Spider-Man Far From Home: In Loving Memory Of Second Chances.

(Possible spoiler alert; Proceed at your discretion)

It had just been a regular workday at the end of which I had the house to myself since Thaps, my roommate, wanted to get some curtain shopping done. The original plan was to listen to some pumped-up music and head to the gym. But getting into bed with a packet of ‘Murukku‘ and watching a sappy reality show on Netflix (Don’t ask me which one, because I won’t answer) seemed like the more enjoyable alternative. 

So when Thaps called to tell me that she and Smru were planning on catching the new Spider-man movie, it didn’t seem very appealing. Here I was nicely tucked under the sheets, mid show, mid Murukku, enjoying some low-key chilling. In the end Thaps’ crazy persuasion skills outdid my desire to Netflix and chill and I reluctantly agreed. 

Now I’m usually someone who enjoys cinema with good humor and heart. That was definitely not something I expected from a Marvel movie (And before I draw the wrath of the Marvel lovers out there, I mean a Marvel movie = action movie). And while I’ve heard many Marvel fans talk about why it didn’t hit the mark, it had a way of tugging at my heartstrings and transporting me into a very emotional journey that I hadn’t come prepared for. 

So, here are my top learnings from the movie:

1. Everybody deserves a second chance, especially the ones you think don’t deserve it: Have you ever given someone a second chance knowing absolutely well in your gut that they will blow it anyway? Well, Peter Parker 1 (Tom Holland) probably knew in his heart that he was opening the gates of Hades by attempting to ‘cure’ the bad guys. But he had to try because, as MJ (Zendaya) pointed out, ‘That is who he was.’ Sometimes we give second chances to people not because they deserve it, but because that’s who we are.                
2. Sometimes, the right thing to do is walk away from a second chance: One of the many moments that I was grateful for the darkness in the theater was when Peter Parker 1 walks into the coffee shop to re-introduce himself to MJ and Ned, after their memories have been obliterated of any recollection of him. He looks at the scar on MJ’s forehead, and it serves as a cruel reminder of how knowing who he was would put the people in his life in danger. This, for me was the perfect, most selfless example of ‘I wish you well, but we need to part ways; It’s not you, it’s me.’                
3. Every second chance you get is a shot at redemption: Remember the most painful moment you’ve ever had to deal with? Would you ever relive that moment knowing very well that the outcome could be exactly the same and you would be left to pick up the broken pieces all over again amidst a new, but familiar wave of anguish and disappointment? Peter Parker 2 (Andrew Garfield) is visibly the most damaged of the lot, probably still suffering the guilt of not saving Gwen. As MJ plummets to her possible death in a similar fashion that had most of us gripping our seats and hoping to God he gets it right this time, I wonder for a fleeting second about what I’d do if I was forced to relive my worst moment. Would I be brave enough to try and relive my worst fears once again? Or would I turn and run the other way? That’s a question I’ll leave for another day.                                                                   
4. There is meaning to every goodbye if you have the heart to look for it: The only time it appeared that Peter Parker went off the rails was when he was confronted with May’s death. Here was a person who had stood for everything right and just, lying motionless in his arms, written away as a casualty of the war between good and evil. Peter found meaning to his hardest goodbye eventually. If you are fortunate, you probably have too. But for those of us who continue to seek answers to some sort of ‘goodbye’, there is perhaps some solace in knowing we are not alone. 

It has been quite a few days since I watched the movie, but not a day goes by without me contemplating how every character symbolizes something that each of us can relate with. Be it the Green Goblin as the alter-ego of self that makes you believe you can never change and will never be good enough or Dr Strange as the voice of rationale that forces emotion to take a back seat and look at facts as they present themselves, it has been a truly introspective journey. It will probably be some time till another movie unexpectedly moves me in a similar manner, but I can only hope. 🙂