#firebird135

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I love this flashback to May taking care of a sick Max, it shows how she’s always there for him. It’s from the episode Take This House and Shuppet.

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’ve been thinking about Rachel from War of the Worlds, and one headcanon I have is that she might be autistic or have special needs. I’m autistic myself and she seems to have several traits- she’s rather precocious, speaks in a rather flat tone when she’s at ease, seems rather naive (like when she asks if they can give a ride to a man attacking their car) and has severe anxiety to the point that she and Robbie have worked out a calming routine for when she has a meltdown, and also explains why Ray is so determined to keep her from seeing anything stressful. She seems emotionally behind other kids her age, and it’s hinted from how Ray and Robbie treat her that she has special needs as they’re constantly reassuring her, telling her what to do, and speaking to her in the kind of tone you’d use with a baby, and she doesn’t seem embarrassed by it but finds it comforting. There’s also no mention in the film of her having friends her own age and she seems rather helpless and dependent on her family compared to most 10-year olds, who are around the age when they’d start to be growing more mature and independent.

While the film doesn’t confirm this I think it makes sense- she’s very close to Robbie at first and he acts like her caregiver at times, and then Ray grows into that role as the film goes on, and I think it explains the level of closeness that develops between her and Ray. Between that and the trauma the invasion causes her, she’ll probably need a lot of care and support in later life, and even as an adult she might still be largely dependent on Ray. It’s tragic when you think about it because Ray is a lot older than her and would eventually get too old to take care of her, and if he died I’m not sure she would even want to live without him, especially with most of the planet in ruins- she might even want Ray to give her a mercy kill when the time comes so they’ll be together in death. It’s sad but it makes their bond a lot more powerful for me.

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I agree that she’s probably neurodivergent in some way. We see that particularly when Robbie is calming her down. I think that scene suggests that she might be getting professional treatment for a condition of some kind. I think we see that Ray isn’t very experienced at dealing with Rachel when this condition is showing itself, but that changes during the course of the movie in such a beautiful way. 

Fortunately for Rachel, unlike probably everyone else, who might have lost everyone, she’s got her mother and Robbie to help. But yes, I could see a future where she was very dependent on Ray. I’m sure the trauma of what happened and the difficulty of navigating a world that’s entirely changed will bond her even more closely with her family and exacerbate her condition. I can only imagine that kind of trauma, after what she has been through. I love knowing how much closer she and Ray will be after the events of the movie. I like imagining that the family all lives together in the future, or that the parents live next door to each other. With the way the world gets all shook up, I think that makes sense.