It Chapter Two: Were Richie and (Spoiler) in a forbidden relationship?

One of the biggest takeaways from It Chapter Two was the exploration of Richie’s sexuality. Although, it still left a number of questions unanswered in the end. The most important is whether or not Richie and another Loser were in a relationship?

Audiences who’ve watched It: Chapter Two now know that Richie Tozier was hiding a huge secret from his friends. Mind you, Richie kept the truth hidden because of the innate bigotry bred in his hometown of Derry—not because he wanted to lie to his friends in the Losers’ Club.

Warning: Spoilers from It: Chapter Two ahead.

The whole reason Richie kept anything from them is that he feared what people would think of him if he told them that he was gay. It: Chapter Two gives us a glimpse at that fear through a flashback of Young Richie (Finn Wolfard).

In this particular scene, Richie is playing Street Fighter with Bowers’ cousin who is from out-of-town. Richie suggests they play another round but Bowers’ cousin mistakes his enthusiasm for attraction. Young Richie wasn’t trying to convey those emotions to the other boy but he was confused by his sexuality and couldn’t refute their claims.

The older Richie (Bill Hader) is a little more confident about himself when he’s introduced, yet he remains silent about being gay until the truth can no longer stay buried.

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Once everything is out in the open, Richie takes a trip to the local bridge where lovers carved their initials. It’s here that Richie carves the first initial of his name “R” and then the letter “E”. There aren’t a lot of characters whose first names start with “E” though it’s probably safe to assume Richie was referring to Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone).

While Eddie and Richie (Jack Dylan Grazer) never seemed affectionate to each other, their exchanges showed how close they were. Even their goodbye was an emotional one that now makes us think it was prolonged for a bigger reason.

Despite not being out, Richie and Eddie may have been in a relationship that wasn’t known to the rest of the Losers’ Club. Richie obviously didn’t want anyone in town to know and was scared to death about the matter. As such, Richie and Eddie probably would’ve entered a pact to keep their relationship a secret—assuming they were in one, to begin with.

We’ve noted Richie’s feelings but what we don’t know is if Eddie reciprocated them. The older version never tried to kiss Richie—even after Pennywise impaled him—which suggests that they didn’t actually share anything intimate. Then again, the more romantic exchange was Eddie cracking a joke that Richie was known for telling so technically they were closer than anyone thought.

What did you think of Richie’s confession? Let us know in the comments below.

It: Chapter Two is now in theaters everywhere.