I Was Really Disappointed With The Old Guard 2, But How Quynh And Andy’s Relationship Is Watered Down Bothers Me The Most

SPOILERS are ahead for The Old Guard 2, now streaming with a Netflix subscription.

The Old Guard may be the latest hit on Netflix, with the recent release soaring to No. 1 on the streaming service’s top movie list throughout the weekend, but I’m in agreement with critics’ negative reaction to the sequel. (audiences have also echoed this through the movie’s 37 percent Rotten Tomatoes score). But, I want to talk about the aspect of it that bothered me the most: how Andy and Quynh’s romantic plotline simply fizzled out.

I Wasn't Expecting Andy And Quynh's Relationship To Lose All Its Romance In The Old Guard 2

While it’s been five years since the original movie came out, I distinctly remember appreciating the movie for having two queer relationships, the more explicitly gay relationship between Joe and Nicki, and a more heartbreaking and subtext-y one between Charlize Theron’s Andy and Veronica Ngo’s Quynh. When the 2020 movie ended with Quynh escaping from her underwater prison, I was excited to see what was next for her character with Andy in the present day, especially knowing that in the comics their romantic relationship is canon.

Sure, I can get behind Quynh being initially angry with Andy for not being the one to save her and pulling back, but The Old Guard 2 takes a big step backward regarding the pair’s queer relationship. All in all, I think the movie barely counts as one of the new LGBTQ+ movies to be released, counting Joe and Nicki’s relationship being sidelined as well, aside from one kind-of cute scene between them.

Yes, Andy and Quynh have a solid fight scene and they do thankfully make up by the end for the movie’s cliffhanger ending, perhaps teasing more for them in a third movie, but rather than the sequel embracing their romantic potential, you’d have to really look for it to see these two as more than really intense friends.

I Think The Old Guard 2 Watering Them Down Is The Movie’s Biggest Upset

Now, as I spoke to earlier, this is a disappointing movie for many reasons. It might actually be the worst movie I’ve seen this year… and I rather liked the original. But, I think the thing about it that bothered me the most is how the opportunity was right there to inject some romance between Andy and Quynh. It absolutely would have made me actually care about these characters a lot more, and added some more emotional stakes to its stiff premise. I thought both actors did a great job with the material they had, but it felt like the script wasn’t interested in anything outside of the surface level here.

If these two have a romantic history and hadn’t seen the other in literally five hundred years, would it have really hurt the movie to give us some romance? It was right there! If your friend didn’t come looking for you, you’d probably be OK, but if your immortal lover didn’t, it just adds a lot more to the equation, and it felt like the story was trying to go there, but only took it halfway.

And, I'm Definitely Not Alone...

When looking around online, I noticed there’s a big fanbase rooting for these two, as well, and share similar gripes. For example:

Oh, the scene would have been so much better if they did! Lots of fans are rooting for them to finally kiss in the third movie, but what if it never happens?

And here’s one more that I really felt brought the point home. Check it out:

I’m so disappointed not only that The Old Guard 2 wasn’t very good, but rather than forwarding the queer relationships established in the first movie, their queer identities in the DNA of the comics were watered down, and as a result reduced to rather uninteresting characters, as well.