Early in Scenes from a Marriage, Marianne speaks about the need for consistency and kindness. Compassion alone can be enough to make up for a lack of emotional or romantic love.
As we see over the course of 40 years, that is a naive delusion. We need love. We need others. Loneliness and atomization and the anxiety it breeds are a path to meaninglessness and pain.
Bergman understands- even if he prefers not to say it outright - that mankind needs grace and love. To reject it as consistently as Johan does - tells you everything about his legacy.
Liv Ullman is such a divine presence in these films. Her naive but angelic nature are the necessary compliment to Johan’s casual cruelties.