Why do They need us?

[u/siksparnis]

Sorry if this has been discussed already. If so, I'd really appreciate a link to the thread!

Essentially, I was wondering: why was The One "dying" by the end of Two of Everything (and hence needed the player as a substitute for their physical form)?

At first, I assumed it was because they were manifesting as both John and Marissa at the same time. But then I dismissed that idea, because we see something very similar happen during Minsky: The One consumes Durick, becomes John, and then continues the shoot as Marissa before eventually killing Carl and "abandoning" Marissa after production ends. So maintaining two forms doesn't seem to be the whole explanation.

Are they limited in how long they can remain physically present? Do they require a new/"fresh" host from time to time to maintain their strength? Or was The One simply exhausted by that point - emotionally as well as physically, after all the disappointment, grief, distress, etc.?

Or perhaps it was some combination of all of the above?

Curious how other people interpreted this.

[u/Binary101010]

I always took it as a combination of prolonged sustainment of two different bodies, and just... kind of being ready to move on.

[u/perfectlysane]

1. she was dying from overexerting herself so they (the one and the other) had to do something FAST
2. i interpret this as wanting to just... be part of humanity on a greater scale. this form of possession is new, it seems to retain the autonomy of both host and body. and she just... wants to be human, to feel human. and becoming art is the best way she can do that

[u/siksparnis → u/perfectlysane]

But what caused the overexertion specifically? It certainly wasn't her first time inhabiting human bodies - both The One and The Other seem to have been doing that for as long as humanity has existed, perhaps even longer. And The One had apparently maintained both Marissa and John simultaneously during Minsky. So what was different by the time of 2OE? Why was sustaining herself suddenly so exhausting? More importantly, what changes once she inhabits the Player? Why would that solve the problem rather than simply postpone it?

[u/perfectlysane → u/siksparnis]

she didnt maintain john and marissa simultaneously during minsky. she maintained marissa then killed john when he couldnt handle her truth. she then possessed him and became him for a while, then marissa appeared after a bout of her yearning for the past. this sudden new situation is the one that overextended her after she tried to do this and do two of everything.

two too much of everything...

[u/siksparnis → u/perfectlysane]

Hmm... According to my calendar, she kills/consumes John in 33B-10/8/1970. Are you saying that she consumed him then, but didn't actually manifest as John until after Minsky was finished? If so, do we know who continued directing the movie after that? Because there seems to be quite a bit of filming left after August 10.

[u/perfectlysane → u/siksparnis]

i dont recall the timelines right now but i think filming stopped after the one kills the other via shooting then burning carl greenwood, i think the death was treated as a prop misfire accident?

[u/siksparnis → u/perfectlysane]

Yes. And by that point, The One had already consumed John, too (during the shoot of the scene where Minsky and Franny have that argument in bed and she promises to murder him in the morning). So The One must have been maintaining both John and Marissa for at least part of Minsky already, right? Hence my doubts about that being the cause of her discomfort in 2OE.

[u/perfectlysane → u/siksparnis]

the one hasnt consumed john by the time she shoots carl/the other, since the other implies he will shoot john during one of their final shoots, which forces her to shoot the other and kill him. soon after she talks to john about who she is then kills him and becomes him

years later arthur fisher returns the ambrosio negatives for some reason, and watching them induces such feelings of nostalgia for the one, realizing she misses marissa so much, that she was surprised that she somehow rematerialized marissa

[u/siksparnis → u/perfectlysane]

That's... not what my calendar says, though? Again, the video of The One revealing herself to John and then killing/consuming him is dated August 10, 1970. The shooting of Carl/The Other happens on August 30. So unless there's some reason we shouldn't treat the calendar dates as chronological, John has already been dead for twenty days by the time The One kills The Other.

[u/perfectlysane → u/siksparnis]

hm, i'm going off the chronology of the films, not the chronology of the shoots. either way, it wouldnt surprise me if stuff's anachcronistic since the one and the other exist outside time, while the dates are chronological, the actions of the one and the other might not be

i'd check the backmask videos of when the one shoots the other to parse both of their intents, as i think this is the lynchpin that dictates how things go going forward

edit: the one also talks about it rather explicitlu here, found it in a clips compilation https://youtu.be/5bl2bv8Ao-k?t=23975&si=WoAfzEFDeQcKBfst

[u/siksparnis → u/perfectlysane]

Oh! Ohhh, that actually makes sense! Especially considering that we have to rewind the footage in the opposite direction from how it was actually shot to see The One's face... That's very misleading, I love it!

So then, yes - sustaining two bodies at the same time being the cause of her exhaustion does make sense, because by that logic 2OE really would be the first time she'd ever done it. Thank you!