"Stay Gold"

Nikki being the victim in this movie is literally not up for debate btw.

Bear f*cked up big time. He paid the price, sure, but not before causing a lot of damage and trauma around him. Especially to Nikki.

There are two key moments for me that clearly highlight how Bear is truly not a good guy and never was. At all.

Firstly, and most importantly, when Nikki asks him to kill her as her possessed self is sleeping and unaware of their interaction. This is Bear’s first very straightforward opportunity to fix his mess. If he truly cared about her and her wellbeing, he would take immediate action. Like kill himself. Sucks, but gotta do what you gotta do, man. But no, of course. Bear takes personal offence into the idea that she’d rather die than forcefully be with him. It’s pathetic and enraging. Let’s remind ourselves here that Bear is regularly r*ping her (and forcing other forms of intimacy on her as well), enslaving her mind and quite literally stealing her entire life from her. The notion of consent is simply nonexistent and he’s actively okay with that. Before everything spirals into total chaos, he just wants to alter his wish, not erase it fully. He still wants that control over her, whether she is happy or not. She pleads for liberation from this curse and Bear decides to victimize himself, be selfish again and then he walks away. Ruining his ultimate chance.

Secondly, the suicide scene. Here’s the thing… It’s too late at this point. He missed out on several opportunities to make things better and he kept on prioritizing his power over Nikki. It led him to a point of no return where his life is irreparably turned upside down, his two closest friends were killed (because of him) and Nikki’s possessed self represents a very real danger for him (all his fault, once again). There is only one way out of this: He needs to die. Even with this unavoidable truth, Bear manages to fail again. He swallows all the pills and a few seconds later, he cowardly tries to undo his actions. The storyline leads to him overdosing and dying regardless, but this moment is decisive to represent his true character. It still wasn’t enough, somehow, for him to end it all. Truth be, it was unfortunately too late for Nikki one way or the other. The trauma was just too massive with the murders and the self-harm. He ruined her entirely.

If you ask me, the title is about him being horrendously obsessed with her, not the other way around. His obsession led him there. He refused to take a risk and potentially get in the friendzone. This was unthinkable and impossible to accept for him.

And also, that sickening story she presents at the party… It’s not just to generate a deeply uncomfortable and eerie atmosphere, it’s not just to shock the audience with its content. It’s about them. It’s literally them. She mentioned feeling a sibling-like connection with him. Nikki is being abused and tortured by someone she considered a brother. This is a tale about his cruelty. This is her cry for help. And it breaks my heart.

and mike was never afraid to be himself when he was little, but then that fear was quietly taught and suddenly he was a shadow of the man he could have become

This DnD campaign has fascinating implications.

For those who don’t know, the story of Strahd is mainly about doomed love. Strahd was a human in love with his brother’s soon to be wife, Tatyana. He murdered his brother to be with her. This caused him to become a dark vampire lord. She ended up falling to her death. Strahd became cursed to remain undead and forever hunt and lose reincarnations of his love. x Sounds a bit familiar doesn’t it? Like Strahd, Mike has been cursed to not grow up, and forever attempt to find then lose his love, Will.

Strahd rules over Barovia, which is a part of the shadow realm. Within Barovia lies Vallaki, where Mike essentially sent Will. The interesting thing about Vallaki is that it is ruled by another character considered a ruthless cruel man. This man believes that “if he can make everyone in town happy, then Strahd will lose his power inside Vallaki’s walls.” x The reality is, no one is really happy within Vallaki, it’s all a facade. In other words, if Strahd (Mike) believes those within Vallaki (Will) are happy, he will leave them (Will) alone. But the truth is, Will is not actually happy and Strahd/Vecna hasn't been truly defeated...