The finale opens with awkwardness in the club room for the third time, but the flavor is different. The prior two times have been Hachiman acting like his earlier solipsist self, alienating his friends. Now there's a measure of trust and connection between the three, but they don't quite know how to manage friendships which, from Yui and Yukino's perspective, have begun to catch fire.
And into this relatively normal situation comes the worst possible thing: that's right, Haruno's last scene. She is literally Satan here, combining her own ignorance, the truth, and outright lies to make her younger sister confused, unsure, and afraid. Maybe she's just testing her, but there are ways of testing that will help (see: Hiratsuka-sensei and everything she does and says); the only interpretation that comes to mind is that Haruno wants to be entertained by watching her younger sister work her way out of this test and perform something interesting to watch. This woman is an absolute monster. No, Yukino most definitely has a self, and she's rapidly becoming her own person vis a vis her mother and sister; yes she is definitely changing, and yes of course she has no idea how to act upon realizing she's in love with a friend, especially when acting on that love would almost infallibly hurt - and hurt deeply - another friend; but because Haruno is right about that, it makes it seem to Yukino as if she's right about the rest, too, all of which makes her more prone to being frozen in stasis, not less. Where is Sensei when you need her?
That scene is probably the ugliest in the entire series, and leaves a filthy taste in the mouth. Thankfully, there is Yui to the rescue, and they all go to her house, where we get one of the most beautiful glimpses at family done right: Yui and her mom. Given how Yukinoshita-san and Haruno are, it's hard to imagine how anyone, let alone Yukino, could maintain a healthy relationship with them, Hachiman muses (thank God the show explicitly recognizes that!), and Yuigahama-san illustrates the difference clearly, despite only being in frame for about ten seconds or less. In large measure, Yui is who she is - friendly, pure of heart, and excitable - because of her family, particularly her mother. I wish we saw more of her, but even what we get is enough to see how close Yui is with an adult (role models, sans Hiratsuka-sensei, are completely absent in this series) and how it's made her such a beautifully-souled, healthy human being, capable of deep love and enduring friendship. It is a deeply desirable thing, and Yukino hungers for it at once. Being a stranger in your own family is a terrible thing. She had nobody until Hachiman, Yui, and Hiratsuka-sensei came along, and Haruno is trying her best to destroy even that.
The last half of the final episode is difficult to understand. Yui asks Yukino to go out the next day, and calls Hachiman to ask the same thing - so both Hachiman and Yukino think they'll be alone with Yui, who claims she wants the three of them to enjoy a day together, but also tells Hachiman that she's not the nice girl he thinks she is (consciously or unconsciously echoing Hayama's words). And in truth, though the banter of the three is normal and enjoyable, there's a smoldering tension that makes these scenes hard to enjoy, like waiting for the other shoe to drop or expecting a crash. We don't have long to wait, because there's an adorable sign depicting the behavior of monogamous penguins. According to Yui, if each of the three realizes and articulates the way each feels, they won't be able to stay the same. So her final request is for each to "fix their problems," i.e. find a way to stay together throughout all that, even granting one or two of the three will be hurt by the outcome.
Part of the reason Hachiman keeps quiet about all of this is because he can't see an outcome except where everything falls apart and he's left with nothing (and I can't either), but in the end he puts his foot down and insists they struggle, writhe, and look for something genuine as friends. And in that moment, threatened as they are by division (all I can see in their future is the ending of White Album 2), they are reunited, together again; the communion between the three of them is palpable. It's a mark how much each of them has grown; Yukino is freely vulnerable before her friends, Hachiman is genuine about what he wants, and Yui asserts her longings at the risk of fracturing communion. None of this would have been possible when they first met, and each of them, through Hiratsuka-sensei and each other, have accomplished a more than minor miracle. Perhaps that's enough to give hope that they'll be able to stay together in the future.
And into this relatively normal situation comes the worst possible thing: that's right, Haruno's last scene. She is literally Satan here, combining her own ignorance, the truth, and outright lies to make her younger sister confused, unsure, and afraid. Maybe she's just testing her, but there are ways of testing that will help (see: Hiratsuka-sensei and everything she does and says); the only interpretation that comes to mind is that Haruno wants to be entertained by watching her younger sister work her way out of this test and perform something interesting to watch. This woman is an absolute monster. No, Yukino most definitely has a self, and she's rapidly becoming her own person vis a vis her mother and sister; yes she is definitely changing, and yes of course she has no idea how to act upon realizing she's in love with a friend, especially when acting on that love would almost infallibly hurt - and hurt deeply - another friend; but because Haruno is right about that, it makes it seem to Yukino as if she's right about the rest, too, all of which makes her more prone to being frozen in stasis, not less. Where is Sensei when you need her?
That scene is probably the ugliest in the entire series, and leaves a filthy taste in the mouth. Thankfully, there is Yui to the rescue, and they all go to her house, where we get one of the most beautiful glimpses at family done right: Yui and her mom. Given how Yukinoshita-san and Haruno are, it's hard to imagine how anyone, let alone Yukino, could maintain a healthy relationship with them, Hachiman muses (thank God the show explicitly recognizes that!), and Yuigahama-san illustrates the difference clearly, despite only being in frame for about ten seconds or less. In large measure, Yui is who she is - friendly, pure of heart, and excitable - because of her family, particularly her mother. I wish we saw more of her, but even what we get is enough to see how close Yui is with an adult (role models, sans Hiratsuka-sensei, are completely absent in this series) and how it's made her such a beautifully-souled, healthy human being, capable of deep love and enduring friendship. It is a deeply desirable thing, and Yukino hungers for it at once. Being a stranger in your own family is a terrible thing. She had nobody until Hachiman, Yui, and Hiratsuka-sensei came along, and Haruno is trying her best to destroy even that.
The last half of the final episode is difficult to understand. Yui asks Yukino to go out the next day, and calls Hachiman to ask the same thing - so both Hachiman and Yukino think they'll be alone with Yui, who claims she wants the three of them to enjoy a day together, but also tells Hachiman that she's not the nice girl he thinks she is (consciously or unconsciously echoing Hayama's words). And in truth, though the banter of the three is normal and enjoyable, there's a smoldering tension that makes these scenes hard to enjoy, like waiting for the other shoe to drop or expecting a crash. We don't have long to wait, because there's an adorable sign depicting the behavior of monogamous penguins. According to Yui, if each of the three realizes and articulates the way each feels, they won't be able to stay the same. So her final request is for each to "fix their problems," i.e. find a way to stay together throughout all that, even granting one or two of the three will be hurt by the outcome.
Part of the reason Hachiman keeps quiet about all of this is because he can't see an outcome except where everything falls apart and he's left with nothing (and I can't either), but in the end he puts his foot down and insists they struggle, writhe, and look for something genuine as friends. And in that moment, threatened as they are by division (all I can see in their future is the ending of White Album 2), they are reunited, together again; the communion between the three of them is palpable. It's a mark how much each of them has grown; Yukino is freely vulnerable before her friends, Hachiman is genuine about what he wants, and Yui asserts her longings at the risk of fracturing communion. None of this would have been possible when they first met, and each of them, through Hiratsuka-sensei and each other, have accomplished a more than minor miracle. Perhaps that's enough to give hope that they'll be able to stay together in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment