It's Time To Talk About Peter And MJ's Diner Scene In Spider-Man: No Way Home
The following article contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
Watching "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is arguably the most fun you can have in a movie theater this year. There are plenty of moments to get you out of your seat cheering, from Tom Holland's Peter Parker meeting the other two Spider-Men we've seen on the big screen to the litany of jokes. It's an absolute riot, but that doesn't mean there aren't moments that will put you in an existential quandary.
Numerous heartbreaking moments from "No Way Home" seem designed to rip out your heart and leave you in tears. Of course, there's Aunt May's (Marisa Tomei) death scene, where she tells Peter that with great power must also come great responsibility. And then comes Peter's big choice, where he decides the only way to save his reality is to make Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell to make everyone forget about Peter Parker. He gives a heartfelt goodbye to old and new friends alike, but there's at least a glimmer of hope on the horizon. M.J. (Zendaya) tells Peter to find her after the spell is cast so that they can be together once again. Things are looking up, but as any Spider-Man fan knows all too well, things have a way of not panning out for the web-head.
Peter realizes his responsibility to keep M.J. safe
Once the world forgets about Peter Parker, it seems like we're about to witness one of the sweetest meet-cutes put to film. Peter has a whole speech prepared where he explains to M.J. everything that's happened between them, but then, Peter notices something.
M.J. suffered a wound on her forehead that's still healing when Peter goes to visit her. She likely can't remember how she got the injury, but it's there. And Peter knows how she got it. She put her life in jeopardy during the battle at the Statue of Liberty to help him, which resulted in her falling several stories to what would've been certain death if Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man wasn't there to catch her mid-air.
Peter seems to reflect on this fact for a moment, and instead of reading from his speech, he puts it away and leaves. It's heartbreaking because we, as the audience, know precisely what his thought process was like. He knew that if he came back into M.J.'s life, she'd put herself in danger once again being with him. Villains would try to kidnap her, or she would try to help out, which would put her into precarious circumstances. Peter would undoubtedly like one person in his life who still remembers him, but he also recognizes it's his responsibility to keep those he loves safe.
It perfectly contrasts the beginning of the movie when Doctor Strange attempts to cast the first spell. Peter gets in the way and tries to make all of these exceptions. He tries to get a perfect life, but it ends in chaos. This time around, Peter does what's best for everyone else, even if he has to suffer.