Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,’ we meet Axel’s daughter, Jane. It has been thirty since we last saw Axel, and he has not been around much for his daughter either. His being an absent father has led to a crack in their relationship, but that doesn’t stop him from immediately flying to Beverly Hills when he discovers that she is in danger. Being out of touch with her daughter’s life means Axel knows little about it. This is why he is surprised when he meets Detective Bobby Abbott and discovers that he and Jane briefly date. There is a spark between them, which raises a very important question: why did they break up in the first place? And, more importantly, will they find their way back to each other? SPOILERS AHEAD
Jane’s Equation With Axel Influenced Her Relationship with Bobby
While Axel may not have been around much for Jane, anyone who knows them can see how alike they are. Rosewood mentions this early on when he tells Jane to stop pursuing Enriquez’s case, but she refuses, displaying her stubbornness, which she shares with her father. We see the similarities between them highlighted throughout the film, which proves how much Axel influences Jane, even when she hates him. This influence is the main reason behind her breaking up with Bobby, even though she likes him.
From their interactions, it is clear that things are amicable between Jane and Bobby. If anything, he still cares about her, and she feels more comfortable talking to him about her feelings than anyone else. Still, she keeps him at an arm’s distance, which no one understands, including Axel. Later, Bobby tells Axel that she broke up with him because she didn’t want to date a cop. This is a direct indication of Jane’s fractured relationship with her father.
She has seen her father more dedicated to his job, always prioritizing it over his family. She has seen how selfish it has made him and how his obsession with his work led to their family breaking up, which caused her a lot of pain. When settling down and having a family, Jane doesn’t want the same thing to happen again. By ending up with a cop, she doesn’t want to go through the same thing her mother went through and put her future children through the same thing she went through when she was a kid. Because her father is her only example, she cannot imagine that Bobby would be any different. Eventually, however, she starts to realize that she might be wrong.
Jane and Bobby are Brought Closer by the End of the Movie
Nothing breaks down walls between people like surviving close encounters with death. Jane and Bobby work closely with Axel to bring down Grant and save Enriquez. In this, all three of them come close to getting killed and end up saving each other. What makes things even more interesting is that all parts of their investigation could technically be declared illegal because, at that time, Axel was working outside his jurisdiction while Bobby was suspended.
Bobby knew the dangers that the case promised. He could have gone home and sat out the whole thing when suspended. It wouldn’t have made any difference to him. And yet, he decides to join Axel and Jane. Throughout the investigation, he proves to be an indispensable asset, and the events bring him and Jane together as they see a more vulnerable side of each other. It is also easier for Jane to talk with him now that he knows Axel and understands her inhibitions about their relationship.
Still, they have feelings for each other, which strengthen as they spend more time with each other. At one point, Jane kisses Bobby, which surprises him because he thought she didn’t want them to be together. The kiss proves that Jane is not over him yet, and despite her declaration of not wanting to be with a cop, she has feelings for Bobby. In the end, when the dust has settled following the shootout at Grant’s place, Jane leans on Bobby, who comforts her as they see a wounded Axel being taken away in an ambulance. This moment shows that the walls Jane had unwittingly built around herself have been torn down, and she is ready not to let her relationship with Axel define her romantic entanglements. It’s a clear sign that she and Bobby will give their romance another chance and end up with each other.
Read More: Beverly Hills Cop: Is Axel Foley Based on a Real Cop?
