WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Moonshot, now streaming on HBO Max.
HBO Max’s Moonshot had many endearing moments, with Walt (Cole Sprouse) befriending Sophie (Lana Condor) to get to Mars. He was using her, pretending to be her boyfriend, Calvin, all so he could chase another girl, Ginny, he met on Earth. Their kiss after one date had Walt thinking they were destined to be soulmates, so the hopeless romantic in him pursued this “woman of his dreams.”
As expected, the film went the clichéd route of having Walt and Sophie realize the people they were going to the red planet for weren’t actually who they were meant to be with. But in the process, Moonshot failed to subvert rom-coms’ most tired trope, forcing protagonists together when they were actually equally unhealthy for each other.
Why Walt Wasn’t Right for Sophie in Moonshot
Near the beginning of Moonshot, Walt lied and said he and Ginny had been dating for a while, ergo why Sophie felt sorry and helped him on the spaceship. But when the truth about his manipulation came out, she called him out for being a toxic liar. Sophie didn’t like how downright creepy this was, admonishing him because it was so intrusive to Ginny as well.
She might have been harsh, but Sophie had a point when she indicated the immature, impulsive Walt was only forcing the chase because he didn’t have his life in order. He kept switching degrees in school, didn’t have a stable job and his life, in general, was a mess. Thus, she realized Walt used romance as a crutch, trying to give himself purpose and distract him from trying to be an adult. In a sense, while he understood them, Walt still objectified women, using them as a means to an end when really and truly, he wasn’t happy with himself.
Why Sophie Wasn’t Right for Walt in Moonshot
Midway through Moonshot, Walt pointed out to Sophie that she was following Calvin’s fixed path rather than her own dream of being an environmentalist back on Earth. Still, she was on the verge of letting Walt know she had to be with Calvin before Walt’s secret was spilled. She ultimately got bored when she did join Calvin’s family, accepting she never followed her own ambitions. Sophie lost her parents at a young age too, so she had a lot of herself to find, ergo why she went back to Earth to follow her dream.
However, when she met Walt stowing away again, kissing him because he was cute and helped her break out of Calvin’s controlled world nullified the sage attitude she showed throughout. Sophie’s mission was way more important, so she shouldn’t have forgiven a man-child who lied to her like that and could have landed her in jail. Simply put, she didn’t know him as well as she should have, even though his intentions were pure. Sure, he inspired and helped heal her, but that’s all the more reason they should have reconciled as friends. It’d have made Moonshot less cheesy and more relatable while also crafting a more nuanced ending.
More so, seeing as these movies have franchising potential, Moonshot could have done a sequel with Sophie and Walt learning to be honest and responsible, working on themselves before exploring if they were compatible partners. Instead, they were rushed back together in a couple of minutes, totally forgetting how they weren’t ready for any romantic relationship.
See how Walt and Sophie made the wrong decision in Moonshot, now available on HBO Max.
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