MovieChat Forums > The Outsider (2020) Discussion > Something I'm REALLY Confused About.

Something I'm REALLY Confused About.

posted 4 years ago by Jeepster (1025)
4 replies | jump to latest

Well for one it went over my head that when Holly met Maria Caneles in Rikers & she was interviewing her, that in the flashbacks with Heath Hofstadter & Maria, what we saw was actually The Outsider, not Maria. Just thought it was Maria lying about not meeting Heath but an article online pointed out to me that what you see with them two having breakfast & then sex, it was the doppleganger, not the actual Maria.

But what I'm really stumped over is this "scratching" business. At the end we see Maria (Outsider) scratch Heath when they're having sex, then earlier we see Heath scratch Terry in the security footage & again when Ralph is watching the footage in the bar.

What is this meant to imply? That whoever is scratched transforms or is possessed by the Outsider & goes on to commit murder in it's stead or is in fact the actual entity? As Holly observed "Can't catch murder, it's not a virus" Well I understand, but yet I don't understand.

Let's talk about Terry first, ok he's scratched by Heath & now "he's under the influence" & goes on to murder that kid. That's simple right? What's so hard to understand? But wait, we know it's not actually him because he's in Dayton, Ohio visiting his dad. Or did this all happen when he visited his dad? But wait, what does it matter? Both Heath & Maria were busted for their respective killings but then had alibi's of being somewhere else at the time just like Terry.

My thing is ok so which is it? Were they scratched & they went on to actually do it or was it still something/someone else that did the killings? Did the Outsider scratch them to get their blood so it can actually transform into them to kill? As the Cuban lady explains to Holly "It can look like a person if it needs to be, but it's not" Which brings me to mind, why did Holly question her over her describing it as "it?" I've thought that since day 1 it was a given that Holly knew it was a entity of sorts, & not a person she was looking for but I guess I was wrong.

With this in mind does it make sense to say that "Ok yeah, they got scratched & were infected & were driven to kill" but wait they weren't even there to begin with. Everything's a mess or so it seems. Do you all understand what I'm trying to say? Seems so convoluted I'm not sure what's going on. What are your opinions on this?

[–] exatera (3942) 4 years ago

No, no one is actually under the influence. It's not the scratched person who does the murders, it's the Outsider.

He scratches them to have a sample of their DNA.

[–] Jeepster (1025) 4 years ago

Ok, this is one of the things that I've asked, but it's not so clear cut in the show what's going on. But thanks anyway.

[–] exatera (3942) 4 years ago

You'd be better off following the old lady's from Rikers explanation - that El Gluton, or whatever his name is, first eats the child, and then "eats" the family's grief.

Seems to me I have succinctly answered all of your inquiries, to be honest, not just one of the things.

[–] delac147 (116) 4 years ago

Yup @exatera is right. The outsider takes the DNA to become that person, to be a copy of them. Then he goes and does one of arguably the worst atrocity you can do, rape and kill a child.

What I believe is that he feeds from grief, anger, and desperation. Once he's done the atrocity, he just waits and watches as the whole family collapses. Both the victims family (i.e. the child's parents, brothers, grandpas) and the "*perpetrator's" family (brothers of the killer, fathers and so on).

If the disaster is not moving forward as the outsider wants, he then posses or forces other people to run the peace at its will. You can tell who are the puppets by the rashes in his neck, such as the cop Jack Hoskins.

*which is actually the outsider.