puns later, the children sniff out food, get caught in a trap and end up meeting a group of elderly people who run the place. They deny the necessary supplies and in the middle of the conversation, death is brought up once again. Which, for the nine-year-old girl who has just lost her mother, is obviously too much.
She hasn't fully processed Aimee's departure and this pain has a bearing on her ability to form bonds with her new sister.
Because, ironically, although deeply empathetic, Wendy it is extremely difficult to be vulnerable.
Which comes to light with his relationship with Becky.
 In the whole show, this girl has so far only been able to connect with her mother, who raised her from the cradle, and Gus, who is her best friend and basically kindred spirit. Wendy has always felt out of place and had trouble relating, ever since the first season.
Having an older sister is not familiar in any way to Wendy. On the contrary, it puts her in an uncomfortable position, even more so with her mother dying, and the opposite of everything she has lived through. Even the fact that Becky is human puts her in a different position from Wendy.
That's why Gus is the one who can console her.
As I said before, the writers were goats at working out Gus and Wendy's connection. They look alike and this similarity illustrates their connection with flying colors. Gus understands what it's like to lose the person who's looked after you all your life. That's all Wendy needed to hear. That it wasn't fair, that it never stops hurting. And that they dealt with it together. Which is familiarity and support enough for Wendy to pull herself together.
Although this leaves Becky feeling powerless.
Things at the Casino don't work out and they have to go without supplies.
Wendy is obviously irritated by the petty behavior of those idiots, and she reflects on old age together with Gus, promising to be better when it's their turn. It's a cute scene, especially because they're children in a world that wants them dead (dying too) and reaching that age hasn't been possible for many, both hybrids and humans.
And once again, Wendy thinks of others in the moment, reinforcing her empathy, her bond with Gus and some very well done foreshadowing (I'll never stop finding it endearing how Wendy just decided that yes, Gus will be around until her old age and they'll still be close and that's that, after stealing one of the boy's coats. Soulmates are soulmating).
However, an avalanche hits and the group narrowly escapes. And mortality surfaces once again, this time for her sister.
 Becky and Jepp may be dead and Wendy panics. She and Gus have barely escaped, and he can't hear them. However, Gus manages to calm her down and they find them both.
Then we see that Wendy really does love Becky, she just doesn't know how to deal with the change. Which is understandable. After an intense exchange between Gus and Jeep, they manage to get to Idaho and rest...
...for a few moments before Dr. Singh appeared.
I love how Wendy immediately calls him out for killing Roy! That's it! My girl holds grudges and it's iconic! No one messes with her family and gets away with it! However, Gus agrees to bring Adi with them, and they all escape thanks to the wolf boys who found them. They make their way to a house and meet Ven.
He won't let the children in because they are hybrids, forcing Wendy and Gus to wait outside while the others help his wife give birth.
During the wait, Gus asks if Wendy is angry about bringing Singh. It's sweet that he worries about it. After all, Aditya murdered her brother and that's not taken lightly. On the other hand, it's also sweet how Wendy isn't angry per se, even though she obviously can't stand the doctor's presence.
Trust has always been the basis between them, and she trusts Gus' decisions, only questioning whether he believes Adi is telling the truth. This shows how the pair have evolved over this long road.
That's when they spot a human child and Wendy decides, bless her sociable little soul, that they should talk to the boy (who just for the record was running away from them and yet she decides yes, new friend spotted lol).
They then meet Theo, Ven's son, and the rooster Kirby. Wendy is thrilled to meet another child, taking the initiative to introduce herself and interact. This girl doesn't have a bad bone in her body and her hobby is collecting friends at the end of the world, which is why the rooster approves of her.
She and Gus talk more about the hybrids, and we realize that Theo is a genuinely nice boy, but clearly misguided. He thinks they can't read, that they eat people and that they're not normal, basically. Thoughts that are misguided to say the least, but which the pair don't take to heart because it's a clear influence from their parents.
Theo loves to fly. He loves flying very much. And it doesn't take long for Wendy to connect the dots, her intelligence and observation skills highlighted once again. With a bit of gentle prodding from her and Gus, Theo reveals that he's a hybrid too. It's just that he suffers from self-loathing because of what he's been taught, hiding his animal characteristics thanks to his family.
We have a powerful moment of him learning from a speech by Gus that no, that doesn't make him abnormal, but special. That no one, whether someone else's opinion or his parents, can take away what makes him special. Theo then tells Ven his plan and the three of them go to stop him hurting his newborn son.
They succeed, but Ven hands them over to Zheng, but not before Theo gives them a van.
I feel this was one of the hardest trials for both Wendy and Gus. Both were raised by loving parents who nurtured their nature as hybrids, but seeing how they are more the exception than the rule has certainly touched them. Especially Gus, who is in the very arc of taking responsibility for everything and everyone.
And once again, we see how these children are rocks in each other's lives with Wendy assuring them that they'll be fine, even if Theo didn't accept the invitation to come along. Both holding hands in support.
They get to the beach to catch the ship to Canada, but everyone has already left. As the journey progresses to a point of no return, Wendy begins to get anxious.
She can't stop thinking about her siblings and above all, she can't stop thinking about Becky. Wendy can resist Sick for being a hybrid and escaping from hunters because that's what she's been doing for the last few weeks.
But her older sister is more likely to get hurt. And although Becky thinks Wendy is distant, here we see that it couldn't be the other way around. She has finally gotten used to her sister and is afraid of losing her too, especially with Aditya's predictions that humanity is on the brink of extinction.
So much so that when they discover that the new boat will not fit everyone, I believe Wendy had already decided not to go to Alaska.
 Because she didn't want to put Becky in danger. Not after hearing that she could lose her too. She wants to try to build that bond. Wendy is nothing but a family person, after all.
So much so that she gives Gus one last gesture of support by fixing his antler as a reminder and saying that she believes in him no matter what. Because he can handle. Gus is smart, immune and has Jepp with him. But Becky only has her and needs her more.
This is reinforced by the conversation with Coral.
When Rosie arrived, her mind was made up. Seriously, you could see the certainty and confidence in that girl's eyes. She knows that Gus can do it and that now her sister is the priority.
I believe Wendy's original plan was to return with Becky to Yellowstone and wait until Gus and the others returned, taking advantage of the time to get to know each other better and take care of the others.
...except that they are attacked by one of the wolf boys and Becky narrowly saves Wendy by accidentally killing Bruno, a hybrid, which shakes her to the core and creates guilt in her for going against her mission.
She is captured and Wendy's new focus is to save her sister. The teenager just appeared in her life and no way losing her is an option.
Becky is not having a good time. Captured and questioned by Zheng, I believe she believed that Wendy had left her. That's what she asked for.
Becky's character is at the height of her trauma here. She's lost the animal army; her sister apparently doesn't accept her as family and now she's killed a child she swore to protect. As well as being tricked by Jordan and revealing where Gus and Jepp are going. She has no purpose anymore.
This teenager no longer has any impulse to fight and, in short, has lost the instinct for self-preservation. Everything she did was for Wendy, who in her mind was safe and could go back to be with the kids she loved. And soon Gus and Jepp would be back, and everything would be fine.
The face she makes when she is taken to Alaska is that of someone who has accepted her own end. At most, Becky would stay alive for Wendy, not for herself. I think she gave up on herself a while ago, in fact.
She just didn't count on the unconditional love and iron persistence of Wendy who, once again, made the right decisions and achieved positive consequences. Choosing her sister only allowed her to show Beckey that she loved her, reignited the teen will to live and later guaranteed the support behind the curtains that Gus would need.
Wendy sets off for Alaska by getting on Zhang's plane, hiding in the same car Rosie was using and listening to the transmission with the plans, meeting the wolf boys (the first hostile hybrids she has ever met), staying safe thanks to the protective screen and infiltrating the enemy base.
Bear is not having a good time once again with Jordan making fun of her. Seriously, this guy gives me the crepes! He gives me the vibe of a kid who doesn't have his life under control and in order to get some, he ruins other people's lives because he feels like he's in charge. This jerk uses the Animal Army against her, threatens her with Helen's whole plan about births (remembering that Becky already said she didn't want children) stopping only when Rosie arrived.
Rosie questions her and Becky manages to make a connection by seeing that she loves her children, something the grieving mother didn't expect. Ginger then needs help, leaving the way open for Wendy to get her sister back and Becky with the opportunity to escape.
Jordan picks her up and is a weirdo once again when Wendy invades and chooses violence! This little girl is nine years old, but she's going to move heaven and earth in the name of the one she loves. It was so satisfying for me to watch her wipe the floor with Jordan, you have no idea!
It's lovely to see how far Wendy has come with her acceptance of her sister. She has overcome her grief for Aimee and accepted Becky as family and someone to care for. She has matured and grown up, ready now to be the support her older sister needed, returning the affection she received.
This was essential not only for Wendy but also for Becky. She did everything for her lost sister and after the two reconcile, this traumatized girl can begin to heal too.
With the rescue successful, Wendy sets out to help the rest of her family. It's in Alaska, in fact, that we see the best of her leadership and strategy skills. Position of the guards, where to go and where not to go. I can't help but laugh when she asks Becky why she didn't fight.
Wendy has no chill when it comes to the people she loves. A menace!
They take a car and head out into the blizzard after Gus and Jepp but end up getting lost. They stop and we finally see how Becky feels: she has spent so much time finding and looking after Wendy that she has forgotten to look after herself. She thinks she has no future or expectations in becoming an adult. Just as Aimee thought, that for humans, death is inevitable and hybrids are the future. That her little sister shouldn't waste her time or risk her life to save humanity and her.
And Wendy sees guilt, self-sacrifice and the conformism of the end, things that she herself and even Aimee had. And she says no. Becky doesn't deserve to die just for being human. She and the others are not inherently better for being hybrids. Rosie's wolf boys would tear her apart if they could, even if she was one of them.
Nor for being a bad human for defending herself. The fault lies with Zheng, who made them feel lost and like war machines. For pushing them, all of them including Becky, to extremes like death. Wiping Becky's face as she finally cries for the first time since the Animal Army dies.
But there would be good people to help guide them. Like Aimee was for Wendy, and Wendy would be for Becky.
This scene of consolation between the two of them cleansed my skin, watered my crops, and cured my anxiety. Because finally Becky is feeling Wendy's love back, seeing that she can have the bond with her sister that she always wanted.
They continue with the help of the constellation that Aimee spoke of before she died, finding Jepp in Birdie's old house, but without Gus. Which can only mean that the boy was outside.
The sisters send after him and stay to help stop Zhang and retake the base from the Alaska survivors who are also there before the polar night. With the plan in place, of which the two were also the leaders, everyone goes into action.
At the Alaska base, Becky and Wendy manage to break in and seize control of the wolf boys thanks to Nuka and Siena. To fulfill their part of the plan, the two need to lure the wolf boys and trap them, then stop a large station machine called the Beast, which Jordan has been assigned to drive.
Everything narrowly goes wrong when Rosie manages to figure out the plan, but the sisters arrest them, not without attracting the attention of Zhang's people in the process.
Much chaos, destruction and death ensue, especially after Rosie's children are freed by their mother and Zhang arrives at the tree-antler, ordering the Beast to come. Siena says there's one last chance to stop the Beast, since getting to the garage isn't working, by going to the greenhouse.
Opportunity presents itself when Wendy picks up and throws a Molotov into flammable oil barrels at enemy personnel. Seriously, this girl chooses and is great at violence. Her sister is proud and so am I.
(Man, I love my unhinge sisters who canonically have a body count).
However, it wasn't enough to stop the machine and Jordan heads off to the cave with Rosie, Ginger and Tex. Fortunately, Nuka thinks of a plan to stop the machine with harpoons, and they all leave too.
I'm not going to lie, the scene of the invasion of the Alaskan base is one of my favorites. Seeing Becky and Wendy being leaders together and having sisterly synergy is everything to me. These two are so alike and that shines through here. As well as relieving the parallel cave arc that...well, is not making Gus have a very good time to say the least.
In the chase, Wendy and Backy hold Rosie back from shredding and Siena harpoons the Beast's fuel tank, but Becky has to jump it to speed up the leak, much to Wendy's dismay.
Things get worse when one of the wolf boys almost catches her, but with her spirits renewed thanks to her conversation with her sister, Becky manages to subdue the boy in a non-lethal way. She tries to convince Jordan to give up, but he's too stuck in his convictions that forces Becky to make a drastic decision and turn into the Beast.
And man, if Wendy was scared before, she's terrified now. This nine-year-old girl has already lost her mother and now her sister may have died too. Certainly, one of the worst moments in Wendy's life, even more so with Sick being released because of the exposed sap from the tree.
She had everything stolen from her: the house she lived in, her mother, her childhood, innocence, freedom and now she could have lost her sister.
 Wendy is indeed very brave and kind because this girl had extraordinarily strong reasons to hate everyone and everything. After Gus, she is easily the child who has suffered the most in the entire series. But Wendy has nothing but good faith and love in her body and if that isn't an example of resilience, I don't know what is.
I think that's the word that most defines Wendy: resilience. She persists and maintains kindness in the face of a world that hates her because there are people in it who love her and whom she learns to love, like Aimee, her brothers, Gus and Becky, who survives the accident.
The two sisters meet, reaffirming their love for each other and what a moment, my friends!
That's when they hear one of Rosie's children. Wendy, being Wendy, releases him without further ado, using her empathy to calm the boy down. Rosie even goes as far as to threaten them, but she's clearly only doing it to defend her son and no longer sees any point in such senseless violence.
Especially as finally recognizes that Becky is just like her when she realizes that the sister she talks about so much is also a hybrid and sees that everything has changed since that day. Ginger goes into labor, and everyone goes to help her.
Gus and Jeep finally get out of the cave and the group has an emotional reunion. The journey ends with confirmation that the hybrids are the new dominant species, but humans remain will be able to live without fear. Gus thanks everyone, asking for some time with Jepp and Wendy continues down the mountains with Becky.
The trials are officially over, and everyone finally has peace. Wendy, Gus, Becky and (for me, for the sake of my future fics and psychology) Jeep return to Yellowstone where they build a community based on peace and a respectful remembrance of the past.
Becky can finally stop having to take on a fighting role and have a lighter life, helping to look after the children and her sister while honoring the Animal Army's original mission to protect the hybrids by now looking after them. As well as getting some peace and beginning to heal, watching her little sister become a leader in her own right.
 Jeep can finally grow old calmly, taking care of his new children, and making amends for the past with a new perspective. No more fighting or pushing the boundaries.
Gus can now have full freedom with his questions answered, settling things with nature itself and bringing the cure he and his mother wanted. Being able to concentrate on living and taking care of this new community that he so longed for in a more peaceful world.
And of course we have the character of the review: Wendy! She made peace with Aimee's grief, bonded with her sister and was finally able to take care of her family and the hybrids as she wanted. Finding support in Becky and Gus, whom she eventually marries and, even after they've grown old, are still each other's rocks.
In a future that promises nothing but good things.
Final considerations
And that was the analysis!
Wendy is my favorite character, and it was great to do this analysis! This girl is very underrated, and it was great to give her a bit more love!
 You can't approach her alone because her character has always been about community. It makes me happy that she has achieved one, with a secure family and honoring her desire to help other hybrids as she always wanted and her mother's desire to see and inherit the world.
Wendy received as much love as she gave and was never alone as a result, from childhood to old age, even when it wasn't easy.
And if that's not a good message, I don't know what is. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
Please share what you think, I would love to hear it!
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flwrcrxwnlyon · 11 months ago
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Best Layton kid, change my mind
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chez-cinnamon · 1 month ago
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What if Pomni seeks out comfort from Kinger bc of the last episode?? Finale !!
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It is DONE !!
Everyone is so fun to draw I cannot.......... /pos
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indra-sexygirl · 8 months ago
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Because beautiful ass show…
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chloesimaginationthings · 7 months ago
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How Jax found Gangle’s figure collection in TADC,,
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nikkinelson1313 · 2 months ago
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valentinbelleyh505 · 9 days ago
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y'all can comment which character that is also a moon that i forgotten 😔
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molabuddy · 26 days ago
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mental breakdowns the clown.....
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secretofeva · 1 month ago
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Woke up like this
SOURCE: 🔴 secretofeva.com🔞
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originalsheeppuppy · 2 months ago
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CLICK 👇👇👇
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serendippertyy · 2 months ago
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bestie arc when
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emthimofnight · 2 months ago
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Blazamy my beloved.........
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my contribution for the netflix avatar remake
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splendidfemalelegs · 1 month ago
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Wow 🤩 😍
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