spiderman brand new day narrative arc was so well written his growth was peak
i watched the movie and i have so much to say
SPOILERS OBV!!
something i loved so much about how spiderman brand new day was written was how the narrative arc actually reflected and only rewarded peter’s growth when it comes to actually reaching out and letting people back in his life. the movie didn’t hand things over to peter, including mj’s love and ned’s friendship when peter was the one who forced himself to leave it behind. however, when he is proactive and tries to connect with others honestly, the movie rewards spiderman and us with hope.
in short: when mj found out without peter reaching out to her as he should have done, peter is not rewarded for his inaction but is forced to face the truth that things have changed. however, when he reaches out to hulk by saying “its peter”, hulk stops. when peter approaches ned at the end of the movie all on his own, ned’s muscle memory kicks in and the narrative rewards peter’s growth with hope.
okay long ass rant time:
lets begin with MJ! peter, although we can understand why, still fails to communicate and tell MJ the truth about everything when he should have done a long time ago, pushing her away in fear of dooming her as well.
hence, when MJ is seen to have moved on, while we can pity Peter, its the narrative showing the consequences of him having pushed her away, in which peter is finally forced to properly acknowledge the consequences of never reaching out himself to tell her the truth — losing his soulmate. peter is also forced to acknowledge his selfishness in his decision to not tell mj (and ned) as he should have done earlier (however, the movie acknowledges while peter’s decision was incredibly unfair, his messed up mental state, losing everything including his identity and insane guilt complex is not terrible reasoning for why he did what he did, even if peter should have done differently.)
peter is of the idea that the world has forgotten and moved on without him, and that reaching out is pointless at best, and dangerous for those he loved at worst. the narrative refuses to reward peter’s continued dishonesty (i.e not even telling Ned or MJ his real name at the house party), and instead forces him to stare at the consequences of pushing everyone away right in the face, where peter isn’t protected by distance or a phone screen and has to reckon with the truth that he may have truly lost them.
again, on the roof scene where jean is in control of mj (although peter is unaware of this at the time) it is again not peter reaching out and telling her himself but “mj” figuring it out. what is so good about this is peter is not rewarded for his lack of proactiveness, and instead jean dangles what he could have had if he tried all those years ago. it presents the “ideal fantasy” and fairytale ending before the grim reality stares us right in the face.
when MJ finally finds out the truth, it is not from peter’s lips, but her stumbling upon the letter he intended to give her instead. peter is not rewarded for his cowardice, and mj yet again does not remember him. (i think something important to note is the fact that mj refers to the letter being written to a “different person” — in my opinion this could represent quite literally the fact that years have passed and mj has matured and changed and does not have these memories anymore and thus the letter feels jarring — and thus peter hanging on to what they were rather than properly acknowledging they have irrevocably changed in which the letter is addressed to a memory he is clinging onto rather than the woman mj is now
OR it could allude to the fact that the problem with the unsent letter lies in the fact that again it is a cop-out, a refusal to face her and tell her the truth and thus does not feel like it is for the mj now in which peter still cannot bring himself to reach out to someone that he views as a living ghost he is mourning, rather than a real person who deserves to know the truth about a massive chunk of their life no matter their feelings afterwards. )
yes, there is the memory aspect in mj obviously not being able to love a man she doesn’t even know, but i think the fact that the letter feels so impersonal makes peter’s attempt to tell her the truth obsolete and empty because he is still unable to reach out to her on his own without danger or accidents forcing his hand, and thus it prompts nothing within her because peter’s attempt to connect with her is jaded by the fact that he didn’t choose to tell her, making it feel like a betrayal. there is no connection there because peter is still suppressing himself (quite literally with the inhibitor) and thus it does not feel entirely honest because peter still refuses to embrace who he is and who he was.
sure, ive gotten into how the narrative doesn’t reward peter for his cowardice and criticises the fact that he does not reach out on his own to others, but what about when it rewards him?
frank (and to some extent, yelena): the beginning of peter actually having to reach out and rely on others, he relies on frank (not yelena as much, ngl, but its worth a mention) to help him with mj, and peter is rewarded in the end when his bond with frank strengthens in return by the end of the movie because the narrative rewards peter’s growth in learning to reach out not only for help, but for connection.
hulk: during the fight, he says “its me, peter” (or something along those lines sue me if i dont write down the script while watching) in an attempt to appeal to bruce, and it WORKS. the reveal of his identity is vulnerable especially with the trauma of mysterio, and he genuinely wants to help bruce, which represents peter reaching out despite his fears, and despite the risks, not just for himself, but for others too. he again reaches out with the same fear he could not overcome with mj and ned: rejection. it may not have worked, but it did, because the narrative rewards peter learning that its okay to reach out and connect with others, even if it makes you vulnerable.
finally, ned. ned only seems to remember at the end of the movie with the muscle memory of their handshake. this is the hope given at the end of the movie. why? because peter has finally reached out on his own volition, without trying to hide behind a letter, but instead facing it head on as he should have done and as his friends deserved all along.
another thing i like about the implication is that it means the memories may be more recoverable than we think. with mj and peter, i don’t think it’s unlikely they’ll get back together again, however, it would likely be on mj’s terms (and rightfully so— mj also reaches out in the movie, even if she cannot love peter, she can’t help but care for him (there is potential there with time)). the three of them will probably hang out and reconnect, and maybe even get their memories back along the way (i don’t think it’s the memories that will draw mj back to peter romantically though, like the movie said, they’re different people. even if the gaps are filled in, mj and peter will fall in love with the people they’ve become, not with the people they were.)
i don’t see it being some grand event that would make mj fall in love with peter, but instead one of the softer moments such as peter hanging with mj and ned and how peter clicks so perfectly with them both that she slowly begins to love him again, just a different him than before. peter finally is able to learn to embrace and love who his friends are now, rather than the memories of who they were.
as a side note: when mj, ned and peter are hanging out in the apartment, i think it then alludes to the way peter should have gone about it all along. tell them, allow them to sit with it, but give them the chance to get to know him again and reconnect and they’ll fall back into their habits the way they did before. we can really see then not just the toll on mj the movie touches on, but the real significant damage its done to peter— he’s been so alone for so long that he’s forgotten what its like to simply be human, to just be with others in the same space.
which is why i think the whole monster inside peter with his mutation may be an allegory for peter having to accept not only himself, but change. (this is keenly seen in his discomfort with the whole spider documentary about growing up— although its a gag at the grossness of it, you could also interpret it as peter’s rejection of letting things change, which is stopping him from growing, maturing, and being happy.) it’s that eventual acceptance that allows him to let others into his life, and to connect with mj and ned again. not accepting change made him stagnant, unable to properly evolve, and didn’t just hold him back physically, but mentally as well because he’s so stuck in the past that he cannot heal from it. it’s also a physical manifestation of peter’s true fears— that spiderman is dangerous and he only brings death to those around him. in reality, the isolation and repression is what is truly making him worse.
peter is forced to recognise that he has changed, and so has everyone else, and that instead of staying stuck braving it all alone, all he has to do is reach out a hand to others to move forward.













