#ellist

Before I begin, this isn’t a full analysis, just something that jumped to my mind. 

Aster asking Ellie is she’s wearing she’s wearing has more implications that you think. It’s evidence that the water is see-through on some level, as Aster turned around until Ellie was in the water, so she wouldn’t know about this beforehand. If you read the script of The Half Of It, Aster-- bear with me-- is said to be completely naked. You can gay panic now. 

Wait, you say, where did it say she’s naked? When the girls first arrive at the springs, “Aster strips down and dives in.” That’s not nearly enough proof because you can strip down to a certain level but then, when Aster goes to get the radio, it says “Then suddenly she hauls her body - naked - out of the spring.” She’s definitely naked here. The script also says that “Ellie averts her eyes wildly.” I mean, if I was in a hot spring with a girl I liked and we’ve barely even talked before but she brings me to her secret place where nobody else has been and she happens to not be wearing any clothes, yes I would be full blown gay panicking. Completely valid response from Ellie here.

Throw in the fact that the water is pretty clear. Dear god.

Fun fact, when Aster approaches Ellie after the “You know what is silly?” she has full intention to pants her. The exact direction is “Aster wades slowly toward Ellie... removes her glasses... Then PANTSES her. They tussle. Shrieking. Laughing.” Despite this being pretty heart-attack-inducing, it says that later on “Heads together in the center of the hole, floating, staring into the sky. Ellie more relaxed than we’ve ever seen her.”

Ellie and Aster have a very real connection that goes past Ellie’s romantic feelings and Aster’s curiosity. They click together in a way that’s extremely hard to find and it’s beautiful.

I like to think that Aster wasn’t just curious when it came to Ellie. She was also starting to develop feelings for her, whether she knew it or not. It’s a very subtle thing but that’s what makes Aster unbearably curious and able to open herself up to Ellie so readily. She doesn’t know what she’s feeling either but she acted on an impulse and she and Ellie connected.

That’s it for my partial analysis of the hot springs scene (there’s more to talk about!). If you’d like more analysis, just drop me a message and respond to this or something, I’ll see it. 

When Aster kisses Paul that night, it’s to ground herself. I can elaborate more on this but I feel that it deserves a separate post from this. The thing about The Half Of It is that it is very, very well written with many layers to it and while it can enjoyed on the surface level, peeling it back and understanding what goes through the different characters heads also has its own form of beauty. Thank you, Alice, for gifting us with this.

Ellist (the teach): You are now a woman.

Ellist: All your innocence is gone.

Some dude: Aren't there, like, four seasons?

Girl in my English class: Yeah, all four seasons...