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Mills is kneeling, gazing up at Koa as she stands in front of him, an open, vulnerable expression on the face of this gruff, stoic man as he waits to know if she's chosen to forgive him.
By this point in the film, Mills and Koa had, despite their lack of a common language, developed an easier rapport, built upon their common experiences as they had struggled to reach the mountain. While the language barrier was still very real, they had begun to better understand and intuit the intent behind each other's unfamiliar words.
But when Koa finds the shattered cryo-stasis pods in the wreckage of the ship surrounding the escape pod, she realizes that Mills' promise to reunite her with her family had been a lie; he had known all along that her family wasn't waiting on the top of the mountain for her, that they had died in the crash.
Mind you, Mills clearly felt guilt about the lie from the very beginning, and had actually confessed the entire truth to Koa in a frustrated rush when she harangued him for giving up when the going got tough in the caverns. But their lack of shared language meant she couldn't understand him, leaving his confession thwarted and his conscience clouded, though at least he had the consolation of knowing he'd tried to tell her.
Angry and heartbroken by what she sees as a betrayal of the trust underpinning their relationship, Koa lashes out, yelling, hitting, and shoving a subdued Mills before slumping down, weeping as the realization that she'll never see her family again hits home.
Mills kneels in front of where she's huddled, and, using the few words of her language that he knows, quietly reveals that the girl in the holovids that Koa took from the ship, the ones he was so prickly about her playing, is his daughter. That the last time he'd seen Nevine alive, she had been mad at him too, and that he hadn't been there when she fell sick and died, making it clear that this is the crippling emotional wound he bears on his spirit— he feels his failed his daughter when she needed him most, and there would never be another chance for him to make that right with her.
He goes on to say, voice thick with unshed tears, "I need to get you home", and it's understood that this is his way of atoning for his inability to help Nevine; he couldn't save his own daughter, but he had resolved to do everything he could to save Koa, even if it meant lying about her family's survival to get her to brave the journey with him to the escape pod.
Braced for the rejection he feels certain to come, Mills actually flinches when Koa moves to hug him, but then, realizing she's chosen forgiveness, he surges up to carefully enfold her, whispering his apologies, for lying to her, for her loss.
The reference for this one was a screencap from "65", taken and edited by me. This scene was very dark, and I needed to do a lot of photoshop magic to get it to be light enough to see the details more clearly. The perils of painting a scene set at night on a prehistoric world, I suppose.
About 15 hours of work, give or take. Only 5 color overlays for this one, with three of them being different shades of blue. I had hoped to have this done by 10 Mar, since that was the 3rd anniversary of 65's theatrical release, but better late than never.
By this point in the film, Mills and Koa had, despite their lack of a common language, developed an easier rapport, built upon their common experiences as they had struggled to reach the mountain. While the language barrier was still very real, they had begun to better understand and intuit the intent behind each other's unfamiliar words.
But when Koa finds the shattered cryo-stasis pods in the wreckage of the ship surrounding the escape pod, she realizes that Mills' promise to reunite her with her family had been a lie; he had known all along that her family wasn't waiting on the top of the mountain for her, that they had died in the crash.
Mind you, Mills clearly felt guilt about the lie from the very beginning, and had actually confessed the entire truth to Koa in a frustrated rush when she harangued him for giving up when the going got tough in the caverns. But their lack of shared language meant she couldn't understand him, leaving his confession thwarted and his conscience clouded, though at least he had the consolation of knowing he'd tried to tell her.
Angry and heartbroken by what she sees as a betrayal of the trust underpinning their relationship, Koa lashes out, yelling, hitting, and shoving a subdued Mills before slumping down, weeping as the realization that she'll never see her family again hits home.
Mills kneels in front of where she's huddled, and, using the few words of her language that he knows, quietly reveals that the girl in the holovids that Koa took from the ship, the ones he was so prickly about her playing, is his daughter. That the last time he'd seen Nevine alive, she had been mad at him too, and that he hadn't been there when she fell sick and died, making it clear that this is the crippling emotional wound he bears on his spirit— he feels his failed his daughter when she needed him most, and there would never be another chance for him to make that right with her.
He goes on to say, voice thick with unshed tears, "I need to get you home", and it's understood that this is his way of atoning for his inability to help Nevine; he couldn't save his own daughter, but he had resolved to do everything he could to save Koa, even if it meant lying about her family's survival to get her to brave the journey with him to the escape pod.
Braced for the rejection he feels certain to come, Mills actually flinches when Koa moves to hug him, but then, realizing she's chosen forgiveness, he surges up to carefully enfold her, whispering his apologies, for lying to her, for her loss.
The reference for this one was a screencap from "65", taken and edited by me. This scene was very dark, and I needed to do a lot of photoshop magic to get it to be light enough to see the details more clearly. The perils of painting a scene set at night on a prehistoric world, I suppose.
About 15 hours of work, give or take. Only 5 color overlays for this one, with three of them being different shades of blue. I had hoped to have this done by 10 Mar, since that was the 3rd anniversary of 65's theatrical release, but better late than never.
