S2E8 Rewatch
(I apologize in advance for the tears and heartbreak but notice how I didn't include the part where he leaves her standing?? In my head he never left.)
Having rewatched S2E8 with fresh eyes once more, there were a couple of details that I failed to pay attention to the first time:
In the first part of the clip, where they both struggle to make eye contact, its clear that they are BOTH nervous. I don't see Eloise or Theo having any intent to kiss the other, like they both don't know of the atmosphere in the room.
Theo scans Eloise's face before he leans in. Plus, this isn't the first scene we've seen of them being in too close of a proximity together before this episode.
Eloise darts her eyes from Theo's lips to his eyes. Now, this might just have been my delul self kick in, but you can also slightly see that the milisecond before she leans back, she is much closer to Theo's face than she was in the cut scene before his. Did this girl want to kiss him? Unless I can confirm this with Ms Jessie herself, I think she really did.
Already obvious but Theo clearly apologizes when she pulls back, suggesting he has realized that he may have "taken it too far" in that moment. Plus, he further reassures her, as it seems he was trying to tell her "I would never take liberties with/compromise you, etc." Him saying that only means that he leaned in for a kiss because he would have felt Eloise was in for it too.
"Absurd." "This was your idea." The word choice at that moment translated to Eloise mocking their mutual fondness for each other, and not the reality of their circumstances as she had intended to. Its a realistic reaction from Theo, considering how hightened both of their emotions were at the time. Put yourself in his place where you have admitted your feelings to someone who clearly reciprocated it, only to be shut down out of the blue. Lets say Eloise reworded her reaction, this scene would have ended differently and potentially on a more positive note.
This scene was masterfully written by JB and in fact, I think JB had centered on the miscommunication between them. This was definitley not a closure scene, but only the rising action in a much more vivid and heartfelt love story.