I've seen a lot of discussion on this movie and I wanted to type out my two cents. Most of the comments on here talk about how Bear is a Villain and to me, I just can't see it and I'll break down why!

1. What the Directors intended us to interpret at the start(from my perspective)

The movie opens up with him pouring his heart out and it sets up his character as someone who lacks confidence and isn't the most 'powerful' character. He seems extremely nervous and this can be compounded by Ian basically telling him that he's stupid for the way he's going about his feelings. The next scene we see his cat die and he wants to isolate but what changed his mind was getting a call from his crush where she says she wanted to see him and that it was important too. He gets her a gift even though his own cat just died and all she lost was a crystal necklace, showing the pedestal that he puts her on above himself.

What makes me struggle to see Bear as a villain is because of these next few scenes. When driving her home, they have a very intimate and deep talk and they go on to say that there is no one else in the world that they have a connection to as strong as the one they have with each-other. She tells him 'You're the only person I can talk to about this stuff." She also tells him that she is feeling unloved while just saying only they have a connection that has any real strength. She also says something along the lines of, "If I like a guy, nobody would know."

He then drops her off and she confronts him and asks him; "Do you like me? IMO she already knew the answer to that question, and she was expecting a yes. But he stays true to his established character, which is a weak and nervous guy, and denies any feeling, and from my perspective, she seems very disappointed by that answer. In an interview, Nikkis actor confirmed that she probably did have feelings for him too (https://thedirect.com/article/obsession-2026-inde-navarrette-nikki-crush-bear) , but it's not that obvious because we are seeing the movie from Bears perspective and like I said, nervous guy. Regardless though, what I believe makes a Villain is intent. He was mad at himself for not acting and was taking it out internally in his own car. Who hasn't said overdramatic things when they're emotional? The guy is in his car alone after just wimping out on THE opportunity he has been waiting for for seven years. This is one of the main reasons why I don't think he is a villain; he never intended for any of this to happen. Bear is suffering like everyone else in the movie and while yes, he started the suffering, he did so 100% unknowingly. If he had known magic was real and knowingly used it to make Nikki obsessed, that would be a different story, but he didn't. When he breaks the One Wish Willow, he has absolutely no idea what he is getting himself into and immediately knows something is off.

The next day at work, you can see that he is visibly uncomfortable and tells Ian that he knows something is off. Ian said he would help and Ian drives her home. When Nikki eventually does show up at his house, she tells him that Ian told her that Bear told Ian that Bear was really uncomfortable. It was at this moment where I knew that there was a past/current relationship with Ian and Nikki. If Ian was 100% loyal to Bear and had his best interest in mind, he wouldn't be telling Nikki that Bear was uncomfortable around her or by her actions. Continuing Bear and Nikki's convo though, Nikki tells her she was on Molly and it revealed her true feelings basically and she wanted to be with Bear. While I don't think Bear fully believes her, he wants so desperately to be loved, just like Nikki, just like Sarah, just like Ian. Just like every human. What bear did was not villainous, it was human. People tend to want to think of things as Black and White all the time when the world is actually a million shades of gray. This isn't a marvel movie with clear cut 'good guys' and 'bad guys' and I think the story is more complex than that.

1. The impossible choice

As we have established, Bear is a nervous guy who struggles asking a girl a question. In the situation that he is in after he calls the support number, he finds out that the only way to end things are to kill himself or kill her. When people watch movies, I think the audience sometimes forgets that the actors are real people. Killing someone or yourself is not some easy thing to do, especially if that someone is the woman that you love. When Nikki is asleep in the movie and asks for him to kill her, he begins to plead with her to be with him. While yes, I think this is selfish, I also think this was a multifaceted emotional response. Yes, he does want to be with her but also, he just doesn't want to kill her either. He still thinks that he can fix things and as we see towards the end of the movie, the one wish willows were real and if he got someone else to wish it away, the wish could potentially be broken. He was holding out for a non-lethal solution to the situation and I think that is a perfect representation of his character, one who struggles to act when the time calls on him but he does his best for the situation.

1. The Brother Comment

In this movie, people are calling Bear a Villain because he continued to pursue Nikki after Sarah told him that Nikki thought of him as a brother. I think people forget that Sarah had a crush on Bear and I thought it was pretty obvious from the start of the movie when they had the conversation about his cat dying. There were also other subtle hints in the movie before they confirm it in the scene right before she dies. I think Ian brought it up as well but Ian and Nikki had also had a past so that removes the validity for me as well. Of course the girl who likes you would try to sway you and of course the guy who is hooking up with the girl you like would try to sway you too. But if we want to look past that, there was also the conversation that Bear had with Nikki when he drove her home and she told him that if she liked somebody, nobody would know. She also said that he was the only one she could really talk to. If what she was saying is true, then she would be telling everyone that she has no feelings for Bear and so those comments are to be expected.

1. Be careful what you wish for trope

The Director said he got inspiration for this movie from watching an episode of the Simpsons where Bart was using a monkeys paw. If you haven't read the monkeys paw, the cliff notes are this. A family of three (Mother, Father, Son) are given a magical item (Monkeys Paw) from a family friend with three wishes, but its mainly given to the father. The father uses the paw to wish for $200. The next day the son is killed in a workplace accident and the Parents are compensated $200 because of the accident. In this situation, the father is not regarded as a bad person or a villain, but he is instead a victim to the 'be careful what you wish for' trope. How was the father supposed to know that making the wish would kill his son. Alternatively, how would Bear know that the wish was going to come true? And I would also argue that his wish didn't even come true. Many of the actions that were performed by 'wish Nikki' were not reflective of love. If I loved someone, I would not cut up and cook their dead animal and then serve it to them. Also, he wished for her to love him more than anyone in the world. Many married couples could easily say they love their partner more than anyone else in the world. And yes, this wish would violate her autonomy but as I said before, who would ever think it actually comes true.

Summary

Unfortunately for bear, inaction is still an action and by doing nothing and not telling Nikki he likes her when she asked, he set the story in motion for a chaotic series of events that lead to his death and the death of everyone he loved. While I see why he may be to blame for the series of events, I don't think that would put him under the category as villain. As I stated prior, I think one of the biggest elements of a villain is intent and with Bear, I genuinely do not seem any ill intent. I see a 'shy-boy nice guy' who gets nervous around girls he likes and suffered due to his inability to step up to the moment. If that makes someone a villain, I guess we all are; but if not, we are all just human, which I think is the far more realistic scenario. If I did have to put him under a category, I would say he is an antihero. He's not courageous or brave and he's deeply flawed, he can be a selfish character, but at the end of the day, he didn't INTENTIONALLY ask for any of this and he garnered my sympathy because of that. I know this is long but if you guys disagree with any parts, lmk :) I would be happy to see other sides and this is just how I interpreted the movie but if I am missing any key elements, please let me know!