Things I Like and Stuff

He's mad at himself for expecting anything different, for being stupid enough to hope. He's mad at himself for not being able to stay away from her in the end and that his inability to let go has lead to her being in danger. He's probably mad at Jean for putting him in this situation. He's definitely mad about the circumstances. But he's not mad at MJ. He gives her a lift home because him being nice to her isn't dependent on her returning his feelings. He loves her, yes, but this is also the kind of person he is. He can get his heart broken and in the same breath he can agree to give that person a ride home. He can get the shit kicked out of him and his emotions messed with and the love of his life threatened, and he'll still jump in front of the bullet meant for the girl who did all that.

That's part of what makes him a good hero. The whole universe can be set against him and he still keeps getting up and protecting people and doing what he thinks is right.

And I also really empathize with MJ in that moment because you can tell that even though she doesn't return his feelings, as they're heading back to her home, you see the look on her face and you know she feels for him. She saw how lonely he was even before all this other stuff came out and put things into horrifying and tragic perspective. She cares about him. She wants him to have good things, to have people in his life, even if she doesn't think of herself as a romantic option for him, she does reach out to him as a friend. And that's really what Peter needed at the time. He needed a friend. And MJ saw that and not only did she give that to him, she pushed further and brought him and Ned together.

Honestly their whole relationship in this movie is so good. It's heartbreaking but it's also so so good. I think you can see the strength of their connection even through everything. They care about each other. They still have an understanding of the other, even if MJ doesn't remember him, she does *get* him. She's the one who says that he's a good guy who might just be changing, way before Peter even thinks to embrace his new powers. She understood his situation better than he did and she didn't even have the full context of what's going on.

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I like that Ned remembers in the end. I think that rules and I don't even care how it's possible. He's magic, it was muscle memory, the power of friendship is so strong nothing can stop it, take your pick at any of these I don't CARE. If they decide to take advantage of how ambiguous it was at the end and be like "oh no he was just realizing he was Spiderman." I'm gonna be PISSED. Cause actually this moment was like the culmination of Ned's whole arc in the movie and if you take that away from him I will riot.