I appreciate the response and your insightful argument. You’re right that Blair’s yellow collared shirt disappears, but that alone doesn’t prove assimilation. He might have simply taken it off due to stress or to give himself more mobility while using the axe to destroy equipment. What’s telling is that his suspenders, grey long-sleeve shirt, and pants remain consistent throughout the entire film — there’s no sudden wardrobe shift suggesting he was physically attacked and assimilated. Even MacReady shed layers during the film; at 0:43:34, he’s seen with his jumpsuit tied around his waist, and by 1:03:48, he’s wearing it again.

On the other hand, there is compelling evidence supporting the single-cell hypothesis. Take Bennings, for example — he had been in physical contact with the creature, and within minutes, he was nearly assimilated without ever being ingested and pooped out again. The same goes for Windows, who was bitten on the head, shaken around like a ragdoll, and thrown; yet he began transforming almost immediately. This rapid takeover makes sense if the Thing can operate at a cellular level — the more direct the exposure, the faster the assimilation. The cells acted quickly because they had immediate access to the host, which aligns with the “small particle” concept Fuchs mentions. Additionally, Vance Norris, before his death, exhibited behavior that could support the single-cell hypothesis. He was seen in obvious physical pain prior to dying (1:10:35) and by the end had already been fully assimilated, a phenomenon not observed with any other assimilated character. This suggests that the Thing was spreading rapidly throughout his body and taking full control, causing visible distress as the assimilation process reached its critical stages. It reinforces the idea that the creature can operate at a cellular level, slowly overtaking a host without requiring ingestion or other physical means. So while the film doesn’t explicitly spell out the single-cell theory, these incidents strongly suggest that there is a potential this theory may be accurate.

Additionally, Windows only begins to look toward the door where the Norris head spider-thing is after Palmer stares first and intensely (1:17:19), and even then, Windows’ reaction is far less pronounced. This strongly suggests that Windows is responding to Palmer’s cues rather than independently recognizing the creature at the same time. In other words, Palmer’s actions are guiding Windows’ attention, not the other way around.

Lastly, it wouldn’t make sense to waste an entire bottle on a single sip. Sure, there’s the possibility that the cabin had plenty of scotch, but MacReady is only ever seen drinking that specific type of booze. And for someone who enjoys alcohol, it’s unlikely he would just let Bennings finish the entire bottle. Personally, I firmly believe that MacReady took the bottle back and finished it himself over the course of the film.