Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)

*With Ariel, I mainly focused on the live-action remake but pointed out that much of what I said held true for the original animated film as well. With Eric, though, I’m just talking about the live-action movie.*

I’ve already talked about my love for the way the live-action Little Mermaid fleshes out Eric’s character and expands upon Ariel’s romance with him, and in my Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley post for Ariel, I mentioned the “Autistic4Autistic” view of their relationship. To the latter point, I have to say, no lies detected. Ariel and Eric’s romance isn’t great in this film just because Eric has added nuance as a character; it’s great because they’re different from other people in the same way and can feel that about each other.

Like Ariel, Eric has a deep obsession that nobody else seems to understand. He too is fascinated by other cultures—while Ariel is entranced by the human world, Eric chases the experience of sailing to as many ports as he possibly can, learning other ways of doing things and acquiring goods that his small island has never seen. He explains to his mother that he doesn’t want the island to be left behind, that he wants to find new things that will benefit them and lead them into the future, and to be sure, that’s part of it. Eric is a considerate guy who wants to help others. But there’s also something humming beneath his skin that needs this. He’s drawn to exploration, and he can’t bring himself to stop no matter how much his mother demands to the contrary. He has a collection very similar to Ariel’s, and when she comes to the palace, this is how they first bond: with Ariel expressing curiosity toward the collection that means so much to Eric and with him happily infodumping to her about the things he loves.

I interpret Eric as probably AuDHD (Ariel could be an AuDHDer as well, now that I think about it,) because in addition to throwing over societal expectation for the sake of his special interest, he’s also incredibly novelty-seeking. As I said, he loves adventure, exploration, and learning new things. He’s very kinetic and can be impulsive, such as climbing out onto the bowsprit to fix something, heedless of Grimsby’s protests of danger.

He also does fairly well socially. Others find Eric’s obsession with other cultures odd, but he fits in well with the ship’s crew and enjoys mingling with them. Of course, the fact that he’s a prince probably bestows some extra goodwill on him, but he’s genuinely charming and charismatic. However, there are some social things that make him stand out a little. When he gets on something, he is on it, like a broken record, and no one can really get him off that topic. And he’s not really one for hiding his feelings. When he realizes that Ariel doesn’t speak and thinks this means she can’t be the young woman who saved him from the shipwreck, he’s still kind and gentle with her, but he can’t disguise his kneejerk disappointment.

Thinking about it, you could argue that Eric’s neurodivergent traits help shield him (partially) from Ursula’s enchantment. She does use Ariel’s voice to entrance him, but while Eric is pretty plainly hypnotized in the animated movie, Eric in the live-action film is never fully under her control. Even as he prepares to announce his engagement to “Vanessa,” he looks around for Ariel and feels confused about what he wants. The magic is telling him one thing, but his mind and heart are telling him another. And honestly, going, “I may be under a spell, but this doesn’t make sense to me,” is such an autistic-ass thing to do. Despite being under Ursula’s thrall, he keeps questioning it, and he keeps being pulled toward the person he has a true kindship with. Neurodivergent love wins out!