This is a continuation from this post, because while rewatching PGSM I’m finding a lot more follow-up than I remembered. It’s small moments, but they do a lot.

My first two caps are from Act 28, because I think a) this moment is adorable, and b) it’s a really interesting contrast to Act 8. Rei’s kept Venus’s identity to herself for who knows how long, and Makoto is understandably a little miffed because she loves Aino Minako. But she’s not actually mad. She understands Rei’s reasoning immediately and her glare borders on playful. There’s a huge difference between this and the look on her face in Act 8 when she calls Rei cold. They’ve come a long way from that. There’s an implicit “You probably did the right thing.” And then Rei apologizes anyway. She recognizes, and cares, that even if she’s right, Makoto’s disappointment matters. It’s not a very deep apology, but it’s such a big step from Rei’s usual stubbornness and Makoto sees that. Her smile about it is almost identical to her smile about getting to work alongside Aino Minako. That’s how much she cares about Rei now.

The last two caps are from Act 31, aka the act where Makoto and Motoki try to go on a date. Makoto has a lot of complicated feelings on whether she should go, and Rei’s response in the first cap is similarly layered. On the surface, it’s simply “Don’t worry about getting grief from me about it,” which in itself is important. Rei’s letting her know that she accepts whatever decision Makoto makes. But behind that are even bigger things. Rei not saying anything means that she thinks it’s okay if Makoto wants to date boys. Makoto believes herself unsuited for it, so Rei being okay with it is important, just like I think Rei’s reaction to the cute things Makoto had in her purse in Act 8 is important. And then there’s the senshi aspect, which at this point I don’t think Makoto picks up on or takes to heart. Usagi gets frustration from the others for focusing on her crushes more than being a soldier. By saying she won’t say anything about Makoto dating, Rei’s also saying she won’t say those sort of things. Rei implicitly has faith that Makoto won’t be any less of a soldier if she falls in love, which speaks volumes of her belief in and respect for Makoto.

Her line after they find out Makoto tried to leave her date also shows just how much Rei understands Makoto. An earlier Rei probably would have taken Makoto wanting to leave at face value; she wanted to leave because she doesn’t like Motoki, end of story. But she doesn’t. Rei knows that Makoto probably would like Motoki if she let herself. Even more, Rei knows that Motoki himself has nothing to do with Makoto wanting to leave. Rei’s lost people; she knows what it is to put up walls to keep that pain from ever happening again. Makoto’s defenses are different than Rei’s, but she recognizes them. By the end of the episode, it’s clear that Rei sees that Makoto is hurting herself with this, but she doesn’t know how to help.
I’m really excited to see what the rest of the show does with this.