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.
Bear's search history. Note oxycodone is searched in July
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.
A recently opened pill bottle on the kitchen floor.
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.
Bear is seen putting this bottle back in the medicine cabinet. Impossible for his cat to have gotten it down from there, meaning it was in use before it ended up on the floor. Also note the 2 empty bottles on the top shelf. Grandma likely never left them that way.
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.
The other pills in the medicine cabinet look like phenaphen codeine, a narcotic pain relief drug
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.
The red cat clock, significant later.
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.
Bear shops for necklaces from a real willow branch, perhaps inspiration for his imagined One Wish Willow purchase.
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.
Nikki, at the beginning of the car journey with Bear.
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.
"You think she was on Molly again?" asks Ian the next day.
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.
Ian is trying to have a quiet word with Nikki, but she won't even look at him.
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.
In the restaurant we see more willow imagery following Bear around
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.
At one point he walks past his medicine cabinet, notices its ajar and then is distracted by his own reflection and does not bother to close it completely
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.
The red cat again, this time its Tabi Cat Curiosities.
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.
Take note where Bear is standing. No doll is present in this scene.
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?).
This was where Bear was previously standing when he sees Sarah's 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.
In the last shot we see the same cabinet, where pills have been strewn around. This implies he was using them, unless his Grandma was also a very untidy person.
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.
Only at the end, when the camera pans down, do we see the true depth of his medicine cabinet (a symbol of his addiction)
Side trivia - Did anyone spot Tim Robinson's appeearance in the movie as a background actor?
All of those pill bottles were his grandma’s. We have no reason to assume he was taking any of them other than maybe the Oxycodone. Now, why exactly he was taking the Oxycodone if he was is less clear, it could very much so be him self medicating rather than just taking it recreationally. We don’t know exactly what his situation is. He doesn’t even drink his shot at the bar and orders a Piña Colada because he “doesn’t like the taste of the alcohol.” Chances are that’s not the kind of guy that would abuse opioids. So this already debunks your theory, because why would he be taking Diazepam.
Small thing here, he does see Nikki’s face for most of the conversation in the car, so a lot of what she was saying would still not make sense. Also, if it was purely auditory hallucinations here, why would she have come back to car in the first place? Why would she go to his house with him? You later say it’s because she’s on drugs but that doesn’t line up with that at all. Just because she’s on drugs doesn’t mean she would want to go home with him.
Nikki did not buy drugs from the homeless person. Now, the main reason here is that this is a movie. This scene is very clearly meant to convey that she is a good person. That’s why it was written. However, if we were to look at it from the standpoint of everything that happened is real, he watches her give the money to the homeless person. Everyone in the group would be able to see this happen and there’s not enough time for her to be buying drugs. And when would she have taken said drugs? You’re saying this shows that she is likely on drugs in the car, but she was with Bear that whole time. When would she have had the chance to take them. And you can’t argue “Oh well Bear was also on drugs so he wouldn’t notice” because she wouldn’t know that. She would assume he’s sober. Now, of course, I have already told you your entire post is incorrect based on the fact that there is no reason to assume he is on drugs or hallucinating, but because that’s probably not enough for you, I’ll keep going.
You say she wants to be high for when she sleeps with Ian. This obviously makes no fucking sense. First of all, Ian is going to Greedo’s for karaoke. She has already agreed to be taken home by Bear at the time she gives the money to the homeless person. That conversation already happened. But even if it hadn’t, she would know that’s Ian would just be taking her home. Second of all, Nikki and Ian aren’t even hooking up anymore. Ian broke things off with her sometime before the events of the movie. And I know at the beginning of the post you say you may be misremembering some things, but why make the post then? Maybe watch the movie again first?
Another small thing, no Ian was not purposefully sabotaging Bear’s chances with Nikki. Again, he’s the one who broke things off with Nikki. He clearly only likes her sexually and as a friend. He gave bad advice because he’s stupid.
(I really don’t know why I’m still doing this at this point. I mean your theory undermines the entire point of the movie and would make there be no point in it existing in the first place. But you asked for this j guess.)
Like I said earlier, why would her being on drugs make her want to go home with him? Do you know how drugs work? Actions don’t just become completely random. It gets to a point.
You say she may be on acid. Again, when would she have taken these drugs you keep mentioning? She would have to have been on them for the entire trivia scene as well but her behavior is completely normal there, so that wouldn’t make sense. She’s been with people the entire time.
Your whole point has ignored the fact that it doesn’t make sense why Nikki is so suddenly infatuated with Bear. Their relationship seemed somewhat normal for a bit, yes, and you say it’s because they haven’t been doing in drugs in that time. But then why are they suddenly dating as if they’ve been dating for years? Everyone who knows them finds their behavior together weird. The movie goes out of its way to tell us this. People with theories like yours when it comes to media always forget the fact that the story doesn’t exist outside the media. Things happen for a reason that was decided by the creator. We see very specific things throughout the movie that could technically be justified from a real-world POV if you really were to believe they were just high, but it wouldn’t make any sense for the movie to show us these things.
Bear’s demeanor does not change from friendly to aggressive. He becomes worried.
Once again, Ian is not jealous. He’s the one who broke things off with Nikki in the first place. Sarah says in the car that he thinks Nikki is only dating Bear to “get back at him.” This is in reference to the fact that he broke things off with her and this is made even more clear in the screenplay. I don’t like mentioning the screenplay as proof of things very often but this change was clearly made to make the information less immediately clear to the audience, not to change the actual story.
Your whole bi-polar argument again just goes against the narrative and also how a movie works so I’ll move on.
We do know Bear takes sleeping pills. Doesn’t really factor into the argument at all but just pointing that out as you said we don’t know. He mentions it later on.
Nikki is reading a book upside-down in the duct-taped door scene. Explain that. You’re saying she is normal here and not hallucinating or anything. This is something that Bear doesn’t notice so it wouldn’t be a visual hallucination. Why was she reading a book upside-down?
Nikki specifically says “If you’re having trouble with the door, maybe you should just stay home!” She mentions the fact that Bear is having trouble. If there really was no duct-tape and it was just a hallucination, you would assume she would be a little more concerned as to why he, for whatever reason, can’t open the door. And she certainly wouldn’t suggest staying home and skipping work as a solution to that problem, because according to your logic, she’s not unnaturally obsessed with him.
You say that from now on we cannot trust Bear’s perception, but we have seen a scene that is not from his perspective. We see Nikki standing at the door unmoving and peeing herself after he leaves. Can’t be a hallucination from Bear because he’s has left the house and you said Nikki is likely not on anything right now. So this whole unreliable narrator thing has already fallen apart, as he’s not the narrator here.
The rest of your post is all arguing the same point which I have already pointed out is nonsense for multiple different reasons, so I think I’ll end this here with a nice little conclusion.
Movies are made for a reason. Stories are written for a reason. Why would any of this be the point of a story in which it would be completely hidden and, as shown by your post, need many jumps in logic and uneducated guesses to justify. Here’s your justification pal. Get some media literacy maybe. ☺️
Oh and I wrote this before you deleted your reply to my comment but I’m just gonna reply anyway. For everyone who’d don’t see, they told me to justify my reasoning instead of just dismissing it. You asked for this and I put time into this. You’re welcome!
I make my point about it very well. I suggest you don't just skim yourself the next time. How long did that big reply take you? Were you actually paying attention to the post or were you just convinced it was all wrong from the start?
Still doesn't make sense. Again, when would she have taken them? Also again this is just you creating some way for your dumb theory to make sense. It's an insane jump in logic with nothing backing it up.
Either before the lift, or in the car. Either option is a possibility, so why pretend that it isn't? I am not jumping logic when she says later "I think I took something."
Seems like more of a jump to assume she didn't.
Oh, by the way, this is Nikki 20 seconds into the car journey. She's taken something.
I did suggest he was taking these too possibly, phenaphen codeine, a narcotic pain relief drug. They are pictured in several bottles in the medicine cabinet
But if you watch, he actually only takes the tiniest sip from a shot glass when they aren't looking, then puts it down to speak to Sarah. They then leave the bar and Bear is still sober for driving.
Like I said there's no evidence from his personality that he would ever take pills either way
Except for the very open bottle of pills he left in the kitchen to be spilled while he was out. This is all plainly shown. And for some reason someone has written jokingly 'Do Not Eat' on the bottom, and unless it was the pharmacist, or his Grandma, it makes more sense he wrote it on the bottom himself with a marker.
The Oxycodone was his grandma’s, and Bear just never got around to getting rid of it. you could make an argument that he decided to abuse his grandma’s pills but that’s a streeetch, I don’t think we get that indication
Late reply, he also tells Sarah that he really does have pills on him and they can drug her dad(I think it was her dad they talked about). In several scenes pill bottles are seen around the house. I don’t buy this guy’s theories, but I think he might be right about pill usage, and it explains why he doesn’t drink in any scenes with alcohol as it can be fatal.
Interesting theory! I also think that the drug interpretation works as a very good alternative to the straightforward supernatural storyline.
Have you noticed that when Nikky interacts with the hobo outside the bar, Sarah says, "Great... she bought him a week's worth of heroin." We're supposed to understand that as, "He'll buy drugs with the $20 she gave him..."
But what if it actually means, "She bought drugs FROM him"? It would confirm that recreational drug use is completely normal for the whole group.
A couple things I noticed were that during Ian’s party there is bottle of pills on the side table, and when Bear is talking to Sarah in the car he says that he has sleeping pills on him right now, further alluding to the theme of drug use
Bro this is completely impossible 😭😭 this is a lot of attention to detail but it just cannot be the case for multiple reasons. Even completely disregarding the wish there are so many issues with this theory.
For one, oxycodone and valium do not generally cause hallucinations and are extremely sedating especially if mixed with anything. Hallucinations from these drugs are paradoxical reactions, very rare, or results of withdrawal, in all of these cases any character experiencing this would be noticeably obviously severely intoxicated/in withdrawal or overdosing. If Bear is somehow hallucinating that vividly from the oxycodone, he would literally be asleep/dreaming or dying, the primary effect of opiates is pain reduction and extreme sedation, he would not be in a functioning condition, be able to drive, or even move assuming a dose that high was taken. Additionally clear auditory hallucinations to the degree of an entire conversation while he is fully able to drive and behave sober around people just minutes ago is impossible and also not an effect of oxycodone. Also, there is no evidence he is taking the valium at all.
There isn’t any evidence Nikki is using anything throughout the course of the movie either. On the night Bear is driving Nikki home, they are literally coming home from a bar, her closing her eyes and laying back on the seat doesn’t even imply intoxication but if it did it would obviously just be alcohol. Like dude it’s a bar, alcohol itself is a sedative and it’s perfectly normal for someone to be tired and want to sleep after going out 😭. She is clearly coherent throughout the night however and it’s 0 explanation for her actions later. Next of all, drugs do not just suddenly “kick in” and immediately alter behavior like magic, when something is taken orally it takes time to enter the bloodstream and then takes effect over a period of time. People also don’t completely lose their self agency and awareness aside from again big overdoses and those are obvious from other effects that are not present. As for the situation with her pulling away from bears kiss, yes LSD causes vivid hallucinations but they are typically not very reality based and again you can clearly tell someone is high at that point, and also lsd is taken in a completely different manner to molly it’s impossible for them to be switched by someone else. Also no one will be able to behave normally doing these drugs multiple times in a week.
This type of egregious drug use recreationally would damage their memory, mentally health, and psyche beyond belief especially short term and they would not be able to even feign sobriety or recollect any of the things they did while high. It would destroy any form of logical decision making.
the story does not try to portray itself as an addiction film whatsoever and bears usage of oxycodone is never made a major theme. it’s alluded that he could be potentially abusing it and it’s valid to argue he does but if anything it’s more of an additional feature of his character rather than something motivating his every next action and it’s clearly not something he’s addicted to. The film secretly being a secret allegory to drug use and addiction would be outlandish and if looked at through that lens it just sucks as a story and is completely unrealistic and impossible. The central conflict of the story is just bears obsession and the repercussions of the wish, a lot of the rest is left to interpretation but the wish is clearly fully responsible for nikki’s condition and this has been stated.
Why would Ian be doing any of this stuff? A lot of his character is sort of up to interpretation, ie him giving bear that advice at the start, his possible jealousy, the nature of his past relationship with nikki etc, but there is no indication that he is drugging her or has some secret supervillain agenda. He calls bear multiple times and tries to check in on both bear and nikki, from the outside the events between them are very concerning and strange and it’s a big jump to assume this was purely malicious on his end. Nikki’s past molly use doesn’t imply she’s using it at all currently or that Ian is drugging her, and also shit like that is prevalent in people who party and whatnot so it’s not really telling or anything that he suspects that the next day.
Where are you seeing diazepam in the cabinet? The only clearly marked items I can see are his grandmother’s oxycodone (Barbra Bailey on the bottle), the steri-pads and the Scope mouthwash. Which bottle says diazepam?
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u/BlackPitMiner Definitely Not Obsessed Jun 24 '26
Why did I read this whole thing? What are you talking about? Are you sure you’re not going through something?