A Reflection on the Most Emotionally Charged Moments in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Warning: This article contains major spoilers.

What a movie.

All my fellow Spider-Man fans out there — I imagine you’re just as speechless as I am. Marvel and Sony really outdid themselves with this one. The cameos, the connections, the collaborations … the list just goes on.

Since seeing the movie last night, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Thinking isn’t even the right word — it’s more like feeling. So much happened, and frankly I don’t know if I have the emotional capacity to process it. I certainly haven’t managed to do so yet.

I am hoping that writing about it will help me, and I hope reading this helps you as well. I encourage you to interact with the article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

Without further ado, let’s just get into the scenes (in no particular order).

When Peter, MJ, and Ned are rejected from M.I.T.

Quick and understated, this sequence might get overlooked. However, that doesn’t make it any less impactful. We can see how hurt Peter is when he realizes his best friend and girlfriend were rejected from their dream school simply because of their association with him. He feels completely hopeless, seeing no other choice other than showing up at Dr. Strange’s doorstep to ask for help. The scene is made more powerful when juxtaposed with the end of the movie. We’ll come back to it momentarily.

When Peter refuses to let Dr. Strange send the villains back

When all the villains are gathered (after Peter botches Dr. Strange’s spell), Strange prepares to send them back to their own universes. Peter objects, insisting they can’t just be sent to their deaths. Strange counters with the assertion that nothing can be done about this; it’s their fate to die at Spider-Man’s hands.

Their argument is expected, but what’s particularly surprising is Peter going as far as trapping Strange in the mirror dimension and stealing the spell, all for the purpose of curing these villains and giving them a second chance. Peter’s purity and innocence — his drive to do what is morally correct — is on full display here. And the fact that this morality is tested time and again later in the movie comments on how even the best of us can completely crumble under the pain and cruelty of life.

When Doc Ock is cured

Dr. Octopus’s eyes in this moment are a sight to behold. The way the directors emotionally connect the audience to this character — a villain, no less — is absolutely brilliant. After so many years of pain, suffering, and control under the hands of his tentacles, Doc Ock finally feels free.

The whole movie, and perhaps this scene most of all, is a lesson in empathy for those that mistreat and hurt us. Sometimes, they’re the ones suffering most of all. Recognizing that and helping them — as Peter did for Doc Ock — is the best thing we can do.

This was only halfway through the movie, but the relief and peace in Doc Ock’s voice permeated the theater and instituted a sense of calm amidst the emotional storm of the movie. Even thinking about it now relieves me.

When May dies

This is arguably the most gut-wrenching occurrence in the entire movie, made worse by the fact that for just a moment, it seems Aunt May will survive. Peter losing the closest parental figure he’s ever known — yes, even closer than Tony — is nearly impossible to watch. No one in the theater wanted to believe it, but we all knew it was coming the moment May said these words to him:

“You have a gift. You have power. And with great power, there must also come great responsibility.”

I don’t even know what to say. You can see in Peter’s eyes how broken he is and how nothing seems to matter anymore. And worst of all, you can see he blames himself, just as every other Spider-Man in every other movie did.

But this time, one thing was different. Peter would have the chance to benefit from the wisdom of his predecessors.

When the other two versions of Spider-Man appear

The theater’s reaction was unparalleled by any other movie scene I’ve ever watched. Every member of the audience was clapping, screaming, and cheering. We’d waited and hoped for this, but actually watching it happen was ethereal. Even better, Andrew and Tobey’s personalities remained unchanged. Already, you could feel just how good of a team the three Spider-Men would make.

From this point on, I will refer to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man as Peter-3 and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man as Peter-2, as in the movie.

When Peter-2 and Peter-3 comfort Peter

Remember how we talked about pain and suffering destroying even the best of people? For the energetic, lively Peter Parker, Aunt May’s death was the shattering point. When MJ and Ned find him after May’s death, he’s not the Peter we know. Heartbroken and bitter, he isn’t even phased by the presence of his other-dimensional counterparts Peter-2 and Peter-3. He confesses to being done with all of this, regrets having taken responsibility for the villains in the first place, and tries to release Strange’s spell to send them back home — but MJ doesn’t let him.

That’s when Peter-2 and Peter-3 begin telling their stories. We catch a glimpse of how their lives progressed after the movies we saw years ago ended. They tell Peter how bitter they themselves were after their loved ones were killed, with Peter-2 admitting he exacted revenge on Uncle Ben’s killer — only to discover it didn’t make him feel any better. The scene was quiet and emotional and satisfying. Watching Spider-Man learn from older versions of himself is one of the most touching moments on this list.

When Peter-2 refers to Gwen by an unexpected name

I don’t know what it was about this moment, but my friends and I all agree it was perfect. It occurs during the above scene, when Peter-3 tells Peter about losing his girlfriend — who viewers know to be Gwen Stacy from the Amazing Spider-Man movies. He describes how he couldn’t save her and is still haunted by it.

But when he shares who she was with Peter, he doesn’t call her Gwen or his girlfriend. His choice of words is subtle, and it is unclear why it hits so hard. Maybe it’s because we’ve become so attached to Zendaya’s character, or perhaps it simply reminded us of what we ourselves have to lose. Whatever it was, it was perfect.

His voice shaking, Peter-3 croaks,

“She was my MJ.”

When Peter, Peter-2, and Peter-3 learn to work together

Watching this, I felt complete, unadulterated joy. I can confidently say it was the same for the rest of the audience members.

After a rocky start, the three Peters meet under the Statue of Liberty (in the middle of fighting four villains, no less) and admit they are a mess. Having worked with the Avengers, Peter tells the other two they need to work as a team, and so they come up with a plan.

Honestly, even more gratifying than the actual fighting is when the three of them land one-by-one in the signature Spider-Man pose. At the risk of sounding elementary, there really is only one way to describe it: so freaking cool.

When Peter gets angry, and Peter-2 saves him

This is an extremely well-done sequence. When only Norman Osborne (aka The Green Goblin, who killed Aunt May) remains, we see a different side of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Osborne taunts Peter, calling him weak for not killing him by releasing the spell, to which Peter responds,

“I wanted to kill you myself.”

Releasing all his anger, Peter beats the Green Goblin to an absolute pulp. As he does this, Peter-2 and Peter-3 exchange glances, recognizing a younger version of themselves in Peter, and realizing they have to stop him.

Just as Peter is about to deliver the final blow with Goblin’s own glider, Peter-3 steps in front of him and stops him. This hearkens back to the end of Spider-Man 3, when Harry Osborne — Norman’s son and Peter-2’s best friend — stepped in front of Peter-2 to protect him from an identical glider attack, dying in the process. Thankfully, Peter-2 doesn’t die (they had us scared for a second there).

This scene was made more powerful by Peter-2’s initial silence. He says nothing, allowing Peter to release all his anger, but protecting him from the darkness of becoming a cold-blooded murderer.

When MJ says “I love you”

Because of a rupture in the spell caused by Osborne’s grenade, the only way to protect the multiverse is for Dr. Strange to wipe Peter from everyone’s memory— including Ned’s and MJ’s.

When Peter says his goodbyes, MJ finally states she loves him. He goes to respond, but she hushes him and tells him to wait.

“Tell me when you see me again.”

Just … wow.

When MJ and Ned forget Peter

After it’s all over, we see Peter return to the same doughnut shop they all opened their M.I.T. rejection letters in earlier — only this time, he sees Ned and MJ were both admitted.

We see Peter speak to MJ, ready to tell her everything. Ready to reciprocate her love. But seeing how much easier their lives are without him, he is unable to do so. Heartbreaking as this scene is, we see Peter make the decision assuredly, at peace with himself. It stands in sharp contrast to the uncertain, worried Peter from the movie’s beginning.

When Peter-3 gets his redemption — 7 years later

This is not chronologically in the correct place, I know — but I had to save the best for last.

In the midst of fighting the villains, MJ falls off the Statue of Liberty in a slow-motion sequence identical to Gwen’s fall in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Peter goes to rescue her but is unable to do so. Seeing this, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man screams, “No!” and jumps after MJ, ultimately catching and saving her.

I’m tearing up just writing about it. For those familiar with Andrew’s movies, Gwen’s death was unexpected and terrible. Peter-3 tried to jump after her, but it was too late. By the time his web reaches her, she has already hit the ground.

When Peter-3 catches MJ, he holds her in the exact same way he held Gwen’s lifeless body all those years ago. The look on his face reveals a deep-seated heartbreak, the culmination of years and years of guilt, shame, and suffering. For him to be able to save Peter from that same misery — well, there really are no words.

Final Thoughts

Writing this, I cried at least 4 times. I admit it was a cathartic experience.

I had been waiting for this movie all year, and it surpassed my already high expectations. I wrote this piece to process the mess of emotions I’ve been feeling for the last 18 hours, and I hope it serves that purpose for anyone who reads it as well. If you have your own thoughts on the movie or want to point out other scenes I missed, I’d love for you to leave a comment below.

Beyond that, there really isn’t anything left to say.

Until next time, my fellow Spider-Fans.