So, I literally just finished the Something Very Bad is Going to Happen series on Netflix, and naturally, I am confused which makes my brain work harder to come up with a theory as to how we got to this ending.
As a brief recap, Nicky and Rachel, who has never met Nicky’s family, are heading to his cabin in the snowy woods for their ceremony. When the couple arrives at the cabin, everything just feels eerie and unsettling. At first, Rachel believes that the family is plotting to kill her, but in the end, they were just weirdos with family secrets. Nothing really special. The special one was Rachel, and she ends this series with an eternal debt to be paid, but what did that ending mean? I’ll tell you using a couple examples.
For me, being The Witness isn’t a curse, a burden, or a freedom—it’s a protector position. Hear me out…Rachel does love Nicky. Rachel ignored all of the times when I screamed at her through the TV to get in her car and leave that man and family altogether. If you noticed, any time she could have left, she chose not to. She wouldn’t leave without him. She adored that man. Later, they have their wedding rehearsal dinner and she tells everyone the story of how her and Nicky met. Now, to the naked eye (not my eye), you would look at this scene and feel that she is telling everyone the story to convince herself that Nicky is the one. I don’t think that’s what she’s doing at all. I think she wanted to tell the story to everyone so they could feel what she did when she first met him. That first meeting meant a lot to her which is why when her would have been future brother-in-law shattered that story, she was crushed.
I do want to go back to when she met her predecessor, played by Zlakto Buric, and the reason you know this man is because of his recent work in Wonder Man). If you paid attention, then you may have caught how The Witness described himself as a coward when he left his beloved bride. The Witness didn’t actually want to not marry his bride—he loved her. It was the fear of what could and would happen that caused him to roll out. Fast forward to Rachel and Nick arguing about their compatibility. In my opinion, Rachel believed. She finally let herself go and dove head first into something she knew would be scary. Nick did not do the same. But I think the key to becoming a Witness is the belief of The Witness. I don’t know that I have confirmation, but I feel like everyone else who died didn’t believe and that’s why they died.
An example of that belief is Jules. Jules is the only person in his family (besides Nick) who didn’t die. He told Nick when they went fox hunting that he’s been in love with Nell since he was 21. Both he and Nell talking about getting divorced gave me sad vibes. They didn’t want to be heading towards divorce, but I think they didn’t quite appreciate what they had because it didn’t look like Jules’ parents marriage. Nick wasn’t wrong when he said marriage was a curse. In this universe, marriage seemed like a facade. Nick’s parents did have what looked like a perfect marriage, not because they worked at it, but because they worked to make sure no one looked too close to see the cracks—specifically their kids.
Here’s a hot take. Rachel’s dad loved her mom, but I don’t think she loved that man as much as he loved her. He not only saved their child but he also kept the name she wanted for her.
Being The Witness is a way for the person who was really in love with the other to protect the family of that person and/or even protect that person. Recall that moment when she finds Jude and tells him that he has to be really careful about who he wants to marry, and then reveals to him that she’ll be there when he does make that decision. The way she pulls him in for a hug indicates to me that she really wants to see this boy live and thrive with the correct person. Not only because he can and maybe will die, but because she found her own love of her life and lost it to preconceived notions placed on her relationship from Nick and his parents marriage.
But what do you think? Do you wonder why The Witness can’t warn you before the engagement? Seems like that would solve this curse…at least in part. Do you have another theory or do you agree with me?
