#wowowowowowowowow
We are all gathered here today for a quick yet thorough elaboration on one of my previous hot takes: You honestly don’t want me to write an entire essay on how these two have been “platonically” married for the past four seasons. No vows or rings may have been exchanged between the two but they sure as hell have been acting like the most married set of individuals I know. So here I am, writing this small meta on how this has been coming for a long time.
Where to begin… I would say with respect. All well written relationships that I personally enjoy begin with a level of trust and respect and this exactly what they have given the audience. Melinda and Phil have gravitated towards each time and again, like they’re each other’s constant you know? It’s this layer of their relationship that gets them to where they are now. All those times where they’ve had each other’s back and been at their most vulnerable has led for them to quickly prioritize each other and raise each other to a level of importance that is hard to tear down. I mean, THEY HAVE HISTORY to prove it. They have endured so much together (and not just everything they have shown us but also all the implied past missions.) If it begins with this kind of emotional connection, it is easy to see where it might lead to a deeper emotional connotation. It is not a huge leap.
Second of all, I’ve always felt that with Melinda she has always been very clear with regards to her feelings. The fact that she had to make it clear to her husband at the time that she “works” with Phil and is “married” to him speaks volumes. If we were to ever have a confession of love back in season 3, that was it for me. At least on Melinda’s behalf. To me, Melinda’s feelings towards Phil have always been extremely transparent yet never fully divulged where you go “yes, she LOVES him” if that make sense. Melinda was always more of type to demonstrate how actions are louder than words (since she too is also a woman of few words.) It was all in the subtleties with her. I always go back to that scene where Phil is injured in a desert (I think it was the desert) and Melinda rushes off a helicopter and checks his pulse and right there, ever so swiftly, we see a soft and relief smile play upon her lips. See right there? That’s the kind of subtleties this show has been playing with since the earlier seasons. I could listen several but we all know that “You mean a lot to me. A lot.” takes it all. We have Melinda “I Can’t Show Vulnerability At Any Cost” May confess what’s probably already been demonstrated but never articulated to Phil. She was so adamant about it as well, like she had to make him understand how much she cared and how much she valued his trust and that she would never betray him. Never.
As for Phil, a character I enjoy in every scene, this has been the seasons of realization for him. His storyline and the way he has brought himself to this particular phase in his life has been some form of awakening. I think because Melinda May has put barriers all throughout her life, including with Phil, it’s never really been an option to go there for him. I think unconsciously he’s loved her all his life but has shut that particular part away because he never really thought it would happen. He tried finding love elsewhere and it didn’t pan out. It was like he was always drawn back to her or life would draw them together again. Yet, he’s always known how important she is to me. There’s never been anything else to imply the contrary. He’s fallen down some major crisis whenever May leaves him or is emotionally cut off (yes, the “left hand” reference goes nicely right there.) Also, why else would Edward James Olmos’s character take Melinda? Yeah, pretty self explanatory. Anyways, aside from all the side jabs from other characters who reference the closeness and familiarity between the two, there’s the concept of time. They are two grown adults in their prime who have literally died and have quickly reassessed what’s really important in their lives. Nothing quite like death to make you realize what’s really important. This is exactly what’s happened to Phil. He is no longer waiting. There is nothing left to hold them both back. No husband. No past commitments. No emotional baggage. Phil has finally “woken up” to what has laid dormant within him, as cliched as it sounds.
All in all, the sheer level of intimacy between these two throughout all the seasons should make it apparent where the writers were going. I think they have laid a nice framework and are now executing it to perfection because these two were never a huge leap, in terms of narrative. They were going there one way or another.
p.s. Phil Coulson pulling Melinda May as close as possible during that kiss should tell you everything and how long he’s waited to do that. Also, it’s true love if he knows you like tea instead of coffee.
Meta for @marcuskaen
This is Perfection. Also, alternatively titled, Meta Showing How Philinda Have Been Soulmates From the Very Beginning.
