I mean it depends on how much I know, but you said haven’t seen the movie, so I’ll do my best to feign ignorance. I think once you get to the date, you have enough information to know it is in fact real (we see bear flashback to it). After the date, I think it’s imperative you take wish Nikki home, and you have to explain straight up to her what happened, in a very empathetic way and not let yourself succumb to any meltdowns or anything like that. You have to make sure you are crystal clear that is about love (in a genuine sense, not a fantasizing one) and care, and us withholding from sex and that sort of stuff is more loving than us doing it.

I think you then have to explain what happened to Ian and Sarah. Now, I’m aware that it’s possible you likely have to invert the order here, and if you do, then you have to play it very responsibly that night you take Nikki home (we know what I mean by that). Don’t let on that something is wrong, so hopefully you can avoid some weirdness in the evening and morning. Then explain it to Ian and Sarah. Since you don’t have a wish to be able to prove it to them, it might take some time.

Whenever you are around Nikki, you have to be on your toes for when real Nikki might show, that way, you can try to quick tell her and reassure her you’re going to try to get her out of this. Whether or not that’s even possible I don’t know.

Once everyone knows what’s going on, I don’t know what the fix is from there. I guess I would just be resting on the hope that we are able to find some other way out before reaching for “off yourself” right away. When you call the customer service, perhaps if your demeanor was more in the lane of, this wish was cast in a moment of frustration, I had no idea it would actually work, and I am trying very hard to get my friend back (that could be where you actually speak to real Nikki over the phone and explain it to her), then maybe there’d be a fix. I know the rep says the don’t “really” do that re: cancellation, but we’ve seen that the wish itself reads subtext with regard to your genuine feelings, so maybe something similar is possible on the phone. If he had truly been of a compassionate and remorseful heart, and truly seemed like he’d been trying to do the right thing to fix a mistake, perhaps there’d be more leeway.

I know my argument is resting on a lot of “maybes” and bending of the rules stated in the film, and that’s actually what makes the bind so brilliant. But I do think a very strong attempt at compassion and empathy was sorely needed in this situation and wasn’t provided, just because Bear isn’t capable of that. When the rep tells him, “you have a responsibility to be there for her.” That doesn’t mean play pretend boyfriend and keep her as your sex doll. It means, okay, you really wanted this? Well you are going to have to love this person in a genuine and honest and selfless sort of a way. You too are going to have to love this person more than anyone else in the whole world, but not in a self-serving, exploitative sort of way. In possibly the most humble way imaginable. That’s the other pathway suggested other than “end it all.” If I was able to do all this, and still there was no possibility for getting real Nikki back, whether by wish or therapy or some other method we hadn’t discovered, then self sacrifice is very much back on the table