FAQ

In essence, the film is about a couple going on a retreat together and discovering that they have doppelgangers waiting for them.

Sophie 1 and Ethan 1 are the arriving couple, Sophie 2 and Ethan 2 are the doppelgangers.The point of this exercise is that, at the end of the retreat, only one couple can leave and the other will be trapped, only then to assume the doppelganger identities of the next couple that arrives and repeat the cycle. Thus, the doppelgangers make it their goal to break up the arriving couple so they can escape at the end of the retreat. Since it is assumed that the arriving couple are already having problems, this gives an advantage to the doppelgangers.

In the case of Ethan & Sophie 1, Sophie 1 is primarily unhappy because Ethan 1 cheated on her and she initiated the retreat in hopes of renewing their passion. However, once the doppelganger situation is understood, Sophie 1 finds herself smitten with the more emotionally intelligent Ethan 2. Ethan 1 is more concerned with understanding what is happening than he is in the kinder Sophie 2. This develops such that both Ethan 1 and Sophie 1 engage in duplicity to achieve their goals.

As the film approaches its end, Sophie 1 has fallen in love with Ethan 2, who is apparently more concerned with escape than he is with which Sophie he ends up with. Sophie 2 tells Ethan 1 she loves Ethan 2 and wants to stay with him, and is thus willing to help Ethan 1 escape, telling him that only one happy couple can leave together. While Ethan 1 tells Sophie 1 that he loves her and wants to leave together, Sophie 2 pretends to be Sophie 1 and discovers that Ethan 2 has either fallen in love with Sophie 1 or cares more about escape than either of them.

With Ethan 1 having seemingly convinced Sophie 1 of his intentions, Ethan 2 makes a run for it and freezes at the retreat barrier, falling over dead. At this point, Sophie 1 & 2 are wearing identical clothes and standing immediately behind Ethan 1. Ethan 1 grabs the Sophie on his left while the other stands despondent. As they leave, the other Sophie stands over Ethan 2's corpse distraught. When Ethan 1 arrives home with Sophie, she offers to make him bacon, something Sophie 1 disliked.

There seems to be conflicting evidence in this Sophie's actions, temperament, and personal style, so which Sophie he left with becomes a question of thematic interpretation. One central question permeating the film is whether we truly love a person, or if we love the *idea* of that person, and which Sophie is mourning Ethan 2 has gigantic implications.

Sophie 1 Scenario: Ethan leaves with his original wife. He truly loved her, and she truly loved him, and their experience at the retreat has left them more open to the possibility of changing who they are. Ethan 2 died because Sophie 2 was right that only one happy couple can leave, and since Sophie 2 truly loved Ethan 2, she mourns him and stays as she had always intended. Sophie 1 is able to forgive Ethan's affair and make him the food she dislikes, a minor but symbolic act of affection.

Sophie 2 Scenario: Ethan leaves with the doppelganger. Ethan loves the idea of Sophie more than he loves Sophie 1, and Sophie 2, like Ethan 2, was playing the situation to escape after realizing that Ethan 2 didn't truly care for her. Ethan 2 died merely because he tried to leave alone; Ethan 1 isn't truly in love with Sophie 2, which means she was lying about only one *happy* couple being able to leave together. This also means that Sophie 1 was more in love with the idea of Ethan than she was with Ethan 1, or else she would have fought to leave with him. Since Sophie 1 lied and cheated on Ethan 1 just as he had previously done with her, she realizes that their relationship is doomed and sees no reason to fight for it, and thus she stays to mourn over the idea of a relationship with Ethan.

The nature of this duality is well-reflected in the rest of the film, and Ethan 1's reaction to Sophie's breakfast offer doesn't betray either possibility. In the Sophie 1 scenario, his doubt would be incorporated into the relationship in much the same way that all couples occasionally deal with suspicion and guilt. In the Sophie 2 scenario, he would likely ignore the doubt since he loves the idea of Sophie more than Sophie 1 or 2.