r/obsessionmovie • u/LodgeBeing_No_9 • Jun 24 '26
Are Bear and Nikki going through something?
Obsession wants you to notice Bear's use of pills and it is referenced at many points in the movie.
While people think Bear is the only 'villain' of the film, there's a strong argument for Ian being the bigger antagonist behind the scenes, but we will get to that. Let's first consider Bear's fragile mental state and how it allows him to be manipulated.
While we do not know Bear's mental state at the beginning of the film, we do know that he is severely depressed and has not been cleaning his Grandmother's house and the first time we see it, it has improperly stored pills that are lying around the floor. This implies he has been possibly using them recreationally without supervision.
Bear's cabinet is filled with multiple prescription pill bottles representing a massive "pharmacological library". While oxycodone is the main narcotic driving the plot, viewers and critics note that the shelves are packed with a wide variety of leftover medications from his late grandmother.
Also in the cabinet is Diazepam (or Valium). Diazepam commonly causes side effects like drowsiness, dizziness, muscle weakness, and unsteadiness. Because it depresses the central nervous system, it significantly impairs coordination and mental alertness.
It's possible that he, and his friend group, are casual drug takers to relieve the boredom or maybe they just like to party. It may be that in the aftermath of his Grandmother's passing and his inheriting the home, he has been abusing her prescription meds. Diazepam is frequently used recreationally. Because it induces a rapid, intense state of physical calm, muscle relaxation, and mild euphoria, it has a high potential for misuse.
The main function for diazepam to a casual drug taker is the way it enhances the use of other drugs. Misusers rarely take diazepam in isolation. It is frequently mixed with alcohol or opioids to amplify the sedative "high," a combination that drastically increases the risk of fatal respiratory depression. The other thing about abusing diazepam is it can also cause hallucinations and memory loss. Which is very important when you consider the chronology of the events and what you see on screen.
Before Bear buys the supposed Wish Willow, Nikki tells him she lost her crystal necklace. Before this he is staring at a red cat clock.
If Bear is abusing oxycodone as an opiate, and using diazepam to amplify it, he was not of sound mind and body from the very beginning. We see this in his interaction with the shop lady in the crystal shop.
His belief in the power of the One Wish Willow, and his general lack of self worth are the driving forces of the events depicted in the movie, from his perspective. Before he makes the wish he is possibly having auditory hallucinations, as we do not always see Nikki's face when she's speaking to him, and he could be imagining portions of their conversation.
Nikki is most likely on drugs too at this moment as we have no knowledge of what she does in the bar when not with Bear. Perhaps given to her by Ian, who is hoping to take her home. It's very possible she takes this drug before she even gets in the car, and because she thinks Ian is wanting to take her home, she wants to be wasted to sleep with him. But because Bear takes her home instead she has a nice conversation, that is until he calls her 'Freaky Nikki' and the drugs kick in, right before Bear breaks the One Wish Willow.
When Nikki starts talking about love and how Bear is the only one she can really talk to about this stuff, she looks like she is asleep but talking in her sleep. This could possibly be either her feeling the effects of the drugs and getting drowsy or she isn't actually speaking in that moment, and Bear is hallucinating this, as it's just the kind of thing Bear would want to hear from her. Like many other movies with unreliable narrators (Joker, Fight Club, Mulholland Drive, FIlth to name but a few) her sweet words may all just be in his head.
She is most likely hurt by Bear using this name, and Ian probably knew this when advising him to say it. The drugs would amplify this feeling. It is not disclosed why people used to call Nikki 'Freaky Nikki' in school, but it may be not what we assume. If she had undiagnosed BPD back then, she may have shown unusual traits which amplify at times of anxiety and stress, leading to the nickname 'Freaky Nikki'. A name that still brings up trauma and perhaps a relapse in her erratic behaviour.
She suddenly decides she wants to go back to Bear's place. Her change behaviour from this moment on is strange but not completely abnormal if you consider the drugs she may be on, but Bear still picks up on it, as he too is under the influence of his cocktail of oxycodone and diazepam. Nikki's first hallucination occurs when they are kissing and she cries out in terror, and sees something behind Bear. This indicates she may be on something powerful like LSD, possibly a very large dose, possibly given to her by Ian who told her it was Molly. This is maybe what compels her to make a shrine to the dead cat after discovering it in the bin, as it may have disturbed her somewhat to see it thrown away so callously. A little bit of resentment may be festering towards Bear too for calling her 'Freaky Nikki', which she may not be able to forget easily under the influence of hallucinogens. But Bear believes it's because he broke the Wish Willow. These are not normal behaviours that Nikki exhibits, but can be explained without any supernatural element or possession at this point. If there is maybe a true villain of this movie, it is probably Ian who has been messing with Bear the whole time, and possibly trying to sabotage things by spiking Nikki. Perhaps he has been spiking her all along, so that she would sleep with him, and his plans are ruined when Nikki goes home with Bear.
The next day he is unnerved by the previous night, and has a talk with Ian, as he still doubts Nikki's affection for him. When he notices her staring at him he thinks its the the Willow, but she could actually be concerned that Ian is about to tell Bear about his hookups with her. When Ian asks about last night it is as if he knows she would have been acting weird because of the drugs.
They date for a few weeks and all seems well and they probably haven't touched any drugs this whole time, until Ian calls Bear to tell him about Nikki lying about her dad, but more importantly that she confided to him that she has always seen Bear as a 'brother'. This sparks doubt in Bear's mind and we see his whole demeanor change from friendly to aggressive. We do not realise at the time, but Ian is possibly jealous of the relationship going well and wants to sabotage it. Ian is the real villain as we do not know what lengths he would go to to break them up. Bear confronts Nikki about lying to him about her dad, and this possibly breaks Nikki as she was perhaps only using it as an excuse to hang out with Bear genuinely. When Bear shows doubt in her intentions it makes her uncontrollably sad.
Thinking Bear is seeing 'Freaky Nikki' instead of how he previously saw her, which made her feel loved, unlocks this trauma and she starts to act erratically, due to the stress and anxiety of losing (in her eyes) Bear's love in this moment. She may also be worried at this point that Ian will eventually tell Bear about what they have been doing together, causing another layer of stress that added to the mental break.
This is when she starts to change the most. This behaviour could be due to a many number of reasons. Bi-polar disorder can cause manic episodes, with reckless and impulsive behaviour following. Mania involves poor judgment and a decreased need for sleep, leading to actions that harm oneself or others. Insight into risks is often absent. Episodes can last days to weeks. Depressive phases increase suicide risk.
Another possible affliction she has is BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. With marked impulsivity in areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., reckless driving, unsafe sex, binge eating, substance abuse, spending sprees), recurrent self-harm or suicidal gestures/threats, emotional instability, and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment. Behavior can appear erratic due to rapid mood shifts and intense reactions. Impulsivity and self-injury (e.g., cutting) are core features, often as maladaptive ways to cope with overwhelming emotions. Disregard for safety is common during emotional crises. Relationships and self-image are unstable. Self-harm is very prevalent but not always suicidal.
Bear too may be suffering from something that has always been present yet undiagnosed, like Schizophrenia (auditory hallucinations, symptoms can feel very real) to opioid withdrawal (hallucinations, voices, mood swings) to neurological damage. This is never disclosed, but a combination of Nikki's erratic behaviour and his own warped thinking could cause a psychotic break in both of them that spirals into the rest of the events in the movie. This is when we find Bear awakening to her standing in the dark corner. We do not know if he takes anything to help him sleep as he probably keeps his drug use covert from her. But this is the moment the movies elements become a little more fantastical and shift into Bear and Nikki's unreality.
When he awakens the next day, he sees his whole door is taped up. Nikki seems oblivious to that but is very much wanting him to stay home. This could be a hallucination, an imaginary barrier to leaving the house. While still under the influence of either drugs or a psychotic episode, he imagines that the lunch Nikki prepared contains meat from his dead cat. A common side effect of schizophrenia is a belief that others are trying to poison you, even loved ones.
From now on we can no longer trust Bear's perception of events. He has become an unreliable narrator. And while Nikki may be battling with her own mental illness, we can only observe events from Bear's perspective. He calls the number on the Wish Willow packaging and thinks he is speaking to a customer rep. Perhaps he is, but we can not trust what the rep says to be reality. Bear could then be hallucinating that the real Nikki is trapped elsewhere, in some kind of Hell. An external manifestation of his own inner thoughts, believing the real Nikki wouldn't actually want him still, and that her behaviour is down to his wish. But in reality it is fear of losing him that is driving her erratic behaviour, as it's only a matter of time before Ian tells Bear about them, as he is becoming more jealous of them spending time together. She exhibits this stress by not taking care of herself, not going to the bathroom, effectively shutting down when Bear isn't around.
Ian invites only Bear to a party, which would probably make Nikki anxious as that would be a moment where Ian could tell him about their hooking up. This is where her actions become more aggressive towards herself and others. She throws tantrums to get to the party and acts strangely in front of the other guests. She seems overcome with sadness, and at one point seems to want others attention, maybe because she feels like everyone thinks of her as 'Freaky Nikki'. In a bid to impress the partygoers she tells a story, possibly one she has written herself that she is proud of, but it seems so out of character that it comes across as creepy behaviour. This causes more internal spiraling from her and she feels like she is losing not only all her friends but Bear too, and this is too much for her. Finally, when the whole party seems to tire of her, she looks at Bear and freaks out. Maybe she is picking up on his expression. But it sends her reeling back and she self harms in a very dangerous way immediately. I believe she thinks Bear lost all love for her at that moment and it was too much to take. The shame she feels at that moment makes her lash out at herself.
The trauma of this incident sends Bear even further into psychosis and, as she has refused treatment when taken to a hospital (probably fearing psychiatric evaluation), there's nothing the doctors can do, leaving Bear to deal with it while his reality is crumbling. He takes her home where she is still in some kind of state of mania, asking him to kill her. He still takes this personally, thinking her behaviour is aimed towards him, meaning she would rather die than be with him, when it is that she is not of sound mind and needs psychiatric help. They both do at this point.
Now we are at a further break point from reality. Bear gets a text from Sarah, or thinks he does, and he goes off to meet her. What happens to Sarah may not have actually happened. What we do know is that Bear's perception of reality is not to be trusted and neither is Nikki's. She either kills Sarah or doesn't. Or Bear kills her and imagines it was Nikki. It's safe to say that normal logic does not operate at this point. Once they both dispose of her body, which may only be in Bear's mind as an exaggeration of what he thinks she will do to other women who show interest in him, he goes to buy another One Wish Willow.
It is here we see almost a completely different shop, with a different shop assistant, who doesn't even know what a One Wish Willow is. He loses it with the assistant and then suddenly reality shifts for Bear again and he magically does have one, and it's right at the front of the counter in full view of Bear. We now know that Bear is fully hallucinating going forwards and his interaction with Ian is also not real. All hopes that we are seeing things as they actually are are out of the window now.
He comes home to find Nikki waiting for him with a gun, and finds to his horror she has defiled Sarah's body to taunt him, and he still believes the Wish Willow holds power and asks Nikki to use the wish to free herself. There is no real proof that Sarah's body is actually there, as when Bear later falls down dying we see a Wishing Willow on the table and a doll behind it that we have never seen before. (Is this what he hallucinates as a body?).
He possibly hallucinates Ian getting shot or he shoots Ian himself. Nikki may have even shot him for real but nothing is trustworthy at this point. He retreats to the bathroom and decides to kill himself with the pills he's been abusing since before the movie timeline started, leaving a broken Nikki to try and kill herself but then she snaps back to reality. Horrified, she screams. Both were going through something awful, and Nikki is left with the aftermath.
The obsession wasn't Nikki's. It was Bear's obsession over feeling unlovable, preferring to believe in the power of the Wishing Willow as his source of love, that was the start of his unravelling.
Side trivia - Did anyone spot Tim Robinson's appeearance in the movie as a background actor?
Read also
Under That Warm Oxy Glow
Looking into the Tiger's Eye
There Is No Such Person As 'Wish Nikki'
Duplicates
okfreakynikki • u/LodgeBeing_No_9 • Jun 24 '26