Edit: Spoiler warning/Theory . . . It’s been awhile since I read it/watched the movie, so I’m working from faded memory, but I think it tells a story of Jake who never amounted to what he wanted to be in life. He may have been a college student at one point, but struggled with his mental health that made him very antisocial or prone to dissociation. I believe that he had to drop out of college and move back in with his parents, causing him to become stagnant in life. I believe that the janitor is him in present time and that he had to drop out of college sometime in the 80’s or early 90’s. His “girlfriend” likely takes the image of someone he saw and had an attraction to in college, but never actually talked to in person (which is why she doesn’t have a name, and her hairstyle and sweater is from the 80’s/90’s). He envisions what it would be like if he had been successful in college (“idealized Jake”) and actually dated the girl from his memory. Her uneasiness in meeting his parents might come from his feelings of shame for not making them proud/not living a life independent from them. Their decline in age and mental status represent his real-life years spent with them until they passed. The doubts in the girl’s head about “ending things” with Jake are his own subconscious thoughts about sui¢ide. This is slightly insinuated in the book’s art design where someone had written it over and over and scratched it out. Janitor Jake may have written this on a piece of paper or a chalkboard as he wrestles with the idea. Also I’m not sure about the part where they stop for ice cream, but it might be a place where he worked/frequented as a teen. Those custard places are pretty dated in the Midwest, like OG Dairy Queen from the 40’s. The snow storm definitely represents his memories/ideations merging and fading in and out in his mind. That’s all I got for now, but thanks for the video! It makes me wanna recap and see if I feel the same!
omg i never see anyone talking about i’m thinking of ending things!!! i love ur energy sm
Edit: Spoiler warning/Theory
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It’s been awhile since I read it/watched the movie, so I’m working from faded memory, but I think it tells a story of Jake who never amounted to what he wanted to be in life. He may have been a college student at one point, but struggled with his mental health that made him very antisocial or prone to dissociation. I believe that he had to drop out of college and move back in with his parents, causing him to become stagnant in life.
I believe that the janitor is him in present time and that he had to drop out of college sometime in the 80’s or early 90’s. His “girlfriend” likely takes the image of someone he saw and had an attraction to in college, but never actually talked to in person (which is why she doesn’t have a name, and her hairstyle and sweater is from the 80’s/90’s). He envisions what it would be like if he had been successful in college (“idealized Jake”) and actually dated the girl from his memory. Her uneasiness in meeting his parents might come from his feelings of shame for not making them proud/not living a life independent from them. Their decline in age and mental status represent his real-life years spent with them until they passed.
The doubts in the girl’s head about “ending things” with Jake are his own subconscious thoughts about sui¢ide. This is slightly insinuated in the book’s art design where someone had written it over and over and scratched it out. Janitor Jake may have written this on a piece of paper or a chalkboard as he wrestles with the idea.
Also I’m not sure about the part where they stop for ice cream, but it might be a place where he worked/frequented as a teen. Those custard places are pretty dated in the Midwest, like OG Dairy Queen from the 40’s. The snow storm definitely represents his memories/ideations merging and fading in and out in his mind.
That’s all I got for now, but thanks for the video! It makes me wanna recap and see if I feel the same!