Unpacking The Terrifying Don’t Worry Darling Plot Twist & Why It’s Chillingly Relevant IRL

It pretty much goes without saying that if you want to avoid having the massive Don’t Worry Darling plot twist spoiled, you should quit now while you’re ahead. But if you’ve already seen the bonkers-ass movie or don’t plan on seeing it ever but want to know how it turned out, then read on, luv!

The trailer, poster, synopsis and general vibe of the film led us to believe it was about a 1950s housewife (Florence Pugh) living with her husband (Harry Styles) in a utopia-esque paradise.

There are hints of the fact that things aren’t quite as they seem, particular in the moments of the trailer where Harry’s character loses his shit.

So it didn’t take a super sleuth to figure out that there’d be some kind of wild plot twist at the end.

Welp, it turned out that the whole thing was a simulation and some of the residents were dragged in against their will while others including Harry and Olivia Wilde‘s characters were willing participants.

Honestly, I could’ve guessed that the whole thing was a simulation. That’s hardly a new concept in film or IRL (there are plenty of conspiracy theorists that believe we’re living in a simulation. Legit, go look it up!).

But what really struck me to my core was when the motivation behind the fangle experiment is revealed.

In present day outside simulation, Chris Pine‘s maniacal character has convinced scores of incels to partake in the experiment where they’re treated like kings and their partners are forced to live the life of a 1950s housewife: cooking, cleaning and serving their husbands.

He’s brainwashed these men using a podcast where he explains how men have been robbed of their power in society.

In most cases, the incels have dragged their partner into the simulation against their will and it’s even insinuated that some men have abducted women they didn’t even have a relationship with to be with them.

The idea of fragile, insecure men attempting to control women, their lives and their bodies is one that’s chillingly familiar in real life. Especially right now with the likes of men’s rights activists Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson.

In fact, Wilde recently told fellow director Maggie Gyllenhaal in Interview Magazine that she based Chris Pine’s character specifically off Peterson.

“We based that character on this insane man, Jordan Peterson, who is this pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community,” Wilde said.

“They believe that society has now robbed them — that the idea of feminism is working against nature, and that we must be put back into the correct place.”

Fun anecdote: When Jordan Peterson was interviewed by Piers Morgan (yuck) about being the inspiration behind the movie, the dude sobbed. Good.

The terrifying part of all of this is that one could argue that our society pretty much is a men’s rights-fuelled simulation.

How else do you explain the gender pay gap, anti-abortion bullshit and all the other sexist laws and behaviours still present in society?

Granted, I don’t think Andrew Tate or Jordan Peterson have the technology to trap women in a simulation. But they absolutely have the technology to brainwash men into believing that women are inferior to men and instruct them to reclaim their power by abusing women.

This isn’t just some random thriller movie plot twist designed to make us spill our popcorn in shock. It’s meant to open our eyes to what’s happening around us and become aware of the dystopia that these kinds of men want us to live in.

Or rather, the kind of dystopia that we already live in.

And casting men as charming and charismatic as Harry Styles and Chris Pine in these roles is meant to show us that even men who seem unproblematic could have sinister agendas.

It really is a shame that the movie became so marred by the behind-the-scenes drama because it was a brilliantly executed film.

But I implore you to separate the movie itself from the IRL tensions. Just go see it and form your own opinion and think long and hard about the message conveyed because it’s a terrifying one.

Matty Galea is the Senior Entertainment Editor at PEDESTRIAN.TV, as well as our resident astrologer who pens our weekly horoscope series, ‘Your Horos Are Here’. He also Tweets about pop culture and astrology and posts spicy content on Instagram.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV