So the scene everyoneâs talking about is the scene with Liv and Engel in the change room. It was obviously primarily designed to show Engelâs insecurities as she watched Liv in the mirror, a girl with larger breasts than her own, and a girl who she generally wishes she looked like. But I canât help but draw connections between this scene and one from a romantic comedy called What If.
In What If, the protagonist, played by Daniel Radcliffe has feelings for a girl, but she has a boyfriend, so in order to stay friends with this woman, heâs hiding his feelings. So they become best friends, and one day theyâre out shopping and she finds this dress she thinks is beautiful, but itâs a size 2, and even though she insists that she is a size two, it gets stuck going over her shoulders and she gets her friend to come in and help her get it off.
The love interest in the movie is getting dressed, but since the dress is stuck it becomes intimate, with her only basically being in a bra and underwear. [this scene does contain non-consensual viewing of this woman in an intimate state, though she invited him in she asked him to close his eyes]. This is the look he has on his face.
Then we have Engel, whoâs in a dressing room with Liv, and Liv too is in a very intimate state, sheâs in her pants but her bra is only half on. In addition to that, itâs a bra thatâs definitely sexy and meant to be enjoyed. This is the look that Engel gives Liv.
After this connection, I began to look back at some of the other scenes that Engel has had this season and came upon this one. It reminds me so much of a romantically intimate gesture, the forehead touch.
Obviously they didnât kiss and werenât about to, but most of the time when people are touching their foreheads together, itâs because of romantic intimacy.
And of course, we have the scene with Isa. Unlike the og, where it was depicted as a drunk kiss, with the sloppiness and disjointedness to support it, the kiss between Engel and Isa didnât have these factors. Theyâre both still, it doesnât seem rushed, their hold each other and kissing in a way that seems at odds with the situation around them, it seems calm, not messy. It seems, dare I say it, intimate.
Do I think that theyâre trying to build up a plot where Engel is in love with Liv? No. But I do think that theyâve put Engel in multiple intimate situations with girls that would, without a doubt, fit quite perfectly into a rom com, in fact one already was like a scene from a rom com. All of this is to say that I hope they donât let this fade, whether it was purposeful or not, theyâve given a great foundation for a wlw Engel.