The biggest movie of the century, Avengers: Endgame was complex, action-packed, funny, thrilling, intense, emotional and the most satisfying finale of all time. But as most superhero films, it did have a few potential plot holes. Or at least we think that they were plot holes. Well, one little scene which did seem to be a plot hole was when Nebula explained how Thanos came back with the Soul Stone, while Gamora didn’t come back at all.
This had people thinking that Nebula knew about the deal of the Soul Stone’s retrieval. Everyone thought that she knew about Thanos killing Gamora for the Soul Stone. So people were left asking about Nebula not warning Hawkeye and Black Widow about the deal with the Stone. So in theory, Nebula was still evil. But that totally wasn’t true and now the creatives have cleared this confusion.
Endgame digital release brought us an exclusive commentary from Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Joe Russo & Anthony Russo. Here’s what they said on the track:
“McFeely – It should be noted, I’ve seen this on the Internet, that Nebula doesn’t know about the exchange that’s required at Vormir. No one knows other than anybody who was there. She just knows her sister didn’t come back.
Joe – She knows her sister went there with her father and her sister didn’t come back, and he left with the stone. So only assumptions can be made about what happens on that planet, but who knows? She could have tried to stop him and he murdered her. We have no idea.
Anthony – He could have simply murdered her, because he finally got what he wanted.
Joe – The only one who really knows is Red Skull.”
Now obviously, the Avengers would know as well since Hawkeye did tell everyone about what what happened at Vormir. We know that Black Widow is a hero that deserves the biggest credit for what she did, but Hawkeye also deserves credit for what he went through. First of all, he also tried to make the jump. He knew that he was the right one to make the jump considering what he did in the past 5 years. But he didn’t get a choice and that’s the worst part of it. Now he has to live with the guilt of the last 5 years, and not being able to save her.
Those two really loved each other. It wasn’t in a sexual way, as it was something even beyond that. It was the mutual respect and affection that they had for each other, which made them eligible to make the trade for the Soul Stone. Apparently, there was supposed to be a scene that would have established their love for each other. Co-writer Stephen McFeely spoke to the Los Angeles Times and revealed this scene.
He said:
“There was a scene between Natasha and Clint Barton en route to Vormir, so they leave Morag, and then they basically just have a long conversation while the Quinjet is on autopilot. We thought we needed it because it was gonna remind you that they shared a relationship, meaning that they loved each other, which is of course a prerequisite for what’s gonna happen on Vormir. It needed to have that relationship in order for the Soul Stone to be gotten. It turns out you do not need that, because you’ve watched all the movies, and you know they love each other. And they’re great actors, so it takes two lines and not an entire scene.”
Really, the love between Hawkeye and Black Widow was pure. The sacrifice could have worked either way. There was a version of it where Hawkeye did make the jump successfully. But ultimately it felt more fitting to have Nat make the jump as her story arc was complete with her getting the team, her family back.
Avengers: Endgame is a beautiful film and there’s no denying that.
