Russet & Gray

Enchanted Chapter 19 - maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/83410346/chapters/230357726

The title of this chapter is from All Too Well (10 minute version) aka the greatest Taylor Swift song to exist. I will not take any others for consideration. 🧡

If you haven’t read Enchanted yet - get ready to feel the intense relief of finding your person, through Judy’s eyes 🥰

Heeee!

If you remember, for at least half the film, Nick had been treating Judy & her investigation as just a big joke.

But then she did something he never would’ve expected--  She stood up to Zootopia’s most feared crime boss without flinching or backing down, & through the act of simply caring, she had unknowingly saved Mr. Big's daughter & thus earned his favor in return.

After hearing Mr. Big's account of what happened, Nick finally recognizes the severity of the situation-- They're dealing with something way bigger than just a simple missing mammal case. It's no longer just a "pretend investigation". It's real. From this point on the jokes & insults stop, & he starts to take both Judy & the investigation much more seriously (e.g. convincing Manchas to open the door & locating the van on the traffic cameras in Bellwether’s office).

The actual turning point was during the scene between Judy, Nick, & Chief Bogo.  He learns that Judy’s determination to solve the case was never about seeking praise or promotion.  She’d been given an ultimatum, staking her career on solving the case, & had been set up to fail. Nick sees himself in Judy at this moment.  Her dreams are about to be crushed by someone who wrote her off before even knowing her.  It didn’t matter how hard she worked or how much she proved herself to be capable of during her time at the academy.  No matter what she did, she’d never be good enough.  She’d never be anything more than what the rest of society had already determined her to be.  Small.  Weak.  Helpless.

It’s not just the realization that Judy is much like himself--  Nick is now also realizing that he’d been essentially treating Judy the same way the rest of the world treated him. He chose to live up to their expectations, but in doing so, became the type of person he couldn't stand, & he doesn't want that. So he does the one thing he wishes someone else had done for him when he faced a similar challenge as a child.  He stands up for Judy.  He chooses to believe in her.