Juliana answers “I am not understanding the ending, am I...”

Sarah Thompson asked this question about The Guest:

I am not understanding the ending, am I missing something?

Juliana Maria I have a theory that I haven’t seen anywhere so far.

First off: my medical knowledge is fairly limited
but..

My initial feeling was that Alex might be p…moreI have a theory that I haven’t seen anywhere so far.

First off: my medical knowledge is fairly limited
but..

My initial feeling was that Alex might be paralyzed after the crash?
Here are the hints/quotes..

Directly after the crash: “Alex could not, for a moment, move. […] The prickles began at her spine. […] Move, she thought, her eyes rolling around in her skull. Move. […] She stood there, outside the car, her knees locking.”
— it is obvious there’s some trauma to her nervous system. Her body not acting quite right, not usual. Her control of it is meagre.

„Alex was holding her breath — she realized when she started to feel light-headed.“
— difficulty breathing, a symptom/warning sign

When she started to walk to Simon's: „just keep walking, even though she could feel something wasn’t right, her neck too tight, something off in her gait.“

Among other remarks about her fleeting sight: “Everything seemed starkly outlined and seemed to hover a little in her field of vision. Her hands were shaking. […] Her left eye seemed to throb.”

At the party: “She swallowed hard. The wine coated her throat unpleasantly.”
— difficulty swallowing, possible symptom/warning sign

And finally, of course: “all she had to do was walk over. Now, she told herself, willing her limbs to work. She didn’t move. Now.”

Am I crazy or would her being paralyzed make so much sense?
Even though it is extremely rare, it is possible for a paralysis to set in minutes up to multiple months after the initial spinal cord injury from the car crash.
If any doc reads this, I am totally open to criticism or validation, ha ha.

I must say that I am not sure how I would find this ending. What would it tell us about the story. Is it even a consequence that is related to ANY of her actions? I guess not. But I just can’t shake the thought of this theory and its proof.
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Amber Tidwell This is also my take on the ending. Maybe that she is even hallucinating the party scene altogether as she is stuck in the car, paralyzed. I was glad ...more
Sep 05, 2024 03:58PM · flag

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