#obsession analysis

Nikki would’ve had to be inside and call the cops but way more likely she would’ve ran outside to the first person she called or to a place she knows to beg them to call. The police show up and find a woman covered in blood, and wounds (if they can’t see the glass in her head wound the hospital will inform them later), wearing another woman’s hair, and has strange drawings scribbled all over her as she’s almost incoherent.

They GO to Bear’s house and there’s a man at the front door who’s been executed, and then there’s a body of Sarah enshrined, naked, and has her face beaten beyond recognition with no wounds on her body that aren’t post mortem. A glance at the body shows tattoos that match the living victims scribbles and dna collection is gonna show the hair on her is from the body too later on. Then you have a body which clearly ODed with zero wounds on him, gunpowder on his hands, and was pushed off the couch from someone’s lap before rigor mortis set in.

The later investigation will show that Nikki and Ian are exes before Nikki suddenly and inexplicably became fixated and attached to Bear. She’s telling everyone she’s relapsing, Bear showed no signs of caring about her relapse during, and they all recount her suddenly freaking out and trying to kill herself the last time they all met. Some will even confirm the OD victim had no reaction as it happened besides frowning, and didn’t even look at her. Ian’s phone will confirm text messages from Sarah long after she died, but they’re not gonna be able to tell whether they’re from Nikki or Bear. They’ll also be able to search Sarah’s car and find the acceptance letter from Luther if not in the house if Bear took it with him. They find gunpowder on Nikki AND Bear’s fingers (Bear man handled that damn gun during his suicide pondering). Even if they drug test Nikki to see if she was drugged if she took anything in the last 6 months (unlikely since the whole group stopped doing drugs for at least a year by Sarah’s comment, and she relapses because her friend group is falling apart and she doesn’t think she’s getting into her art college). If that shit DID come back positive it would only help Nikki? I don’t think whether it comes back positive or not matters for the evidence.

The story that paints is Bear wanted Sarah, forced Nikki to play the girlfriend role for her, then when he found out Sarah was going to be leaving to art school he snapped and killed her. He then made Nikki dress up as Sarah and wear her hair and clothes out of regret. Ian came in to confront Bear (about Sarah’s whereabouts or as to where Nikki is and why he’s still keeping her drugged without helping her recover at all), and Bear executed Nikki’s ex to keep her. You can’t tell whether Bear or Ian died first so you have to assume Bear killed Ian then killed himself out of guilt for everything and loss of his love. (Which is also a really good point to the romance trope of “I was here the whole time”).

Now Nikki’s INTERVIEW and account of what happened? That’s gonna be the insane shit. I said in the last what happens after post that Nikki’s going to match all of the baseline descriptions and patterns of a hostage victim. We see touch screens in the film! Criminology started considering the psychology and patterns of killers and victims decades ago! Sarahs body alone and the nature of her being found stripped naked and presented while her cause of death is so insanely violent puts a crime of passion and fixation on the absolute top of the list for what’s going on. Too many people know Nikki and what she’s like to point to her being capable of doing I tout of jealousy for a rival love interest as much as Bear being the socially awkward guy who doesn’t have deep friendships snapping and killing the girl who he talks with the most.

Your best friend promises you that she doesn’t like the guy you do, says he’s like a brother, then all of a sudden they’re together with no warning. Everyone’s saying she’s on drugs because she’s freaking and out and “showing off” the relationship by being all over each other, she doesn’t talk to you anymore and won’t answer you about what’s going on besides I love him. In fact she’s acting like your conversations never even happened. Then you find out she’s lying about her dad having CANCER when she isn’t even CLOSE to him! She confided in you over anyone else about her parents divorce and how she feels nothing over her father and now she’s using it to keep her wet napkin of a boyfriend locked inside and guilt tripped to be with her, and when she went to a party with you and the others she actively got upset as fuck and dragged you over a game (yeah bear shouldnt have suggested kissing you for the dare, but he could’ve kissed you on the hand after laughing). THEN she stabbed herself in a freak out episode!!! (Sarah doesn’t look at Bear to see him not emoting to Nikki’s suicide attempt btw, only Ian’s looking at him and Sarah is concerned with Nikki). Now you know your best friend is having the worst psychotic break during a terrible relapse and she’s controlling your OTHER friend and crush. Her showing you her willingness to stab herself only shows you that she’s gonna be a danger to your other friend too

Sarah isn’t AWARE of Bear wanting to have Nikki prior. She doesn’t know the locker talk that’s been had about her like Ian does which is why Ian is the one who shows concern: he knows Bear did something to her. Sarah doesn’t have a reason to. Also Bear acts farrrrr different with Nikki as someone he idolizes (and thus wants no personal connection to besides wanting to possess her), vs Ian who he wants to impress and have the validation of. Sarah falls closer to Ian where Bear doesn’t actually value her opinions or feelings, but he listens to her because since he doesn’t wanna have sex with her he sees her as a person. Bear starts the “failed confession pre wish” scene with negging Nikki, while that’s because Ian told Bear to in order to make the rejection more clear, is the Bear that Nikki sees. Ian at least has the information to be concerned for Nikki cause he knows how Bear secretly doesn’t respect her autonomy when there’s no consequences. Ian KNOWS Bear is like him and doesn’t respect women outside of sex

Ian was regularly having sex with Nikki before all of this, even if this WAS a romance series, Ian would've been suspicious and not on Bear's side because ultimately his concern in Nikki's change is how he won't have sex with him anymore over her own wellbeing. I don't think Ian would've easily accepted Nikki picking anyone over him.

Sarah on the other hand sees (the then E!)Nikki as a terrible friend who took her crush away directly after agreeing to help her find out how Bear feels and play cupid for them. Bear doesn't care about Nikki's hobbies or anything to do with her personality. Sarah cares about Bear! She asks about Sandy because she heard him over everyone else! Nikki cares about everyone equally because she's a good person and friend, but Sarah pays special attention to Bear because she likes him. On Sarah's end, she has an equal relationship with Bear and Nikki, so it feels like betrayal from Nikki for her to suddenly change. She went from wanting to help her and promising she just sees him as a brother, to suddenly being all over him when they all work together. They have the whole montage with Nikki and Bear at work together before her two weeks after up and how annoyed Sarah is to have to see it. It also shows just HOW much time is passing here.