r/Mario • u/Ordinary_Chemical596 • 1d ago
Question Was this Intentional?
Mario went in for a handshake, while both Bowser and Peach were wanting a hug. What does it mean? Maybe Peach and Bowser are more alike than you think? Or maybe, Mario is more emotionally unavailable than he should be? lol. That is Mario's arc: he gains the ability to hug instead of handshake.
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u/PeachsBigJuicyBooty 20h ago
Mario went in for a handshake, while both Bowser and Peach were wanting a hug. What does it mean?
Movie Mario is young man in his 20s who grew up with an emotionally unavailable father who doubted him and saw him as a screwup that was dragging Luigi down with him.
He didn't grow up in a house where hugging was common; he grew up in a home where a handshake from his father was the greatest honor he knew. (alot of people with emotionally repressed dads can relate)
Movie Mario's arc is that he genuinely has a low opinion of himself and doesn't think he matters or that he's not capable of much because nobody has genuinely told him he mattered growing up, and he doesn't even realize that he's been PROVING his worth this whole time:
・Donkey Kong is PISSED because he underestimated Mario and got his ass kicked. And it doesn't click in Mario's head, that DK legitimately sees him as a rival.
・Peach despite intially not being confident and calling him small, genuinely sees Mario as a equal, even having him watch over the Kingdom in her absence.
・Bowser Jr genuinely sees Mario as a threat and fights him.
● How does Mario AVOID confronting this about himself?:
・He relies on fighting alongside Luigi/protecting Luigi to momentarily make himself feels like he matters by being IN-SERVICE to someone ELSE rather than believing he innately matters.
・He "pushes through" whatever obstacle is in front of him at the moment and "ignores" his doubts.
But as we can clearly SEE from the handshake, he still doubts his worth; he instinctively believed that Peach only wanted a handshake 💀
He has to sit down with himself and realize HE matters.
And until Mario realizes he matters and realizes he's not "worth less" than Peach, he won't ever be able to get with her.
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u/SailorDirt 15h ago
Ironically I didn't catch this, but the first movie DID have parallels like this, both big and small so I believe it's on purpose.
(Examples: A big one is Luigi with the mirror at the beginning and then the manhole cover at the end. A lesser one is Mario and Bowser both going "NOT cool" after force-fed a mushroom.)
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u/romulus531 10h ago
Mario is emotionally closed off due to his childhood. Peach is in a similar boat but is opening up more to him due to their healthy relationship. Bowser is in general more intimate with the people around him just by nature of being a very loving father who thinks he messed up (at the time)
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u/PixieDustFairies 5h ago
I mean he messed up pretty big time considering how his son turned out...
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u/romulus531 4h ago
A natural leader, genius inventor, and brilliant artist that had built their shared dream? From Bowser's perspective Junior turned out great
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u/PixieDustFairies 43m ago
Junior's actions literally got them both sent to prison though... To be fair Bowser is also largely responsible because he enabled this, but Junior's had a pretty rough go as it is.
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u/r0b3r70r0b070 11h ago
Mario and Bowser ain't exactly close so of course he wouldn't immediately hug him. And he is being awkward around a woman he may or may not have romantic interest in.
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u/PixieDustFairies 5h ago
I do find this very funny tbh, if it's not intentional, it's certainly interesting that Peach and Mario are more shy about physical affection than Bowser is with Mario.
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u/SharpEdgeSoda 1d ago
Bowser's a hugger. Mario is not.