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Addressing Baker Dill being sentient: He does seemingly start to become sentient when he pulls the knife on the 2 drunk guys in the beginning. That's the beginning of things starting to go awry. I assume that when Baker pulled the knife, this could also be the moment that the kid got the knife in meatspace? We as the audience know something is off because that's when the salesman first misses Baker, he's very confused as to why Baker isn't there at the coast. He should have been there according to the strict predictability of video game timing. Something changed. I guess you could assume this is when the kid started to code the game into the new game: killing the stepdad. ? Before this time, it was just Baker being the player in the fishing game. I don't think Baker has the literal spirit of the kid's father, but I do think this is the "eaten the forbidden fruit" moment. Whether he has free will is unclear and doubtful, but I do think he became sentient.

Just about to start the episode, but in case nobody mentioned BAKER DILL = BAD KILLER

Wow I can't believe I have been calling John "Paul" all this time and no one corrected me. I sort of thought when the son showed up in the video game that it meant he was also dead? (I wasn't sure if he had killed himself or perhaps had been killed for his crimes?) I'll admit to checking out towards the end. Mostly my take away from this is that maybe I should take a vacation to Florida. And then I googled if it was filmed in Florida and it was not. It was filmed in Mauritius, and I was like, Oh I should go there. But it's kind of far and then I ended up looking in the Caribbean. Long story short, I went to Antigua in May.

I mean, the twist of this movie is just the final episode of St. Elsewhere. It traded an autistic boy looking into a snow globe and reimagining the people in his life, to an autistic boy looking into computer code and reimagining the people in his life. I know that they don't specifically say that he has autism spectrum disorder, but he's definitely written that way. The stepfather calls him a 'creepy weirdo' who stays in his room all day with his video game, but that his teacher says he's a genius. His mother gets super defensive when he's mentioned. His bedroom is still very childlike. Doesn’t seem to want or have any friends. He's hyper-focused on the world he's created and that world only. He has a strong sense of justice. Having him actually commit murder was the nail in the coffin for me. After sitting with the movie for a bit I thought maybe I was just reading into things, but then I read some Tweets from a few other people with ASD who felt similarly. I just couldn't enjoy this one. The cat(s) were adorable though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Serenity now! Insanity later." - Lloyd Braun, if he watched this movie -- Probably,

Last-minute curiosity question: What kept this studio going until now? It seems like the studio would get some kind of boost by Vanessa being a world-class professional but most people don't even know the place exists. (I'm assuming Lovejoy's comment that no one was coming to the party was sarcastic but still...) Also, how does Vanessa train for her pro career? She obviously can't do it while teaching and wouldn't want to show up the students in the class by dancing professionally in front of them. This seems especially egregious at the world championships where she and her partner are representing the ENTIRE U.S.A.! If I understood the movie, her partner was based out of Chicago. Did they meet in Kansas City to rehearse?

This is great but it makes me wonder about the nature of the game. Did the kid always mean for Matthew McConaughey to kill his step dad in the game? Because it seems like the game started as just hanging with his dad and fishing. If the rules changed to kill his step dad, having an anagram name for Bad Killer makes no sense. That would mean the anagram is just for the audience and it's a complete coincidence on the part of the kid.

joined a new band

But that’s raclette noob

When the son showed up in game, I assumed it was supposed to be a young version of Matthew McConaughey. But I found that I kept over complicating the plot. I thought being the video game was a mild twist (because it seemed kind of obvious and was revealed so early). So, I kept expecting the movie to get crazier. Then it kind of didn't and all my theorizing was for naught.

But then they couldn't have given us the gem: "a hooker who can't afford hooks."

Stuff! That! BURRRRRGER!

I wish they will make a podcast or youtube series about June playing video games that either don't fit her perceptions of video games in general (i.e. Firewatch, What remains of Edith Finch, Stardew Valley) or have a tear-jerking story/ending (i.e. The Last of Us, Telltale's Walking Dead: Season One) and her reactions to those games. If this game/simulation is sort of being an escape and grief-dealing mechanism for the son, why does he make Baker Dill's life miserable? Baker is constantly strapped for cash, and forced to serve asshole customers. Baker doesn't have to live like a king. Just give him a quiet and idyllic island life that doesn't require him to be constantly worry about money. And why in the end, after knowing everything is a simulation, does Baker try to make the murder seem like an accident? Why is he so afraid getting seen by the gas station kid? Even the man in glasses, which I assume to be a monitoring AI for the game, basically says, okay, let's murder the man. So even Baker just kills the step dad in front of everyone, no-one is going to arrest or punish him. The "world" literally on his side.

You can if you want but why would you? Blue cheese all day every day. Wings it's a must. Salad not a must but a good blue cheese dressing or the real deal crumbled in. Give me blue cheese all the time!* *Cam Bert is well known to have very unpopular tastes in food.

Just remember when watching this movie: Academy Award Winner: Anne Hathaway Academy Award Winner: Matthew McConaughey Academy Award Nominee: Diane Lane Academy Award Nominee: Djimon Hounsou And for what it's worth: SAG Nominees: Jason Clarke and Jeremy Strong

Are you blaming this movie on El Nino?

For real. I feel like his hips don’t lie (that they’re wooden)

It was actually a polar bear. I'm dead now.

Even crazier is he’s fishing in Texas and the competition is in Las Vegas

It's been a long time since I originally saw this movie, but at the time I remember being amused that Kris Kristofferson seemed to have gone straight from a fishing trip to a dance competition, fully dressed in a tuxedo -- something he had definitely not planned on doing when he originally went fishing. So was he carrying a tux in his tackle box?

Early in the movie, Rafael is tasked with decorating the dance studio for their "weekly party." I get that I'm a homebody, but honestly, is there anyone here that would be interested in going to a party EVERY WEEK? That sounds utterly exhausting.

Also, like, I'm sure I'm not too culturally aware, but when you think of Cuban burritos, don't you think of the ones that are cooked on both sides (kinda like a Cubano), not those regular burritos Vanessa tried to eat?

Yes! And if we build that wall it'll keep Chads like him from Cuba out of America for good. MAGA!

Are you saying he's a...bad hombre?

YES! This was one of my problems with the movie. There was nothing this guy couldn't do or wasn't perfect at. Like he was beyond fault and even when he was being mean, which I'll get to, it was fun or cute to everybody when it wasn't. I think Raphael was not interesting as a result. He got everything he wanted and with ease, even his conflict with Kris Kristofferson almost amounted to a non-issue. My other issue, which you guys have already discussed, is he's kind of a dick. Constantly telling this kind welcoming people that he can't dance when he very well can. But it's also a horrible dickish gatekeeping thing as well. "I can dance, but what you people are doing that's judged at a professional level is NOT dancing. Trust me I'm Cuban." Then negging on Vanessa Williams about her hair and the moment she leaves just start dancing up on some rando. Then tricking her into driving him where he wants to go and a lunch with him because he has the hots for her. No. This guy is no good.