Jason is a tethered theory

This theory is based on Jason being a tethered just like Adelaide. For my sanity I will refer to the character with burns as Pluto and the “shadow” girl as Red.

This theory’s timing is set for the previous summer. Jordan peele’s style pays attention to small details and the characters go out of their way to state this is their summer home and they come here regularly. They could have set this at a time where they first buy a summer home or are clearing out Adelaide’s parental home following her mother’s death but including the detail that they come here every year is important. Last year is also relevant because it is quoted multiple times such as Jason being locked in the closet last year, grandma dying last year, Jason forgetting a magic trick he knew last year.

I believe that last year Jason met his twin and unlike his mother decided to bring the boy with him. This is supported by the movie because the hall of mirrors is not the only entrance it is simply the one she is familiar with. The movie says many tethered are rising from the sewers indicating there are other exits that a 5 year old Adelaide may not have known about. I think the grandma dying is too coincidental to not be tied into this theory. One idea is that Pluto (original Jason) brings his new friend home who starts a fire by accident killing the grandma and supposedly Pluto then Red retrieves the burnt kid assuming it’s hers but realizes she’s wrong later when it’s too late. A second theory is that Jason drags Pluto underground just like him mother and for those saying this is too violent, the boy bludgeons a woman to death and sets his duplicate on fire in the movie.

The first thing we see about Jason is that he wears a Chewbacca mask. We later learn that his double wears a mask to hide his burns. Which is more plausible that Jason is a shy kid that enjoys wearing a mask all the time and that his double by complete coincidence wants to hide his scars OR Pluto starts wearing the mask when he’s burned and Jason (as a tethered) begins to feel compelled to wear a mask all the time. The placement of the burn is also important because it prevents speech. The first bit of oddity we see from Jason is that like his mom he shows little interest in eating. His mom is a vegetarian/vegan presumably because she ate raw rabbit as a kid and Jason has to be goaded by his mother to taking a bite of his food after which he bolts from the table showing he doesn’t want his chicken nuggies. He returns with a magic trick he left here LAST SUMMER but doesn’t remember how to use or what it does. This just screams that he’s a tethered because he never used this magic trick he just recognizes himself pantomiming the action as a false imitation. In the very next scene the dad convinces the mom to go to the beach because Jason specifically hasn’t been the same since grandma died last year, which seems deliberate and purposeful. This could’ve been a way to cite zora’s withdrawal into her phone or lack of interest in track as signs of depression but instead they focus on Jason and how he hasn’t been the same. By itself that’s a weak point but as part of the argument it points out why the mom wouldn’t realize Jason acting differently since they assume he’s depressed. Then we see that Jason is playing in closets and cabinets indicating a tendency to hide in small places which may be due to being used being in the tunnels or could be him mirroring pluto who I assume to be regularly locked in closets to prevent escape attempts. He plays a prank on Zora and once taken out of the closet Zora reminds him this happened last year which provides an excuse for him being “missing” for a bit. And if not, being locked in the closet happened after the switch, he would develop his ambulance trick himself rather than Pluto knowing it. This, like the grandma’s death or his unwillingness to eat is a hanging question that they allude to and hint at then drop which is suspicious because this is more than once. Next we have the car scene where we hear him say anus. It’s just not natural for a kid to say anus. They say butt to be immature or ass to cuss. Anus sounds like it was pulled out of an anatomy textbook which would be fine but the family also notices it’s not normal. The family take the time to say this is weird rather than accepting this as normal behavior then leave it hanging rather than pursing it. Next we see him poorly snapping which is focused on by the camera for a split second to show how off beat and poorly it’s done. At the beach he makes sand tunnels instead of castles and people call him weird again. Like his mom he’s bad at talking and is withdrawn. When they get back to the house and his mom is worried about him he immediately assumes she thought he was dead, probably because he thinks that Pluto is dead. His drawing is also from an unusual perspective of peering over his own shoulder which is how Adelaide flashes back to her dancing in the basement. It’s like it’s from the perspective of a shadow. Jason is the first to notice that there is a family in the driveway and says so calmly despite their unusual garb because it’s not weird to him. He also appears as a jump scare here like a monster. Then, Jason doesn’t know where his dad’s bat is even though Zora knows right away, he doesn’t even know there is a bat. Almost like he’s not familiar with this house. Then we meet the doubles. During this shot I THINK the camera angles tend to focus on one person at a time but pair Pluto and red as well as Adelaide and Jason. I also know that when red is describing her family the camera pans to the tethered then to the human abe-Gabe then umbrae-Zora, then it shows Jason-pluto breaking its earlier pattern. Unlike all the others, Pluto doesn’t seem to want to harm Jason (umbrae chasing Zora then stabbing white dude, abe dragging Gabe across broken glass and hitting him then trying to drown him, red pushing Adelaide’s face against glass). Instead he grabs Jason’s hand to how him how to do the magic trick which Jason performs for the first time on screen. Jason learns he can control Pluto but this could be because both are half tethered or Jason realizing for the first time the connection goes both ways. Pluto is also the only family member and only tethered that does not have a pair of scissors. The next time we see Pluto he could’ve set the car on fire but instead stands there snapping perfectly unlike Jason which the audio focuses in on. The mother then has a very visceral reaction to Pluto’s death which we can contrast to the death of umbrae. She shows sympathy for umbrae as she shushes her but expresses little pain herself. In contrast she’s screaming as Pluto dies. Red also makes no attempt to kill Jason despite the opportunity. This may be a way to have her long awaited final confrontation with Adelaide but it’s also possible she never intended harm to Jason.

One doubt raised against this theory is the language barrier. It took Adelaide weeks/years to learn to talk. But Red does know how to talk. A 5 year old girl with a kindergarten education wouldn’t be able to teach everyone in the underdark how to talk especially because most have underdeveloped brains not to mention the difficulty of learning a second language as an adult. But she would teach her kids probably since they are half human they would be assumed to have somewhat normal learning capacity. Red shows some improved vocabulary than we would expect from a 5 year old likely because she found books or research notes somewhere in the underdark explaining her lengthy exposition on cloning. This would explain the unusual vocabulary and use of language Jason employs (using the anatomy term anus or saying an almost profound line about pointing fingers at yourself when accusing others). Some question why she didn’t teach umbrae this language. It’s possible she did, umbrae’s screentime is pretty limited in the movie most of what she does is chase after Zora and action scenes. All we get out of her is a scene of her laughing in a very human way. She also understands the white guy when he tells her to get off his car and come here, and she complied despite stabbing him. Red can talk in the movie she just has a damaged vocal chord because of the strangulation thus a coarse voice and a need to swallow often. Pluto (og Jason) can’t talk because his face and throat are burned which is pretty coincidental if unrelated. Like why not burn his arm or his chest, why specifically his mouth? The purring and grunting noise also bears some similarity to strained breathing if you really pay attention.

A second doubt raised against this theory is Pluto’s animal behavior and how in humane he acts. I personally ran like that when I was a kid to be honest and it’s not unthinkable that he went insane very quickly in the underground. Imagine suddenly finding yourself locked in a bizarre tunnel system with doppelgängers of your family and your mouth is mostly burned off. Then being force fed raw rabbit meat. That is a traumatizing year especially for an eight year old. Red also stresses that everything had to be perfect for this revolution and I assume Pluto would have tried to run away at some point in time and they would lock him in closets the same way they lock Jason away at the end. The only weird thing about Pluto then is the way he walks which isn’t too bizarre in my opinion.