thorn lion
OBVIOUS Spoiler warnings please don't read this unless you've finished the movie!!!!!
(This is also another interpretation of the movies ending that I have alongside briefly why I think it couldve been better)
||I wrote an observation earlier and I'll just share it but basically I think it wouldve been better if the ending was just Aaron getting the help he needed. The switch wasnt needed. It explores a lot of important themes but I feel like it devalues the rest of the movie, like a movie that ends with "But it was all just a dream, and I woke up"
Heres what I wrote (on reddit):
Aaron is happiness, innocence, purity, an angel, while Roy is everything that isn’t that. Roy is anger and frustration, while Aaron focuses on functionality, making it easier for the brain to cope with his constant abuse.
Roy is aware of Aaron and knows what’s happening, Aaron does not know of Roy at all because there is one-sided co-consciousness.
With that being said, Roy can fake being Aaron for his own benefit, like getting away with the murder, while Aaron is completely left in the dark.
Roy is also Aaron’s protector, helping him when he panics because Aaron isn’t built to deal with someone attacking him. He has no defense because he is purity and innocence and isn’t capable of that. So, in order for Roy to protect Aaron, he had to lie a lot of the time and fake being Aaron, such as in the scene where Aaron had to testify and Roy acted like him just to do a dramatic textbook DID switch in front of everyone, convincing them he had DID. You even have to notice that Roy is aware of the way Aaron speaks, saying things like “him with his stutter t-t-t-t-” and basically mocking him, telling him to man up.
Roy is everything “evil” and “bad” about Aaron. Roy is manipulation and schemes. This explains what happened at the end with Mr. Vail, he wanted to make Mr. Vail realize he isn’t the smartest in the world and, I guess, to show him he was two steps ahead for his own ego and confidence.
In summary, we don’t know much about Aaron Stampler generally, when I say Aaron Stampler I mean the host, including both Roy and Aaron, and we can’t understand him as much as we think we do.
It’s important to note that he could very well have DID due to his childhood trauma. His blackouts started at 12 years old, which is probably when he began being sexually abused by the archbishop, basically when his DID started properly showing.
But for all we know, the textbook changes could be Roy acting like Aaron and then dramatically switching to Roy in front of everyone to deceive them, leaving Aaron on autopilot while monitoring him to protect him.
In summary, I don’t believe he is a psychopath. He’s a sick kid who needs help, and I think it’s somewhat shallow to just act like he was a villain all along, even though he was abused and misunderstood.
Assuming Aaron is real 1000%, then that is insanity, and Aaron didn’t kill anyone. It even makes sense that Roy killed them because Roy had no empathy, he was just the “bad” emotions of Aaron Stampler, in order for him to cope with his constant abuse.
So I do think that the ending could've stayed at him getting help which genuinely would've made it a better movie in my opinion, but since im delusional these are my reasonings for another interpretation for the ending rather than just saying he's a psychopath or something!
Im also up to hearing why the actual ending has more meaning (assuming he was genuinely just faking it all) but I dont think it does therefore I choose to believe this since its factual IMO!!||