Does Tyler Like Mei? Turning Red Romance Hints Explained
Viewers of Turning Red have been theorizing that Tyler Nguyen-Baker – one of the primary antagonists of the movie – secretly has a crush on Mei. What’s more, there appear to be a few occasions throughout the movie that hints at this. Some have gone so far as to say they believed the two were eventually going to get together before the end of the movie. While some may consider the theory farfetched, there is strong evidence that Tyler does actually have a secret crush on Mei.
Turning Red is an immensely popular animated movie from Disney Pixar that follows the story of Meilin "Mei" Lee – a 12-year-old Chinese-Canadian student growing up in 2002 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Mei is the daughter of a very strict mother Ming who – owing to a maternal hereditary curse – transforms into a giant red panda every time she experiences strong emotions. Mei’s attempts to deal with this curse, whilst also dealing with the more usual trials and tribulations explored in "coming-of-age" movies, are the central focus of Turning Red.
Ultimately it has been surmised that Tyler has a crush on Mei in Turning Red because of his reactions to discovering her other romantic interests. Furthermore, he repeatedly attempts to engineer situations that will bring them closer together, before they end the movie as friends. It should also be noted though that Tyler is clearly portrayed early in the movie as a school bully, so there may also be a tendency to view his actions towards Mei as being motivated by a crush purely because of the outdated (and harmful) trope that bullying is evidence of affection. Setting aside the aforementioned trope though, there are several other occasions that give rise to the belief that Tyler may have a crush on Mei.
First and foremost, when Mei is embarrassed by her mother Ming, confronting her crush Devon in the local convenience store, Tyler is present and appears to be visibly hurt by the revelation. Later, when he attempts to make Mei attend his party, it is possible that he harbors ulterior motives than exploiting the popularity of the red panda; first, he wishes Mei to attend his party (when she wouldn’t otherwise), and second, he is apparently willing to pay over the odds for the panda appearance, which is likely a thinly-veiled attempt at helping Mei achieve her financial goal to attend the concert. Finally, his actions in recruiting the boy band to help complete the ritual may belie a stronger affection for Mei than simply friendship.
All that said, it’s entirely possible that Tyler’s actions throughout Turning Red should not be taken at anything more than face value. He begins the movie as a bully, acts like a bully to exploit Mei and make her appear at his birthday, but ultimately learns the errors of his ways and turns a corner in the movie’s final act, thus cementing his friendship with Mei and her group of friends. However, it's equally plausible that Tyler's initial unpleasantness and subsequent transformation owe more to his feelings about Mei than meets the eye.
Source: Screenrant
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