More Split stuff- Patrica’s downfall & Dennis’ rise?
Alright guys, so here we go again! It kind of threw up a whole essay about Dennis and people seemed to respond to it (and i love love discussing Split with people) and I had some thoughts about Patrica and Dennis.
Now that we know that M. Night was always planning another movie, I have been thinking about how the characters are going to progress. The conclusion I’ve come to is that Dennis and Patrica will be put at odds with each other- that Dennis will continue to develop as a sympathetic anti-hero and that Patrica will be revealed to be far more manipulative than we assumed.
First, let’s talk about what each character wants to accomplish from releasing the beast. As mentioned in a previous post, Dennis wants to be accepted and validated. Rejected by the alters due to his OCD he has lost that validation- this is important because his OCD is what kept Kevin from being abused. His OCD is a core part of personality because that was his singular purpose- to keep Kevin from harm. Now his OCD is no longer needed by the alters so his purpose in life is gone, in his mind he probably exists for no reason. This is why When Dr. Fletcher tells him, “you aren’t dangerous, you were necessary.” it almost makes him emotional and relieved. That’s all he wants, to be seen as a valid living person with a purpose. As of right now, the only way he thinks he can accomplish this would be through the beast. For people to recognize the Beast’s immense power they would also have to recognize the power of the horde and Dennis wouldn't seem so defected and unstable anymore. I do not think Dennis craves power just to have it, he craves understanding and acceptance. As of right now, acceptance of his existence is the most he can get. He was been told (by Patrica) that the Beast is the way to get it.
But then there is Patrica. I want to you guys to recall the scene where Patrica tells the girls that Dennis will tell them who the beast is. He comes in, sits down, and gives this really wordy monologue about the Beast and all his glory. Didn’t it seem rehearsed? Didn’t he seem really underwhelmed by the whole thing? Didn’t it seem like something Patrica has told him over and over? Reading interviews with James Mcavoy we know that Patrica represents unfaltering faith- this is because Kevin had probably lost faith in everything and that is how Patrica came to be, to make up for it. Patrica and Dennis differ in a big way- Patrica is never bothered by the fact that she is an outsider or that the other alters don’t understand her. In fact, she is upbeat (and almost EXCITED) throughout the whole thing.She wants the beast to be released so other “regular” humans can behold all of his power. She wants people to see the Best, Dennis wants people to see HIM. That is the major difference. She talks about the Beast like it is her religion whereas Dennis sees it all from a very realistic standpoint. I think these views will clash eventually and will send them in very different directions.
Clearly, Patrica’s dominance over Dennis is established very early on . “Don’t worry, he listens to me.” That line alone shows us that this has been Patrica’s ballgame up to this point. We know that she is also manipulating Hedwig for his ability to take and give the light. “I think she is still mad at me.” She is manipulating a kid by being upset with him so he can try and make it up to her- like most kids respond to a parent who is mad at them. She holds a knife up to one of the girl’s stomach threatening her- almost playing with her. Dennis yes gets physical by carrying them around but we never seen him actually threaten to hurt them and cause them harm. He kind of just wants them to stay put-and stay clean. What I’m saying is that when you really look at Patrica she is a lot more malicious and manipulative than Dennis.
How Dennis and Patrica will eventually clash and how that will pan out, well, i have no idea BUT I feel like I do know what will be the spark that ignites it-Hedwig. Dennis says to the girls at one point, “You shouldn’t fool children, that shows who you really are.” This line I feel is going to be so important. He seems very genuinely bothered that they are hurting Hedwig. I assume this is because he was protective of Kevin and Hedwig is Kevin’s childhood innocence. I think that Dennis will eventually see Patrica manipulating Hedwig in some way and that this would be the moment that Dennis is ‘going to see who she really is’.
Dennis is a broken, complicated, and desperate man.
Patrica is malicious, manipulative, and unnerved by criticism.
Hedwig is young, gullible, and wants affection.
I think from those three descriptions alone we can tell who the real ‘villan’ is going to be. Dennis is the strongest alter, the protector, and despite being pushed away from the rest of the alters he is going to have to stand up and protect them from another abusive mother figure once again- he just has to see it first.
does this make any sense??? lol. I hope it does. I have a lot of Dennis feelings and I don’t want Hedwig to get hurt. But I do think the story is set up to redeem them both. Tell me what you guys think!
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