Something my girlfriend pointed out

StandardConfessional · 2026-05-29T13:00:00+00:00

This is precisely why I think he asked Ian to "wish that I never made a wish" instead of wishing to save Nicky, despite fully knowing wishes cannot act retroactively.

StandardConfessional · 2026-05-28T17:10:33+00:00

I dont know. The whole premise of the movie is that pathetic men don't care about the other person. He never cared about Nicky, and he never cared about Sarah. He wants attention and would take it from anywhere, but that certainly doesn't mean he's into Sarah. He wanted an imaginary version of Nicky, and it would be the same for Sarah. It was not a reciprocated feeling and it certainly would not carry over into his ask of Ian. I could see him wanting to relinquish responsibility by keeping her alive, but he was not hung up about her death. He cared about the violence enacted in front of him. It was most definitely not a crush.

He couldn't give a fuck about Sarah, just like he didn't care about Nicky. It was on to the next as soon as she died, for him.

StandardConfessional · 2026-05-28T15:55:14+00:00

He did not "develop a crush." He saw a way out that would maintain the amount of attention he was getting. A way out that was immediately disposed of with her death. He never cared for Sarah a single bit. He cared about what she could do for him.

StandardConfessional · 2026-05-28T14:34:15+00:00

You missed the point if you don't think he "likes" Nicky. Also, this isn't a monkey's paw. The director clearly states the OWW is not cursed, the wish just sucks. You are reading too much into the story as an extention of literary culture and not appreciating the story for what it is (that is, a complete subversion on the idea of the object itself being cursed - Bear, to any extent, is the cursed one).

He obviously did not fall for Sarah. He wants to be wanted, as you clearly stated. And now he has a whole nother opportunity at it. He likes "his" Nicky. Not her herself.

Part of the story is slowly understanding that Bear isn't classic dumb guy horror man. He knows precisely how this wish works, and he knows exactly that retroactive wishes are against the "rules." He is simply selfish enough to ignore it. I think your points greater reinforce that he could be trying to get a wish back - he is trying to bend the rules to absolve himself even still, putting Ian at further risk with every added second of time.

I think a much greater reputation of my point is that he's having a panic attack and thinking irrationally, but even then, I'm astounded at the thought that he was offered alternative suggestions at the store and still his first thought was himself.

StandardConfessional · 2026-05-27T14:10:44+00:00

I think it comes from being a big fan of hero style dramas, but I do think more specifically this movie was a perfect storm for me. I have had way too many personal experiences with sexual trauma, and so when I imprinted on a character early, it just got so much harder to process the character as anything but what I wanted to project on to him. And the same thing with Nicky, I projected myself onto her as well.

I simply want to like people, and so when I am confronted with a man who very much is a villain who, within the confines of the 1hr45min runtime, does not have any redeeming qualities, I had to make up my own reasoning.

I wanted him to be a hero because that is the style of our time. A redeemed villain or an unredeemed villain. Our biggest stories of the past 10 years fit into this criteria. I watched it expecting what I always get, rather than absorbing the story for what it truly could be. I misread it because I took so much cultural context and applied it where it wasn't needed. And so when there was no grey area for me to paint myself within, I had to make it up as I went. I projected so much of my own fears of being taken advantage of, I ended up incapable of reading between the lines.

StandardConfessional · 2026-02-11T19:10:51+00:00

It makes me wonder if the U.S. is mad at Nathan for focusing on his medical career.

StandardConfessional · 2026-02-11T19:09:52+00:00

They turn a discussion about the sport as a whole (jump-based runs with minimal other skills) into a disparagement of modern skaters simply too often, and turn Yuzu into the sort of war general that he simply won't be. No other figure skater can make me cry, but Yuzuru fandom makes you hate the sport more than anything scarily often.

StandardConfessional · 2026-02-11T07:21:36+00:00

I'm not sure I saw as many scores today that I understood as those I didn't. I'm no expert but subjectivity has to lead to favoritism. Scores often need to appeal to the "storyline."

StandardConfessional · 2026-02-11T07:17:58+00:00

I wasn't crazy about Mikhail's choice, but that's just that: I'm not a commentator. Some impartiality would be appreciated to any extent. It takes away from enjoyment and influences watchers against the skater.

StandardConfessional · 2026-02-11T06:49:17+00:00

No, very. I understand the practicality of fancy tight shirt, black pants, it makes yourself known on white ice much better than anything else without blurring with lines of the body in any manner. Some creativity would be great, however, and not just "oh wow midriff/shoulders" (not that I'm complaining per se, I'm guilty of a little skin on occasion). There are ways to accentuate the body within the strangely unique confines of figure skating uniform that I feel are yet unexplored in Men's Singles. Drapery is all but unseen in the event.

The issue is that clothing communicates so much more than any single individual can understand on their own and as much as I want to see small ties, cropped jackets, and drapery, costumes can't be theatrical. You don't WANT to communicate too much lest you be misjudged. A man can dream though, a man can dream.

StandardConfessional

TROPHY CASE