The Man Who Fell to Earth Explained | The Real Tragedy of Icarus 

I have Mockingbird sitting on my "to read" shelf. Need to dive into it!

he never loved her.

@@plasticweapondespite him having lots of affairs with her he only loves his wife I don’t know if there is such a thing as cheating on his planet plus it’s obvious how she always makes a move on him and never the other way around (the times where she walks over and kisses the side of his face as she pleads him to stay with her) like he said he doesn’t hate her he doesn’t hate anyone but he never actually loved her the gun scene shows how depressed and driven to the edge of sanity he is and the isolation is the icing on the cake the playful sex with blanks is more of getting off steam than genuine intimacy kinda mirroring the professor previously sleeping with his students Mary-Lou loved Tommy but she was just an addiction to him. She introduced him to alcohol and sex and the more he was with her the more he craved it. Tommy at the end of the movie is no longer the same man he was in the beginning. Still wants to go back home but now a troubling alcoholic. He tried to stop it by keep mentioning wanting to go back to his planet and his wife but she always found a way back to him. Not even his alien form scared her off permanently even if it made her so scared she pissed herself You can see when he smugly smiles as he turns on all the tvs while ignoring Mary-Lou’s crying and pleading that he never loved her. Even if he did kinda use her he did care for her though. He did try to leave her the house and some of his money and even later his ring which didn’t fit but she didn’t want any of it He tries to call for her when the doctors have him wear his contacts permanently showing he does care for her. It’s hard to have a friend when they love you and you don’t feel the same he just kinda went along with it as he needed to move on with his plan

@@GlitchyHalo thanks for sharing the thoughts on their relationship. It really puzzled me greatly and I have been looking for discussions everywhere about the movie. I think Tommy had love for Mary-Lou but more of the generic kind of love that is for humanity. But it is not the kind of lustful love that Mary Lou has for him. In the beginning, he needed her help, to have all the tvs or everything else, but among them, I'd say her being around doesn't make him feel so lonely on his quest to save his plant. However, Mary-Lou might have been not the ideal choice for him to accomplish his goal. She distracted him a lot on his path. Tommy has gratitude for her that's why he also left her the house and making sure she is well off financially at least. When Mary-Lou returned to Tommy as he was locked up for experiments, she asked Tommy to stay again. But here you could see, Tommy lost it and struggled as he cried. He is torn apart by his mind and the complication of his feelings. Yes, Tommy doesn't really "love love" Mary Lou, but after long time being together and having her as his only consolation and the person to cheer him up for quite some time, it is at least not to easy to have no feelings at all towards someone. I think Mary Lou tried to love him, yet I don't know why she didn't really help him and ended up with Nathan. And why did Nathan refuse to tell Tommy about Mary-Lou's whereabouts? What is his motive though?

@@user-fo7nh7ln3c yeah Also it’s interesting to point out when at the end Mary-Lou says to him “I don’t think I love you anymore” and Tommy replied “And I don’t love you.” See how he just says that and not anymore? Shows that he never actually loved her Also it was really hard for her as she technically betrayed Tommy by her and Nathan telling the government what Tommy was and that was how he was ambushed and locked up. She was crying as she did it.

if you say so.

I think if he never met Mary-lou he probably would’ve succeeded and gone back to his home planet he would’ve never become an alcoholic if he didn’t meet her. He was in this middle where he didn’t love her but still stayed with her and had intimate moments mostly she started them. Don’t know if cheating is a thing on his planet but he wasn’t very loyal to his wife. Mary-Lou and the professor knowing he is an alien lead to the government knowing which lead to his downfall. His lawyer murdered, his ship destroyed and him in isolation

@@GlitchyHalo High stakes. Significant investment. Critical timing. He was chosen for a special mission and his qualities were for his people. Maybe if he completed his task he could always return to earth as a tourist 🙃

@@GlitchyHalo I was just asking that as well. Mary-Lou wasn't a good choice of companion. She also started the circle of Tommy's secret being disclosed. Personally think Tommy has awareness for discretion but his choice of companion led to his downfall.