the infinite beauty of marvel's final image: captain america's last dance

the anti-marvel ending: a final moment

one of my favorite things about the final scene of endgame is the feeling that it was distinctly a director's choice, as opposed to some sort of boardroom "and then everyone said goodbye" type ending. i feel like i, or anyone else going into this, was expecting some sort of "but wait! there's more!" for endgame, just like all the post-credits scenes of the past. the decision they made to just say "this is the end" was felt AROUND THE WORLD, especially for a marvel project that is built on the whole "and the universe keeps going" mindset. im genuinely so glad they chose to keep the post-credits-esque ending for far from home, because i feel like making this ending any less definitive would've greatly hurt my perception of the movie.

who's gonna die?

i remember everyone debating as to who would be permanently dead by the end of avengers endgame. the two main candidates people were discussing were steve rogers and tony stark. both were there at essentially the start of the infinity saga, and both were leaders of the avengers that stole everyone's hearts from their character writing and performances.

however, even at the time, i never really understood how there was really any debate as to who, if anyone, would die by the end of endgame. iron man was, for all intents and purposes, the first movie in the MCU. i felt like it was super obvious that he'd get his big moment by the end of the movie and really prove himself. not only does it fit in the real world, where actors have contracts that expire and release order exists, but it also fits thematically with Tony and his character arc.

tony stark's story is one of growth. he wants to do better and make up for the mistakes of his past. he wants to be a good man.

"don't waste your life"

these words guide tony throughout every single movie he's in. he wants to make the world a safer place. he wants to make the world a better place. he wants to use his gifts for good. every movie he's in is just tony trying to make another step in proving that he's not wasting his life. prove that he is capable of doing good. prove that tony stark has a heart.

i feel like there's no better way to really bring this theme all together than by having tony prove that his life always had purpose. sacrificing his own life in order to literally save the entire universe from being destroyed. i think his scene with the gauntlet is ESPECIALLY perfect for representing this because tony manages to sneak the stones away from thanos because of his nanotech. its his gifts that made him the only person capable of saving the universe in that moment.

but why not steve rogers?

some speculations arose that potentially all the original avengers would die. i feel like this wouldn't really make sense given hulk never even got his own movie and thor's last movie didn't really feel like it was meant to be a "finale" quite yet, but i feel like steve dying would be the biggest tragedy if this ended up being the case.

steve is the heart of the MCU. he represents wanting to do good for good's sake. every single captain america movie is about steve going against orders and wanting nothing but to do the right thing no matter what he's told to do. he already sacrificed himself, we already know that he's willing to sacrifice his life for the greater good. he sacrificed his life to save new york city at the end of his first movie. the first thing we see him do is jump onto a grenade to save everyone around him. he is the good man that tony wishes he could've been. every choice he's ever made has been to help others. why would he need to prove himself again?

a moment in time...

and so that brings us to the final scene in endgame. no flashy post credits scene. no major gathering of all the marvel heros that have ever existed. no quips or callbacks or anything like that. just a moment. a singular moment in time. captain america finally gets to have is dance with peggy.

"i had a date..."

hearing those words at the end of the first captain america truly still, to this day, gives me chills. i feel the sorrow, the longing, the grief, all of it in his voice the second he realizes what happened. this, truly, is one of the most memorable lines in any marvel movie for me, and it becomes all the more powerful when marvel ends its final chapter (for all intents and purposes) with the most satisfying resolution to his arc. i feel the relief, i feel the finality, i feel the love in that moment. for once in his life, steve rogers put himself before others, and gets to have the dance he's been waiting for for decades. he gets what he deserves. love.

i find it interesting to parallel this ending with tony stark's final words, "i am iron man." that line that ended iron man reaches its emotional conclusion as tony says it right before he dies. what is tony's purpose? he is iron man. he is a hero. he's not a genius billionare playboy philanthropist, he's a superhero. he helps people. he saves people. he does what's right for the greater good.

meanwhile, steve's final line in the first avenger, "i had a date," is the emotional conclusion that we finish with. it was truly the last "post-credits scene" cliffhanger that we were left with before the original avengers movie came out. it's the last thread that was left unexplored, and unresolved. i feel like ending on him, on this scene, on steve, is the most satisfying way they could have ended the infinity saga. he is the heart of the MCU, and this scene acts as a moment of proof that good things come around to good people. it may take some time, but doing good means receiving good.

captain america's last dance

im just taking this section to truly just appreciate the beauty of the scene itself. something i would like to expecially take note of is the slightly open door as we initially dolly into the house.

this tiny, extremely missable detail tells such a beautiful story all on its own, in a single frame. they're so deeply excited to see each other and have that dance they've been waiting for that they didn't even bother to check if the door was closed all the way. genuinely this frame alone makes me feel the love, the longing, the release, the relief. it's genuinely just a beautifully simple detail that adds so much more depth to an already emotionally impactful scene.

most movies typically end with a big dolly / crane shot out to the wider world and imply us, as the audience, leaving the story and the characters along with it, but this movie chooses to push us in. keep us close and stay intimate with the characters that we've spent so much time watching in medium and wide shots fighting and doing stunts and whatnot. this is such an anti-marvel ending because it doesn't leave us with the feeling of "there's more fights to fight." there may be more fights, but we're in this moment right now. we get to enjoy this moment right now. they get to enjoy this moment in time.

the song choice is absolutely beautiful. "it's been a long long time" honestly perfectly encapsulates just how satisfying of a reuinion this is. steve has been a man out of his time for many, many years. he finally has an opportunity to make good on his promise to peggy and and he actually does it. it's been a long long time, but it's worth it... because now he's here...

peggy's smile, their light swaying, the relief that exudes from them as they kiss each other. they finally have each other. they finally have peace. steve finally knows peace. he's allowed to know peace. no more orders, no more battles, no more aliens. just him and peggy.

the choice to end on this is something i will truly never forget about the MCU. despite all the action, the drama, the suspense, and the tragedy, truly the reason we watch these movies is because of the characters. we are deeply connected to tony stark because we've followed him through everything. we're deeply connected to steve rogers because we know he's driven by his desire to do good. everything about the MCU up to this point has been about the characters, and this scene truly solidifies what the infinity saga truly was all about. one man finally making right of all the wrongs he's done, and another finally being rewarded for all the good he's done. his labors and his battles all led him to one beautiful moment in time. one beautiful act of pure love. one soft, slow, emotionally rich moment. captain america's last dance.

conclusion

thats all. i just felt like yapping about endgame because i probably think about this scene like once every day. im never gonna listen to "its been a long long time" and NOT cry, that's how beautiful this scene is to me.

i've never really written a blog post like this before but i hope this was at least an interesting read. sorry if it's not very structured, i've never been any good at writing essays. either way, i hope you enjoyed! i hope you have a wonderful day and i hope you have a beautiful life. be the good you wanna see in the world.

best,

jenny 💖