Author Topic: If Ennis knew Randall was moving in on Jack, how would he react? (Read 99213 times)

tpe · « **Reply #150 on:** Apr 17, 2007, 07:19 AM »

My Love is of a birth as rare
As 'tis, for object, strange and high ;
It was begotten by Despair,
Upon Impossibility.

Magnanimous Despair alone
Could show me so divine a thing,
Where feeble hope could ne'er have flown,
But vainly flapped its tinsel wing.

And yet I quickly might arrive
Where my extended soul is fixed ;
But Fate does iron wedges drive,
And always crowds itself betwixt.

For Fate with jealous eye does see
Two perfect loves, nor lets them close;
Their union would her ruin be,
And her tyrannic power depose.

And therefore her decrees of steel
Us as the distant poles have placed,
(Though Love's whole world on us doth wheel),
Not by themselves to be embraced,

Unless the giddy heaven fall,
And earth some new convulsion tear.
And, us to join, the world should all
Be cramp'd into a planisphere.

As lines, so love's oblique, may well
Themselves in every angle greet:
But ours, so truly parallel,
Though infinite, can never meet.

Therefore the love which us doth bind,
But Fate so enviously debars,
Is the conjunction of the mind,
And opposition of the stars.

(By You Know Who, WW)

tamlynn · « **Reply #151 on:** Apr 17, 2007, 10:43 AM »

Hi Flwrchild,
Actually, I didn't say love had something to do with good looks... I'm saying that with Jack's good looks he would have attracted many lovers, many opportunities, not just Randall, who would have treated him better than Ennis. Out of that, many frienships and many loves would bloom, becasue Nature would take its course.

This would have given Jack many opportunities that he could have and should have told Ennis the possibility of and put the ball in Ennis's court to decide if he really wanted to lose Jack or be with him.

It doesn't mean Jack would stop loving Ennis. It means he would be very distracted and not always be available. Ennis needed to try that one on. Jack wouldn't have to say a word, Ennis would seek him out like he should.

Jack never found the confidence to play this last card, which would have been his best. So, Ennis never had to commit. They both began serving fear.

... a doomed love story, not a story about solutions and happy endings, which it could have been had they aligned with The Force.

Love is a force of nature, not a force of fear. They ran their relationship with fear. That's not love. That's not aligning with the Force.

Where are my Trekkies... remember?
May the Force be With You

The Force is nature's power of love and ease that allows life to roll at your feet in ecstacy. The opposite of love is not hate... it's fear.

When Jack and Ennis started trying to take the power away from The Force, by running their relationship on their fears, they were doomed. We have no power over The Force... we have choices. Jack was afraid to absolutely call Ennis on the carpet and make him decide between love and fear... and Ennis served his mortal homophobic fear.

that's not love. That's defying The Force. Yes, love is a Force of Nature and all we have to do is align to keep that protective power and loving guidance with us... we do that by accepting love...

...not do something else with it. It will win. They took their love and mangled it. That is not what Nature wants. If we mess with it, Nature shows us who's really in control... Nature. It took Jack, it took the love opportunity away. There's no mistake.

first Jack was in control... but he was open to serving love, he was aligned with The Force.

Ennis took control and challenged the Force, and chose to be ruled by Fear. Jack gave in to Ennis instead of maintaining his alignment with The Force. He aligned with fear and created fears of his own...

The Force, the great taskmaster, took Jack, the love opportunity. But It left the love. It always does.

Of course. That's why it's the Force, the most powerful entity in the Universe. Love is a gift from The Force and we are surrounded with opportunities. What do we choose to serve? The fears we create, or love?

Tender hearts, I am running out of steam, but I leave my love,

Tamlynn

manhattangirl · « **Reply #152 on:** Apr 17, 2007, 06:53 PM »

IMO:

Love's opposite is not fear, but indifference, and indifference is one thing these two men did not feel, only love. Ennis's fear is not the love for Jack, but the acceptance of himself.

To accept the Force, isn't it logical to accept oneself? To ease his fears, Ennis, had to accept the fact that he loved another man, but above all before he even could do that he had to accept himself, and this is a man who didn't even know how to love himself. Isn't acceptance of oneself is the first step to loving someone else?

Once Ennis did that he could see all of what Jack was trying to give him.

tpe · « **Reply #153 on:** Apr 18, 2007, 08:09 AM »

Ennis and Jack seemed real enough to me, in the sense that both of them can hate each other as much as they love each other.

I do believe in the adage that the more you love someone, the greater the propensity to hate. Intense lov and intense hate go side by side. Indeed, indifference is the true opposite to love. When one becomes indifferent, we know that love is dead.

That's why I believe people who continue to hate past lovers reveal that they have not put their old loves aside.

I think Ennis and Jack understood how they loved each other -- even in the moments when they could not abide by each other's failings.

lauren · « **Reply #154 on:** Apr 18, 2007, 10:27 PM »

If Jack had been given a second chance and had he lived, I woulder if the near loss of Jack would have been enough to push Ennis over the edge. I know this may sound a bit like the standard romance plot, but I do think Ennis would have reacted differently had he gone through a situation where he nearly lost Jack. Would knowledge of Jack and Randall have mattered to Ennis after that, I wonder? Probably not...

But Ennis didn't get a second chance, unfortunately. When he found out about Randall from John Twist, he seemed strangely muted. What did it matter then? All was lost...

[/quote]

i was surprised when ennis was so calm when john twist told him about randall and jack but i never thought of it that way....i wish this movie would have a different turn...it could have been that jack lived but wanted to break up with ennis or that ennis finally see the importance of having jack in his life. anything but the current ending....i hate it that jack had to die. its just not fair. the show seemed unfinished...

manhattangirl · « **Reply #155 on:** Apr 19, 2007, 05:16 AM »

Lauren/tpe:

Love/hate, need, passion, denials, demands, are, I believe so magnified because of the isolation that Ennis impose, and Jack lived with. Ennis I think we can agree was far more emotionally vulnerable than Jack. He could have done what he threaten, or totally fall apart as he did in Jack's arms. What could have happened if the ending was different will always be a wonder, but I think we know enough information about these two to continue to speculate.

tpe · « **Reply #156 on:** Apr 19, 2007, 06:53 AM »

Quote from: lauren on Apr 18, 2007, 10:27 PM

i was surprised when ennis was so calm when john twist told him about randall and jack but i never thought of it that way....i wish this movie would have a different turn...it could have been that jack lived but wanted to break up with ennis or that ennis finally see the importance of having jack in his life. anything but the current ending....i hate it that jack had to die. its just not fair. the show seemed unfinished...

But I think it's more like real, life -- the ending, I mean. With Ennis as with Randall, Jack's death left things unresolved. So many thing sin life end up like this, in limbo. Ennis's muted reaction probably reflects the fact that now he has things in greater perspective. What is the point of anger whne he realizes how much he had lost?

tpe · « **Reply #157 on:** Apr 19, 2007, 06:59 AM »

Quote from: manhattangirl on Apr 19, 2007, 05:16 AM

Lauren/tpe:

Love/hate, need, passion, denials, demands, are, I believe so magnified because of the isolation that Ennis impose, and Jack lived with. Ennis I think we can agree was far more emotionally vulnerable than Jack. He could have done what he threaten, or totally fall apart as he did in Jack's arms. What could have happened if the ending was different will always be a wonder, but I think we know enough information about these two to continue to speculate.

I do think their isolation intensified their reactions. And I have no doubt that had Jack lived and had Ennis found out about Randall, things may have ended differently, if not badly.

Ennis to me is not only emotionally vulnerable but also volatile. Her could swing between violent rage and emotional collapse. He probably regretted a lot of his actions in hindsight. Perhpas if he had time to think things over after he had found out about Randall and Jack, he would have been more deliberate in trying to save the relationship -- that is, if Jack had lived.

aintfoolin · « **Reply #158 on:** Apr 19, 2007, 11:58 AM »

Great discussion ! If I may add my 2 cents, I think they are both emotionally vulnerable, but in different senses. Jack by his emotional dilemma of not knowing how to "quit Ennis" , and not really wanting to, a situation he finds himself in that is painful yet uncontrollable. His heart was on the line here. His futile attempts to get Ennis to see things his way and not being able to convince Ennis to make it all permanant had to take a toll on his emotional well-being. The frustration he must have felt.To hear Ennis tell him that he could'nt take it anymore, IT, being the desperate attempts to come to terms with this rollercoaster ride of frustrating emotion deep inside his lover.
Ennis was having a tug of war on his soul. On one hand he was fighting a part of himself that would set him free, yet he was also ( judging by SNIT and the reunion scenes ,) hopelessly in love with Jack. Unable and unwilling to shake off his experience with Jack. Enter Randall: This *other lover* further symbolizes Jack's vulnerability. Although he could never really replace Ennis in Jack's heart he is an alternative to the lonliness and frustration Ennis offered him. Jack simply took what was offerd to him at the time.Jack needed something or someone to interject into this intense situation. Had Ennis and Randall met face to face, this may have been the thing that breaks the camel's back so to speak. His options would be narrowed considerably. He have to make a choice. Keep Jack or loose Jack to Randall. a man like Ennis , who has givin up so much to be with Jack would hate to loose.The question would become : If Randall could live with Jack, why can't I? This would be Ennis's ultimate wake up call. It would become a matter of pride though he'd already have the advantage....Jack loved , adored ,and wanted him above all else. My opinion.

tamlynn · « **Reply #159 on:** Apr 19, 2007, 06:22 PM »

Well, said Aintfoolin... I believe all Ennis needed to motivate him to go after Jack with gusto would be to ALMOST LOSE JACK...

...and it wouldn't matter how... either near death or off with a new lover. Something to jolt Ennis off the fence, that safety zone of being sure Jack would always be there on Ennis's terms... 3 times a year on a short leash. He threw Jack crumbs to survive on. Only, Jack didn't survive.

Tamlynn

tpe · « **Reply #160 on:** Apr 20, 2007, 07:12 AM »

Quote from: aintfoolin on Apr 19, 2007, 11:58 AM

Great discussion ! If I may add my 2 cents, I think they are both emotionally vulnerable, but in different senses. Jack by his emotional dilemma of not knowing how to "quit Ennis" , and not really wanting to, a situation he finds himself in that is painful yet uncontrollable. His heart was on the line here. His futile attempts to get Ennis to see things his way and not being able to convince Ennis to make it all permanant had to take a toll on his emotional well-being. The frustration he must have felt.To hear Ennis tell him that he could'nt take it anymore, IT, being the desperate attempts to come to terms with this rollercoaster ride of frustrating emotion deep inside his lover.
Ennis was having a tug of war on his soul. On one hand he was fighting a part of himself that would set him free, yet he was also ( judging by SNIT and the reunion scenes ,) hopelessly in love with Jack. Unable and unwilling to shake off his experience with Jack. Enter Randall: This *other lover* further symbolizes Jack's vulnerability. Although he could never really replace Ennis in Jack's heart he is an alternative to the lonliness and frustration Ennis offered him. Jack simply took what was offerd to him at the time.Jack needed something or someone to interject into this intense situation. Had Ennis and Randall met face to face, this may have been the thing that breaks the camel's back so to speak. His options would be narrowed considerably. He have to make a choice. Keep Jack or loose Jack to Randall. a man like Ennis , who has givin up so much to be with Jack would hate to loose.The question would become : If Randall could live with Jack, why can't I? This would be Ennis's ultimate wake up call. It would become a matter of pride though he'd already have the advantage....Jack loved , adored ,and wanted him above all else. My opinion.

I echo tamlynn's assessment, and I highlight the entire thing. Excellent distinction, aintfoolin.

I would simply add, after reading your post, that it would seem that Jack's vulnerability was rooted wwithout, whereas Ennis's was pulling from within

If Ennis would have found out about Randall, I suspect that that would be one instance where Ennis's vulnerability would be directly challenged from without. Perhaps he needed such a jolt. Jack's death was certainly a challenge of the same nature.

lauren · « **Reply #161 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 01:36 AM »

Quote

I echo tamlynn's assessment, and I highlight the entire thing. Excellent distinction, aintfoolin.

I would simply add, after reading your post, that it would seem that Jack's vulnerability was rooted wwithout, whereas Ennis's was pulling from within

If Ennis would have found out about Randall, I suspect that that would be one instance where Ennis's vulnerability would be directly challenged from without. Perhaps he needed such a jolt. Jack's death was certainly a challenge of the same nature.

i totally agree....i wish the jolt had come before jack died. maybe they could at least enjoy a few moments of bliss before jack dies. now jack had to die, knowing that ennis can never be his and happiness is always one step ahead of him. forever out of reach....

tpe · « **Reply #162 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 07:04 AM »

Quote from: lauren on Apr 24, 2007, 01:36 AM

i totally agree....i wish the jolt had come before jack died. maybe they could at least enjoy a few moments of bliss before jack dies. now jack had to die, knowing that ennis can never be his and happiness is always one step ahead of him. forever out of reach....

Yes, even if both were to die by reason of living together, it would have been worth it. IMO. To quote Thoreau, we lead lives of "quiet desperation", and sometimes, the way out of it is to live it to the full, even if only for a brief moment. How their lives of quiet desperation would have been lifted, had they but known what it was to live a life of love.

Ennis should have recognized this sooner. Had he found out about Randall sooner, perhaps he would have indeed realized it.

lauren · « **Reply #163 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 03:24 AM »

Quote

Yes, even if both were to die by reason of living together, it would have been worth it. IMO. To quote Thoreau, we lead lives of "quiet desperation", and sometimes, the way out of it is to live it to the full, even if only for a brief moment. How their lives of quiet desperation would have been lifted, had they but known what it was to live a life of love.

Ennis should have recognized this sooner. Had he found out about Randall sooner, perhaps he would have indeed realized it.

had he found out about randall sooner, maybe his reaction wouldn't be as nonchalant as when he found out after jack died. after all he said during their final meeting that the things he didn't know would get jack killed if he come to know of them. would he try to hurt jack if he really found out before that? finding out that the one person you really love is cheating on you is not news that you'll want to kiss and make up over....(in my opinion)

tpe · « **Reply #164 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 06:56 AM »

Quote from: lauren on Apr 25, 2007, 03:24 AM

had he found out about randall sooner, maybe his reaction wouldn't be as nonchalant as when he found out after jack died. after all he said during their final meeting that the things he didn't know would get jack killed if he come to know of them. would he try to hurt jack if he really found out before that? finding out that the one person you really love is cheating on you is not news that you'll want to kiss and make up over....(in my opinion)

KNowing about it after Jack died must have hurt more than angered Ennis. He had not yet found the shirts. Perhaps he thought that somehow, he was somehow responsible for Jack's death, as Edgar had noted in another thread. I cannot help thinking that feelings of guilt and remorse washed over Ennis in that instant. Anger was probably a moot thing to him at that point.

ragtimecowboy · « **Reply #165 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 09:13 PM »

I think Ennis would be mighty upset since a name and a face could be connected to Jack's giving up and moving on. I have to agree with you, Ennis was far too trapped by his fears to take a stand. How sad!

Quote from: LuvJackNasty on Feb 11, 2007, 02:32 PM

Well Ennis was mighty unhappy about Mexico so I think that having the knowledge of Randall would have brought on a fiercer reaction. Mexico was a bunch of nameless, faceless people whereas Randall was in close proximity to Jack, had a name and a face and was more of a threat. Seeing his reaction to all them things he don't know I could see Ennis being incredibly angry and hauling off and punching him. I think that hearing about Randall from Papa Twist was like a new knife plunged into his heart and that's what makes the shirts more impactful (to me). Do I think Ennis would have stopped traveling around the coffeepot and make his way to Texas? No. I'd like to think he would. I do think it would have made him stop and think though- that Jack was planning on getting his sweet life with or without Ennis. I think it would have been a wake up call of sorts for him.

tpe · « **Reply #166 on:** Apr 26, 2007, 07:02 AM »

Quote from: ragtimecowboy on Apr 25, 2007, 09:13 PM

I think Ennis would be mighty upset since a name and a face could be connected to Jack's giving up and moving on. I have to agree with you, Ennis was far too trapped by his fears to take a stand. How sad!

Well said. There lies the difference...

welshwitch · « **Reply #167 on:** Apr 26, 2007, 01:29 PM »

Mexicans ( unidentified) woud probably not seem very real to Ennis, who had never done any traveling - they're remote and vague.

Randall, on the other hand, has a local habitation and a name, and is therefore real and threatening.

tpe · « **Reply #168 on:** Apr 27, 2007, 07:57 AM »

Quote from: welshwitch on Apr 26, 2007, 01:29 PM

Mexicans ( unidentified) woud probably not seem very real to Ennis, who had never done any traveling - they're remote and vague.

Randall, on the other hand, has a local habitation and a name, and is therefore real and threatening.

Ansd Randall was even more threatening if he indeed was amenable to a sweet life...

welshwitch · « **Reply #169 on:** Apr 27, 2007, 11:58 AM »

He also looks pretty big - taller than Jack/Jake. I know he'd been to university but I wonder if he was rough and tough under the city clothes?

manhattangirl · « **Reply #170 on:** Apr 27, 2007, 05:22 PM »

Randall physically bigger, perhaps younger, educated, and sexually perhaps more dominating and demanding than Ennis. Could Jack really resist being waned of by this man, who approached him, and not the other way around?

Jack wouldn't have to battle any more, but be taken away, and taken care of. Live the "sweet life". There comes a time when he has to decide, that one moment of twenty years ago, was just that, a moment. Jack lived twenty years on that one moment, and I guess decided it's time really start looking ahead.

When Jack was watching Ennis drive off that last time, maybe it was good bye. IMO.

aintfoolin · « **Reply #171 on:** Apr 28, 2007, 02:27 AM »

By not agreeing to live the sweet life Jack wanted, I think after a certain amount of time Ennis no longer held the cards as far as Jack was concerned, He handed them over by his insistence on giving into his denial and fear. It became Jack's choice with Randall. I feel it was Jack's private decision alone. He wanted Ennis, yes but he also wanted a whole life with someone...on a permanent basis. I feel he had proved his love and earned a life where he could share and control something solid and real in his life. Ennis just could'nt find it necessary to be there for him. Ennis thought he had it all sorted out and everything was going his way. There was a time for Jack and time for everything else thousands of miles away. Jack ,as Jack does found ( or at least was thinking about it) a way to survive. Did'nt go looking for Randall... Randall found him. I'm sure many times thought on his man up in Wyoming, his heart, but Randall was there. right there down the road. And wanting him sexually and maybe more than that. I could almost hear Jack rationalizing it all on that bench. Who can blame him for trying to find love and acceptance with this handsome ,willing cowboy? I don't.Until Ennis gets past his "boys like you" mindset, Jack can never happily live with Ennis before this attitude rears its ugly head again and Jack knew it.Randall did'nt seem to have that major problem. MO

welshwitch · « **Reply #172 on:** Apr 28, 2007, 01:33 PM »

I think you're right; still, supposing that Jack had settled down somewhere with Randall, I wonder if before long he would have started to regret it? Depends on whether he needed Ennis more than sexually, I suppose. I often wonder what they talked about all those years - but then did Jack have any more in common with Randall?

If Ennis is tragic because he is trapped by his own unconquerable fears, I see Jack as tragic because he was never going to find a fulfilling relationship. Randall was probably going to be second-best.

Ennis I think would have simply retreated into his shell, perhaps even further than he did after Jack's death.

aintfoolin · « **Reply #173 on:** Apr 29, 2007, 04:57 AM »

Certainly right WW , Jack's story is tragic as he turns out to be fighting a loosing battle concerning his plans for he and Ennis. He loved him, but Jack failed to understand that he could not change Ennis in the way he so desperatly wanted to. He could only propose scenarios to Ennis then wish and hope Ennis will latch on to the idea of a committment . ( a sweet life, or just more time with him) It is something Ennis has to do on his own. It has to be true to Ennis himself. He must before he can make Jack truly happy. Ennis's conflicts are from within himself. It is he who has to accept who he is in order to fully accept Jack.. He cannot be *forced* into admitting someting he's not ready to accept. Not good in the long run. Jack is gay. Ennis loves Jack. Jack loves Ennis . Ennis must admit they are the same. You can't fool Mother Nature as the saying goes. but Ennis was just foolng himself. Jack was'nt dumb. He must have seen Randall's progressive manner. He was on his way to making something out of his college degree, an Animal Husbandry major. Jack perhaps considered all this. Had to compare what he faced with Ennis. Don;t get me wrong here though Jack was'nt totally about the money so much as he was wanting a normal full life. How lucky was Jack to come upon some one who could fit like a puzzle peice into his own desires as a rancher? Jack knows about as much about Randall as Randall knows about Jack . Their commonality was a knowledge of big business dealings which further fits into Jack's plans as well as a common acceptance of the *secret* life's strategy. Jack made expensive deals in Newsomes's business, and Randall was already chosen to be the foreman on this Roy Taylor's large ranch. Apparently Randall got *perks* such as use of the guy's cabin so he had to be on good terms with this "good ol boy" Taylor.They both felt comfortable around people, high-end business types, unlike Ennis who loathed social interaction. This relationship had potential imo. Had Ennis known about this relationship earlier, I think he would have givin a little more thought to his insisitence on pushing Jack away....straight into the arms of Randall.All this being said ,the question still remains: Could Jack and Ennis finally let go of what they had? We can only speculate on this mystery I'm afraid. Who knows? My thoughts.

manhattangirl · « **Reply #174 on:** Apr 29, 2007, 08:40 AM »

Ennis was in love with a man, and could never get pass that point, but would see Jack a couple of times a year because he love him, and needed to be with him, but only in the mountains, isolated, away from the world. Ennis would shoot down any idea of living together, but would kill Jack if ever had an idea of moving on with someone else. Ennis's fear was totally of himself and his inability to deal with it. Ennis above all else had to accept himself to be able to build a life with Jack.

To be able to handle Randall or anyone he considered a threat to his relationship with Jack, he had be sure of himself, and he just wasn't able or capable, but if he did that there would no threat to their relationship, or ever a thought of a treat. They were deeply in love and nothing could come between that or them. IMO.

welshwitch · « **Reply #175 on:** Apr 29, 2007, 02:03 PM »

Interesting posts, both of you. One thing that crosses my mind is to wonder why Ennis never apparently considered the likelihood of Jack's being approached by, never mond attracted to, another man. If you love someone, at least in the early stages you tend to go through the "How could anyone so wonderful love someone like me?" thing. Given how self-evidently attractive Jack is ( as represented by Jake - he's less so in the ss) it seesm soemwht egotistical or plain unimaginative of Ennis never to have considered the possibility.

tpe · « **Reply #176 on:** Apr 30, 2007, 08:49 AM »

It just occured to me while writing a response in another thread that we should not lose sight of all the motivations behind Jack's decision to move on.

Jack probably thought that Ennis suffered too much because of his love for Jack -- this was evident in the last meeting. Part of the motivation in Jack wanting to moving on was probably to free Ennis from the pain and the conflict that consumed him.

In this light, I wonder if Ennis would have reacted by gradually being reconciled to life without Jack.

I am not saying that Ennis or Jack would cease to love each other. I just wonder whether both would come to an understanding of a "separate peace".

Perhaps in his heart of hearts, Jack thought that this was for the best, and that he believed that Ennis wanted it to.

welshwitch · « **Reply #177 on:** Apr 30, 2007, 10:24 AM »

So you're saying "If you love someone, set them free"? Are you saying then that Jack feels enough in tune with Ennis's contradictions and complications to realise that he would in the end accept loneliness and isolation as prefereable to the turbulence their relationship caused? I might agree except that twenty years seems a long time to have gone on with the relationship befrore deciding this. There would have to be a prcipitating factor - would that be the combination of Randall's appearance coupled with Ennis's increasing reluctance to arrange meetings?

tpe · « **Reply #178 on:** May 01, 2007, 08:04 AM »

Quote from: welshwitch on Apr 30, 2007, 10:24 AM

So you're saying "If you love someone, set them free"? Are you saying then that Jack feels enough in tune with Ennis's contradictions and complications to realise that he would in the end accept loneliness and isolation as prefereable to the turbulence their relationship caused? I might agree except that twenty years seems a long time to have gone on with the relationship befrore deciding this. There would have to be a prcipitating factor - would that be the combination of Randall's appearance coupled with Ennis's increasing reluctance to arrange meetings?

I was thinking more of the scenario where Ennis would have inevitably reconciled himself to losing Jack, even though I doubt that they would stop loving each other. This is a probable reaction that we had not really discussed. Would Ennis perhaps had been relieved to have the pressure taken away?

It was clear from the last meeting that Ennis was hurting deep inside. When does the balanace tip? How much hurt can be withstood before the threshold is crossed and separation becomes worth considering?

welshwitch · « **Reply #179 on:** May 01, 2007, 01:44 PM »

Could it even be that if he knew about Randall, after the immediate reaction, which mught be fury, jealousy, whatever, Ennis might actually, and perhaps secretly, feel some sense of relief? Not that he wanted to be without Jack but that all the conflicts and demands would come to an end if Jack and he were no longer in the same relationship.

And going on from that, could they have moved into a non-sexual relationship aand remained friends? It's possible, specially if you live a long way apart anyway.