If Rachel was to leave Arcadia Bay on her own or with Chloe, what’s the plan once they’ve actually arrived at their destination?
UNPROMPTED CHARACTER ANALYSIS., feat. @ottersden.
Straight to the point answer: She doesn't know.
Now, lemme elaborate on that, asdgkjakldsj—
Rachel's primary concern is getting out of Arcadia Bay. However, it is important to note that as much as she has dreams, hopes and wishes, Rachel does not plan for a number of reasons but most of all because until she disowned her father and vice versa, her entire life followed a plan, his plan, and because to plan anything takes a decent amount of responsibility, which Rachel severely lacks.
Why is that? As strained as her and her father's relationship was, prior to cutting each other out of their lives, it isn't a reach to say that she was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. Now, while the Ambers weren't as well off as the Prescott's, for example, they were well off, and James provided for Rachel, everything including everything she asked for. (This, however, does not take away the fact that he emotionally abused her her entire life. As many say, a golden cage is still a cage.) For this reason, it is an ideal of Rachel's that everything will fall into place, alongside nothing is impossible.
With that said, the extent of Rachel's planning to get out of Arcadia Bay is saying she's going to get out of Arcadia Bay. Everything in-between is simply unknown to her, truthfully because of the fact that she doesn't know where to begin—and rather than figure it out herself, she dumps the responsibility of getting out on other people, which we see her do with Chloe. Specifically, in LIS:BTS, in the junkyard prior to play, during which she says more or less, 'You found an escape vehicle, cool, don't worry about it not running, you'll figure it out... oh, and B-T-W, we're going to need some money--'
No, Rachel doesn't outright say it, but it is what she implies, there and in the scene following the play, where her and Chloe are wandering back to Rachel's house.
Neither here nor there, but amongst the things that really intrigue me is that from the interaction above, we kind of, sort of see that Chloe grasps and understands the reality that prior to escaping, they're going to need to prepare. They're going to need money, they're going to need a stable, working vehicle. Rachel, on the other hand, doesn't, and is solely focused on getting out. Whatever happens beyond that... well, that's purely up to God! Which, I think, offers a glimpse of how / etc. Chloe and Rachel's relationship evolves; Rachel relies on Chloe, Chloe takes care of Rachel, no matter if their relationship is platonic or romantic.
It isn't a stretch either, in my opinion, to say that Rachel never really 'grows up', or more specifically, never really stops trying to delegate responsibility that should be hers and hers alone to other people, which we learn through an optional conversation as Max in LIS. At a certain point, Rachel became so desperate to leave Arcadia Bay, that she started asking truckers who were passing through for rides out of town.
All of this is to say: Beyond getting out of Arcadia Bay, Rachel doesn't have a plan. She knows she wants to go back to California, (which... don't even get me started on, that's an entirely different meta in and of itself) but beyond that? 🤷♀️ And Rachel wanting to be an actress / a model / etc. isn't any different, as in she knows she wants to be an actress, and a model, and to see her name everywhere, but she doesn't know how to make it happen on her own.
Her only concern is getting out, entirely because she has it in her head that getting out will solve every one of her problems, but the reality will catch up with her eventually, and she will wind up just as lost as she is / was in Arcadia Bay.
