A whole-ass essay on why I think there’s always been something going on between 2D and Murdoc. (I don’t really ship it though)
I don’t exactly ship 2D and Murdoc, as I’m well aware of how problematic the ship is. But I can’t help but observe some romantic undertones within their relationship. Some songs, particularly from Plastic Beach and The Now Now, albums written by Murdoc and 2D respectively, really imply something between these two, at least in my opinion. To reiterate I don’t ship it, I just find the relationship they have really interesting and complex and I’d like to share how I interpret some of their songs and why. Starting with Plastic Beach:
On Melancholy hill
‘Where you can’t get what you want, but you can get me.’ Murdoc has taken 2D to this island against his will. 2D can’t get what he wants anymore, his only company is Murdoc, so it’s almost like Murdoc is saying ‘Hey don’t be miserable you’ve got me!’. Again I know their relationship isn’t healthy, especially in this phase, I just see it as Murdoc desperately clinging to 2D. In a way, he’s always clung to 2D. Not to discredit Noodle and Russel or their importance to Murdoc (Gorillaz wouldn’t be Gorillaz without them), but Murdoc replaces the both of them in phase three, i.e. Cyborg Noodle and the drum machine. He replaces them with two machines. A lot of Plastic beach is about technology and its consumption of humanity. 2D is Murdoc’s only source of humanity anymore, he’s the only thing Murdoc can cling to anymore, that’s why I believe a lot of these romantically tinged songs are about the two of them. On Melancholy hill, Broken and To Binge, all seem to be about Murdoc’s uncertainty and fear regarding his relationship with someone. He seems upset, almost hopeless; he knows he’s ruining the only relationship he has left and he doesn’t know what to do. The only person he’s in contact with during this phase is 2D.
So with the line ‘So let’s set out to sea (love.)’ who else within the canon could he be referring to? Sure you could argue it’s some unknown love interest but why would it be and where’s the fun in that? The only other meaningful relationships he’s had (that WE know of) are with his band members. Not only that, but Plastic Beach was a very story-focused phase. So sure, it could be about some random woman, or it could just be something to do with Damon, but why would that be the case when the album was explicitly stated to have been written by Murdoc. Just because Damon wrote it, it doesn’t mean it’s not about the characters as well. And I feel like On Melancholy hill, along with the music video is all heavily tied to Murdoc as a character, with the Plastic Beach imagery i.e. the ‘Plastic tree’
So yeah, the only person Murdoc is setting out to sea with is 2D. His uncertainty and fear over losing 2D is clear in the line ‘Are you here with me?’, almost like he’s scared 2D will leave him (not that he can). And it’s a bit of a stretch but I’ve always thought the way 2D sings ‘When you’re close to me,’ sounds a bit like ‘When you’re close, 2-D.’
They’re dependent on each other to an unhealthy level. And with the romantic nature of the songs, combined other suggestive moments between the two, I can’t help but view them in a non-platonic way. Again I don’t ship it, I don’t think they’re cute or that they should be together at all, I just think there’s something there that’s more than just friendship.
To Binge
This song is about Murdoc’s dependency on alcohol and how it’s further damaged his relationship with someone.
‘I’ll wait to be forgiven, Maybe I never will’ – Murdoc knows he’s treated this person badly, and to be fair, he could be referring to any of the bandmembers with only this line. However, he’s notably treated 2D the worst. I think the rest of the song helps solidify it being about 2D though.
‘My star has left me. To take the bitter pill’ – 2D is the frontman of Gorillaz, the star, the ‘blue-haired, black-eyed god.’ And he has an addiction to painkillers; it’s something brought up in this phase especially. It’s like Murdoc knows once Plastic beach is done, 2D will leave. At this point, Murdoc has well and truly screwed up their relationship.
‘That shattered feeling. Well, the cause of it’s a lesson learned’ – Murdoc regrets what he has done, he decides he won’t make the same mistake again. Notably, Murdoc seems to have calmed down a lot in the following phases. He keeps saying he’s a changed man, especially towards the end of phase 5 and in what we’ve seen so far in phase 6. It could also be referring to his alcoholism during this phase, using the word ‘shattered’ and all, something that likely amped up his maltreatment of 2D, the only other person he was with at the time.
‘I’m caught again in the mystery. You’re by my side but are you still with me?’ – 2D is the only bandmember that is still with him, literally there by his side. But Murdoc is confused, he’s asking if 2D still WANTS to be here. Deep down Murdoc probably knows that his band is falling apart, that 2D is only here because he’s got no other choice. Deep down the thought of this hurts Murdoc. He may also be acknowledging 2D’s drugged up state. He’s probably high on painkillers, numb to emotions e.c.t., so does he really want to be here? Is the 2D he knew even in there anymore, or is he long gone because of drugs? Is he only here because he can’t be anywhere else in his intoxicated state?
‘But I just have to tell you that I love you so much these days. Have to tell you that I love you so much these days, it’s true’ – What are ‘these days’? Are they the days on Plastic Beach? We know 2D is the only person he can see/speak to anymore. Murdoc sounds almost desperate, heartbroken even; he knows he’s messed things up. Before this, he seems fairly calm and collected, but this line comes across as really emotional like he’s finally breaking down. The ‘it’s true’ part sounds like he’s only just realised what 2D really means to him, or like he’s trying to convince 2D that he truly means what he’s saying. Now that 2D seems to be drifting away from him he’s realised what he’s become, he’s seen how his alcoholism has made things worse for them. Only now he’s caught in a spiral. He’s overly dependant on 2D (he always has been to be fair), and alcohol, so he’s stuck in this downward spiral of hurting others and himself because he can’t bring himself to let go of one of them. ‘My heart is in economy. Due to this autonomy. Rolling in and caught again.’
Broken
Broken is fairly similar to the previous two songs, in terms of its exploration of a relationship deteriorating. I won’t get too deep into it as I think it’s less connected to 2D and Murdoc compared to the other two, and I’ll just be covering the same ground anyway.
‘There’s nothing you can say to him. He is in outer heart. And the space has been broken.’ – Murdoc feels like he’s well and truly driven this person away. He feels like he can’t say enough to undo the things he has done to them.
‘It’s Broken. Our love. Broken.’ – Plastic Beach was hard on all the characters. 2D’s painkiller addiction, Murdoc’s alcoholism. Plastic Beach broke them. It reminds me of the line ‘Do I pick it up when I know that it’s broken,’ in Humility. Here, Murdoc believes he cannot make it up to 2D, he thinks that they’ll never be the same again. However, in Humility, it seems as though 2D is actually considering mending their relationship.
Speaking of Humility, now I’m moving onto The Now Now:
Humility
This one is quite self-explanatory, with Murdoc gone 2D initially feels as though a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. But in the end it’s not that simple.
‘Cause right now that’s the ball where we be chained’ – A ball and chain is often used as an offensive term to describe someone’s relationship. It means that that person feels weighed down by their romantic partner. Not only that, but balls and chains are used to weigh down prisoners. And whose in prison during most of this album? Murdoc. So, I interpret this part of the song as 2D feeling as though he’s finally free from his oppressive relationship with Murdoc (not saying they were explicitly in a romantic relationship, just that their relationship has a non-platonic element to it.)
‘And if you’re coming back to find me, You’d better have good aim’ –He expects to meet this person again. To me, Murdoc is overly attached to his band, especially 2D, as I’ve argued was the case in phase three. So 2D knows Murdoc will hunt him down again, just as he always has. Only this time 2D wants to be treated better. And who’s been trying to appear as though he’s changed in phase 6? Yup, so maybe Murdoc actually has taken 2D’s message to heart. And I got this from genius.com but this imagery of shooting i.e. ‘aim’ and later on in the song ‘shoot it true’, has connotations with Cupid, which only furthers this romantic element to the song.
‘I’m the lonely twin, the left hand. Reset myself and get back on track. Shoot it true, I need you in the picture. That’s why I’m calling you.’ -2D feels lost, lonely, without this other person. Like a pair of hands, or twins, they work best together, they can cope without each other but as only the ‘left hand’ 2D feels like he’s missing something. They’ve been with each other from the very beginning, even before Russel and Noodle joined and they were the only members present to make the album in phase three. Their relationship has always been at the forefront of things when the bandmembers are concerned; they’re always together in interviews e.c.t. so it’s like they’ve formed this dependency on each other. And since only one person is absent during this phase and suddenly 2D is singing about missing someone, I don’t see how he could be referring to anybody else. Despite everything they’ve been through, he needs Murdoc back (I need you in the picture), but more importantly he WANTS Murdoc back (I want you in the picture), just so long as things change. He doesn’t want to drop Murdoc entirely (or at least he can’t bring himself to do it so frivolously), not after everything they’ve gone through. And so far, it seems as though Murdoc actually has been taking those steps to improve, which is interesting.
‘If I pick it up when I know that it’s broken. Do I put it back. Or do I head out onto the lonesome trail and let you go’- Despite wanting this person back. 2D is still conflicted. He knows it might not be the best idea to let Murdoc back into his life because he knows their relationship is unhealthy, ‘Broken’, but he’s still attached to him. Does he want to go off on his own as the ‘left hand’ without its right? Can he?
Of course, the song could have multiple other meanings too, but the good thing about music, or anything really, is that people who write it can be clever and make it so these meanings coexist.
Fire flies
This song really explores the ugly side of a relationship. A relationship 2D is desperately clinging to.
‘You were in the kind of game that put the force in me’ -the person he’s singing about was a forceful person? This line kind of confuses me, but that’s the main way I see it. This person maybe took him out of his comfort zone (uhh, kidnapped him…), made it so it was their way or the highway. 2D feels like they’re playing some sort of game maybe? That the status of their relationship confuses him? Was any of it ever real to the other person?
‘I was ever chasing fireflies’- The relationship is damaged, ugly even, but he’s still clinging to these little glimmers of hope within the darkness. Despite everything, they have had good moments together. Interestingly enough, the line ‘Sometimes I follow a firefly, It takes me into the night’, in 2D’s journal is also written as ‘Sometimes I follow a firefly HE takes me into the night’. I dunno, I just find use of the male pronoun interesting, as though its hinting at the identity of the person he’s singing about. 2D has only ever been in relationships with women, to our knowledge anyway and his most significant relationship with a male character is of course with Murdoc. So, given that Humility and Souk eye are more blatantly about Murdoc, I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to say this song is also likely about him too, especially now that their separation gives 2D space to reflect upon things.
I’m love drunk, I’m sorry. Am I losing you?- This line is written as ‘I got drunk’ in 2D’s journal, so I’m not sure which version is right, maybe they’re both right I don’t know. But from this version of the line, it seems as though the love 2D has for this person is clouding his judgment, he’s begun to ignore their faults and blame himself for everything because he’s so afraid of losing them. Some people believe 2D had something to do with Murdoc’s imprisonment, so the ‘sorry’ could be in reference to that. The ‘Am I losing you?’ part could mean he’s worried that now Murdoc is imprisoned the fate of them is sealed, he’s lost him for good in a physical sense (i.e. maybe he’ll never see Murdoc again). It could also be about how their relationship had deteriorated over the years, mostly because of the whole Plastic beach ordeal. He feels as though the person he loved, has slowly disappeared, which is why he’s grasping at the good times, the ‘fireflies.’
On the page for Fire Flies, 2D wrote ‘You were/are ever-present.’ To me, this is in reference to how Murdoc has always been this looming omnipresent figure in his life. Ever since they met, they’ve never really been apart, not like this, with Murdoc locked up and 2D free to make his own album. Even now that Murdoc isn’t here, a lot of the songs in The Now Now are haunted by him; 2D cant get Murdoc out of his head, which is something further supported by the various pictures of Murdoc in his journal and him writing ‘Where have you gone’ under a broken Free Murdoc sticker. It could just be Murdoc being his self-obsessed self, but even he seems to realise that some of the album was inspired by his absence.
Souk eye
Okay, so I’m pretty sure most people agree that this song is about Murdoc. I mean, the visualizers during the live performances of Souk eye, depict Murdoc specifically. There’s a lot to unpack in this song.
‘LA why you’re so complicated for me’- If we’re looking at this as him really referring to a relationship then the word ‘complicated’, couldn’t sum up what he and Murdoc are any better. Are they enemies? Colleagues? Friends? More? Does he still love Murdoc? If he does then he finds it difficult to grasp the idea of it against all the things Murdoc has put him through.
‘Waiting on the planet to turn to me, dark side’ – got this from genius again, but this person is his whole world, so he’s waiting for them to acknowledge him. It’s like he’s expecting this person to come back to him (Murdoc always comes back). Now the ‘dark side’ bit I’m not as sure on, maybe he means that this person has a dark side? Or that he’s waiting for this person to turn to him, but he’s the dark side of the moon, meaning he’ll never truly be seen by them? I’m not entirely sure.
‘If loving you’s a felony now, then I’m a renegade, riding’- Now given he fact Murdoc is in prison at the time of him writing this, it strongly suggests that he’s referring to Murdoc. In 2D’s journal, there’s a little drawing of a black car with two people in it and a drawing of what appears to be a shark. I’m sure this is a reference to Stylo, where the two of them were literally in a police chase, hence the ‘riding’ part of the song. 2D knows loving Murdoc after everything they’ve gone through is wrong, he likens it to committing a felony, but he can’t help it, he’d abandon everything to be with him again.
‘Trying to find tomorrow ain’t easy ‘til you dive in… Why you rolling waves over me now, that’s all I need, dreaming’ -This imagery of water may be alluding to their time on Plastic beach. Everything was overwhelming and extreme there. 2D has to go to the extreme and ‘dive in’ when it comes to Murdoc, because he’s an intense person. He’s asking Murdoc why he’s ‘rolling waves’ over him, why is he making things even more difficult than they already are? This could just be about Murdoc in general, or maybe about how the physical barrier of Murdoc being sent to prison has made it harder for them to resolve things. Still, it seems as though 2D is fighting through these waves because he wants to stay with him.
‘Waiting on LA to come find me, be forgiven’ -If we’re going with LA representing a person (i.e. LA why you’re so complicated to me), then it seems like 2D wants this person to find him again. I’ve gone on and on about Murdoc always finding his way back to 2D and the band over and over again. 2D wants to forgive Murdoc this time. Maybe he’s telling Murdoc that he’ll forgive him to GET him to come back. As established before, this person is his world, he feels lost without them, so all he feels as though he can do is wait until they return. I’m not saying this was for sure planned or anything but it makes me think back to the line ‘I’ll wait to be forgiven’ in To Binge.
‘I’ll be a regular guy for you, I never said I’d do that.’– Not entirely sure about the ‘regular guy’ part, but maybe 2D is saying that he won’t let everything go, he won’t act regular, and pretend none of the bad things ever happened. He wants them to work through their issues. Alternatively, it could mean he wants this person back so badly that he’s saying he WILL just forget about all the bad things, even though before he said he wouldn’t. This could possibly be a reference to the first song in the album, Humility, where he more clearly wants this person to change before they reunite. Maybe he’s just gotten to a point where he’s so desperate to see this person again, that he doesn’t care if they’ve changed or not.
‘Why you looking so beautiful to me now when you so sad?’
2D sees this person as beautiful when they express their true emotions when they let themselves be emotionally vulnerable. I know this was written before Desole but it’s interesting, that in a one-song gap, Murdoc cries. It may not have been intentional, but Murdoc does seem to express guilt over his treatment of 2D if the tweet below is anything is to go by.
2D wanted Murdoc to be sorry, and again there’s the fact that Désolé MEANS sorry… (I’m jus sayin’)… He sees it as ‘beautiful’ for god’s sake. It’s not super relevant (as it was said like 15 years before this album was written) but surprisingly enough 2D has called Murdoc beautiful before, on an old forum he says, ‘Er… I don’t want to scare you Murdoc, but I’m locked in here with you. I do have a key somewhere but I can’t find it. I’ve been watching you… sleeping and……you’re quite….beautiful… when you’re quiet.’ It’s like 2D sees the beauty in Murdoc when he’s vulnerable and not putting up some kind of front/being a dickhead.
I’ve also heard people say that the title ‘Souk eye’ could be a play on words for s’okay? So It could be 2D telling Murdoc that it’s okay for him to express his emotions, that he wants to forgive him (be forgiven…)
‘I will always think about you. That’s why I’m calling you back on my way through’ – this reminds me of Humility and Fire flies. The fact 2D can’t stop thinking about this person reminds me of the ‘You were/are ever-present’ in 2D’s journal. 2D can’t just forget this person, as much as he wants to sometimes. They’ve had a huge impact on his life and haunt him even when they’re not there physically. And it seems as though he’s gotten over his indecision regarding whether or not he should keep this person in his life (as explored in Humility), because now, in the final song of the album, he IS calling them, Murdoc, back.
‘I wanna stay with you for a long time; I wanna be stone, love. I wanna see LA in your eyes when I’m leaving with your love’ – got part of this from genius- 2D wants him and the person he loves to be immortalised, he doesn’t want to be apart from them. Who else has he been separated from, for him to want to sing about this? I don’t get anything super deep from the rest of it, just that this other person makes him happy, that he wants to see them happy and that he want his love for them to be reciprocated.
Désolé
I’m not sure whose perspective Désolé is written from, but I’m leaning towards it being from Murdoc’s. Anyway, the song seems to be about someone asking for forgiveness, they’re still clinging onto a relationship despite knowing a lot has changed. I’m not sure how accurate these translations are as I used google translate. But I’m sure everybody knows by now that désolé means sorry.
‘Désolé, désolé, contrebande’- I hear contrebande, I’ve seen people say it says something else but it doesn’t sound like it to me. Anyway, contrebande means smuggling, and Murdoc was framed by El Mierda for smuggling. So it’s safe to assume this song is about Murdoc in some way, at least partly. Maybe Murdoc is apologising for his misdeeds? Or if 2D had anything to do with Murdoc’s imprisonment, as some people theorise, it could be 2D apologising for whatever hand he had in it? We know by the end of The Now Now, that 2D seems to want Murdoc back.
‘Désolé, I’m a long way from land. Désolé, I don’t know what to do. Désolé, désolé, try to hold on to you’ – this line gives me Plastic beach vibes, the speaker is on water. If this is from Murdoc’s perspective he could be saying that he doesn’t know why he’s still clinging onto this relationship. Because of the reference to water, maybe he’s reflecting back upon his time on Plastic Beach, where his relationship with 2D took a turn for the worst. He screwed things up back there, but that was a long time ago, he doesn’t know why he can’t just let him go, even after all this time.
‘Désolé, désolé, compliqué. Désolé, I don’t know what to say anymore Désolé, while everyone on the move. Désolé, désolé, I’m tryin’ to hold on to you’ – his relationship with this person/people is complicated. He doesn’t know where they stand anymore. Everybody seems to have moved on without him, he doesn’t know what to say to them anymore. Maybe he feels as though he can’t make anything right again, but even still, he’s begging for their forgiveness. This theme of forgiveness has cropped up a lot. In ‘To Binge’, Murdoc knows that he’s in the wrong, all he can do is hope that the other person forgives him, but he doesn’t know if that will ever happen. In ‘Souk Eye’ 2D is calling someone back into his life, someone he wants to forgive. I think you know what I’m getting at here…
‘Désolé, tous mes fantômes sont bleus. Désolé, désolé, try to hold on to you’ – ‘all of my ghosts are blue’– This line really makes me feel as though it’s not solely about Murdoc and the band as a whole. You could argue that this song is about Murdoc regretting how he’s treated everyone in the band. About how he now feels isolated from them, like he’s unneeded. And I think that’s right to a degree. I think Murdoc here is apologising to everyone, but to 2D in particular. His guilt has haunted him over the years, but his guilt, this ghost is blue. Why blue? Blue could symbolise his grief over his severed relationships, but blue is also a colour we all associate with 2D. 2D and Murdoc have always been the forefront of everything really, even in this video. Now that could be because the video is about Murdoc, and 2D just features in it a lot because he’s the singer, but I think it’s more than that. It’s 2D standing outside as we see the door close behind Murdoc, 2D wearing a hat like Murdoc’s from Plastic Beach. Then there’s On Melancholy Hill, To Binge, Broken, Humility, Fire Flies, SOUK EYE. I dunno I just feel like it’s been building up to this really, or at the very least it’s been building up to this since The Now Now. I think Souk Eye and Désolé are quite similar in a way. The word ‘complicated’ or ‘compliqué’ in Désolé’s case, are both used in regards to a relationship with someone. In both songs, 2D (or maybe Murdoc in Désolé), is ‘trying to hold onto’ a person even though the relationship has been tough. Both songs refer to an illegal activity, i.e. a ‘felony’ in Souk eye and ‘contrebande’ (smuggling) in Désolé. I dunno I just feel like there’s something about these two.
In conclusion, I don’t ship them, at least not in the way I ship anything else. I just think the way they’ve developed as characters, together and separately is fascinating. It’s like there’s always been something more there, this underlying thing that resurfaces in weird interviews or comments or tweets or whatever, but it’s this thing that’s been there a while. They’re not healthy, by any stretch, but that being said it looks as though they’re on their way to mending. I dunno, I’m just interested in seeing where this thing goes, if anywhere at all. I hope you enjoyed reading this crazy mess of opinions. Again they’re all just opinions, I could be completely wrong on everything. Anyways, I wrote over 4500 words in two days which is insane for me, I’m never motivated to write anything, I guess this has just been on my mind for a while. Good on you if you made it this far. Feel free to share your thoughts.
Aw man that was beautiful!
Dig all that you said, thanks for acknowledging that it isn’t healthy but still explaining your points well.





















