Labyrinth Runners - Blog Posts
He was terrified for his LIFE this entire Episode, And I am NOT going to let you forget that.
Anybody else notice how hunter blushes when near Willow?
About Willow, and the difference between forgiving and forgetting
Something I've noticed about Willows' characterization and that I genuinely liked is that she does not FORGET and she certainly isn't gullible.
If Gus struggles with not knowing what to expect from people, and doesn't seem to know who he can call a friend & trust & who he can't, lacking restrait and giving himself away too easily, Willow seems much more balanced.
See Willow is amazingly kind, she's compassionnate, she knows just how to offer support, she's forgiving and believes in second chances. She ISN'T however someone who FORGETS. She has a great balance of forgiving but also keeping herself safe & establishing boundaries. She's willing to give others a second chance and see how things will turn out but she won't go all out & 100% undoubtedly believe that they mean well or won't hurt her (whether they mean to or not). And that might be a detail but the TOH crew has conveyed it amazingly and I really like the moments where we see this aspect of her.
Concrete examples I can think of :
In Follies at the Coven Day Parade, we see for the first time Willow & Amity hanging out on one on one. They are rekindling their friendship after all, so this was important to see. And here, as usual, Willow shows that she's a great friend. She lets Amity come in, she listens carefully to her, she gives advice and she's helpful. No visible bad blood in how she treats Amity. She's willing to make this work ! She asks Amity to braid her hair and doesn't seem in a hurry to make her leave.
But when Amity herself rejoice at how everything is (apparently) as it was and how happy she is to have this back, we see Willow herself simply... hums and not answer, seeming pensive. Which shows that NO everything isn't as it was. Willow isn't trying to take up where things left off : this is a NEW start. They are trying to create something new, but that doesn't mean that Willow has forgotten what happened. She is simply giving Amity a second chance, and doesn't confuse the two.
In today's ep Labyrinth Runners, when the Hexside students find Hunter & heal him; they aren't sure if they can actually trust him. They want GUS back, so much so that one of the teacher proposes handing Hunter over to the Scouts in exchance for Gus, since they clearly want him.
Hunter is visibly scared by this proposition and start to slightly panick, and he scrambles to find a way to prove he's on their side. While he does so, we see Willow in the background passively listening. And she DOESN'T INTERCEDE IMMEDIATLY IN HIS FAVOUR. If you look carefully, Willow herself isn't convinced by this whole situation...
Up until Hunter mentions the "breathing thing" that Gus taught him. At this point, her eyes visibly widens.
And then she starts to vouch for Hunter, explaining that they can trust him. Because THAT is objective proof that Hunter & Gus were hanging out, for an extended amount of time, on friendly terms. You don't show someone how to calm down during an anxiety/panick attack if that someone is currently trying to capture you.
Willow might have forgiven Hunter, and chat with him and be kind & compassionnate to him. But she is CAREFUL with her trust, and won't automatically believe him, even if she thinks he deserves a second chance and appreciates him. She strikes a healthy balance, by being willing to be Hunter's friend but ALSO not forgetting what happened last time she hung out with him.
And I just think that showing these details, and showing it as okay is a great lesson. You can be amazingly kind & compassionnate while still protecting yourself. You can hang out with people and appreciate them and have fun with them all while keeping up healthy boundaries to make sure you won't get hurt again. This is good, and Willow is doing great for herself.