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#me slapping the roof of miles soccoro: this kid can fit so many abandoment issues in it
blueyellow8green · 1 year
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Random thoughts about Spider from Avatar 2
So I know everyone really hates Spider and don't get me wrong I love the memes but I want to analyse his character a bit beyond "he betrayed neteyam by saving Quaritch".
Because that isn't the full story here. So from the comics which includes Spiders childhood and "origin" story we see his mother is killed at a very young age. So there's trauma number one as we know his dad is also dead making him an orphan. He is then abandoned by the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE by being left behind. I know he is raised by norm and the scientists but cmon that's abandonment issues squared. Then on top of that he is labelled a "pandoran human" (a human born on pandora) which he is the first one ever. This separates him from other humans as well and would explain even further his connection to the planet.
All of that alone in a young teenage boy is gonna traumatise him enough into making some perhaps stupid choices (I don't think him saving Quaritch was stupid, it was an emotionally loaded decision). But it doesn't end there with abandonment issues because although he grows up alongside the Sully family (and therefore Na'vi culture) he is never truly a part of that culture. He has no way to connect to ewya by the hair thing (I can't remember what it's called). He is disconnected on a physical level trying to keep up with the Na'vi, being unable to breathe with them, being separated from their cultural practice and not being able to take part in their religion no matter how much he may believe in ewya.
And despite all this he seems happy, at least in the comics and flashbacks of the movie. He is content enough with how things are with the Sully's. He clearly cares a lot about them and views them like his family.
Yet Jake literally refers to him as "a stray cat" that won't quite leave them alone. Neytiri openly dislikes him and probably ignored him as best as she could (a decision fueled by her own trauma but also he husband is half human?? Like girl pick a standard at least Spider hasn't committed war crimes unlike Jake). We actually don't see much if the kids interacting with Spider once their older apart from the scene where he goes "it's not great to know who your father is 😐"
Which yes was a funny scene but really he is opening up about what is probably a strong point of trauma with him and he gets ZERO support or recognition from people he sees as family.
I remember watching the movie and getting half way through and just constantly thinking "the Sully's haven't mentioned spider yet? When are they going back for spider? That boy is being tortured and no one cares? No one cares cause he's human?" I know getting him back wasn't feasible for Jake but they don't even say his name. They go and play with the fish and forget he ever even existed. Jake's main concern is what Spider will say, he assumed he couldn't be trusted despite practically raising that boy. Imagine you are abandoned by everyone, your parents are dead, you have never been accepted ever. And then you find out that you "family" forgot about you AGAIN. Spider has every right to be hurt and he wasn't.
I'm disappointed because we had an opportunity for an halarious dynamic is Neytiri and Jake had adopted Spider more officially when Quaritch return they could be like "we killed your ass and stole your son :p". Objectively I think that would be way more entertaining.
Him saving Quaritch if anything proves he is better than his father and maybe even Jake. Spider is literally breaking a cycle of abuse and violence in this movie but no one is willing to see it. Him teaching Quaritch the way of the Na'vi may seem like betrayal but really what we see is a traumatised abandoned child sharing his love for his home. What he is doing is more that what Jake did by trying to bride the gap with the Na'vi, Spider is bridging the gap with the sky people. Which I think will make the difference in the war.
I don't know if Quaritch will get a redemption arc but I do know Spider deserves better than everything he has been given. And the solution isn't to just give Spider an avatar body but to give him a home and the unconditional love a child deserves.
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