Ok so Spider-man No Way Home is a film that has really stuck with me. In my initial review
I said it had one of the best endings to a Marvel Movie ever but since then as I've thought
on it more I really can't think of many films in general that top those final few scenes.
Outside of maybe The Matrix, The Godfather, Inception or The Dark Knight Rises there's
few finales that have had such an impact on me and left me cry...sorry...getting goosebumps
time and time again.
I've now seen the movie three times and every single time that I get to the conclusion I
realise just how well crafted and bitter sweet of a final chapter this is for the first Tom
Holland Spider-man Trilogy.
Throughout this video we are gonna be breaking it down but there obviously will be Heavy
Spoilers. If you enjoy it then please click the thumbs up and make sure you subscribe
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With that out the way, thanks for clicking this, now let's get into the breakdown.
Now the movie itself picks up right after the events of Far From Home with Peter's identity
out there. Though the heat from the press and police somewhat dies down, it clearly
affects not only himself but also his friends and family.
Ned and MJ are very much pulled into the court of public opinion along with him and because
of this their college applications are rejected.
During the Damage Control interrogation, there's a subtle little line in which the officer
says MJ is a smart young woman with a bright future ahead of her but he also pays lip service
to the fact that she's ruined it by getting involved with Peter Parker. Later on The Green
Goblin taunts Peter by saying that though he struck the blow that killed Aunt May, he
was the one who killed her by being the reason she was there.
Peter Parker in general is somewhat of a tragic figure and like it or not he often ends up
hurting the people he loves either directly or indirectly. This has been shown with Uncle
Ben, Gwen Stacy and in No Way Home, Aunt May very much dies because of choices that he
makes. It's a problem that heroes often end up having to deal with in comic book movies
and we've seen it in films like The Dark Knight with Rachael, Lois Lane in like...every Superman
property ever, Iron-Man with Pepper Potts and so on and so forth.
Just by being a hero in the public eye people close to them can be put in danger because
the villains will always hurt those around a person if they can't get to the person themselves.
However, No Way Home is a bit more subtle than that and early on the pain Peter to those
around him comes in the form of the MIT rejection that his friends get.
Not you Flash, you're not his real friend.
The trio had their whole life planned out and just wanted to move to Boston together
in order to start the next chapter with each other. Sadly though, the expose by Mysterio
has ruined their chances and because of this they're stuck unable to have the future
that they worked so hard for.
Thus Peter ends up going to Doctor Strange to basically do the remove wanted level cheat
on GTA. However his necessity to pulls his friends and family into retaining that knowledge
leads to a lot of problems. If you think about it, had Peter let the spell play out as intended
then none of the tragedies that happen in the film would have and his need to keep those
around him in on his vigilante lifestyle is what broke the multiverse.
That's why come the end of the film, his decision to erase himself from everyone's memory is
so important. He's finally showing maturity whilst also sacrificing those that he loves
the most because keeping them involved with things would cause further issues.
Now the film is an absolute blast and it gets better everytime I watch it. Whether it's
the villains returning, Matt Murdock getting brought into the MCU or Tobey and Andrew sharing
the screen together, every scene builds on the last. It all mounts to a showdown at the
statue of Liberty and though things go well on the most part, The Green Goblin ends up
breaking the spell open which causes the entire multiverse to rip apart. Villains from every
universe begin to come into the MCU and thus Peter makes a drastic choice.
He goes to Doctor Strange and asks him to cast a spell that will make the entire world
forget that he existed.
In many ways it could be argued that this is somewhat of a fate worse than death. When
we pass away all that will be left behind about us what people remember us for and the
stories that they tell. No one will be visiting Peter's grave like Happy does to May and he's
very much removed all the joy and happiness that he brought to the world so that his friends
can have an easier life.
This action by Peter in killing one side of himself means that he'll now exist somewhat
as ghost who can view them from afar but never really share the joy that they once had.
Peter is not doing this because he wants to escape the consequences, he's doing it to
save not only the universe but also the lives of those around him that have been destroyed
by being associated with his dual personas. He genuinely thinks that those closest to
him will be better off without him constantly pulling them into his web and decides that
they should forget him.
It's something people often do in breakups as well when they realise that they love someone
so much that they'd rather they were happier with someone else because of the pain they're
causing.
Early on after the first spell Strange says that Peter is attempting to live two lives
and this is him very much making a choice in which he decides that the world can't live
without Spider-man but it can live without Peter Parker.
He knows that with great power comes great responsibility and decides to carry on protecting
the world and also those closest to him.
It's a devastating choice but it also shows somewhat maturity in the movie and this is
acknowledged by Strange. When Peter first goes to the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange tells
Peter to call him Stephen instead of Sir. Together the pair saved the universe with
each other and it's clear that Strange respects him a lot. In fact, there are moments during
their first encounter by the fire place when we see Strange show a level of compassion
towards Peter we don’t often get to see from Strange. However after he messes up the
spell Strange makes him go back to calling him Sir because that respect has been lost.
However, in the end after Peter goes to him with his idea he tells him to call him Stephen
showing that he respects the hell out of what he's about to do.
He tells Peter to say his goodbyes and though we get a great triple hug with Tobey and Andrew,
the more impactful one for me is the one he has with MJ and Ned.
He explains the spell and though he promises to find them and explain, it's clear there's
some doubt there.
Both he and MJ share what could be their last kiss and this final goodbye really means a
lot. Throughout the film they've tried to have a lot of romantic moments together but
they've all been interrupted whereas this one just allows the two to share their love
for possibly the last time.
Peter swings off and we jump to him walking down the street to visit MJ where she works
in order to tell her the truth. It's clear that he's planned out exactly what he wants
to say and this should be a big moment in which he saves the world, gets the girl and
also the happy ending that he as a character deserves.
However that's not how it pays out and upon Ned entering and the two talking about how
they got into MIT the tone changes. I absolutely love the way that he walks in and MJ almost
waves to him and you can see that he genuinely thinks she remembers him. However Ned walks
up instead and he sits down to just sit and hang out with her.
Peter is genuinely happy that the pair got into MIT and you can see the smile start to
creep across his face through this scene as his sacrifice was worth it.
He asks her if she's happy and she genuinely is whereas with him she was constantly setting
her expectations low so that she didn't get disappointed.
Just as he's about to tell MJ everything she brushes her hair out of her face to reveal
a bandaid above her eyebrow.
At the statue of liberty fight she sustained this injury and this very much reminds people
that those closest to him will always get hurt because of his responsibilities. It's
heartbreaking watching Peter's eyes water as she asks if there's anything else and he
says no which works on a number of levels. Not only is he saying that he doesn't want
to tell her about himself but he also says there won't be anything else because he'll
not be putting her in anymore danger.
If you weren't crying already then the following scene in which he visits May's grave will
stop you from being Happy...like Happy...get it...nevermind.
Upon her grave we can see the words 'when you help someone you help everyone' and this
of course references her speech to Peter at Feast. He said very much wanted to just send
Norman Osborn back but she put the idea in his head that he should cure them instead.
This very much set up the path for Peter's arc in which he would help the villains so
that when they returned home they'd live lives for the better. In their own universes they'll
probably be helping those around them and though Peter's sacrifice is a devastating
one it shows how much good he's had in the world.
Just in the same way that the movie it's a wonderful life dealt with someone seeing what
life would be like without them, Peter has removed himself in order to have a positive
impact. He can still help people as Spider-man but he'll no longer be bringing countless
others into a life of misery. Just in the same way that May is gone Peter is gone too
but both have made the world a better place for the ones they loved.
The exchange with Happy is incredible and we then follow Peter as he moves into his
first apartment on his own. We catch him studying for his GED but it's clear he keeps mementos
of those that meant the most to him to remind him exactly what he's fighting for. This includes
a lego emperor Palpatine and if you cast your mind back to Spider-man Homecoming you'll
remember that it's what Ned held up on screen the first time that we saw the two friends
together. Their friendship was symbolised by the lego death star and though it got shattered
much like the spell caused their lives to be, Peter still keeps this behind as a reminder.
He also puts down the coffee cup that MJ served him and we can see that he's created a new
costume on his own.
The depiction of Peter in the MCU has often been criticised for a number of things such
as him being Iron Boy JR and someone that constantly lives in the shadow of others.
However in the final swing he finally becomes his own man. He's cast aside the stark suit
and iron spider one, he's no longer reporting to or constantly asking people for advice,
he's making his own decisions and living independently.
Peter has come along way and going forward he'll take the lessons he learned from those
around him and use them to become his own man. His new suit starts off a new chapter
in his life and though the people he loves may have forgotten him he hasn't forgotten
them.
When we step back from the home trilogy and look at it, this has very much been one big
origin story for the character. He's learnt a lot from his peers and those above him,
made some selfish choices along with some selfless ones. Lost the person close to him
who instilled him with an important lesson and ended up becoming a Spider-man that represents
what we can be at our best.
It wraps up the film in the best way possible and that's why the ending of Spider-man No
Way Home is absolutely perfect.
Now obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ending so make sure you comment below
and let me know.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect
scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it's definitely worth
checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll
see you next time. Take care, Peace