‘Eternals’: 6 Reasons Why Audiences Love Druig and Makkari So Much

Lindsey
9 Min Read
Eternals still frame
Marvel Studios

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Chloé Zhao’s Eternals landed in theaters last week, bringing to life a brand-new group of heroes first created by Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in 1976.

The Eternals are heroes from beyond the stars who have protected Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures known as Deviants — long thought lost to history — make a dangerous return, the Eternals must reunite in order to once again defend humanity.

Leading up to the film, much of the marketing was touted around the relationship between Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Richard Madden’s Ikaris, who spent lifetimes together during their time on Earth. However, in their time apart, the current day finds Sersi with a human named Dane Whitman (Kit Harington). Sersi and Ikaris’ lingering dynamic plays heavily into the film’s plot from start to finish as the latter struggles with the pull of love versus the push of his innate sense of duty.

While this was unfurling front and center in the midst of the whole impending-end-of-the-world-drama, another relationship quietly crept up in the background — Barry Keoghan’s Druig and Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari. Druig has the ability to control the minds of others, which made it incredibly difficult for him to abide by Arishem the Celestial’s rule not to interfere. Makkari, on the other hand, is the fastest woman in the universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Deaf superhero.

While what has lovingly been dubbed “Drukkari” by fans may not have been directly in the spotlight, audiences immediately took to the pairing, which has been an enthusiastic hot topic across social media since the premiere.

So what is it about Druig and Makkari’s relationship that audiences love so much?

6. The undeniable chemistry between Lauren Ridloff and Barry Keoghan

While it’s easy to state that two characters are in love on paper, nothing compares to the necessary ingredient that is chemistry between the actors. This was something that Ridloff and Keoghan shared in abundance, enough that audiences absolutely could not (and still can’t) stop talking about the relationship between their characters, even if it was a relatively small part of the film.

As shared by Insider, Zhao stated that a relationship between Makkari and Druig was not originally intended in the script. However, the first time that the actors met, the two started to riff and improvise and there were “sparks everywhere.”

5. That good old surly meets sunshine trope

In general, Druig is quite an aloof character, which comes across in the various interactions that he has with his team and others. Makkari, on the other hand, has a much brighter, more playful personality. Despite their limited screen time together, the film made it quite clear that Makkari seems to effortlessly bring out a different side of Druig — something that’s far more lighthearted, happy, and mischievous.

While shared moments between Druig and Makkari were sadly few and far between in the film, the ones that the two shared felt endearingly intimate, as if they only had eyes for one another in the throes of a crowded room.

4. They picked back up right where they left off

Over the years, Druig became distressed as he watched the ugly side of human emotions and behavior evolve into war and pain. Unable to intervene, despite his own personal wishes, he became severely disillusioned. Once the Eternals went their separate ways after Ajak set them all free, Druig sought out isolation, keeping only the company of a small band of people that he kept under his protection in the Amazon for 20 generations.

Makkari, meanwhile, spent her time apart from the Eternals exploring every inch of the planet — a feat that was easily attainable with her powers of speed. When the team finds her holed up in the Domo, they see that she’s acquired an impressive collection of items from across history … and she’s also dreadfully bored.

When they finally reunite and Druig realizes that Makkari ended up finding the Emerald Tablet, an item they had once been tracking down thousands of years ago, his face lights up with excitement. And as if no time has passed at all, the two are quick to slip back into their comfortable, flirty banter with one another. Leading to …

3. “My beautiful, beautiful Makkari”

Lauren Ridloff and Barry Keoghan in Eternals
Marvel Studios

Is anyone going to get over this line anytime soon? The answer is absolutely, positively not. Druig calls her “beautiful Makkari” earlier in the film too, ironically when they were attempting to barter for the Emerald Tablet, making this moment even more swoon-worthy.

2. The forehead touch

Lauren Ridloff and Barry Keoghan in Eternals
Marvel Studios

There was a stretch of time in the film’s final act when it appeared as if Ikaris had killed Druig, a shocking moment that was followed by Makkari’s heartbreaking scream (which Ridloff improvised) and her epic, revenge-fueled attack on Ikaris. Love stories often go hand in hand with tragic deaths, unfortunately (see also: Ikaris and Sersi).

However, that thankfully wasn’t the case here, because Druig survived after all — and we all collectively sighed in relief. As Druig made his way back to the team after the battle, a surprised and relieved Makkari quickly went to him. What followed was an incredibly beautiful, intimate embrace, during which the two couldn’t stop smiling at one another as they rested their foreheads together.

It was later revealed that the forehead touch wasn’t even in the script. Ridloff shared that Keoghan simply suggested it while they were in the middle of filming the emotional scene, which makes the end result even more lovely.

1. They survived and ultimately stuck together

In the wake of the defeat of Tiamut, the Eternals mostly went their separate ways again. Phastos returned to his family, Kingo took charge of the newly-human Sprite, and Sersi sought out Dane. As for Druig and Makkari, not only did they both survive the battle, but they made the decision to stick together this time around. Along with Thena, the three took the Domo in order to seek out other Eternals to tell them about their true purpose.

While nothing concrete has been confirmed about future projects involving the Eternals, the end credits clearly stated that they will return. The film left several threads open to be explored, with the main one being the appearance of Harry Styles’ Eros, who will be key in helping Druig, Makkari, and Thena rescue Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo from Arishem.

So for now, we’ll be patiently awaiting the return of our beloved Drukkari in another MCU film (and we certainly wouldn’t be opposed to a Disney+ series, either).

Eternals is now playing in theaters. Make sure to check out our review of the film.

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By Lindsey
Lindsey joined the Nerds and Beyond team in 2018. If she's not writing or out and about with her camera, she's probably watching anime, nerding out over Star Wars, reading manga, and definitely forgetting to water her plants. And waiting for the Genshin loading screen to pop up. Contact: lindsey@nerdsandbeyond.com
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