Shelby Carleton

I'll go character by character, just for fun! There are 10 Eternals! Without going into too much detail, let's start with the flying guy: Ikaris.

Ikaris has an old love with Sersi. This love was clearly something beautiful. It brought him back at the end of the film - he was overcome with it, and it ultimately allowed him to stand down against Sersi and trust her.

Sprite. Sprite is thousands of years old but trapped in a child's body. She's in love with Ikaris, but because of her physical form can never be with him. She wants love so badly she betrays Sersi. However, love brings the two back together, and paves the way for forgiveness.

Thena. Thena loves her warrior ways, but after holding too many memories, she becomes unable to control her violence. She struggles to remember who she is, but it is the love of her friends that helps her through. As Ajak tells her in the beginning, "you are loved."

Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh loves Thena, and is the one who cares for her over the years to help her remember who she is, and not lose control. He tells Thena the reason he stayed with her was because "it's just what you do when you love someone. You protect them."

Druig and Makkari. These two are a new love, one that began to blossom at the end of the film. It is naive, and sweet. Druig also struggles with his love for humanity. He wants to take away the pain, but understands that without these flaws, humanity wouldn't be the same.

Ajak. Ajak is the leader of the Eternals. She loves them all dearly, and they are very much a family (albeit dysfunctional at times). Her love is what guides them until the very end, especially as she grows to love humanity and chooses to advocate for the people of earth.

Phastos. Phastos has a family back home. His love for his husband and son drive him to want to save earth, despite seeing some of humanity's greatest tragedies (that he helped engineer by bolstering our technology). He finds love amidst the pain he's witnessed.

Kingo. Kingo is a kind of self-love. He seems to think of himself first in his narcissistic personality, and abandoning Sprite. In the end, he grows a little, where his love for his friends help him make the choice not to fight them (though he doesn't wish to help humanity).

Sersi. Sersi loves Ikaris deeply, but loves humanity more and does her best to save the earth. In the end, she is extremely forgiving. She forgives Ikaris, and Sprite. She radiates power, and makes her choice out of nothing but love, believing humanity is worth saving.

Love was always there, embodied across all of the characters in a myriad of ways. I thought this was beautiful, because at the very heart of the movie is a question I found I've been grappling with as of late: is humanity deserving of love? Some days I'm not sure.

Some days I find it really easy to slip into my doom scrolling ways, and to think "fuck all of this." That the end is near, and nothing matters. That people are inherently cruel and that's all there is to it. I saw these same thoughts reflected in the Eternals.

Their various doubts, regrets, rage, and love for humanity all packed into one. They wept for themselves and for each other. They experienced betrayal and learned how to live with it.

They pieced themselves back together as they watched humanity rip each other apart, and still, after thousands of years, decided we are all still worthy of love.

They reminded me that all of these feelings can co-exist, and that ultimately, it's okay to love something that's flawed. It's okay to hold onto hope, and to believe humanity is worth saving.