Just met this woman on a dating app, we hit it off well and she started saying we were like yin and yang with our conversation, then I got hit with this after we made the decision to stop texting bc I had to work. What does this mean? Feral seems pretty on the nose but I’m just making sure
Curry Baker says that this movie is about codependency and how far it can go. I do not see that at all, codependency typically involves two people volunteering to give into the giver and the taker dynamic. And while that can kind of be true for how that plays out post wish, that is not the real Nikki doing any of that stuff. Her free will is completely absent from the film overall once the wish is granted.
My initial impression is that this film feels like it plays out more like a loss of innocence in the sense that getting what you want, especially at the expense of another person, can turn a shy, unassuming, innocent person into a really awful, despicable person. All of Bear's actions post wish are purely to serve himself, but he consistently acts like the victim (especially in the scene where the real Nikki appears and asks for him to kill her). It takes some really awful stuff happening for him to even begin to think "you know, maybe what I did was wrong and I really shouldn't be doing this." He was completely innocent when he made the wish, there was no way for him to know what was actually going to happen. Once the stuff starts actually happening though, he just stops caring because it benefits him. He gets what he wants, and he seems to be completely fine that it's all fake and none of it is real. It shouldn't even have to get to that point. Together (2025) makes a much stronger point about codependency, this feels more like a study of covert narcissism. That's my read at least.
What are everyone else's thoughts? Am I off base? Do I have my psychological terms right? I am no expert in emotions and psychology but I am interested to learn more because the subject is extremely interesting to me.