Spider-Man: No Way Home did an incredible job of balancing everything it was trying to tackle without hanging any of its characters out to dry. It didn’t sideline Ned and MJ for Peter to tackle all his villains, and it did a great job of exploring Peter and Michelle Jones-Watson’s new relationship as they dealt with Peter being in trouble because of Mysterio and going to school while the “court of public opinion” was judging his every move.
Yes, MJ and Peter aren’t always the heart and soul of Peter Parker’s stories, but this time, it was beautiful love letter to this teenage love story we’ve watched unfold for the first three movies of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, so getting to see them explore their feelings for each other this time around was beautiful. So, let’s unpack their arc in No Way Home and why it worked.
**Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home lie ahead.**
Throughout the movie, MJ shows time and time again that she knows Peter better than anyone, and that’s including Ned. Peter instantly apologies for doing things without consulting them, and she shows him that she gets why he did and just expresses her hope that he’ll include them in his plans next time. She gets why he doesn’t want her to help, and she tries her best to stay out of it for as long as she can.
They, for the most part, get each other. And it’s such a movie of young love and these two just wanting to be together while still navigating Peter’s status as Public Enemy #1. But where the movie really shines is when MJ realizes that she’s going to forget her entire life knowing Peter.
Peter comes to Ned and MJ and tells them that he’ll find them and make them remember him—that he will make sure they’re together once again. So, when MJ and Ned trust him, and when MJ tells Peter that she loves him and won’t let him respond to her, she fully believes that Peter will come to them.
And he does, for the most part, but he also does an incredibly Peter thing and decides to not tell MJ or Ned about their history to spare them from a life with Spider-Man. Personally, I think MJ still knows. She’s wearing the necklace that Peter got her when he goes to see them, even if he doesn’t ask or push them into remembering. He lets Ned and MJ go, and while I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see them, it is such a Peter move to push MJ from him in order to “protect” her.
I love what this movie did with their relationship, and MJ refusing to let Peter say that he loves her too makes it so that Peter isn’t just going to let their relationship fade for him. Hopefully, we’ll see MJ and Peter once more, but man did No Way Home nail their dynamic for me.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
