Does Andrew Garfield realize he’s the world’s perfect dreamboat of a man right now? Does he also realize that basically every interview he gives about tick…tick…BOOM! and Spider-Man: No Way Home is going to make us sob uncontrollably?
We dare you to try to listen to Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast without crying about what he said regarding Gwen Stacy and Peter. It’s nearly impossible, and all the fan art that’s coming from his words is making it that much more gut-wrenching.
If you’ve yet to figure from Garfield’s Peter saving MJ, the episode is proof of the fact that we are supposed to linger on this scene. Horowitz does the Lord’s work by getting to the nitty-gritty and having Garfield break everything down, resulting in a lot of tears. As we had all imagined watching him in that haunting moment, Garfield is thrown right back into the moment where he loses Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. “The image is enough,” he tells Horowitz taking a few moments to then wax poetic about what a sensitive soul Zendaya is to work with by touching on MJ asking if Peter is okay.
As if that weren’t enough to floor us, he breaks it down even further by stating: “I’m not seeing you in my arms now, I’m seeing Gwen not breathing in my arms now. You can feel Gwen’s hand on Peter’s back going you can rest now.” We’re happy to know that Peter Parker #2 can rest, but…when can we? When will this stop making us cry, and more importantly, when will Spider-Man: No Way Home be available for digital purchase so we can re-watch the scene a thousand times a day.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention brilliant artist Opu draws on Instagram who provides us with the most painfully beautiful visual.
In all seriousness, Andrew Garfield’s sensitivity, along with his transparency to discuss painful situations, is a genuine gift. Those of us who’ve experienced grief cried with him when he mentioned his late mother on The Late Show. Garfield calls grief all the unexpressed love, and there’s never been a more beautiful way of vocalizing how we continue to express our adoration for those who’ve passed. How we choose to honor them and who we choose to be in the wake of their passing.
We hope he realizes that by sharing his grief with us, it makes it easier to process some of our own by reminding us that this pain is something we all go through. It’s something that binds us all as human beings no matter who we are or what we do.
Andrew Garfield’s compassion and care for humanity are manifested so brilliantly through each of his roles, especially in the two recent films. While he might not realize what an impact he has on fans at the moment, one thing remains clear–he’s bringing his A-game and heart to everything. He’s thinking things through as deeply as we do and ensuring that emotions are honored because vulnerability is always a source of strength, whether in the fictional realm or the real world. He gets it, and we couldn’t appreciate him more if we tried. (This is a lie because he’ll probably do or say something entirely wholesome tomorrow that’ll increase our adoration even more.)