Many scenes in The Haunting Of Hill House are absolutely terrifying. Yet the Netflix series also featured a lot of sweet moments.
The Haunting of Hill House will be remembered as a scary TV show, but it should not be overlooked that at its core it was about a broken family. In both flashbacks to the past and present-day scenes, audiences witnessed the trials and tribulations of the Crain family as they struggled to deal with the traumatic events in Hill House.
Aside from the scares, Hill House gave viewers sweet scenes that revealed a lot about the characters and their relationships. From young Steve and Luke's treehouse sojourn to Nell's final goodbye, these touching moments established the emotional foundation of the show.
Luke And Nell's Bond
In episode 6, which features some of The Haunting of Hill House's scariest scenes, young Nell disappears for a while and the Crains frantically look for her. She reappears later on and it is revealed that while they searched for her, she was there the whole time, invisible to them. "I was right here and I was screaming and shouting and none of you could see me. Why couldn't you see me?" she asks her family. The scene cuts to adult Luke as he is paying his respect to Nell in the funeral home before it cuts back to his younger self, telling her to never leave him.
It is a particularly touching sequence because it highlights the special bond between Luke and Nell while also showing that there is a precedent to Nell being removed from her family and unable to reach them. While in the present of the story she is no longer among the living, she is still there, trying to reach out to her loved ones, but nobody can see her.
Shirley's Confession To Her Husband
While fans may have missed several details about Shirley, they didn't overlook the fact that she had been unfaithful to her husband, Kevin. In the final episode of the show, she confesses to her husband that she cheated on him in a way that reveals her vulnerability. "I'm going to jump, and I'm asking you to hold my hand while I fall," Shirley says to him as she prepares to tell Kevin the truth.
It's a particularly touching moment for the husband and wife because viewers saw very little of them as a united couple throughout the show and they also did not get to see how much Shirley was worried about losing Kevin before that scene. What Shirley is about to say will hurt her Kevin, but she knows her confession is the only way to have any chance of saving her marriage.
Mrs. Dudley's Reunion With Her Daughter
The Dudleys have been working at Hill House for decades, and they never left because they were tied to it for a reason going beyond any sort of loyalty to their jobs. They stayed for their daughter, Abigail, who died on the fateful night the Crains fled the house.
In the last sequence of the show, the audiences witness Mr. Dudley bring his dying wife Claire up to the house to reunite her with their daughter, and, as he does so, we see the ghosts of Abigail and Claire finally be together again. It's a happy yet bittersweet ending for the Dudleys and a touching moment that shows these parents finally reunited with the child they lost too soon.
Theo's Revelation That She's An Empath
For most of Hill House, Theo keeps a lot to herself. In fact, she barricades herself behind a facade of cynicism and apathy. That all changes in episode 8 when she breaks down and she admits to her sister why she kissed Kevin, revealing a new part of herself.
Theo has the gift of empathy that allows her to feel another person's emotions by touching them. When she touched Nell's corpse, she felt utter emptiness and it swallowed her whole. So Theo had to try to feel something again: "I reached for him because I had to feel something. I had to feel anything," she confesses to Shirley. From that point on, Theo's character becomes more rounded and easier to understand, and that's what makes this scene so poignant.
Steve And Luke Hang Out In The Treehouse
The relationship between adult Luke and adult Steve is a tough one, mainly because of Luke's addiction to drugs. But in a scene from the first episode of the show, viewers can see that it was not always like that. As young Luke is drawing in his treehouse, Steve pays him a visit and helps him write a sign that Luke can put on the door to keep the girls out of his favorite hiding place.
It's a sweet moment showing their big brother/little brother dynamic, while also showing that they used to enjoy spending time together. This moment is even more powerful when considering the fact that it is followed by a scene where a grown Steve confronts a desperate Luke after the latter broke into his apartment and highlights how much things have changed between them.
Nell's Last Dance With Her Husband
Hill House managed to trap Nell by giving her everything she wanted. In this particular scene in episode 5, she hallucinates being reunited with her late husband, Arthur. The sequence is touching because it shows everyone waiting for Nell and telling her what she wants to hear. She even gets to see her parents together and to hear Luke say that he is clean and sober thanks to her. And then, she sees Arthur and they start dancing. The scene is not sweet per se for the viewers, because they know it isn't real and that Nell is being manipulated by the house, but for her, it's the happiest she has been in a long time.
Olivia's Gift To Young Theo
In the third episode of Hill House, Olivia tells Theo about the women in her family being "sensitive" and having always wondered if her daughters might be the same. She is referring to Theo's empathy and tells her about her grandmother to let her daughter know that she understands what she is going through. She then hands her a pair of gloves and says: "These will help with the cold... and the other thing."
Despite all the things that fans of the show ended up finding out about Olivia, it is undeniable that she was a good mother and that she cared about her children deeply. This sweet scene between her and Theo is just one example of how she looked after them.
Olivia's Shows Nell Her Locket
The Bent-Neck Lady is one of the scariest ghosts in Hill House and she haunted Nell her entire life. In the fifth episode, a flashback scene shows Nell asking to sleep in the living room for the night as she is afraid of being in her room. To distract herself, she asks Olivia to show her what's inside the locket she wears around her neck. Inside are pictures of Nell and Luke. Olivia proceeds to lend her the locket for the night and promises that she will give it to Nell when she is older. What makes this sequence sweet might not seem obvious, but it relies on the importance of the locket, something that Olivia wears as a sort of protective shield throughout the show and that Nell eventually gets to use in a similar fashion.
Nell's Final Goodbye
The last things that they did or said to Nell is what haunts the Crain siblings the most throughout The Haunting of Hill House. So in the season finale, they get to see her and talk to her one last time in the Red Room, everyone finds some peace.
The scene is incredibly poignant as Nell reassures all her siblings that they did nothing wrong and that she doesn't hold any of them responsible for what happened. She encourages them to forgive themselves and says "I loved you completely, and you loved me the same. That's all. The rest is confetti." With that, Nell gives her brothers and sisters one last wholesome family moment and frees them from the guilt they may have felt.
