i may be (definitely am) overanalysing this but. something about these two scenes from the saw iii script, more specifically ‘adam smiles - hes gotten through’ / ‘amanda says nothing. is lynn getting through?’
i really do think saw at its core (at least in the first three movies) is about finding hope and connection even among devastation and how important it is to hold onto that and like. this movie is the first time we see how amandas become disillusioned to johns principles. shes doubting him. she sees people like eric matthews, who claw their way out of traps just to have all of their worst traits amplified instead of learning from them. she sees hoffman, taking advantage of johns legacy and ideology for his own search for justice. she sees herself, dedicating her life to john with the promise that he could ‘fix’ her, without ever really moving on from the things that have happened to her. but then there are moments like this. moments where people are kind to her. moments where somebody recognises the person she is underneath all of the manipulation and horrible things she’s done. when had anybody ever looked at her that way before? amandas loyalty to john was motivated by the belief that he would be able to turn her into a better person. she feels so fundamentally horrible and ruined that she clings to him and the false hope he gives her. but these moments where somebody looks at her and just sees her seem to break her a little, because its proof that she doesn’t have to live this way. there are people who will offer her genuine support and kindness, something she knows deep down john will never really give her, because as much as john does care about her in his own fucked up way, he knows she is much more valuable to him as somebody who feels lost and broken, somebody who is self destructive and angry and doesn’t believe she is deserving of anything better than this