I’ve seen a lot of thoughts about how Edwin arrived at the worst moment of Charles’ life and offered him uncomplicated kindness without asking anything in return. How he promised not to hurt him and proved his word was good. How he found him huddled in an attic, alone and painfully cold and stripped of all his usual charm and strength and ability to prove his worth, and offered him light and warmth and friendship just because. How of course Charles latched onto this boy who made his death a warm memory.

But Edwin’s perspective on that meeting is just as powerful. It’s not clear how much of the attack he saw, but he knows enough to say he can simply extinguish the lantern if the other boys come up. And the first thing we see him and Charles talking about is Charles’ reasons for intervening - that it ‘just didn’t seem right to let that kid get beat on because he’s from Pakistan.’ He knows Charles is dying. And he knows it happened because he wouldn’t stand by and let someone else be hurt.

Edwin was unpopular and isolated and visibly different and was murdered for it by a gang of boys who thought tormenting him was a good laugh. And the first thing he learns about Charles is that Charles doesn’t let that happen on his watch.

How long has it been since someone protected Edwin like that? Have they ever? Certainly he had no protection in that cellar in 1916. Nor in Hell either.

And then Charles dies and Edwin tells him to move on, that he can’t stick around with Edwin just because he feels like it. And Charles looks down at his corpse, at the proof that doing what he felt was right got him killed, and says that’s how he lived his life and he’s not going to change now. That he knows what being a hero cost him and he’d do it again.

How do you not fall in love with that?