Us (2019) Explained: a COMPLETE Breakdown and Analysis

[@EmansReviews]

What did you think about "Us"? Did this video bring any new insight into the film? What other things from Us did you find really interesting? If you think this video will be helpful for someone else, I'd certainly appreciate you sharing it.

[@mykelowry6734]

Did you like it when you watched it the 2nd time ? That first reaction when you just watched it kinda worried me. I loved the movie

[@EmansReviews]

@@mykelowry6734 I think during my first viewing I was really processing A LOT. Like I didn't know how to feel. Lol So my reaction was for real, you know. But yeah, the second time really helped me understand the movie more, and I appreciated what Peele did in it.

[@jlikethegem]

I appreciated this video and your thorough explanation on the themes and social critiques. I do agree that the movie overall is a social commentary on American oppression and inequality. However, I am also very interested in other symbols in the movie that are representative of Black tropes and stereotypes. I’m not sure if they are intentional and this is a stretch, but I’m particularly curious about the scenes where:
- Ade (The Mother from Above) tells her daughter to run when the clone demands it. When the clone demands that the son runs too, Ade gets very defensive and covers him. Is there something to be said about the mother-daughter vs. the mother-son relationship here?
- The grunting, clumsiness, and violent nature of the clone of the Father. Does this represent the image of the black man as the Beast?
- There was a noticeable difference between the way the black family was approached by their clones vs the way the white family was killed instantly by their clones. Does this have anything to do with white violence?
- The clone of the white mother has Ade tied to a bed post. The clone hesitates killing her, and then goes to the mirror to cut her face in the same exact place the white mother had gotten plastic surgery. Does this parallel to the appropriation of black women’s aesthetic features by white women? Is the hesitation to kill Ade representative of the use value of black people within American culture?
I have so many other questions about small “easter eggs” in the movie, those were just a few!

[@mykelowry6734]

@@EmansReviews I'm so glad you took a second shot at it bc , 😂😂 i have never seen you that disappointed before.
Keep up the great content my G.

[@EmansReviews]

@@mykelowry6734 I try to avoid movies that will disappoint, every once in a while one slips through the cracks. 😂😂

[@AdityaSingh-ej7zv]

I think the fact that Red was the only one who could speak (albeit hoarsely), while the other Tethered screamed or moaned, showed she was actually from the real world.

[@EmansReviews]

Yes. That's what the twist ending revealed. Red was the original Adalaide.

[@AdityaSingh-ej7zv]

Right, exactly! I haven't gone to see it again, so I'm just trying to think back on moments like these when Peele gave us hints.@@EmansReviews

[@jeanettesdaughter]

She had been strangled remember. Her voice box (hyoid bone) had been broken. Red was the broken, captured, kidnapped Adi - left behind by her doppelganger who '"could have taken me with you..."

[@EmansReviews]

@@AdityaSingh-ej7zv I tried to sum up the movie with as much detail as possible in this video. I don't think I left out that much crucial information.

[@jameemottler3573]

This is when I put together what happened to be honest...

[@bobdole877]

My theory is that the boy puts his mask back on in the last scene because he knows what his mother really did. The original Addie told him the story when she kidnapped him and now he will never look at his mother the same way.

[@DMaC02121]

@Fly by night He didn't disappear. Red snatched him after he caused Pluto to burn himself alive. You can tell that Red told him the truth bcz when Addie found him in the locker, he didn't want to hold hands with her and was visually afraid of her.

[@alexdeschenes243]

@Fly by night did you forget that his tethered was pluto, the kid with a burned face who died in the fire?

[@SH-je4qg]

@BobDole I totally agree

[@taitriss6169]

@@alexdeschenes243 True.

[@ginas4592]

Have any of you listen to what he said about him.

[@duchessarcher66]

While Jason tried and failed to light the trick, Poor Pluto, tethered to Jason, tried and succeeded at lighting his trick (matches) burning his face every time.

[@EmansReviews]

Bingo

[@naivenitara]

The actress that played Umbra is so underrated. She was so fast and so damn creepy! Her evil glare haunted me in my dreams for weeks!

[@angelmcgovern116]

I had the same reaction. for some reason she was the scariest of all the tethered. I got chills from her expression! Great little actress.

[@swisherguts9327]

She looked like outkast in hey-ya

[@RealMexFoodShouldntGiveUDrrhea]

Same. She was so creepy.

[@karabartley]

Yes! She was so good! My favorite also

[@annemulindwa]

Same here,Maaaahn😂😂😂😁

[@captaineveryman6589]

Jason was the smartest and most insightful member of the family, which made him an "other" within the group. He recognized who the "tether family" was and how to control his doppelganger, not to mention his mother's true identity.

[@EmansReviews]

He's also Half-Tethered himself, so that helps too.

[@jferg8956]

That’s what I was gonna say he’s somehow thethered

[@jayels3036]

And he heard the whole story at the end

[@erikag290]

WAIT omg so he's half tethered. So the doppelganger died. But that's ok bc the actual little boy was part evil himself? Awe shit

[@126056542]

Well they say when Jason went missing in the closet, he was switched, and Pluto snap in rhythm before burning in the fire. That’s why Attie says no when he goes towards the fire

[@bannanabumman1529]

No wonder Red wanted Adi to be handcuffed to the coffee table, the same way she was handcuffed by Adi in the tunnels

[@cozeeetv]

Aha, I missed that!!!!!!

[@ummeiguess]

I'd also say that's a call back to slavery, essentially
like the Tethers, African slaves didn't have control over their lives, and they were physically chained - they were also "tethered" to slave masters for their survival, until they could break away in some fashion

[@fillyfillynob5777]

@@ummeiguess I thought the same thing she also had them on the hole movie even the clone friend cuff her to the bed how she have a key?

[@kevinbartley8646]

Bannanabum man I'm sorry

[@MZPOETSKYLOVEBLACK]

Facts I hate that she got killed

[@TheGothGal2323]

Red actually being Addy explained a lot of things. Why Addy showed empathy towards the two tethered clones of her children. Had she never switched they would have been her children. She probably feels a connection to them as well, she also being a tethered. She also seems to feel a closer connection to Pluto than Umbrae, seeing as how she is much more affected when he dies than Umbrae.
It also gives a whole different perspective as to why she was so scared all these years after the initial incident where she switched. Her words made a lot more sense. Of course Red would come after her, she stole her life. It also explains how she knew exactly what was going on. She knew to call the police immediately (even though they never even showed up after those 14 minutes passed), warned Gabe not to engage with them, kept her children close etc.
Something to notice also is the close relationship that Red has with Pluto. In the scene of the living room where Red tells them their story Pluto is almost leaning on Red with her stroking his head. I believe that's why she took Jason when she had the chance. Like the tethered Addy, she felt a closer connection to Jason. Jason doesn't even seem to be struggling when he's being taken by Red.
The twist also explains why Red is different than the other tethered. Why she can talk and think. Why her voice sounds the way it does, because of her crushed throat. Why she's so hell bent on killing Addy. It's not a simple, "You had a better life than I did, I'm jealous so I'll kill you". It was actually a legitimate, twisted reason "You literally stole my life, I want it back". Insane!!!
After seeing the plot twist in the end, I felt so sad for Red. She literally got her life stolen from her, was forced to eat raw, bloody meat, she got scissors as christmas presents, she couldn't choose who she married, she gave birth by herself twice - the second time actually having to cut herself open to deliver her child- both children being disasters just like her husband (one's a psychopath and the other thinks he is a dog), manages to go up into the real world to try and make things right, only to get killed hours later by the same person who started this whole sequence of events.

[@sirtee-jayii9532]

Girl I need u to write my English papers okay👌🏽

[@Casey-su6xc]

I just wish Red was upfront about it and said it in front of everybody when she had the chance. I feel like even if she did say something, nobody would believe her

[@armiabrelle8370]

so red , is the little girl the whole time ? and the girl from the other side stole red ? which was the girl from the beginning anyway ?

[@briannajordan9168]

Armia Brelle the very first girl they show is red, who was originally addy. Red is who we are watching the whole movie, who they display as the protagonist

[@briannajordan9168]

Armia Brelle so when they met in the room of mirrors, the one we are watching the whole movie, is actually the original one from the room of mirrors and the underground

[@thepenthepoet6524]

My theory about the rabbits was that not only were they the original test subjects, but there was always 1 black rabbit on screen. I think that was a hint from the very beginning that one of these things is not like the others.

[@teegrowl5186]

Also the rabbit is known to symbolize high sexuality, that's why it's used by Duracell

[@dozhadeville444]

The "Rabbit Hole" is a search for knowledge.
The single black rabbit is saying blacks don't search for the real knowledge we need to unlock our minds 👁

[@heidibarker9550]

I interpreted it as experiments because rabbits are usually used as experiments. I saw it as the humans are caged and test subjects.

[@jcb6925]

The rabbits symbolizes us the hall’s symbolizes the matrix that we are all in and no one seems to understand that. Jesus is not real we need to open our mind

[@berry95137]

I kinda see it as how magician always pull white rabbit out and how they multiply in a magician hat yknow like a clone?

[@Findingpurpose4me]

Jordan Peele got us back in school 🤣 We watching his movies and taking notes. Having debates about the meaning of his movies. 🤣

[@DEsha29]

ShayShay21489 yes ...I’m obsessed and I love it lol

[@JakingTheDivine]

ShayShay21489 but on topics schools should’ve been teaching

[@tayloralliease8013]

Right 😂

[@BL3SSed-Bliss]

That is what true art does. I’m glad our people are suddenly into and embracing TRUE ART. ☮️

[@Slimm_Sheedah1]

ShayShay21489 better this than trying to figure out why 2 celebrities are dating or not lol

[@mykeadelic]

She's not off beat, she on the off beat. She is still in time and has rhythm but it's the reverse of the norm. It's the equivalent of her whistling the itsy bitsy spider backwards

[@EmansReviews]

Ahhh nice catch! Thanks!

[@mykeadelic]

@@EmansReviews no problem!! Great video!!
Also when they get to the beach the Tylers are already there and he says "We Wilsons like to take our time" which is totally reflected in their tethered's approaches.

[@1artistik1]

@@mykeadelic Or CPT time which could be a reference to blackness

[@1artistik1]

I think people are not necessarily talking about keeping time but by being on the 1 and 3 and not the 2 and 4. (Until she goes 1-2-3-4 quarter note count. That's the general view of it, particularly from the viewpoint of the history of Black music and the Black Church.

[@mykeadelic]

@@1artistik1 for sure, she's like emphasizing a gospel feel instead of a hip hop feel with the upbeats and I didn't realize CPT was a thing but that's what i love about this movie is everyone had a slightly different interpretation and together we can inform each other of stuff we previously didnt know!

[@always_serpico]

Jason always put on his mask when he was in the presence of evil or adversity. It was him masking his fear, so the evil couldn’t see that he was afraid. He was shown to be the smartest and most adaptive in the situation, something Red recognized. She could have chosen to kidnap and reveal the truth to Addy’s husband or daughter - but she choose him. Red knew that he would be able to process what Addy had done. The tethered are clones of the original, sharing one soul, so it can be argued they are the same person. So by the time Addy saved Jason, she had killed his mother, after crushing her throat and forcing her way into her life. That’s why when Addy said they were all gone, he shook his head no. It was the reveal before the reveal. And when he pulled down his mask after the revelation, it was him not showing fear in the face of evil.

[@fattyjaybird7505]

Well said, but.... Red wasnt his mother, Addy was. Yes, Addy was from the underground, but she is his actual mother, there was no switch in his world

[@Jahzaiz19]

Jason was half tethered

[@katie2967]

@@fattyjaybird7505 What are you talking about Red gave birth to Jason and Zora and The Real Adelaide gave birth to Pluto and Umbrae but Jason was Red's son.

[@fattyjaybird7505]

@@katie2967 lol, okay, we agree, geez that took some of my brain power, but here we were just calling her Red and the Fake Addy, Addy

[@katie2967]

@@fattyjaybird7505 Don't know what is so funny but ok.

[@KnuckleDuster2004]

Jordan Peele is this generation's Alfred Hitchcock. He builds these worlds that are just enough like the real world that they get into your head.

[@ebrock8657]

Can we take a minute to give it up to Lupita? She’s so beautiful and did such an amazing job at portraying both roles in this movie.
Ps. I also dig the “I got 5 on it” version in this movie.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

It was Soo cool seeing the actors and actresses playing both roles. It really creeped me out and hade excited at the same time.

[@radchad2338]

it was GORGEOUS

[@deejaylos05]

Yea, but can she learn to bob her head o the beat lmao

[@wedp112]

She is beautiful❤️

[@doyoucanoe4028]

@@deejaylos05 that was intentional and was hinting that Adelaide wasn't Adelaide at all. We hear a lot about how the real Adelaide, Red, used to dance, so she should've been able to be on beat. Fake Adelaide didn't though, so she was guessing a bit 😊

[@DEsha29]

I like how u said “It’s almost like if the government left their people with no clean water or something “.....🙄that sarcasm hit different when it’s true

[@EmansReviews]

Very different.

[@KnockoutInvesting]

Flint Michigan

[@MZPOETSKYLOVEBLACK]

👁

[@ninednine4445]

Pure michigan my ass

[@candacep815]

Yea, in Michigan about 45 South of Flint, it's still NOT ok there

[@shieldmaiden1318]

About Jason , the mask that his "twin" is wearing is a therapeutic/medical mask that's used for burn victims. I can't remember if he is shown without it all in the movie, but that gives another layer (no pun intended) to the meaning behind (again, no pun intended lol) the mask. Where Jason would put on the mask to look like a monster, his clone would keep his mask on to avoid looking like one.

[@letsgetlost93]

Red never says "we" when talking about the tethered and their story, she always says "they" even though before we find out she's supposedly part of the tethered

[@dozhadeville444]

👁

[@robertbickel7272]

How are you doing today

[@Mouseman358]

Ohhh and that means the mom is the fake

[@Brendarkink]

Its beautiful the amount of tiny details that this movie had. Her friend was talking about some face procedure that went perfectly and couldn't even be noticed, while her double had real bad scars on her cheeks, cause the doctor's crazy double probably "performed" it on her

[@tormentodiablo827]

Brenda Sousa WHOA I DIDNT EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT!!!

[@143MissILoveYou]

But then that would cancel Red talking about having to cut herself to birth Pluto because wouldn't a doctor be doing the procedure? Someone said it may be due to Kitty's real life insecurities played out in the tethered world

[@TheLadyDelirium]

@@143MissILoveYou Hmm that's an interesting point. I'm not sure if all the humans above were cloned. I'll have to watch it again to try and piece more together.

[@breaunn2527]

@@143MissILoveYou I think her insecurities was exactly it. I watched the movie for the second time last night and caught this:
When her friend, Dahlia, shows off her surgery, Addy doesn't seemed wowed by it or fawning over the her newfound 'beauty', instead she praises her pretty normally and she tells her she looks as she did last year. Dahlia then agrees, saying "Well that's the idea, a little bit goes a long way. Not that you need anything... whore." Her friend to me was clearly very envious of Addy's looks and even stared at her side profile for a moment after speaking looking slightly bothered by something, as well as a few split moments throughout the small conversation almost in admiration. Later in the movie, when Dahlia's tethered is about to cut Addy with her scissors, she is mesmerized by her face and instead turns in frustration to cut at her own in the mirror, with a smile. Dahlia was proud of her face surgery (cutting her face) earlier in the movie but still felt bettered by Addy's natural features, same as her tethered, only her tethered wasn't bound by civilized social awareness that would've kept her from outwardly showing how she felt in that manner. I think this is a heavy callback to 'Get Out', white people being underlyingly envious of black features, sometimes with passive aggressive compliments masked in feigned genuineness. It's also a mirror of modern day society where white people pay lots of money to undergo procedures that gives them black features to flaunt.

[@newtzrcool]

@@143MissILoveYou Didn't Kitty's double cut her own face, though)

[@musicalalexis1]

Adelaide also suggested going to Mexico. I think Peele might have tried to point to the fact the people trying migrate here are also running from their government and horrible situations. This was very insightful!! I love your commentary

[@locafly]

Alexis Layel that and Lupita Nyong’o was actually born in Mexico too LOL

[@Modestasgailius]

There are alot of articles and news stories of how alot of young American students these days are escaping their debt by fleeing the US to places that you'd never think so . Strange isn't it ? There's another in my opinion better explanation of the movie by the channel called The Film Theorists What is Us really about . It cuts straight to the chase about that fake American dream and so on.

[@rachelv5338]

also, the movie makes it very clear that the tethering only takes place in the US. So basically, the rest of the world is doing fine because their governments didn't create clones to control them. Suddenly Americans gotta seek refuge from a corrupt government in central America. How the tables turn

[@ganjazz]

I just noticed that Addi sometimes make grunt noises like other clones made, but I never heard Red make the same noise. That's a give away who the real person is. Watch the scene after she choked Red with her chains.

[@miya24700]

The fact that we have so many underground tunnels really amazes me but seems scary at the same time.

[@frannymc-b4348]

I assumed it was a fictional detail for the movie, hmm

[@whothis9949]

Something I think that’s pretty interesting that you might not be aware of is the underground “tunnels” in Vegas, it’s 200 miles long and occupied by hundreds of (mostly drug addicted) homeless people. Some irony is these tunnels run under some of the most luxurious hotels and casinos.

[@bluebird-cd6in]

Who This i’ve lived in las vegas my entire life and i didn’t know that whoa, super creepy

[@xarmyrainbowwarriors1445]

Tunnels all around the world are used to traffick children. They're underneath D.C., hospitals, schools, churches, daycares, etc.

[@KnellerRowe]

I think the reason Adelaide seems upset and sympathetic when Umbrae and Pluto die is because she has that distant memory of her life underground and knows that it's not the childrens fault they were monsters. It was their upbringing and environment. Nurture over nature. She is proof that with the chance and privilege things can be very different and perhaps feels sorry for those children that may have had a different life themselves given the same opportunity. They just wanted a better life like she did all those years ago when she switched with the real Adelaide/Red.

[@EmansReviews]

I can see that!

[@hanburgundy4317]

The Red/Addie Switch twist ruins my suspension of disbelief and the character of Red. Until the "switch" reveal, Red is kind of sympathetic: a villain, yes, but one with a cause behind it. After, it makes no sense. The doubles - the dopplegangers, the clones, what have you - mirror the actions of their above world tethers a.k.a. what the "real" versions are doing. Why, then, would the real Addie/Red be forced to mirror the actions of the "shadow" Addie/Addie? Shouldn't it have been the other way around? With Red doing whatever she's doing while trapped down with the Shadows and Addie mirroring it above? It can't be a "both are linked" scenario i.e. both mirror the others because that wasn't shown to be the case for any of them EXCEPT for the Shadows; only the underworld copies were compelled to mirror their above world counterparts and NOT vice-versa. Therefore, Red should have had no compulsion to mirror what Addie did. The twist ruins it, IMO, and kills the in-world logic.

[@goodnessogunkola2448]

Plus she proly felt guilty knowing that it was technically her that caused it

[@xXxRockkettPower012]

Hans Ollo Yeah that’s what I’m confused about too! How is she mimicking her tethered just because she goes under ground??? IT MAKES NO SENSE! Wouldn’t the tethered still mimic her ABOVE ground?? Man I’m so confused now😭😭😭😭😭

[@FlyAwayPegasus82]

@@hanburgundy4317 I have this question, too, but I think the point is that there is something different about Addi/Red. Their relationship is somehow different than the other tethered people and their counterparts. Otherwise, the tethered one wouldn't have been able to grab the above-ground one and drag her underground--she would only have been able to mirror the above-ground one, and wouldn't have had free will of her own. The "real" Addi, who was dragged under ground, wasn't compelled to mirror Addi, but they had a psychic connection that allowed her to learn to dance as the tethered Addi was now doing above-ground. "Red" enjoyed dancing (all the other tethereds were angry, agitated and resistant when forced to copy their above-ground selves) and the other tethered people perceived her as somehow having been able to break the tether, hence their allegiance to her and possibly the reason they were able to do anything other than just the actions they were compelled to by the above-ground people (i.e. maybe seeing this created strong enough pyschological drive that they could overcome the psychic connection compelling them to do what their above-ground selves were doing). "Red" was repeatedly raped by the tethered husband, resulting in two pregnancies, one of which she had to cut out of her womb to survive. She ate raw rabbit to live. She played with sharp toys because kids have a developmental need for play and she could "see" the above-ground tethered version of herself playing and wanted to do it, too. These were not compelled actions, they were done to her against her will or done by her as a means of survival. It seems "Red" was able to train all of the tethered to bend to her will rather than following along with their above-ground counterparts, because on some level she can relate (like the psychic connection she had with Addi) and she had the ability to influence a tethered person (which is why Addi could "feel" her getting closer). If all the above is wrong then this movie makes no sense lol.

[@TaysTings]

I like how you’re clearly a very intelligent person but you don’t tell the information in a way that seems pretentious. Or like you’re talking down to us. I can’t express how much I appreciate that.

[@EmansReviews]

I'm humbled. Thank you. I try to make all my videos as if I'm talking to my friends. 😁

[@juanitamartin3082]

@@EmansReviews Because you are. 😁😁😁

[@mariamo7387]

Adelaide always goes for Red's neck, both as a kid and as an adult.

[@shablob]

Before red was killed she was whistling, which is another thing that lets u know she was the real one

[@ProfoundConversation]

They both whistled though - when Addy originally whistled, her double whistled back.

[@ot7biasedmashups]

@@ProfoundConversation yea but it sounded deeper and just... Wrong. Not the Right melody. But even when red was dying she whistled it right

[@giulianaherrera7775]

I saw a yin/yang symbolism in the movie too. The tethers were connected in a way but balanced each other or “completed “ each other bc they shared the same soul. Jason couldn’t do the magic trick but we can assume Pluto did (and burned his face). Abraham can’t talk but Greg is very witty. Zora is sassy and riled with teenaged angst and umbre is always smiling. I think it connects to the idea that we all have a dark or evil side but that completes us and makes our soul one. And we can control it if we don’t let it control us. Like how the tethers were made to control the humans but it ended up being the other way around.

[@EmansReviews]

Interesting take! 🤔

[@rwuthenow]

It makes me think of what Jung called our "shadow selves"; that side we all have that is not as socially compliant, not as good, the one we prefer to keep in the shadows. Basically, the dual nature of humans.

[@murfeel1173]

Plus Umbra was an extremely fast runner, and at the table they were telling Zora to practice for the Olympics and she said she could never run that fast. ;)

[@murfeel1173]

+@@rwuthenow Especially if you think of their names: Zora is the Japanese word for sky (Sora), versus Umbra, the Latin word for Shadow. Pluto is the Roman god of the Underworld (and there's the Disney dog Pluto, and the boy acts like a dog, too). Abraham is the patriarch of Abrahamic Judeo-Christian religions. Adelaide is the German form of Alice (in Wonderland), French for Noble, and Red is the Red Queen of Hearts.

[@resec483]

Yasssssss

[@SuperMelrose1]

What about the notion that every time Jason put his face close to see why the flame didn’t work in his trick, Pluto was doing the same thing to a real flame. Burning his face every time. Also, he uses a toy ambulance to propel the escape. At the end they escape via ambulance. Interesting that most were white rabbits, with a few minority colors mixed in. Despite the physical differences, they were all there for, and used for, the same thing in the end.

[@mead9]

Please don't take this as racism toward anyone. But there is a price people must pay in enslaving the true Israelites in demonalizing, and ostrarizing the true people of God. I still blame our people for the state they are in because of their disobedience to the Most High but the people that are in control of this world are insane in which their nation included will have to face the judgment of the Lord:
Unchecked Copy Box Rev 13:10
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
All white rabbits..........

[@moiselles3339]

Most labs who experiment on animals use white rabbits or white mice. Possibly with albinism.

[@khaaliqwalker8547]

I'm talking to Melrose hill Billy ass

[@khaaliqwalker8547]

Trash

[@matthewlevy3024]

VERY GOOD !!!!

[@aidenstay3607]

I just feel so bad for red. Her entire life was stolen by a tethered, and then she was killed by the very same thing that stole her life. She didn’t deserve to go through the pain she did. She didn’t belong with the tethered.

[@moshelevi9388]

I agree! Peele did a great job making all the Tethered sympathetic! I really felt for all of them because they were born into an unfortunate life. What Peele did though was demonstrate how we can treat each other better. While the movie was extreme of having clones, we can see ourselves in others in real life. This is a great thought provoking movie. Peace!

[@jtmckie]

she should've been obedient.

[@TheSavageWoman]

She could have come out, bring everyone out and tell the truth instead of planning to exterminate humanity, inocent kids and people who just dont know what is going on. I mean i understand she wants to kill Addy but what about the others?? Why kill all humans ?

[@Kiing_jer]

@@TheSavageWoman let's be honest dude no one was gonna believe her

[@TheSavageWoman]

@@Kiing_jer yep u right actually

[@gino2.076]

I think Jason’s doubles face was burned because in the beginning of the film how Jason was trying to show a “magic trick” and flicked the lighter over and over, I believe underground his double was doing the same thing and was actually sparking it, thus over time burning his face, I may have missed key details but a theory for another day.

[@kristincarlson1861]

Arjot Pabz good theory

[@JordanMSFTOnly]

True

[@ashleymaddox3584]

Thats an interesting theory thats whats up

[@lauradipino3742]

I thought the same thing

[@djdswift314]

I felt the same!

[@nevaeh6595]

Isn’t it weird the mom knew exactly how to get to the underground tunnel 🤨( hint that wasn’t the real one)

[@xtyredx1113]

yeah nice catch

[@nevaeh6595]

Thx

[@geekinformation2687]

ne’vaeh Dodd duh

[@deegee9221]

I thought the same thing! I saw it with a friend who had already seen it and I kept asking him, "how does she know exactly where she's going? She didn't get that far when she was a child in that fun house." Of course he wouldn't tell me, but I never put it together until after the twist.

[@nevaeh6595]

Dee Goree yeah

[@Berty121]

I took it as we are our own worst enemy

[@timerahtobias7058]

I never noticed how addy automatically knew where to go in the tunnel

[@ot7biasedmashups]

I literally feel stupid and I've only read comments now, not even watched the video 😐

[@vergodagoat]

Bruh this movie was so good but equally confusing... thanks for clearing it up man!

[@staciegreene2262]

I like how Peele is straying away from the typical “paranormal/demonic” theme that has been going on with scary movies the past 6+ years. It’s all about removing spirits and demons now . I used to love watching scary movies in theatre, now I don’t bother because they all are the same “someone being possessed” 🙄. Peele has intertwined a balance of thriller, horror, and suspense .
Wasn’t a fan of the movie when I first seen it , but atleast it’s something different 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

I'm so sick of every movie being a mirror image of each other. A movie is successful then everyone copies it for years until people get sick of it. Then they copy the next one. That's one reason why I really liked this film.

[@staciegreene2262]

Kummakummakummakummakummachameleon
Yesssss ‼️. Every movie regardless of the genre is a REMAKE now . Where’s the originality 😂

[@jrmiss4167]

Lord Eleyejah it’s more of a blaming the government type of thing in US and GET OUT....it just so happen the government is ran by mostly whites so if they were ran by blacks then it would be targeting blacks if you look at it like that

[@Luv4Turbo]

When you “saw” it. Not “seen” it. 🙄

[@lemiwinkx7887]

That’s exactly how I thought about it. It was a different type of scary and suspense ultimately. Makes you really think hard about certain things which I think was the whole point. It was a statement and a damn good one.

[@notme716]

I think the cops would have been busy with their doubles.

[@ForgottenLove896]

Thats what i figured, killed by doubles, lines cut by golden scissors....and such

[@tiberianexcalibur]

Not really, the real cop would have guns while the doppleganger would only have scissors.

[@xanjafilms7853]

Agreed!

[@awadbuisir]

Tiberianexcalibur but some cops r off duty and don’t have their guns near them, and the ones in the station could have been busy starting to leave to help out, but got murdered while trying to help others

[@Themilkmanmilkermilkingmilkmen]

@@tiberianexcalibur they still coordinate attacks, the doubles have a bit more resilience as well. It wouldn't be hard to overwhelm cops as well as trick them with switching clothes. and they did kill other besides their own look alikes

[@lunacouer]

I have some thoughts on why Jason and Pluto were still connected, but Zora and Umbrae weren't. Long post ahead. TL;DR, we teach kids prejudice.
There's a lot of metaphor in this, and I think the half-tethered/half-human doesn't have as much to do with it as we think. I think Jordan's showing how with age and learning, we become disconnected from ourselves and each other.
We become the thing we fear.
Kids don't have any concept of racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc. Those are all taught by us. But Zora, as a teenager, had already learned many of the ways we're taught to be separated, which then separated her from Umbrae. Jason's too young to understand all that, so he's still in sync with Pluto. Both physically and metaphorically, they're still united, unlike the rest of us.
I think it's best shown with how Pluto and Jason just sit together at first, each learning about the other. They're the only two who are curious about each other, which is exactly how kids are. Teenagers and adults? Not so much.
And if you step back from Pluto's circumstances, you can see he's still just a kid. He's special, like Jason, yet in a really bad situation. Even with the car on fire, Pluto's just standing there. We _assume_ he set fire to it. We _assume_ he's going to hurt Jason by burning him. But we have to question why we assume all this.
Well, he carries a lighter, burned his face and his tethered family is trying to kill Jason's family. Case closed, right? Yet Pluto never hurts anyone. The only reason he has the lighter is because he was replicating Jason's magic trick. He only burned his face because Jason "made" him every time he practiced.
So, was Pluto really going to burn Jason? He didn't hurt Jason before, so why would he now?
It's not like kids know how to psychologically terrorize people.
But Red does.
It seems more likely that Red set fire to the car as part of her trap. She knew that would stop them in their tracks, especially if she had Pluto standing there. But, Red was right there and didn't even try to save her own child. She literally sacrificed him to reach her end goal. It shows just how horribly systemic oppression and prejudice will tear families apart.
But, by then, Jason learned to be terrified of Pluto, despite Pluto doing nothing to him. It's understandable - the tethered were trying to kill them. But it makes it telling that Jason is the one who violently killed Pluto, based on all these assumptions. Jason finally succumbed to what he'd been taught - fear "them". All the "thems".
So I think Jordan's showing that by teaching this kind of fear, we no longer see individuals. Pluto didn't do anything but scare them by looking different. We're the ones that made him seem murderous. It ended up not mattering that he was innocent in all of this. Which parallels a LOT of shit happening in the US right now.

[@kiddchamberline750]

Cynically Hopeful why was umbrae not connected to Zora

[@lunacouer]

@@kiddchamberline750 I talked about that in the 3rd paragraph.

[@yolandabrown3038]

Yes...makes sense because remember when red had the boys " go play" addy says "no", and red says, " Pluto has a temper" red plants that seed of fear in Jason's mind.

[@giobronskij8249]

This is some telephone number IQ shit

[@RaeReviews95]

Wow that’s deep and makes sense! Love this idea

[@maryhill5132]

At first, when Elisabeth Moss’s character’s doppelgänger hesitated on killing Adelaide, I thought that only “shadows” could only kill their doppelgänger. After realizing that Adelaide felt this sympathy towards the children’s shadows dying, Kitty’s shadow didn’t kill Adelaide because something set her off that she was actually one of [them]!

[@mariaha9]

I felt like that too but I also think because Red was in charge of all the tethered kitty wanted to leave fake Adelaide for Red to kill.

[@143MissILoveYou]

I don't think there was a rule that made the tethered only being able to kill their doppleganger because Umbrae was able to kill that white guy that owned the car she was on and then there was that cellphone footage on the news, pretty sure that wasn't his tether, idk maybe

[@mikailaisawesome]

I understand why Gabe from US was "weak"!! It's bc hes truly human!!!
Addi was really a tethered being.
The kids are both half tethered as well.
So they're all at least half soulless except for Gabe. He had to be clearly different from the rest of them bc he was entirely human.
So to make him as brutal as Addi would be to say that black men are just as soulless and evil as people who actually don't have complete souls of their own.

[@EmansReviews]

Great point!

[@25kenyada]

Ooooh yeeeesss! That’s the greatest point!

[@lorenzomorgan1213]

Being tethered actually doesn't make them more or less human, in the end both beings are no more or less human than each other. The only differences between them are the lives they lived and how they affected them. The idea of the tethered not having souls is that they have no lives worth living in their underground environment where they spend their entirety mimicking their doppelgangers actions without any of the benefits. (Playing with toys is not fun but painful, Love is arranged, Food is raw rabbit , etc)

[@manuelcarmona209]

Wordddd

[@divaproudable]

Well Red said the humans couldn't figure out how to give them souls so they abandoned the project.. clones are soulless.. I don't care how much elites and governments try to be GOD it will never happen.

[@donttouchmysilver8202]

Peele is an artistic genius!!!

[@EmansReviews]

Agreed

[@amirariyama2349]

Honestly he really does his research!

[@MR-ds1mp]

The Fun house with mirrors says "Find Yourself", at the entrance, too.

[@itzplutomc3781]

Lol 111 likes

[@flikkie72]

From the Thriller music video:
- Jason's mask represents Michael's werewolf face
- (obvious one) Michael's fully dressed in red
- "You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it" (the tethered have no voices)
- "You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun" (the tethered are trapped underground)

[@latashathomas4239]

I still think Jason is a tethered. If he's not, he's very insightful.
First, he was digging tunnels in the sand instead of building sandcastles.
Second, he was stuck in the closet. It happened to him last year, but when his sister said, "didn't this happen last year?," he made no comment.
Third, when his dad told him to get the bat asked, "what bat?"
Fourth and the most important point when Pluto set the trap, we believe that Jason was the one who was controlling Pluto and sending him into the fire. But what if Pluto was controlling Jason and sending him into Red's trap?
This would also mirror the dance scene where Red was the one controlling Addie and making her dance.

[@douba_plusa]

Latasha Thomas That would make sense but then when do you think they would’ve switched? Because given the being locked in the closet a year ago reference, it would’ve had to have been within that time frame but Red clearly raised Pluto

[@latashathomas4239]

@@douba_plusa I agree. The timeline is the biggest hole for me. Because Jason talks and that means Red had to teach him before Addie switched him.
There was nothing that clearly said Red raised Pluto. Just like there was nothing that clearly said Addie was a tethered. Red spoke to Addie like she was filling in the blanks and leaving out what Addie already knew.

[@daniellebassignani9428]

That could be the reason his face was burned, so that the real jason couldn't talk, the clone family knew where they lived, so the boy couldve broke in and switched with jason when he was in the closet the year before. The mom and the boy did seem to have a strange connection.

[@bruhmoment8799]

Danielle Bassignani yeah but what doesnt add up is when they got him out of the closet a year prior he didnt have the same "ptsd" addie had and didnt go mute because the tethered cant speak english

[@latashathomas4239]

@@bruhmoment8799Maybe it's because Red loved him and taught him English. Or because Jason didn't know that he was taken from his mother. Maybe she told him that she was his mother and was going to take him to a better place. Who knows, really.
Following this thread could lead to all kinds of possibilities. One that I've heard is that Jason is really Chris from Get Out. So yeah these theories get crazy.

[@kaitlynblount7683]

You gotta mention the moments when Adelaide had finally overtaken red, as she was choking her to death she made a lot of weird guttural sounds. Of course we're supposed to believe that's just natural, and a sort of scared relief at beating the villain... But idk, as soon as she made those strange sounds, I had the idea that Adelaide wasn't really Adelaide. I didn't exactly know the whole thing, but that part really tipped me off the most before it was revealed. She seemed totally okay with killing and even seemed to enjoy it a bit

[@Hazel4love]

What about her taking her necklace?

[@emmahicks3474]

I thought the same exact thing!

[@KitAE0]

Exactly what I experienced while watching

[@dylanthomas7176]

The kids were joking about killing too thats why I had a revelation that adelaide's kids are both half tethered which is why they weren't afraid and actually enjoying themselves

[@wanda01141]

Go back 20 to 30 mins in the movie where she grunted when she killed the white lady in the house as the son watched. I knew something was up with her at that point

[@abaz6955]

I think that if Jason wanna put his mask on at the end, it is because he somehow understands that his mother is the bad one (through their look). So he puts the mask on to express the fact that he wanna hide the truth, stay by her side and don't tell the rest of the family.

[@introverthoney8876]

That is how I interpreted it as well.

[@SonnyBoiP]

Nobody:
Gabe: I thought I already done told y'all to get off my property!

[@EmansReviews]

😂🤣

[@gigicohen171]

I Noticed that,...Gabe got his getto on,..to scare the Red People! Interesting!

[@dudeman5303]

"THE POLICE IS ON THEY WAY"

[@styxvxn4435]

@@dudeman5303 that part! 😂

[@kaprory]

Dude Man the police never showed up tho 😭

[@ashleypowell7956]

red knew where the spare key was because she used to live there

[@ashleypowell1956]

Ashley Powell your comment scared the shit out of me

[@kendo7687]

@@ashleypowell1956 lmao

[@iiTrendyz]

@@ashleypowell1956 same lmao I'm scared rn

[@JP0411]

No because it was the husband who opened the door

[@gigicohen171]

red didnt live at the Santa Cruz summer house! When would she have lived there?

[@hareguaaa]

Can we talk about how Addie's MJ Thriller shirt predicted a good amount of the movie.

[@yareyaguero9600]

Haregua Belay explain .

[@hareguaaa]

@@yareyaguero9600 If you watch thriller all the way through it shows MJ at the end walking with his date trying to comfort her. He then turns to the camera and smiles and you see that he was one of the evil creatures all long. I believe the red suits, the one glove are based off of it too. There's a few other tid bits here and there from Thriller.

[@tayloralliease8013]

@@hareguaaa FACTS 😮😮

[@terrell1201at]

My son telling me this as well also the glove!

[@janaewi]

Also her glove was very Freddy Krueger like

[@dyeck1918]

Great! Really, deep and I loved your insight, so spot-on. Thank you! Another observation is that the Jeremiah 11:11 character was probably the first to be killed by the "tethered". When he stood on the beach with his hands out, he was the 1st "tethered" version waiting for other "tethered" versions to join him in Hands Across America. Making him the 1st Hands Across America person, aka. tethered uprising.

[@letsgetlost93]

You can tell something is up after Adi is done killing a twin she is grunting the tethered

[@chelseaharvey2204]

I watched this a second time and noticed her grunts too. She was reverting back to her old self.

[@redweather6315]

Theres a huge theme of America slavery. The “tethered” were just brought to America and forgotten when they no longer served their original purpose, left to circumstances that put them at a huge disadvantage to the above ground counterparts. And the whole revelation of “We are Americans” also ties into this.

[@regal394]

Yes

[@royalkaibaby]

The “forgotten” and “no longer served their purpose” is more in line with the native Americans. Black people have, and are, still being used to white American’s advantage.

[@wanda01141]

Yes I felt that way the whole movie and know one is mentioning that theme! Even at the end when she was talking about how they built the county which mean US as in African Americans who built this county

[@GrubKiller436]

@@royalkaibaby Native Americans were not consciously brought into circumstance to serve a purpose. They were more of a nuisance on the land we had to get rid of rather than us forcing them to have a purpose.

[@Iamezyv]

Well said brother

[@trinityneal3395]

Amazing analysis!! About the rabbits I think they were also symbolic. When they are caged, the tethered clones are crazed and locked underground. But, at the end if the movie that rabbits are roaming around free, and the tethered are free above ground.

[@EmansReviews]

Great point!

[@violetaidley7308]

Rabbits are also commonly used for experimenting, and the clones were experiments to control the people above.

[@LookerStenographer]

"Ain't no fun when the rabbit's got the gun." It's a Southern expression.

[@hybui123]

Eman's Movie Reviews i saw the rabbits also as a reference to how the govt takes minimalistic measures to keep a community from going down under and also the lack of aid and funding to these communities.
I.e The water crisis in Flint, underfunding in Inner City school systems.

[@jodyledgerwood]

Rabbits have also been historically used in racist commentary of ‘other’ cultures when they are said to ‘breed like rabbits.’

[@ericjones9975]

This was by far the BEST analogy of the movie "Us"! Dude, you did a great job!

[@EmansReviews]

Thank you!

[@ericjones9975]

Hey! Read my other post and tell me what uou think. Dr Umar Johnson has spoke about this issue.

[@coltongates7397]

You mean analysis?

[@MisterIDGAF]

I think that Thriller shirt had meaning too because the movie ended the same way thriller did.

[@lawonnnadews8606]

OMG🤯

[@reniecejones1729]

11:11 did too

[@sanshuri]

Wow! Another thing, MJ started off poor, with a widely known as abusive family, and overcame it all to literally climb to the top. Just like the adi who went underhround

[@platinumkeys3120]

Your comment was everything... really opened my eyes

[@MisterIDGAF]

Michael Sims I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not? Lol

[@gracejanuchowski2966]

Did anyone else recognize the strings version of “I got 5 on it” when Adi goes into the tunnels? Thought that was a pretty freaky thing to be included :0

[@mattmulugeta6850]

omgggg

[@MsElisMom]

maybe the "tethered" has their own version of everything. Her version was the off beat one lol

[@PatMaddox]

that was brilliantly done

[@itsjustmeLISTEN]

I loved it!

[@jenniferlandise3475]

I thought that them wearing red and recreating HAA was also a metaphor for "red lining" - when the government re-drew city lines with the intention of keeping black people confined to a lesser area.

[@EmansReviews]

I could see that

[@ummeiguess]

bruuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh
that's a big one!!!
hidden in plain sight 🧐

[@ayotalsamoth6867]

They did that in America wow

[@earnestinecole3553]

"You a special kind of fine...... Do you need some one to love you???? Look like ya got muscles too.... I like a fee with a lil muscle, that is sexi!!!! I like the ideal of a strong woman....."

[@jaylane1631]

My grandpa said a long time ago when i was younger and it was n the early 90s...'i aint drinking no bottle water, no tellin what they doing to it, so ill keep boiling mine on the stove'....thats old school!!

[@metropcs4265]

AS ABOVE SO BELOW

[@Bloodmatrix13]

Metro Pcs I said this too!

[@imgreen1289]

I just want to point out the beauty behind the names each character was given. The contrast between shadow and... surface peoples.
Zora- meaning the dawn, sunrise and Umbre/Umbra literally meaning shadow
Jason-meaning healer and Pluto- the Roman god of the underworld ( also noting his hideous visage, depicting the opposite of anything healed, or to do with healing)
Gabe/Gabriel- means Strength of God and is commonly associated with the archangel Gabriel, while Abram(notice the spelling used) means high Father, what I find so interesting about this is that Peele intentionally used Abram, instead of Abraham. The difference? Well, Biblically speaking (and I believe it was intentional this way) Abram was the original name that Abraham had, before God changed his name (a theme found throughout the Bible; a changing of names signifies salvation/being saved, reborn)
The shadow husband does not have this, he is still "in sin" he is still Abram, a father yes, but there's no "light" in his name, no salvation.
I thought that was really interesting.
However, lastly is Adelaide who's shadow's, keep in mind, name NEVER comes up. We don't know the shadow's name because she stole it from the original(or perhaps I missed it). But Adelaide literally means nobility, so the shadow's name may have a meaning opposite that.
But more importantly, back on the theme of name changes, notice how "Red" or the real Adelaide, changed her own name, believing that God had smiled down on her and chose her, in a way, she made her own salvation, the irony is, she named herself Red to symbolize the Hands Across America campaign, something she believed, symbolized change, togetherness, and charity, when truly, was nothing more than a hoax, a lie, and greed. It really wraps up the Jeremiah 11:11 scripture well, the name change, the years of planning, all for cries of help that went unanswered, she didn't get her "salvation " of a sorts. I don't know, Sorry for the long post,but its really genius of him to make these smart movies that get everyone thinking. It's fun to think.
Edit: Also also, there's the "Red" theme of Esau and Jacob, another Biblical tie. Esau (Red original Adelaide) was the first born and heir to the family's birthright (Nobility, Adelaide) and his twin Jacob (the shadow Adelaide) tricked him into giving it away to him. He literally came out the womb holding Esau's heel, like a shadow. I should mention, when Esau was born he was covered in red hair.
There's just so much to unpack with this movie. Love it!
Tl;dr : the names have deeper meanings, I think it's cool, Peele is a Genius.

[@hanburgundy4317]

The Red/Addie Switch twist ruins my suspension of disbelief and the character of Red. Until the "switch" reveal, Red is kind of sympathetic: a villain, yes, but one with a cause behind it. After, it makes no sense. The doubles - the dopplegangers, the clones, what have you - mirror the actions of their above world tethers a.k.a. what the "real" versions are doing. Why, then, would the real Addie/Red be forced to mirror the actions of the "shadow" Addie/Addie? Shouldn't it have been the other way around? With Red doing whatever she's doing while trapped down with the Shadows and Addie mirroring it above? It can't be a "both are linked" scenario i.e. both mirror the others because that wasn't shown to be the case for any of them EXCEPT for the Shadows; only the underworld copies were compelled to mirror their above world counterparts and NOT vice-versa. Therefore, Red should have had no compulsion to mirror what Addie did. The twist ruins it, IMO, and kills the in-world logic.

[@Sweet_Malou]

IMgreen Wow what a cool observation with the names!! And yeah the Esau Jacob thing too. Dang.

[@googlepatrick6716]

@@Sweet_Malou
Agreed with you. Something crossed my mind about it being related to a biblical theme and thing .

[@31webseries]

Not just a mask, but a werewolf mask, a creature that is (basically) half monster half human. ;)

[@sarutobi43]

I think it's Chewbacca

[@dexterdahmer]

Some people think it’s a monkey

[@lukenester2319]

31webseries it’s Chewbacca

[@lorenzomorgan1213]

@@lukenester2319 It's not even remotely close to looking like a chewbacca mask.

[@edwardtrevino1563]

@@lorenzomorgan1213 it's still a version of sasquatch mask

[@starkman78]

I think I've got it!!!
You have to stipulate certain things.
A: The girls were indeed “born special” and that is why this happened to them and no one else.
B: Much of what we see taking place combines literal occurrence with symbolism.
C: The Tethered aren’t soulless. One soul is shared by both bodies and that is why they are tethered.
Also, I don’t officially “count” what happened in the deleted scenes because whatever is in the final cut is responsible for telling the story. But I think that deleted scenes can corroborate the storyteller’s intent so after I fleshed this out, I watched them to see if there were any elements that bolstered my theory. I think there were, but I will leave that for the end.
Many people have questions about how travel works in the underground. My thought? It doesn’t. Not really anyway. The Tethered move when their counterparts move and stop when they stop. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they have a complete match when it comes to distance and location. It functions on relativity as opposed to absolute spatial symmetry. But (original) Addy happened to be in a location where (original) Red was indeed directly underneath her. And by coincidence, fate, or whatever powers exist in their world, Red mirroring Addy’s actions when she wandered off happened to lead her right to a spot that had a way out. Perhaps their close proximity or Red’s proximity to the outside is what balanced the power/weakened the tether. But whatever the reason Red got a spark of self-awareness and free will so she took action. As to why (original) Addy didn’t just escape? Well we know that she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. We know that Addy’s mother was terrified by what had happened so we can presume that she not only never took (new) Addy to the Boardwalk again, but probably stayed very close to her at all times for a long time after the incident. The Tethered mother would have been mirroring those actions, making (new) Red unable to escape her clutches and get anywhere near that exit. Symbolically this shows that, while all you have can be snatched away from you in an instant, you can’t simply grab it back. It will be a long struggle to get back to where you were and you might not ever get there at all. As to how Red was doomed to copy Addy? Again, the Tethered are not irrevocably defective. Addy is an example of how under the right circumstances they can be indistinguishable from regular humans. So being born a Tethered is not the thing that binds someone to exist in another’s shadow. One soul is split between the two bodies; whichever one gets what they need to live their best life is the one who gets to be their best self. Addy came up from the underground into the arms of two parents who were invested in her. She was loved, nourished, educated, and fortified in every way necessary for her to thrive and develop. Red was stripped of everyone and everything she ever knew and trapped in a hellish prison without even a glimmer of hope that it would change causing her to deteriorate into a shell. She wasn’t born Tethered; she was made that way. Years later, the dancing was the catalyst for change. I think this is meant to symbolize the awesomeness of creative expression. Even though she was merely shadowing Addy’s performance, there was so much power in dance that it ran through her to not only break her free but to influence others. Not that a “spell” was instantly broken. The symbol here is an opportunity provided that gave Red and the others something to hope for and work towards. Which they did for years and years until they finally succeeded in coming up from underground to implement Red’s vision of a revolution. Which was oppressive and violent because her emotional maturity would have stopped developing from the time that she was trapped in addition to being warped by trauma. And I don’t believe that Addy completely remembered everything that had happened. Memory is heavily influenced by one’s current world view and self-assessment. No doubt Addy’s childhood therapy would have been focused on “reorienting” her to her environment, her life, and her “self,” and her memory was reconstructed to be consistent with her new world. Pieces of the puzzle started coming together and the picture was complete once Red was killed (perhaps this meant she now had their once shared soul all to herself?) but if she remembered everything all along, wouldn’t she have forever kept herself and her family as far away as possible from Santa Cruz?
Now onto the deleted scenes.
- It is true that (original) Addy was taken on by the Tethered parents because they shambled in and found her shackled to the bed. At first she thought that her real parents had come to take her home. The camera shot from her POV when they leaned in on her and she saw what they really were was absolutely bone chilling.
- Addy and Kitty had a longer discussion on the beach about Addy’s dancing. The performance that we see in the film was a competition. Though that routine is traditionally a pas de deux between the Cavalier and the Sugarplum Fairy, Addy made it into a solo. She was incredibly nervous but the audience went crazy and she won first prize. She said that, aside from the births of her children, it was the greatest moment of her life. This goes to show that that performance was a pivotal moment of triumph in her life which made it powerful. Not to mention, it actually was a pas de deux…between Addy and Red.
- Not so much a deleted scene, but a special feature shows the ballet performance in its entirety. It shifts between the stage and the underground. Of course Addy’s dance is reminiscent of a classic prima ballerina. However, Red’s performance is just as compelling. There’s a huge difference between a bad dancer and a talented dancer who is intentionally dancing badly so her movements were equally masterful despite the twisted, shadowy quality to them. However as the dance was ending, Red down in the tunnel let out a primal scream and executed a practically perfect tour jete before striking her final pose on the floor. Boom! A visual sign that her human normalcy was somewhere inside her and just needed a catalyst to bring it out.
And now I can put Us to bed and give my full attention over to Get Out!

[@EmansReviews]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@st3ve710]

Wow! Probably one of the most interesting reads to be read within the depths of UA-cam comments.
I’m onboard with everything you’ve pointed out. Thanks for posting.
It’s crazy how much LOD a Peele film can have.

[@starkman78]

@@st3ve710 thank you for your kind words! I just thought the movie was fantastic and I couldn't stop obsessing over what it was supposed to mean. I feel vindicated for the time I spent devouring videos, essays, and comments sections; the speculations of others provided the missing cars in my train of thought.

[@pennywise1629]

that was worth the read

[@tisser5716]

After Adi frees herself from the coffee table at her neighbors house, she is wearing the one handcuff for the for the rest of the movie. Symbolic because the real Adi was handcuffed to a bed as a child by her doppelganger. Tethered?

[@ItIsWhatItIs78174]

This movie was NOT for your average person but I loved it

[@EmansReviews]

That's very true

[@mattlayne8164]

this movie sucked

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

@@mattlayne8164 I loved it but I felt this way about Get Out. Opinions.

[@AntwanMadNerd]

A young boy named Jason, that wears a mask and mother is the "villian". Friday the 13th much?

[@EmansReviews]

Very much!

[@doombuggy123]

There’s a lot of 80s references, he was wearing a monster mask and supposedly thriller was a huge source of inspo.

[@DEsha29]

Mad Nerd lol

[@kieranive8763]

in an interview i saw jordan mentioned friday the 13th too when talking about the music he used 👀

[@kaylynloves]

Wow that was so straightforward and so obvious...you are LITERALLY the only person ive seen connect that 😭😭😭😭👀👏👏👏👏

[@tonebenderx]

Finally, a family that acts sensibly when confronted by a horror-movie situation! Great review, Eman.

[@introverthoney8876]

After the real Addy finishes her speech in their living room and there’s a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, I thought: if anyone starts to laugh or disregards what she just said, I’m turning this movie off. Seeing as the real Addy is just a bit disturbed, I was so grateful when Gabe softly asks, “ Excuse me, excuse me, what do you want?”
Jordan Peele did an amazing job writing and directing this.

[@allmonkeybizz7999]

If Jason and Pluto mimic each other because they are both half breeds (half-human and tethered) then what about Zora and Umbrae??? They should be in the same situation.

[@atlantaglamdoll1232]

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps it had a message related to her being the "first born", and how ones birth automatically places them in higher or lower regard/privledge.

[@doctoradventure413]

Red’s plan is basically
1. Kill your original version
2. Hold hands across America
3. ???
4. Profit

[@sarabimotley]

Seek revenge on the fake Adelaide. Really basically it. But she formed a bigger plot but the core was to get revenge or fake Adelaide

[@Alidey.]

Doctor Adventure lmao I love that episode of south park

[@fresnoniiji]

@@Alidey. underpants knomes 😂😂😂😂😂

[@mefamin507]

Y'all watch South Park too??? 😁

[@vergodagoat]

Stonks

[@TreyNewman.]

The Effort You Put In Your Research Is Second To None You Are My Favorite Film Reviewer You Always Provide A Clear And New Perspective And I AppreciateThat

[@EmansReviews]

I sincerely appreciate that. Thanks Trey!

[@VivekYadav-ds8oz]

TEYPIYRISTNYAMFFRYAPACANPAIAT
This acronym makes no sense.

[@bruhmoment8799]

Vivek Yadav i tried doing the same thing lol

[@TreyNewman.]

Vivek Yadav You Have To Know The Decipher Code

[@codelicious6590]

I personally feel like this film is actually saying ALOT of stuff about ALOT of stuff! Blew my mind.

[@brody10123]

Lupita Nyong’o deserves the Oscar for Best Actress. Not only did she have to play two characters, those characters were basically an inversion of each other. It’s a dynamic so complicated that I can’t put it into words but Nyong’o nailed every second.

[@fredweasley33]

I've never left a comment for any person on youtube before. This was EXCELLENT. Very helpful and insightful.

[@EmansReviews]

I'm truly honored and humbled. Thank you!

[@rwuthenow]

Me too!

[@hanburgundy4317]

Then you're not living up to your username, mate; Fred ALWAYS had something to say to everyone.

[@recklessboy9743]

Finally, someone who isn't trying to push the "Jason was switched" theory. Great review btw!

[@EmansReviews]

Thanks! yeah I"m just not buying it. Too many holes for me.

[@recklessboy9743]

@@EmansReviews Exactly! I feel like it would b interesting if there was credible evidence for it, but everything offered as "proof" is a reach

[@gobbleswells2883]

If Red is real Adi, then her switching the boys, possibly at birth, would make more sense as to why Pluto and Jason had that moment. Jason is real Adelaide's child so fake Adelaide's son, Pluto, would technically mimic Real Adelaide's son, Jason right?? Somewhat explains those sympathetic moments fake Adi had for Pluto, right!? :/ Idk, I go back and forth on this EVEN NOW lol it makes sense, but it doesn't. Like, why didn't he seem to connect with fake Adi in the end there? Rather, he puts his mask on and stays quiet, as if fake Adi NEVER raised him?? I'll stop now haha

[@recklessboy9743]

@@gobbleswells2883 it doesnt make any sense tho. Saying she went back to Switch Jason with his tether means she had to cross paths with Adi who's place she took. Most likely she would've killed her then. Red sympathized with the tethered kids bc they resembled her own and she was from their world originally. She wanted to see if she could establish some sort of understanding with them, but she couldn't. Tbh I feel like you're trolling

[@antaresatlantis6785]

@@recklessboy9743 but jayson was switched. jayson is adelaide. male and female principle. this why they were inseparable. its the same person. so if adelaide was switched then jayson was switched too

[@akshunhiro]

You’re a brilliant speaker! You spoke for nearly half an hour and there were no stumbles or ums and uhs. You never reached for words. Great breakdown of the movie too!

[@mzmuzyk]

Lupita is stunningly beautiful!!! Such a gorgeous melanin queen

[@ChristmasLore]

Her beauty is kind of mesmerizing!

[@Mikeg73070]

I noticed that they played “Run Rabbit Run in Get Out and they shouted “Get Out!” In “Us”

[@OfficialSwishaTV]

jason knew his mom was the clone. he heard red say it when they were underground

[@AD-kb7dl]

You dumbbo he was in an different hallway and room in a locker even, and red (the real one) whispered it to the fake one.
Theirs no way he heard it!

[@MakaelaStilton]

Hireth he could’ve listened and then ran to the locker. idk

[@joseraul8928]

Yeah while I don't think this is true, the locker did have holes in it. Right? I believe he saw Adi kill Red.

[@radchad2338]

they never said it underground, she just had a flashback

[@qxpn9220]

Ukiah Stone it wasn’t that serious now you look like the Nanzi dumbass in this comment section

[@mollyjones4165]

What's really interesting about this movie is the longer disguised Red stays above ground experiencing a normal life, the more like the others she becomes, while the real Abby who is forced to stay below resembles more the soulless, over time.
This movie makes a statement on Nature v. Nuture.
And also the way the Shadow people must do the exact same things as the Real people. It's like they are going " through the motions." The Real people get results from what they do, the Shadows must "go through the motions" over and over yet they never get anywhere and there are never any results from them. All the activity they must do is meaningless.

[@cashkid_1217]

Hold on, if the tethered Addie was on the surface since she was a child, that means she was actually the one that had kids with Gabe when she grew up, so aren't Zora and Jason like half-breeds?

[@EmansReviews]

Exactly!

[@newtzrcool]

The tethered are still technically hypothetically human, though.

[@introverthoney8876]

So are Unbrae and Pluto.

[@hiitscupid3504]

i mean, theyre all human. so i dont know if they would be counted as a different species.

[@hughmann5046]

In the beginning, I noticed a VHS of the movie C.H.U.D.. Which is a 80s movie about underground dwellers. I saw what you did there, Jordan

[@beaustanley8752]

That literally was the first thing I noticed to, a shitty 80s movie VHS, c.h.u.d. cannabalistic humanoid underground dweller ...lol

[@WordsToTheWise]

This movie is a more psychological and politically driven version of “switched at birth”

[@AD-kb7dl]

Of course it has too be political, you have no opinion for you own

[@WordsToTheWise]

Hireth
K

[@rachelv5338]

The part of the movie that confused me the most was that the tethered sometimes had to exactly mirror the actions of the others (the rollercoasters, walking into the fire, etc) but then, at other times they were able to move independently. The best I can come up with is that because they were created to be manipulated by the government, they always need some kind of directions to follow, so when Red gave them directions (which she could do because she wasn't actually tethered), they were then able to follow her directions instead of just mirroring the above ground version of themselves. (Speaking of mirroring, the fact that this is all happening beneath a hall of mirrors is a great touch of irony)

[@ladydiamon03]

I FINALLY watched Us last night, & it was as great as I hoped it to be!!! However like most it was a bit to process. I knew there would be a video on UA-cam to help explain things, this video was magnificent. Lol, I’m still processing this movie but, it’s really just genuine amazement because of how great this movie was!!! This movie broke many horror movie barriers & just wow lol.

[@Cmf748]

Great review! I came out of the theater with so many questions and immediately took to the internet to seek answers. A good number were answered. but I still have some questions though...
1. How was Red able to communicate with the other tethered and organize a national uprising when everyone is busy shadowing their above ground person? Red is the only one who can speak and even still, she talks about her whole life mimicking Addie. When did she organize all of this? How did the message get across nationally when they aren’t really even able to communicate with each other?
2. Not a huge part of the story, but logistically the underground tunnels and such only make sense in certain locations… like, not everyone lives with abandoned tunnels/subways underneath. What happens if someone travels out of the country? Or on an airplane? What does the tethered do? Wait until they get back if they go back?
3. What next?... The Wilsons did have an advantage that others didn't because their tethered (led by Red) decided to play games instead of immediately killing, but the Tylers weren't so lucky and were immediately killed. It is very possible the Wilsons were not the only not-tethered family to survive. But what is supposed to happen after the chain? If they are killing all their doubles, who are they sending the message to? Probably thinking too much into it...
4. Why did the tethered Tyler family try to kill Addie and her family but none of the other tethered seemed to care once their personal doubles were killed - they went off to join the chain.

[@y2kraye]

To answer some questions, I do think the tethered just do what they have to do to complete their objective. The Wilsons stood in their way, so they had to be killed maybe?

[@naivenitara]

Your brain is fun! 🙂

[@SantoLucasST]

1. Some animals are able to cooperate and their brains are not as developed as ours. Maybe they can have some basic communication and understanding, enough to make the plan: kill your double go to the line and hold hands.
2. Maybe those are secret underground, if they were just normal underground tunnels this would have being found already, it's been years. And by the looks of the one tunnel shown it was built specifically for this experiment.
Maybe the whole soul-sharing thing works even when far away from each other, so when they travel they just stay in the same place, like those people mimicking the ones in the ferris wheel.
4. Well, Red said they went mad, so the plan probably ended there. Some protests work just by being there, without doing anything
5. Red's revenge was way more personal then the others, maybe she made the others toy with the family before killing them. Maybe red was the only one who understood what she was doing and the other were just mindless husks, doing what they were told.
That's what I can think of at least.

[@Tima-oz5te]

This is my theory on the possibility of other not-terhered families surviving:
I think all the tethers holding hands across America serves as a gate. The Wilson's will be able to make it to the other side of this 'gate' because they are traveling in an ambulance which parallels Jason's toy ambulance always holding the door open in their summer home. So the Wilson's essentially have 'a foot in the door' to freedom because they are traveling in an ambulance coupled with the fact that they are traveling with the person that orchestrated the entire revolution

[@Tima-oz5te]

Also I think the tethers were able to communicate with each other through their "grunting" noises. The scene where Abraham is taking Gabe on the boat he stops and seems to he responding to another far away tether by screaming because they're taking turns to make that awkward screaming noise

[@xanjafilms7853]

Best Horror movie. Blew me away Peele is an absolute genius.

[@bestfriend7778]

@Caprece theFeminine Not necessarily all the time. I feel like for it to be a really good horror movie, it needs to make sense, and have a plot twist that makes you think. Not some basic horror movie with cheap jump scares that makes you fall asleep. It was brilliant. It had a good background story, and quite frightening in my opinion, especially with how Red was talking to fake Ade.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

@Caprece theFeminine I never get scared watching horror movies anymore. I did when I was a kid so maybe I've just seen so many. I was actually asking myself while watching it this was a horror movie because I wasn't scared. I still loved it no matter what kind of movie it is.

[@nuclearknex6426]

Longest 15 minutes of my life
(When they called the police, they said they’d be there in 15 minutes, and never arrived

[@tweetiedoesntchirp]

nuclear k'nex lol, pretty sure they were busy "handling" their tethered

[@chickenmanman705]

And it was 14 minutes not 15

[@nuclearknex6426]

Chicken Man Man oh sorry sir, that makes sense now

[@crashie4949]

Tbh thanks for explaining it cuz i didn’t get it at first LOL

[@one_n_a_billion]

@@chickenmanman705 No, no, they definitely told her it would be 15 min. But by the time Addy's husband said to call the cops, one min presumably elapses and that's why she dropped down to 14.

[@troygarton531]

Opening scene on the shelf next to the TV is a VHS tape of the movie C.H.U.D. This stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Cheesy 80's horror movie. Hmm?

[@chelseaharvey2204]

I noticed that too lol

[@Abs0lut3_ZER0]

My mind is still blown

[@thecomedicmue3873]

Makes me think about the "third party" that buys your DNA from places like 23andMe and Ancestry DNA and what they do with it. *Insert Ominous Music" 🤔

[@IceBergSlim1987]

Fr tho 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@chachaalston1698]

Girrrrl !!! I just had to screen shot your comment! This is deep! I must share this thought... Girl i hope mr jordan p sees it! It could inspire a helllllla part 2!!! Facts sis! Great observation!

[@chachaalston1698]

Excellent observation sis!!! You are On point!!! Will positively be sharing this

[@theoutcasts7765]

Holy shit that’s crazy to think about!

[@thecomedicmue3873]

I just think that if this wasn't a possibility, why would those companies put that in their terms and conditions 🤔 Just another level in the grand social experiment that we VOLUNTEER for. (i.e Facebook). Is it so far fetched that not only do they have our faces....now the have our DNA. They could be making luxury humans like those expensive ass luxury dogs. And furthermore, this wouldn't be the first time that life imitated art. IJS

[@godisgood4894]

The richer people hurt their Tethered more.
Adi (the real one) said that every good thing that happened to her Tethered resulted to bad things happening to her, so if the richer people live a lavish life, their Tethered live one of the worse lives you could imagine. 😓
(I don't really know what i'm saying here)

[@ThrghmyEyeZZ]

Shit my double must have a Castle be a King with 10 wives then, smh

[@lumen8r]

Dude, I knew after seeing your Joker review that you’d be the one to make sense of this movie to me! Boom! Well done, sir.

[@EmansReviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheBlackDorothyZbornak]

This movie is a prime example of nature vs nurture.

[@DesertDweller10]

11-11 is a powerful number in the spiritual community and it represents transformation and awakening consciousness. Thus, 11-11 has a duel meaning just like most everything else in the movie. The Biblical 11-11 represents the wrath of God if humanity continues on its current path of material excess and seeing our fellow inhabitants as 'other." However, 11-11 also represents that we can change course through our awakening to Oneness and to our inherent authenticity that does not rely on material excess. It is a matter of becoming aware of our shadow side and accepting it so that we do not unconsciously operate from it.

[@jaywalker2179]

Yes!!!

[@bevans36]

A year later, this still holds up as the best review I've heard ...

[@lashelleranson8925]

The old saying goes, "Everyone has a twin."

[@coltongates7397]

Perhaps DNA is not limitless, but instead, repeats itself

[@harryvaliente9425]

No

[@dream_walker9726]

True

[@jameemottler3573]

I thought the ambulance foreshadowing when Jason used it in the door was cool too

[@EmansReviews]

Yes it was!

[@sammelville2666]

The Jordan Peele quote relates to when Jason said at the dinner table in the beginning "When you point your finger at someone, you point three fingers back at yourself." (not the exact quote but something like it)

[@mlarson]

That's why I knife hand

[@BayouChic]

It just premiered on HBO so I figured I’d get some insight before rewatching

[@emmacollins6909]

Bayou Chic I literally just watched it on hbo too! So good. I saw it in theatres and just watched it ALONE lol I’m nuts

[@cashoutniyah]

Bayou Chic sameee🤣

[@johnpfaff1419]

When Red is talking to Adelaide, it's one of the rare moments where I was just as horrified as I was heartbroken for her. The only other time I felt like that was The Fly.

[@chrisedwards5447]

Bravo! 👏👏👏
This is the best "Us Explained" I've seen. All those other big channels just retell the movie all over again and dont explain shit.

[@EmansReviews]

Many thanks Chris!

[@3AdaptationAcademy3]

I thought the 1111 on the back of the ambulance in the last scene was a nice touch.

[@colehopper8470]

jarod locke and on the clock at the house

[@kirasj9861]

11:11 is also identical mirrored numbers like the family and their tethered dopplegangers. When they’re at the beach the 4 of them casted shadows, much like how the tethered family was standing in a line before breaking into their house. Clever stuff

[@charlottebanks7903]

In the beginning of the film, when the mother said "they look like their filming something by the carousel. Maybe you should be an extra," was she talking about Lost Boys, which released in 1987?