Nick uses defensive body language to not be vulnerable. It's interesting that this happens both times with Eric around. It makes me curious if Nick is intimidated by Eric. Nick can be pretty defiant towards Eric, despite Eric having a high position (we know part of it is because he was dating Rachel).
Jason can be a complete jerk towards Nick and we don't see the same hostility from Nick as we see towards Eric. This could be because Jason and Nick are implied to be close friends. But it is interesting to note how much respect Nick gives Jason, no matter of Jason's actions or words, but we don't see the same when it comes to Eric, despite Eric having a higher position than Jason.
Side Note: Look how far Nick stands from Merwin and Joey. He doesn't say much during the briefing room either. He looks so small :(
One of Nick's key character traits is being defensive. This most likely stems from a coping mechanism to try and defend themselves from future harm/pain. Being defensive could be a sign of insecurity amongst other things. Nick is a bucket of trauma and possible mental health disorders.
Nick's character needs more exploration!
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Gollum - Sméagol's actions are defensive, not offensive.
What I mean by that is that most of the "bad" things he does, were done to him first. The actions are reciprocal.
"We be nice to them if they be nice to us" -- he wasn't lying. He very much lives by this -- "I will give to you what you give to me."
(Example: Frodo removes the rope from his neck, Sméagol saves Frodo from drowning.)
EXAMPLES PROVING THAT SMEAGOL'S ACTIONS WERE DEFENSIVE RATHER THAN OFFENSIVE
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Example 1: The Finding of the Ring (Return of the King)
"Sméagol chokes Déagol."
Déagol actually choked him first (behind the scenes have said they made Déagol choke Sméagol first so that viewers would realize that "it could have gone either way" -- Déagol intended to kill.)
Example 2: FOTR - ROTK
"Gollum tries to get the ring back."
Well, of course he does, he was robbed. Somebody literally came into his home and stole his favorite thing, then handed it down to their nephew. I'd be trying to get it back, too. He's not over here thinking "oh, it's a ring of power that needs to be destroyed!" he's thinking he's been robbed, stolen from -- and rightfully so.
Example 3: The Taming of Sméagol (The Two Towers)
"Gollum attacks the hobbits."
Actually, THEY attacked HIM.
He was not in a offensive stance, here. He was not in a position to choke, or attack, he was in a position to take. He was simply going to grab the ring and then, no doubt, flee.
The hobbits are the ones that woke up and yanked him down. This is when he decided to attack.
He doesn't like to put himself in harm's way when he doesn't have to. It's always a last resort.
Example 4: Gollum's Plan (The Two Towers)
"Sméagol decides to betray the hobbits."
But… According to Sméagollum, Frodo betrayed him first (and Sam was never good to him in the first place). Frodo did exactly what Sméagol ends up doing. Frodo manipulated him ("good Sméagol, nice Sméagol, trust Master, come!") and lured him over only so that he could get captured, blind-folded, and beaten severely.* In Sméagollum's mind, Frodo knew this was going to happen, he set it up to happen, he allowed it to happen. Sméagol does the same, back -- he manipulates Frodo, he lures him to Shelob's Lair, so that Frodo can be captured and eaten up.
*Side note: he was not told he wouldn't be killed by these men. It's very possible, if not likely, that he thought they were going to kill him in the moment. He thought Frodo allowed this.
(And another thing -- Frodo in the books promised he'd protect Sméagol. Sméagol in The Two Towers refers to it at a point, despite the fact that we never got a scene in the movies where Frodo makes the promise. At the end of The Two Towers, Sméagol says "Master wouldn't hurt us!" to which Gollum responds "Master broke his promise!" You could look at Sméagol saying "Master looks after us now", before he expells Gollum, as his repeating Frodo's promise, too -- "I will look after you/I will protect you". Anyway, Sméagol in Return of the King manipulatively says to Frodo "Sméagol look after Master". In his mind, he is looking after Frodo in the same way Frodo looked after him... by leading him get hurt.)
"Why does it cry, Sméagol...?"
"Naughty little fly, why does he cry?"
Example 5: The Parting of Sam and Frodo (The Return of the King)
"Sméagol gets rid of the lembas bread and frames Sam."
In The Two Towers, Sam said Sméagol should starve. "Starve, then, and good riddance!" He then ate the lembas bread right in front of Sméagol ("stuffed his face," if you will), to rub it in; the fact that he could eat it and Sméagol couldn't.* (He also ripped the rabbit Sméagol was eating right out of his hands.)
(continuing with a reblog due to 30 images per post limit)
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