I know that the deleted scenes showing Deke hugging both Fitz and Simmons and wishing them well and seeing them off has been a lifeline for those of us who wished for more of the family feels
but consider what I’m about to say as well – there is something deeper in this moment than just family love and hugs
this is also about someone who FINALLY gets the chance to say a proper goodbye to the people he loves – someone who isn’t just left behind with regrets and pain but someone who got to make his peace, something that he never got to have growing up
because let’s not forget, Deke lost his mother when he was 9, the kree dragged her away and murdered her because she was smart and she was fighting for the cause – he never got to say goodbye, she was torn away from him and he never saw her again
then his father went on to fight for the cause too, and because Deke got older and more scared about losing his father like he did his mother, their relationship was filled with conflict and anger that when his father got exiled and taken away because of the cause, Deke didn’t have his goodbye then either
that’s two parents, his only family, torn away from him because they went off to fight for the cause and he never got to say goodbye – he was just an orphan left behind to deal with the consequences
but in those deleted scenes, Deke got the chance to say goodbye on his terms finally – he got to hug them, show them he loves them, and wish them well before they went off to fight for the cause – through his grandmother and grandfather, Deke got to say the goodbye that he never got a chance to do with his own mother and father
he got to make sure that they know this time, and that he got to say it out loud, that this time, he’s not the orphan who was torn from what he loved without a choice and left behind like before
no, this time he got to make the choices and he said what he needed to say and showed what he needed to show – he’s not the boy left alone and abandoned, he had his job to do too and he would do his part
the thing that’s haunted him all his life, the fact that he never got to make peace with his father or say goodbye with his mother – he FINALLY got to do it with his grandparents, his only family that he has
this moment speaks so much to Deke’s character and the depth of emotion inside him and in his past that made him who he is, and while I so wish they hadn’t cut this scene, I’m still glad it exists
an orphan left alone in the world, finally found his family and this time, they got to say goodbye before the end
Wide Spread Interests 