Nemeses that make peace/make up

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I’m wondering if there are any shows/films where the two archenemies make peace (legitimate peace, not on anyone’s deathbed). It should be by authorial intention, rather than merely a ‘valid’ interpretation. The question came to me when someone told me last night that they’d rather
WARNING: spoilers below
Jesse & Walt made up & got back to being a team
in the Breaking Bad final. To me that would be utterly ridiculous, but that’s not the point. It made me wonder whether there are actually such examples where it’s psychologically and diegetically grounded, rather than being random or some sort of ****-off ending. If this thread makes zero sense, I’ll delete it in a few hours.



If this thread makes zero sense, I’ll delete in a few hours.
I hope you mean you’ll delete the thread not delete yourself.
__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



⬆️ While you’re at it, tell us what this word means. “diegetically” is a word I never heard of.



I can’t go on a long rant, sadly, because I’m writing from my phone.

Okay, this just deleted itself. Oh, my technological woes. I think basically it should be made obvious and stated in some way: not just implied. No narrator, obviously, but we should get a line of dialogue or some fairly strong indication from ‘inside’ the story that it’s definitely the right interpretation that the two parties made up, rather than the director saying so, or something like that.

When I said ‘diegetically grounded’ I just meant it should be important to the story that they make peace and it should be the focal point where everything is going. That’s making it kind of unlikely something like that exists...



Wish I could think of any characters who have done this.
Likewise, I do realise it’s a hopeless venture...

P.S. I don’t mean it in any kind of cheesy way, either. It could well end up being absolutely terrible for both of them.



There were one or two instances in The Wire when two characters had a rapprochement. One involved Dominic West’s character & one of the street guys.



Bodie and McNulty from The Wire is a good example, but McNulty's archnemesis was actually Stringer Bell. He was obsessed with Bell.


Arya and Hound could be an example, but eventhough she hates him and he is on her list, again not strictly archnemesis. That would be Cersie, but Arya never makes peace with her.


PS: This is an excellent thread by the way. I will keep thinking about it, but in the meanwhile I hope someone else comes up with an example.



I was trying to think of someone from The Sopranos, but came up blank. Seems like most relationships there started okay & then all hell broke out.



I was trying to think of someone from The Sopranos, but came up blank. Seems like most relationships there started okay & then all hell broke out.
Indeed. Chrissy & Tony never quite hated each other and never quite made up.



Indeed. Chrissy & Tony never quite hated each other and never quite made up.
LOL. Seeing as how Tony murdered Christopher, no, they never quite made up.



I think that you can look to some long running series, especially fantasy type shows, where enemies sometimes become allies.

For example, the character arc of Cordelia in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I also have in the back of my head a film where two teenage girls are rivals (for a boy's affection?) and then realize they are both being played and become friends/allies, but the title and specifics are eluding me right now.

I think that such arcs are often pitched as redemption arcs for characters who start out as bad and then reform.

EDIT: An excellent example of this would be the complex dynamic between Harold and Root in the series Person of Interest. A really excellent, nuanced look at how two people with some very strongly opposing views might come together not only against a common enemy but ultimately also because of some values that they share.



I think that you can look to some long running series, especially fantasy type shows, where enemies sometimes become allies.

For example, the character arc of Cordelia in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I also have in the back of my head a film where two teenage girls are rivals (for a boy's affection?) and then realize they are both being played and become friends/allies, but the title and specifics are eluding me right now.

I think that such arcs are often pitched as redemption arcs for characters who start out as bad and then reform.
Glad you joined the thread. I just logged myself out trying to set up a new laptop and it was mental trying to log back in, I had the tech crash of the year. Gmail, iCloud, everything. Honestly makes you wonder how to function without technology. Anyway, I don’t quite mean that they become ‘allies’ as such, ideally, I’m looking for a situation where no one becomes ‘good’ or redeems himself (not quite, anyway). Just a kind of ‘understanding’, I guess, more like the ending of Heat, though that one is more like showing respect when nemesis is defeated.



Just a kind of ‘understanding’, I guess, more like the ending of Heat, though that one is more like showing respect when nemesis is defeated.
So just characters who have been in conflict coming to a place of "peace" with each other?

You could maybe consider the end of A League of Their Own and the resolution to the conflict/competition between Dottie and Kit.

You're wanting things where opposing characters come to accept each other or end their conflict?



The trick is not minding
Delroy Lindo and Nic Cage in Gone in 60 seconds remake.
Lindo spends the majority of the film trying to catch Cage, but eventually they come to a mutual respect for each other, especially after Cage saves his life.
Is that more what you’re looking for?
Neither were the bad guys per se in this though. Just opposite sides of the law, and this adversaries.



Delroy Lindo and Nic Cage in Gone in 60 seconds remake.
Lindo spends the majority of the film trying to catch Cage, but eventually they come to a mutual respect for each other, especially after Cage saves his life.
Is that more what you’re looking for?
Neither were the bad guys per se in this though. Just opposite sides of the law, and this adversaries.
Yes, I think so. No particular requirement that either is a ‘bad guy’.