About As Gay As They Come.

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“you deserve love, too.”

Happy Pride month people, i love you all :D

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About this whole “surrogate mother/daughter” description for Dani and Grace…

I’m sorry, but there is no indication whatsoever that Grace see’s Dani as a mother figure, nor does Dani view Grace as a daughter. I have to call BS on them trying to describe them as having a “surrogate mother/daughter relationship” because there was nothing that even remotely suggested that’s how they feel towards each other. 

Everything about how Grace acted towards Dani felt more like she looked up to Dani as a leader and not that she saw her as a parental figure. Even when she reveals to Dani that they know each other, the way in which she talks about her is like how someone would sound talking about a person they’re deeply inspired by and–dare I say–in love with. The way she looked at Dani in that scene and talked about her gave me strong Daenerys and Jorah vibes. Where Grace believed so deeply in Dani as humanities savior that she would’ve followed her anywhere. Her entire speech made it sound more like “I love you and I swear fealty to you” instead of “You are my mom and I love you.” In fact, nowhere in the entire film does Grace ever say that she see’s her in a motherly way. The only thing that this “familial bond” rides on is that one line about Dani raising her. But even with Grace saying that there’s still no indicators about it being familial.

To further drive that point home let’s go back to that scene in the plane where Grace goes over to Dani and tells her that it’s her who is the future and not her child. That happens right after she reveals to Dani how they know each other. However, instead of her focusing on their relationship and talking about how she became like a mother to her, she instead talks about her greatness and legacy in a very inspirational way. Once again reiterating that she views her more as her inspiring commander and is trying to get the point across of how incredible she is, which that could also be interpreted as her expressing her romantic feelings for her. Especially, with how Grace looked up at Dani as she was saying all of this (Look, that’s the price you pay for casting Mackenzie Davis in this role. Every look she makes towards another woman is going to inherently be seen as being queer whether that was its intention or not).

I also want to emphasize another scene which was when they were on the train and Grace gets angry at Sarah for having assumed that it’s going to be Dani’s son to save humanity and not her. The fact that Grace got so irritated by her comments alludes to her probably being annoyed with Sarah claiming that Dani isn’t the one who is of importance. Which further defends that it’s probably because Grace thinks so highly of Dani (a very classic “watch your tongue when you’re speaking about my queen!” kind of energy).

Everything about Grace points to her being someone who ended up falling for the person who saved her life and thus swore her loyalty to. Even at the very end when her and Dani are having their final goodbye. The way Grace acted didn’t feel like she was having the last goodbye with someone who she saw as a mother, but to the leader she had dedicated her life to and was ready to sacrifice herself for.

As for Dani, it makes no sense that she would feel any kind of maternal feelings towards Grace when she didn’t even know her yet when she comes back to protect her. I doubt Dani’s thoughts when a tall, androgynous, attractive, muscular woman from the future who says she’s her protector (and possibly was even a couple years older than her at the time or the same age) was “I feel a motherly connection to you.” Dani feeling scared for Grace’s life and quickly becoming affectionate and close to her didn’t feel like it was her viewing Grace like a daughter. That was her genuinely forming feelings for her that–dare I say again–were possibly of the romantic kind.

The way she implicitly trusted Grace and felt comfortable being close to her was similar to how Sarah felt for Kyle which, may I remind you, turned romantic in a very short time span. In fact, Dani’s entire story is basically a reflection of Sarah’s story from the first Terminator film. So, if Sarah could fall in love with the person who came back from the future to be her protector after one night than why would that be a stretch for Dani to do the same thing in a little under two days? Dani falling in love with Grace–the person whose duty it is to keep her safe–seems a lot more logical than her viewing her as a daughter.

A scene that hints at that being the case for Dani is during the final battle when Grace dies. Right after that happens Dani yells at the Rev-9 about having taken everything from her, in which she was clearly referring to Grace as being part of what she had lost. That clearly indicates that Dani had formed strong feelings for Grace which from my perspective were feelings of love. There’s also the scene of them being stopped at the border where Dani surrenders and when Grace tries to stop her she clearly looks straight at Grace and says “They can shoot me but I’m not watching you die.” Once again displaying that she deeply cares for Grace to the point that she was willing to put herself in harms way for her.

With Dani her feelings for Grace definitely seemed to reflect what happened with Sarah in the first film. In that she fell for the person who was meant to be her protector (and can you blame her? I mean, have you SEEN Grace?). Dani being invested so deeply in Grace felt like someone who ended up falling for their protector and didn’t want to see them get hurt.

What really gets to me about this whole topic is that Dani and Grace being love interests would’ve made MUCH. MORE. SENSE. Everything in the film heavily alluded to that being the case between them while literally nothing points to the actual relationship that they ended up having. It literally felt like they tried to keep their relationship vague and/or more in the “queer subtext” department but then at the very last second decided to make it a “surrogate mother/daughter” relationship. That’s what kind of peeves me because even from a story standpoint them being romantic partners in the future would’ve worked a lot better. It also fits a lot more accurately with how their relationship was displayed onscreen when you start to look at the little interactions that happened between them and start to analyze those moments. Things like:

The way in how Grace talked to Dani throughout the film. There was nothing in the way that she talked or addressed her that felt like there was some underlying parent/child connection going on. Instead, at times it felt like we were watching two girlfriends whenever they would show their affection for each other, their concern, and even when they had disputes. An example of that was during the plane scene where they’re having an argument about keeping to the plan of destroying the Rev-9 and Grace tries to object but Dani continues to refuse to listen. Afterwards, Grace ends up shaking her head and says “I’ve seen that look too many times before.” To me that line felt very domestic. Like partners who recognize when the other is determined to do something and they know they’re not going to be able to convince them out of it. 

Then there was all the scenes of them always making sure the other is okay and touching each other. Like when Dani gets locked out of the hotel room and Grace opens the door and they both have a moment where each of them asks if the other is okay. Then there was that one shot of them that was sadly cut out of the final product where Grace unlocks the cage that Dani is in and she runs up to her and cups her face. Or the scene where Grace falls against the wall from crashing again and as Dani stands up they still continue to keep their fingers locked together. And then there’s the scene of them in the river where Dani and Grace actually hug each other. All of it felt very ‘subtexty’ in nature.

There was also that look that Grace gave Dani in the truck when she was sleeping on her lap and she was watching her. That definitely didn’t feel like a familial look, heck, even Sarah seemed to notice something was up between them.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that so much of how these two interacted with each other hints at something romantic happening between them. It just feels like a more natural way to go with these two. And in terms of the story, it would’ve made everything a lot more impactful in my opinion. Just think of how much more heart-wrenching the ending would’ve been if Dani realized that her and Grace were partners in the future? Think about it:

Throughout the film Dani would’ve ended up falling for Grace and forming a very close connection with her. To then be told by Grace later on that they actually do end up together in the future which causes Dani to now fully fall in love with her since she now knows their relationship. But then to have to deal with the pain of having these new and intense feelings for Grace only to know that she’s going to have to die in order for Dani to make it out alive. And even though she knows they’ll have a future together, it’s still painful having to watch her die in front of her and also now knowing exactly how/when her death will happen.

Then for Grace think about what she would have to go through. How her taking on this mission she knows that she’s not going to make it out alive. So, she would have to say goodbye to Dani in the future and go through that heartbreak. Only to then immediately see her in the present where now this Dani doesn’t even know who she is. So she has to spend this entire time protecting her while also not knowing how long her time with her will be. So she has to go through the emotions of both loving that she gets to be with Dani again. But also the pain of knowing it’ll come to an end once more and how this time spent together feels like it’s becoming more of just a longer drawn out goodbye for her. Although, by the end, Grace would’ve finally found peace with it.

Finally, it also would’ve made the ending pack more of a punch since it ends with Dani’s last line being “I won’t let her die for me again” in which she is referring to Grace. That would’ve set up a really exciting and heartwarming plot for the next potential film where we know that Dani is determined to not have her partner die for her which definitely strengthens, not only these characters connection, but also our investment in these two. How beautiful would that have been if that was the case? For them to have reflected the love story of the first film. But this time around with Dani and Grace they now have a fighting chance to protect each other and keep their love alive. 

send help. i'm dying.