As you recall, Sky said chapters 10-12 would be pretty dark. Chapter 10 proved that to be absolutely correct.
Assuming chapter 11 has something equivalent or worse to what we just saw, what do you think that thing would be?
I ask because of the parallels between the dance scene last chapter and the dialogue in the real world flashback.
So, Catie just died. Got munched. But there’s zero chance they stay dead. My hypothesis is that in the event that someone dies, they wake up in their room in full health. After all, it wouldn’t be good if someone got into an accident or wandered somewhere they weren’t supposed to and shattered Mother’s perfect little world by traumatizing the rest of her precious children. This is what happened in Chapter 2. As Catie ran, something got them - so fast they didn’t even realize what happened. They died, and revived in their room.
The reason Od-Dog was able to get past was from nothing but trial and error. Fighting, learning, dying, reviving, rinse and repeat until victory is achieved. Remember what EE said? He had the look of someone who was prepared to die as he walked upstairs. And he was, because he ultimately had nothing to lose by doing so. Perhaps that’s also how he got all of that reference material for his drawings of the nightmares. He was able to get up close and personal because… well, you get it by now.
So I’m betting chapter 11 will go something like this: Od-Dog and EE are in utter disbelief at what just happened. Or maybe they don’t even know. Either way, they’re surprised to see Catie come out of their room as if nothing had happened at all. Alternatively, what if their memory (sans Catie) of the events has been removed? That includes going up the stairs and the fight itself and anything else that can be used to figure out Catie died.
The tldr is that the children are functionally immortal. There are quite a few parallels between the house and Purgatory after all!
Also, what do you think his true name would be? (I already have something picked out but I still want your thoughts)
My theory is that Catie and Od-Dog knew each other in the real world, either as boyfriend and… I guess you’d call it a “theyfriend” or something, or a one-sided attraction to Catie. Seeing them dance probably awakened OD’s memories, as it’s something he saw before and it made an impression on him. (Picture 1)
But something happened between them, and Od maybe told some sort of lie that Catie couldn’t forgive and she cut him off. He spent time brooding over it, wanting to try and find a way to get Catie to forgive him, and either get back together with them or confess his feelings, or at least try to atone. He went to the abandoned house to be alone and brood over this, where he was entranced by the tape. The boy in picture 2 is Od-Dog, which also happens to bear a resemblance to the other figure to Catie’s right in the VHS YouTube video. I couldn’t get a pic to share but there’s definitely someone there.
Seeing Catie again meant everything to Od-Dog, and it was something he was prepared to risk life and limb for, no matter the cost. That was why he was so brazen about facing the nightmare on 2F - because that was the only way that desire could be realized. (Picture 3) (Also I just realized that spot on his face is on the wrong side in this pic)
Despite the obvious implications set up in chapters 1 and 6 about the bodies dying over time, Od-Dog DID manage to escape the house. He actually managed to get away and return to the real world. But when he saw Catie again, they might have been with a new partner, and they seemed happy, and better off without him. That, or maybe they had moved away or something. (If the latter, then we can assume Catie entered the house after they moved back or was just visiting.) The phrase “I was too late” was not in reference to his body’s death and an inability to escape, but instead in reference to him being too late to patch things up with Catie. So he came back by choice, seeking to submit himself to the house’s brainwashing and forget the pain that is eating him up inside, as well as Catie, of whom that pain is associated with. Maybe coming back a second time causes one to enter through the basement, which is why he came back up that way. (Picture 4)
All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised if Catie just didn’t recognize him from his new body (naturally), the way he speaks, and his innocent and goofy demeanor. But I’m certain that if the boy in picture 2 is Od-Dog’s true self, then Catie was his reason for both escaping and returning. Heck, maybe they kiss and make up, which would be nice. (Picture 5)
Thoughts and opinions welcomed