#if she were selfish she never would've stuck around on that beach

[drewsaturday]

long rambly annie appreciation post

i love my feral gremlin child annie SO much and i think something really fun about her is how she just... has no Need for relationships besides Dog?

she does seem to benefit from hanging out with charlie, and there's some potential there with irene. but she's stuck it out on her own so long she and dog can take care of themselves. she doesn't need to be nice and polite because she doesn't need anything from anyone else and even if she did she'd more realistically use force to get it lol.

and i mean, i can't even blame her because the first humans she came across in a decade shot at her best friend. besides the fact force is a solution she knows works and the fact she's been alone so long she's never HAD to consider any other solution, how can she trust any of the humans she just got thrown into these situations with?

we did see her actually develop a bit as well when she decided to stay with irene's camp, possibly showing a willingness to be open to relationships (or at least her knowing she and dog can't brave this one alone.) she had irene apologize instead of letting dog maul her. but i like that her personality didn't change all that much in the meantime.

i like that she's didn't feel pressured to start playing nice because like, she doesn't owe that to anyone. she has pretty much no reason to act nice and polite... i don't even think she knows HOW to honestly (see: her immediate "oh my god this coffee?? it's DISGUSTING" reaction in episode 1 instead of trying to pretend she's grateful for their attempt to warm her up j;lkLKJ).

and i particularly love how she didn't fall into the pitfalls of like, in stranger things having el see herself in the mirror and go "pretty o:" because... annie has no concept of society anymore. she has vague memories of a mom, she has a small child's understanding of the world she came from, but the only expectations she feels are 1) to survive and 2) to be dog's best friend.

i also loved that despite forgetting so much and adapting so hard, she DID still care that irene didn't find her for 10 years. she did love her dad. and so i have to wonder if that sense of betrayal, the impending doom of knowing someone you love will just die, is another factor in her being so Annie. she said it herself - any time someone had told her she's safe, they've died. people are weak and fragile and they're going to fail her, but she and dog are strong and invincible and that's Safe (i say, hoping dog survived that finale).

why change that now?

#skull island tag #all that to say i think if anything we've seen some development for her accepting that she and dog #can't survive this situation alone and that maybe there's some value in learning more about other people #i mean she keeps saving charlie and mike even tho dog doesn't like em all that much aj;lksdf she knows they're on her side #but that doesn't mean she's suddenly going to be nice and polite about it #she's tried playing nice a bit like admitting she doesn't rly know how friendships work and letting irene live lol #but this is a Lot for a KID who has spent most of her life in her own little world with dog and i don't #think it's fair to expect much else from her #i think honestly if anything it's cool that the show isn't forcing much else on her #OH ALSO ALSO!!! SHE CAN BE SO THOUGHTFUL like she saw everything they put kong through #and still wanted to hand him back the necklace #she didn't see him as just a means to an end despite the survivalism i've mentioned #she knows the necklace is important to him even though she has no idea why #she knows--because of dog--that these creatures can have so much heart #he helped save her and dog and she wanted to return the favor #if she were selfish she never would've stuck around on that beach