Resisting Everything but Temptation

Day 28, for goodbyebird Favorite character dynamics in The Old Guard?

All of them? It's true, though. Of course I love Immortals in general, and everything about them (the lifetimes of experience, the tragedy of their isolation, the historical flashbacks, the swords!) so give me Immortals led by Charlize Theron as an ancient Greek warrior with a tragic past trying to make the world better, and I was 98% there before the movie even started. And yes, like everyone, I'm a sucker for the unabashedly romantic epic love story of Nicky and Joe. They're like a sneak peek into how I like to imagine Duncan and Methos a thousand years or so down the line.

That being said, the relationship that fascinates me the most is the one between Andy and Nile. One ancient, one so young—but Nile is an extraordinary woman who's already lived quite a bit in her short life, and seeing these two recognize one another as kindred spirits, and build trust together, is absolute catnip. So much is said between them with actions aand expressions rather than words, like when Andy gives Nile the car and lets her go, or when Nile finds the empty magazine and makes the decision to help the team, or when she steps in front of Andy to protect her. And Andy seems to find genuine pleasure and even joy, at least for moments here and there, in the challenge Nile presents. They are both fierce warriors, but both also have a deep well of compassion, as well as absolute clarity when it comes to who they are, and what matters to them. Seeing them find one another and recognize those things in one another is what makes me love them so much—along with the little moments of wry humor ("Wait till tomorrow," never fails to make me laugh in pure delight). And then, of course, there's the pathos and irony that Andy should find Nile just when her immortality is running out—that perhaps it's even because her immortality is fading that Nile gains her own. Yet at the same time, because it's Nile, because Andy sees her for the incredible woman she is, Andy seems to ultimately be finding peace in the natural inevitability of it all. And yet, there's still the streak of determination that isn't so ready to believe in fate the way that Nicky is. She and Nile have that in common, too.

As the flip side of that, I also love the fraught relationship between Andy and Booker, with all the nuance of their parallel battles with despair. I know everyone says Nile is the most relatable character in the movie, but Booker fucks up in the most relatable ways possible, for me. The way everyone on the team reacts to his betrayal is just so full of love and grief and family. And even when he's betraying them, there's so much tenderness between him and Andy, which we get to see in full force when they say good-bye.

And speaking of family, after Andy/Nile, that's probably my second favorite relationship dynamic. I love all five of them, and treasure every moment when we get to see what they mean to each other, from the funny in-jokes like Andy's thing for baklava, to the way they are constantly caretaking and watching out for each other, to the way they function in battle as a terrifying, unified team. Nile continuing to find where she fits in that team is what I most want to see next.

Thank you so much for asking!