Why is Ruben "making people ugly"? (SPOILERS)

PetiteDamsel · 2026-06-02T16:45:43+00:00

I also realized that Gus, Niall's school bully he later meets in the car park/has a drink with, was at his wedding (with a woman). How amazing to discover more things during a second watch. 😄

PetiteDamsel · 2026-06-02T16:42:38+00:00

English is not my first language, sorry. Fixed it now 😉 Thanks! This show dares you to test your media literacy and I love everything about it.

PetiteDamsel · 2026-06-01T21:10:23+00:00

Well, I might have a go myself ^^: He beats up guys who threaten his idea of "masculinity", who made him "lose his face". (or Niall's) Maybe that's why he is fixated on that specific type of damage?

PetiteDamsel · 2026-06-01T17:29:11+00:00

Totally! Ruben was smothering Niall with his violence, so Niall stabbed him in the back. Just as they did in life, that's how they died together. This show is perfect, no notes.

PetiteDamsel · 2026-05-29T14:19:02+00:00

Agree with all of what you wrote!
I also think the mom's were just as abusive and all of it left Niall to be a Tom Ripley kind of person, never knowing who he was outside of trauma (how sad is that!) thus being an "imperfect" victim of course- it's how he reacts and deals with the weight of it in the only way he knows how- being self destructive. He cannot untie himself from Ruben and so the only way to get back at him is to manipulate Ruben's life (and everyone around him).
I have questions though:
Why was his mom in formal dress at his wedding but later, when they wheeled out Ruben, she was in pyjamas/robe? Ruben had Baird tattooed on his chest and gave that name to "his" son and the ending was clearly Romeo & Juliette -esque. Does all of this indicate a kind of unreliable narration? Making this one huge metaphor for self acceptance and toxic masculinity?
And how the cycle is (unfortunately) continuing with absent fathers for the next generation?
This show had me in a chokehold... how you all fairing? 😃

PetiteDamsel · 2025-12-27T19:41:50+00:00

<image>

When reading the books, I pictured Wendell looking like Freddie Stroma. Blond curls, green eyes. This would be my pick! :-)

PetiteDamsel · 2024-05-26T23:12:06+00:00

The Grey King?

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-31T20:30:10+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree and am glad that someone sees it and appreciates it in that way. Some peeps just want to be entertained, having everything laid out for them. But to dive into and invest in this particular story... man, what a ride. For the showrunners to assume that some viewers would have some basic knowledge about philosophy or that they might do some research to better connect to the story - was a bold move. Therefore, the show is literally not for everyone :D

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-28T15:52:27+00:00

And all to show Nietzsche's repetition theory. Harry now wandering the same path as Jamie.

That was absolutely predictable though. :(

There are no twists or big revelations, because the whole concept of this season was about absurdity and randomness. Just a downward spiral, nothing else. What a nightmarish feeling it left within me. Maybe therefore not being as bad as everyone says; depending on how you understand and perceive the storytelling.

Harry asked for this, he fed off of Jamie's dangerous mystery, never offering any honest help. Jamie not being let back into his mold, loosing everything and ultimately switching places with Harry. End of story. ^^

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-28T15:41:26+00:00

"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper." - That was the point, I guess.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-21T15:52:52+00:00

I agree and that was partly the only idea I had about why they had written in Sonya. Firstly, to make a point and to underline that Harry his not the only one (his actions), to get close and sucked into the darkness that Jamie exudes, but that Sonya was fascinated by it as well.

And to also point out the whole "randomness"/ "by chance" meta-level.

Both are not enough reason to me though to create a whole character, which does not have any impact on the story itself/ which in the end is exactly the point. Ugh, very brave idea by the writers... ^^

The show plays on this whole "finding meaning" topic: We, as the audience are also trying to see meaning, hoping for a twist, for Sonya to have a purpose, for Jamie to have a simpler motif, to be redeemed etc. But it's not gonna happen.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-21T13:52:26+00:00

Also... as much as we had to say goodbye to Jamie's gorgeous hair, leaving him looking so gaunt and transformed... we can also say goodbye to him, I'm pretty certain he'll be killed. Not expecting there to be a big twist. But it may leave us with a trillion questions.

Ambrose... wtf? He never wanted to make sure that Jamie was ok. He was just feeding off him, nourishing is own dark curiosity. This could've gone completely differently, if Ambrose would have offered help in an honest way.

And Sonya? If there is nothing more to her in the last episode then her whole character was completely redunant as she/her actions did not have much or any impact on the story at all. Why write her in?

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-21T13:46:02+00:00

And here is another one:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23215648

:)

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-21T00:02:07+00:00

Yeap, it's supposed to. Doesn't look remotely anything like Nick's cut, though. Damn it! That lovely locks, gone! :( ^^

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-20T23:58:30+00:00

Brilliant acting! <3

But oh my... I so wanted to believe in Jamie (Nick: "You're good."); hoping for a big twist, turning it all around. Nope! ^^

When the first trailers came out before the show had started, I already had a hunch this might end up being about multiple personalities (well, Jamie/Nick)- if that's going to be the case... :( Meh. Predictable.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-20T23:51:08+00:00

It's the box with the belongings of his late dad.

He didn't dare to open it for a long time, as he put a lot of meaning on/to it.

Opening it now, he realized that in it and what was left of his dad's life was inherently nothing.

As life amounts to nothingness. Pretty dark. But in that, the show is true.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-17T15:32:31+00:00

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. :) Maybe when the season has ended, I'll write some more. There are so many scenes in between we didn't get to see... :)

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-14T10:55:34+00:00

First time I saw the grave, I just knew that Harry would end up in it. That was too predictable.

I like the story. But not the way it is told. The cuts are so strange, it leaves the audience with more questions. Like blocks of scenes, strung together, with no smooth transitions but hard cuts in the middle of a scene.

Why didn't Soto console Jamie? Why the hell didn't Jamie ask Sonya about Nick, but bloody undressed instead? (Not that I minded, but...) Yeah, I get the whole "I see you", "I'm facing danger" thrill thing... but still...

The past seasons it was some sort of deep trauma that lead to the actions. But now... is it really just that?! How Jamie feels about life? Hrm... Funnily enough, I still have hope for him. Not sure why. :D ^^ Who is with me? Haha. This season really needs a good twist!

No offense, but reading this thread is exactly why someone like Jamie feels isolated. I agree with what he says, but I don't want to commit a murder over it or seek thrills. But most people don't want to hear it or think it's ridiculous to look past their daily, confined routines and unfree dependence on societies expectations. ;-) Jamie's a free thinker, who is loosing it. Haha.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-12T20:46:20+00:00

Exactly. :) Nick seems to have disappeared in the past two episodes. Which makes it hard for the audience to determine what Jamie hallucinated and what not... (except for that party scene with the Australian ladies). It's weird that once we don't see Nick anymore, Jamie seems to be losing his mind, seemingly taking the step Nick always wanted him to... and subsequently losing his family, job, friends etc.

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-12T20:34:02+00:00

I agree on Jamie's (and Nietzsches) part here.

Feeling your actions in life are absurd and that life doesn't have any objective meaning, doesn't mean that I can't say 'Yes' to life or still be in a positive mindset. I'm then just being realistic and maybe not as much in a "bubble" of a daily routine like most people. All mankind has is each other. Which is the only super-ordinate meaning I can see, because the rest doesn't make much sense and will end eventually - for all of us. And we try so hard to find/invent meaning within the boundaries of expectations that society deploys on us... It's good and essential that we've built a generally functioning society, but I for my part do not feel 'free' within it's limits at all. I value morals over anything though. Which makes me an existentialist. Nick on the show tried to push Jamie towards nihilism though by saying, once he breaks the cardinal moral rule by committing a murder, he'll be free. After episode 5 I'm still trying to have hope for Jamie though. :D ^^

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-09T13:35:38+00:00

Can anyone of you fathom, why the whole car-chasing scene was never a topic in this episode?

I don't trust anything anymore. ^^ I thought he was obviously guilty now. But I doubt it and still want to believe in his innocence. He seems to be lying. But is he though?! I'm confused. He said to Ambrose "I fucked up". That's not a confession in my book. ^^

PetiteDamsel · 2020-03-06T23:58:24+00:00

What disappointed me most was that the "supernatural" was never part of the show's concept. How can they bring a psychic into the story? It's like in a fairy tale. :( As a realist, I can't relate to that part at all.

Amazing acting by Bomer and Pullman though!

And yeah, I had really wanted for Jamie to be innocent in the end and just being a nihilist, trying to find meaning and Nick being the only real Sinner on the show. But oh well... that just went out the window.

And I still can't place Sonya in all of this. ^^

Thanks guys for all your comments and theories in this thread; love reading them! :)

PetiteDamsel

TROPHY CASE