#druck boy squad

[evakuality]

Matteo - episode nine

It’s been an incredibly long time and this has been sitting in my drafts for a ridiculous amount of that time.  But I’m about to hit play on the DEB thingy for an anniversary rewatch so I figured I should probably finish off these posts which I was doing last time I was using DEB to watch this season.  So here it is!

Clip one - Every time I see this clip my hearts just gets a little melty/melancholy/sweet/sad/aching/happy because of that damn song.  I genuinely love how Druck uses this song this season.  How when Matteo wants to feel close to David he plays it.  How last time he was playing it because he felt like they’d connected without realising it was David's goodbye, and how now he’s playing it after they reconnected but now things are shit for David and so he’s immersing himself in what he can.  I just... this song hurts my heart, okay, and I don’t care that it’s super cliche.  And then there’s the fact that Matteo is literally in the open, no more hiding, trying to nurture himself, but making a hash job of it.  Like the intent is there, but the execution is lacking.  But then the symbolism of the whole ‘family’ sharing the food and being together.  This clip is not perfect but it makes me so emo.

I like that the squad want to try to help with David, but their suggestions are so tone deaf.  Like, be supportive yes, but do it in a way that allows the victim some agency.  But of course, this allows Matteo to be able to say that himself.  That actually none of them get to be the ones who can say what David might want or needs, and that David should be at the centre of the whole business.  I just love him and how far he’s come.  This closed off child who couldn’t stand up for himself manages to stand up for his boy and it’s delightful.

Clip two - I really like that Matteo tries to go to David, but that he ends up talking with Laura instead.  She’s such a good sister to him, and her care is really obvious.  I like to think that this scene is partly why she’s so happy to see Matteo in episode 10.  She knows he cares, that he wants to reach out and be there and help David, but that he’s willing to accept her advice.  This isn’t the boy who came earlier and tried to push his wishes onto the situation, and I think she sees that he cares as much as she does.  And of course, the message from Matteo’s mother really just adds something nice to it all.  I really like that his reaction to it is just a small smile.  Unlike Isak who was in the depths of despair when he got his text from his mother and thus it allows him the catharsis of crying, Matteo is in a different place.  He needed something different.  She wants to meet with him and with David and that level of acceptance is very important to him.  It’s a tie back to the ‘finding my way home’ vibes in the last episode and serves as a nice bridge to the church clip that’s coming up.

Clip three - There are two things I love about this clip.  First, that Amira is allowed to be open about Ramadan and how it affects her and her life in a really natural way.  It’s lovely that it’s just treated as a normal and natural part of the everyday life of these characters.  The other is just how much it shows Matteo’s progress in his relationships, both with his friends (symbolised by Amira) and in romance (David of course).  Matteo allows himself to be vulnerable and open with Amira in a way that he hasn’t really been able to be at the start of the season.   He admits that he doesn’t feel prepared and that he’s ‘fucked’ to her, and the two of them are able to be connected in a way that works for them now.  Back in episode six, Amira’s way of dealing with Matteo didn’t work but here it works.  It shows that a) Matteo is more relaxed and b) that Amira is fairly good at connecting to him, but she failed earlier because he was in a bad place.  Plus ‘I believe in you ... now you need to start believing in yourself’ is such an important comment.  He is doing this already in most facets of his life, but his school work is still one thing that hasn’t got to.  So this is something he needs to hear, and that Amira is saying this is important because she clearly knows her stuff and she doesn’t sugar coat it.  Which makes her approval mean that much more to him.  It’s nice.  Both that he’s able to express those fears and that she is able to help him with it, and he tries to reciprocate - and she tells him stuff that’s affecting her.  I like that he’s making these connections more easily now and is starting to be more checked in to his own life and other’s as well.  Then of course, he’s learned not to push David.  After episode 5′s disaster, he’s had to learn to give David time and space, to think about the needs of his partner and not just himself (something he also failed to do with Sara) and we see it even more here.  Instead of calling or attempting to go to David again, Matteo sends a voice message.  It’s both making a connection and letting David know Matteo is still here for him and also not pushing.  David can choose to respond if he wants or not.  It’s good that Matteo has learned to be more thoughtful outside of himself and his reward is, of course, that David does send a message back just as he goes into the exam, sending luck and telling Matteo when he will be home.  So he’s able to have the connection he needs but it’s in a way that doesn’t feel pressured to David.

Clip four - I love this clip so much.  There’s just something really bittersweet in finishing school.  It’s such a milestone and there’s a sense of freedom and escape but there’s also that sense of loss - of losing something that’s been such a constant in life for so long and this clip handles it so well.  There’s a beautiful balance between these two feelings with the boys.  And then we get the really lovely bit where Matteo, who is of course still concerned about David, asks Abdi about it and gets reassured that he’s ‘doing it right, chill’ and it’s stressed again that David gets to decide for himself where he wants to be and who he wants to be with.  Matteo, while having come such a long way and definitely respecting David’s wishes, still has the urge to rush in after him.  He knows staying away is the right thing to do and yet his entire nature still rebels against it.  Plus, I think he’d like to be sharing this moment with the other important guy in his life.  These guys are ‘the best friends one can have’ and yet it’s not feeling complete to Matteo.  The ache of leaving school and having all this coming to an end (and perhaps the looming worry about needing to decide what to do with his life which has been such a constant fear for him all season) is compounded by the absence of the person he felt most comfortable discussing those things with.  It’s also telling that he’s chosen Abdi to discuss this with.  There’s not been a suggestion that these two are particularly close, and you’d expect Matteo to choose Jonas to talk to, and yet he’s become so much more open and willing to expose his thoughts that he’s happy to talk about this with other people in his circle.

Clip five - This one is a clip of two halves.  The first half is beautiful with Matteo meeting up with his mother and receiving the love and affection from her he’s been craving for so long.  And he’s able to do this in a place that’s caused him some anxiety for most of the season, her church.  That he’s been open with her and she’s accepted him and reassured him that she still loves him has been such a big thing and this is the final seal on that for him.   He’s hugged, wrapped in her arms and is able to let his emotions out with all the support of a parent that he needs.  I wish we’d heard them talking just for realism’s sake, but the actual moment in the clip doesn’t really need it.  Visually, the acting tied with the surroundings and the way it’s all shot means we know and understand what each is ‘saying’ without needing the words.  It’s such a lovely moment that it’s a pity that it’s followed by a whole bunch of things which just fall a bit flat for me.  

I understand intellectually that Matteo is holding himself back from going to David because he’s been told over and over again that he needs to let David choose how he wants to deal with everything and he has experienced exactly how damaging rushing in can be when David doesn’t want it.  And yet... having Hans in his room for ‘oooh maybe David is there’ bait doesn’t work because it’s not in character for Hans to see Matteo panicking and not go to him to see what’s wrong.  This whole part would have been stronger if Hans hadn’t been there and I also can’t imagine that Matteo would have just sat at home panicking.  Laura has shared her concern about David, thus removing her ‘give him time’ message and I feel like at the very least he would have gone to see her.  All that aside, though, the acting is still really good.  We can sense Matteo’s rising panic alongside his determination to still give David the agency in the situation.  It’s clearly very difficult for him to be in this situation and you can see his instincts to go in and solve the issue warring with his knowledge that David should be allowed to decide for himself, a message that has been hammered home over multiple clips just this episode.  So overall it’s a good clip, it’s just got a few things that mute its impact for me.  

Clip six - Again, I do understand why this clip exists: to show us that Matteo is still being proactive in the way that he thinks is best.  He’s given David a message and told him where he’ll be and so he’s carrying through on it all while still allowing David to make the decision whether or not to engage.  It all makes intellectual sense.  And yet.  Living through this when it aired was really really tough.  Being told David would return on Thursday only to be left with the unsatisfying ending to the previous clip, then thinking okay well perhaps Friday morning only to have him not there either???  It works in a full episode because while it builds tension it’s not unbearable.  But in clip format this wait was really tough and so this really felt like a ‘filler’ and more ‘haha got you; he’s not really here’ which we have had at least 3 times this episode (clip one, clip five and now) and so it feels more like taunting the audience than like a genuinely necessary part of the episode.  Still, it does its job which is to ramp up both Matteo’s fears and anxieties and the audience’s in the lead up to the final clip.

Clip seven - I have said so much about this one in a lot of different posts, so I’m just going to link to this post I made way way way back when the clip aired rather than rehash everything.  I will just add that in hindsight there is so much to love about this reunion.  I know people joke about how all the other evak couples do this gorgeous tender thing and these two scream at each other.  But I really really love it.  It’s totally in character for these two and more importantly it’s necessary.  Matteo with his fear of abandonment is of course angry.  He’s been told that he has to give David space and what that gets him is a boyfriend who almost cuts and runs without him.  He feels like he’s done everything he was supposed to do and yet he still almost loses.  That fear comes out in anger, which David doesn’t deserve and yet which allows him to break out of his own withdrawn fears and yell about his own issues.  There are parts of this episode which I don’t feel are realistic or in character, but this part is both.  Their anger, both of their anger, is believable and important and they both need to hear what the other is saying here.  I like that they get to talk and no matter how angry it is, they both show that they care about each other and understand each other: David by inviting Matteo run away with him (something he has been reluctant to do in the past and which has always made Matteo fearful due to his worries about being abandoned) and Matteo by showing David that he understands the vampire stuff and the movie he loves and he sees right through to the heart of David and loves him anyway.  It shows in an ironic way just how good they are for each other.  Even in the middle of a screaming match where it seems like they’re not quite on the same page, they still kind of are at their core.  Each of them still has what the other needs to feel supported and loved and needed.

[mondscheinprinzessin]

I reread Don't Matter If You're Bi just now and found this in the comments:

and now I so badly want to rewatch Druck. can we add that to Wilde Hühner to watch next time we see each other? I miss my one braincell boy squad <3

We've watched the third Season with them when I was at yours last year. They're not as prominent in the other seasons right?🤔 I have been thinking about Druck though lately.

Totally forgot I made this connection to them but it fits so much😄

[flodaya]

druck squads + pingpong tables

[demi-demigoddess]

NEW WHICH DRUCK CHARACTER ARE YOU QUIZ

Check the reblogs bc tumblr is the worst. 

[evak-skam]

french boy squad: chaotic

druck boy squad: dumbasses

contrabbandrieri: protective

og boy squad: chill

but they’re all extremely supportive and would do anything for their friends

[gleedegrassi-bigfan]

Druck Textposts Part 1/10 (because my hyperfixation just won’t die)

[not-poison-ivy]

Oh good gosh I love them

[soritesparadox]

Did Abdi literally Google lgbt terms just to support Matteo ?? That’s so enlightened

[isakogeven]

[yaraaimsakul]

matteohno Von rechts nach links: Erster, Zweiter, Dritter und Ietzter Platz des heutigen Tischtennis Turniers.

~(From right to left: first, second, third and last place in today’s table tennis tournament)

[fandoming-in-progress]

Who wants to bet that Matteo is still wearing this when the boys visit.

[cj-anthony-stuff]

Freitag 21:13 Together or Alone

Okay late getting to this but just had to... (and sorry this is so long) Yes I know this is the reunion and OMG, but first— One of my FAVORITE OG boy squad scenes is this clip. I call it the SHOES! Clip, because obviously...

Swear to God I crack up every time I’ve watched that scene, the boys scrambling to leave and poor Magnus just wanting his shoes!! DYING!! Druck is the first boy squad scene I’ve seen that really does their own unique justice to this scene. I laughed, and my heart was also warmed. I originally watched this when it first dropped without subs and was like, man okay, already with the boy squad, this scene is SOOO LONG... but when I finally watched the subs, I couldn’t have loved it more.

First, we’ve got Jonas making sure the whole class gets to see David’s message...

I could screenshot the whole discussion between the boys at this point, they are concerned and they give Matteo good advice. Cute scene when Hanna and Mia walk through, getting her beer and the boys’ looks at Jonas...um hm sure Bro...

Back to Matteo and David...the collective decision is made that Matteo should text David. Okay good that’s decided, now we drink together!!

Cheers and we support you Matteo!

Then Jonas tries to make them all sick (the faces, LMAO!)

And then Matteo (naturally) has no food so...wait...Jonas, you’re ordering pizza??? NOW??? Don’t you know David is coming over??!!

Sure dude...order pizza *facepalm*. 

But finally, David is here! Everyone must leave! Jonas runs like the wind...

Yes! Everyone! Go along with Jonas! 

Matteo gets extra points over all Isaks for also having to herd two extra people out of the apartment

And bonus points for whacking Abdi... you had it coming Abdi. :D

But as hilarious and silly and stupid as the boy squad are, this moment...awww, guys.... so sweet... watching over their boy. 

Now...the really good stuff. David. Oh sweetie... :( Just the sound of his steps on the stairs sounded tired and weary. 

In OG Isak opens the door and Even is literally RIGHT THERE. I like how the first time David and Matteo see each other, there is more physical distance between them to represent the emotional distance they are dealing with.

David hesitates but makes the move to come inside Matteo’s space. Then the camera still keeps them in separate frames, flipping back and forth between them.

For the rest of the scene SO much is communicated non-verbally. David’s lips twitch, he is trying to figure out what to say but not coming up with anything.

So much is said with their eyes...here Matteo has his eyes closed, but then opens them again right before David approaches him.

David again comes into his space. And all he can do is lay his head on Matteo’s shoulder. 

Matteo accepts him and clutches his neck with both hands.

There is a moment where they both close their eyes, and David in particular looks very emotionally pained. (It’s SO subtle. Just amazing)

And then the last shot I think says a lot about the future...still embracing, but now they both have their eyes open. As if...ok, we’re here together, finally...but now what? And to only hammer it home even more, the lyric “You’re making me nervous” hits right at that moment. 

So overall...just wow. Great job Druck. I love that they didn’t immediately start mauling each other. Again, a different story, a different couple and that’s okay. It wouldn’t fit them. And I agree with other posts I’ve seen...this kind of feels like an “O Helga Nacht” scene. Could it be? And if not, then oh man, I can’t even imagine how emotional the real one will be!  And the song choice...lyrics are so spot on (clearly referring to David): Well you look like yourself But you're somebody else Only it ain't on the surface Well you talk like yourself No, I hear someone else though Now you're making me nervous So excited to see what comes next...

[saltforthesea]

German boy squad: 🆗️.🆒️.

[troybarnesbucky]

honestly i am in love with the german boy squad like they seriously might be my favorites, along with the italian boy squad.

[littlethings6983]

when you and your friends have a collective one brain cell oofffff

[heytherefandoms]

THIS WAS OFFICIALLY THE FUNNIEST EPISODE IN ANY REMAKE EVER