Don’t y’all sleep on the fact that Richie and Stanley were BEST friends. Richie’s growth with himself and his secrets/fears is directly tied to his acceptance of Stan’s death and how he was strong even, especially, in death.
Richie stayed because stanley couldn’t. Richie stayed because the two of them always showed up for each other, even when no one else did.
Richie: [in denial and pushing him away] Sacrifice? I nominate Eddie. Richie: [in denial and unable to let him go] He’s alright, no, he’s just hurt, we gotta get him out of here. He’s just hurt. He’s okay –
eddie’s face after richie tells him “you’re braver than you think” just absolutely destroys me, he looks like he’s close to tears because he’s never been told something like that before. all his life he’s been told he’s fragile, weak, etc., but then there’s richie, telling him he’s brave, and strong, and it clearly means the world to eddie.
bill’s inability to write good endings is obviously tied to his unresolved/repressed childhood trauma but i also think it extends into him searching for solutions or feelings he no longer has the wrong way, leading to the ‘wrong ending’, the tragic ending. for example, audra is a direct parallel to beverly and his young love for her, he slips as says she’s not who he wants her to be, but when he and beverly kiss again he gets this look on his face like it’s still not what he was searching for, he doesn’t love her the way he once did. but who do we see him affirming his love for throughout the film and at the end of the movie? mike hanlon. even when mike slips up, bill forgives him and believes the best in him, keeps trying with him. The closure he attains after killing It and realizing he’s not at fault for georgie’s death helps him finally free his imagination/creativity and write better endings. But there’s still the issue of it being a happy ending, which is where mike comes in. Because mike still checks on him after the battle, wants to support him and make sure bill knows he loves him. For Bill, Mike brings those feelings back, of nostalgia and happiness and unconditional love. He’s not using him to escape or latch onto something that’s no longer there, bc the love that they share is still there, has never left. Mike Hanlon is the good ending for Bill, the happy ending, the rightending
