Are you still reeling from THAT ending? We don’t blame you. With a twist like that, you start to doubt whether you were even paying attention and if the clues were staring you in the face all along. (You can certainly be forgiven for not having astral-projection at the forefront of your mind when you watched this thriller, anyway!).
But don’t worry, we’re here to help you uncover the clues that you definitely missed – and maybe now a rewatch is in order!
In The Promotional Poster, Rob Can Actually Be Seen
You might think promotional posters don’t have a greater purpose than to show off the perfectly airbrushed faces of a beautiful cast; but delve a little deeper and they usually reveal something of interest. At first glance, the promotional poster for this Netflix series simply shows the three main cast members.
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Image Source/IMDb
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All seems in order, right? But did you notice Rob at the bottom? It wouldn’t make any sense who he was if you saw the poster before watching it, but now his presence seems like a huge hint. Not to mention the visible blue-green light streaking across the poster, and seems to be originating from Rob at the bottom. It all seems so obvious now!
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There’s A Blue Light Visible On The Title Screen
Everything about this Netflix show – the trailer, the teasers, the poster and the title screen – all shout ‘a bit creepy’. So you could be forgiven for not paying much attention to this title screen and thinking it just looks like quintessential spooky shadows and a group of trees that might not have any clear meaning.
But did you notice the blue light visible in the background? Not only is the blue light there, but it’s moving around quite a bit during the title screen reveal, and appears to be floating by…
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Image Source/BuzzFeed
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As we now know, blue is the colour relating to Rob and – in particular – Rob’s orb. Not only that, but the trees represent the place where Adele was murdered, and the place Rob finds ‘the door’ to his astral travels. It all relates to Rob in one simple title screen! Blink and you’ll miss it.
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Speaking Of Blue Light: Adam’s Night Light Turns Blue
Originally, you might not have even noticed this. Just a kid’s night light, right? Night lights change all crazy colours, and it’s not so much a big deal that it changed from green to blue. But, as we now know, blue is Rob’s orb colour and has a lot of meaning within the show. The night-light is even a little creepy, as it seems to be watching over Adam as he sleeps…
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Image Source/BuzzFeed
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Which now makes sense, as the blue change of colour signifies Rob’s presence and his watching over Adam’s body. The change from green to blue also signifies how Rob will plan to take over Louise’s body down the line… her orb colour, after all, is green. So a night light changing from green to blue suddenly isn’t so innocent after all.
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You Actually See Rob Astral Project – You Just Don’t Know It!
When we first meet Adele pacing about her house with an obviously busy schedule, it’s easy to assume she’s just heading upstairs to take a nap. At this point, she’s taking medication and obviously has something deeper going on with her, so there’s nothing suspicious about her needing a quick lie down.
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Image Source/PopBuzz
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But what you might have presumed to be a simple suburban nap was actually Rob (in Adele’s body) astral projecting. We see Adele lying down in a ramrod straight position (not very comfortable for an innocent nap). And then proceeding to count her fingers, which does seem a bit strange at this point. As we now know, this was astral projection.
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The Camera Angle Is Also A Big Giveaway
Another indication that Rob (in Adele) was astral projecting at this point was that the next scene switched to David and Louise in his office – but the initial camera angle was in a strange position hovering over them. No big deal, right? Well, it is now we know it was Rob-Adele paying them a little visit.
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Image Source/The Tab
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This camera angle continues for the rest of the series in other scenes, and most notably when David and Louise are together and Adele is conveniently elsewhere. It makes so much sense now. Not just a creative camera angle choice, but actually has a pretty important meaning. It’s not only the camera angle from above that you should focus on, but the fact that it’s moving too (almost like floating, you might say…).
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Rob Literally Tells Us That Adele Is ‘His Escape’
I mean, he’s been pretty much dropping some obvious hints all along, hasn’t he? In a flashback, Rob is on a bus and he’s divulging a little about his life. He then refers to Adele as an ‘escape’ from his own life. And this, we now know, is complete foreshadowing of what he plans to do, rather than a kind word to a friend.
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Learning more about Rob and looking back, it’s understandable why he would want to escape his own life. Many of us have had that wish of escaping sometimes, but didn’t expect Rob to mean it quite so literally… He’s struggled with addiction and had a rough upbringing, so it seems like Adele really is the escape he’s looking for. By completely taking over her life. And body.
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Adele Is A Mean Cook – Because Rob Loved To Cook!
Adele cooking lavish meals for her husband, David, becomes a normal part of the show. And there’s nothing really suspicious about her cooking him a big meal, especially if she has the time to do it while he’s at work… But who else do we know who loved to cook? Rob! And who never appeared to particularly enjoy cooking at all during the flashbacks? Adele!
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Image Source/The Tab
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Rob not only loved to cook, but he seemed extremely gifted at it – especially when cooking for David, which we see in a flashback. Rob wows David with his apparently culinary genius, while Adele doesn’t contribute to the feast whatsoever. It would be logical that Rob, in Adele’s body, would be the one preparing delicious meals for David. It’s also key to point out that Adele mentioned she never cooked because she was rich enough to get someone else to do it… so wouldn’t she always do that instead of cooking herself? SUSPICIOUS.
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The Blue Light Returns (And It’s Rob’s Colour)
Once you’re aware of the relevance of the blue orb light to Rob, it’s easy to start looking for it in each and every scene (which presumably you’ll now do if you’re planning to rewatch and see where you went wrong). You can see the blue light surrounding the scene in this shot here, too, hovering around Louise.
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Image Source/BuzzFeed
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You also get to see the blue orb colour floating above Adam with Louise in his bedroom. Originally, this could have been Adele’s or Louise’s aura. But, as we now know, Adele’s aura was pink and Louise’s was green. The blue belongs to the guy who likes to spy in other people’s rooms and lives: Rob.
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… Which Is The Colour Also Worn A Lot By Adele!
You might not have been paying any attention to the outfits in this show, beyond Adele having clearly expensive taste. But did you notice how blue appeared to be her most favourite clothing colour? Not only does she wear blue quite a lot, but she sometimes also has it coupled with shades of pink. Pink and blue – sound familiar?
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Image Source/Plugged In
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That’s because, with Adele’s orb being pink and Rob’s being blue, this could potentially be a hint of them both connected with him being in her body. It’s also important to note, while we’re on the subject of fashion, that Louise seems to favour a lot of green clothing items. And her aura/orb colour is? Green!
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Casual Conversations Hint At Body Switching
It’s not something you really talk about in everyday conversation, is it? But in this show, it was certainly hinted at, and probably a lot more times than you even realised. Maybe you didn’t even notice a single one! When speaking together, Louise tells Adele that she thinks Adele has changed her life…
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Adele responds with, “Maybe one day you’ll do the same.” Aw that’s sweet! Oh no – wait – does she mean… ?! Yes, Adele (Rob) didn’t mean this as a compliment or a reference to budding future friendship. He was pretty much telling her that she would change his life in the future – by providing a new body and persona.
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Adele Was Addicted To Heroin. Sound Familiar?
Adele is struggling with some form of condition, that much is clear very early on. She seems significantly troubled and even viewers would have a problem looking her in the eye, so we don’t blame David for being coy. So Adele also having a heroin addiction does fit into this troubled persona we see, doesn’t it?’
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Image Source/Thrillist
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Well, it would fit perfectly and not be suspicious if we weren’t treated to those very helpful flashbacks. Rob is the one who was admitted to the mental health facility for being a drug addict and a heroin abuser. Adele showed no inclination of being addicted to drugs. Of course, that could always change over a lifetime, but now it’s pretty clear that it was Rob (and his addiction) all along.
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And Her Mannerisms and Personality Are Completely Different
People change as they get older, but definitely not as much as Adele appears to. Flashback Adele is extremely different to modern-day Adele, even aside from being a little bit troubled. Flashback Adele seems to be a really caring and trusting person – a really sweet person. Hell, she’s great. That’s not to say Rob couldn’t also have been nice, but… well. He’s not, is he?
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Aside from the big personality changes, we also see one big physical change between the pair. We previously see Rob being timid and hiding behind a wall as David arrives at the estate. Then, we see the later version of Adele acting just as timid, and echoing the same stance as she hides in the entryway. Coincidence? I think not.
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Adele Talks In The Same Way Rob Wrote In His Diary
As you can see in this screenshot, Rob was very honest in his diary regarding his feelings to his life – specifically, that everything is “shitty”. Now, cut to one scene in the show where future Adele proceeds to go off on a rant about her own life – and what does she refer to it as? You guessed it: shitty!
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Rob’s diary is an eye-opener into his own memories and feelings, and you can definitely see a peek into his personality and his preferred way of expressing himself through comparing Adele’s words to Rob’s notes in his diary. You could say maybe it’s a coincidence she used the word ‘shitty’, and maybe his words rubbed off on her when they were friends, but… nah.
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Adele Even Does A Sweep Of Louise’s Flat
So, just in case you’re not an astral projection expert and missed this part in the show, it was explicitly stated that in order to astral project, you needed to do so in a place you were very familiar with – a place you could easily picture, and know every nook and cranny of. Originally, Adele’s apparent nosy around Louise’s apartment isn’t anything too suspicious; she’s acting strange and troubled, after all. But is there more to it?
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Image Source/Slash Film
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Well, it’s now obvious that Adele was conducting such a thorough survey because she was becoming familiar with the place in order to astral project there later! She literally walked through every single part of the flat, even looked at every single photograph, and took a great interest in where everything was positioned. This makes sense if Rob wanted to visit the flat later in orb form.
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The Flashbacks Are Always Rob’s And Not Adele’s
Obviously Rob is a key part of Adele’s past, so it would be normal to see him appear in her flashbacks. But to have him there every single time, and never once see a flashback that isn’t Adele’s own personal one, when she’s alone? Without Rob? Either he doesn’t know the meaning of personal space, or they’re actually his flashbacks. And, obviously, we now know they are.
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Image Source/Marie Claire
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There isn’t a single flashback where Rob doesn’t appear, and they’re always from his point of view. Even if he had an undying need to appear in every flashback, there’s no reason they still couldn’t be from Adele’s point of view with Rob on the sidelines. BBut it’s fully focused on him, his memories and his experience.
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And Adele Even Admits Sleep Is A Problem For Her
She’s been through a lot. It’s understandable if she can’t get a good night’s sleep, and the chances are high that nobody in that facility is getting a full 8 hours. But her admission of sleep being ‘different’ for her is intriguing – and now, we know, a nod to astral projection. Although it’s a passing comment, it’s so obvious now!
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Image Source/BuzzFeed
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If Adele was struggling to sleep, it would make more sense for her to speak of it that way, but the words she uses – saying sleep is ‘different’ – implies a whole other realm of possibility. And, as it happens, she meant that it’s different because she would travel through astral projection.
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It Made No Sense For Adele To Give Louise The Diary
Unless, ya know… it was really Rob all along and he had a plan to get Louise to try astral projection. Oh wait! Of course that’s what happened. It would make no sense otherwise for Adele to give Louise the diary if she wasn’t, in fact, Rob. Rob’s name is clearly on the diary – it’s not as though Adele is giving Louise a diary labelled with her own name.
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Image Source/Vulture
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It’s definitely suspicious (from Louise’s point of view) why Adele would have a diary there with Rob’s name clearly on it, and why Adele would want to express herself through Rob’s words and diary. Almost as though he’s leading the narrative, you could say. If Rob was actually Adele the whole time, this makes perfect sense about the diary.
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When Adele Talks About Her Life, It Sounds More Like Rob’s Life
As viewers, we’re treated to extra information and context in the form of flashbacks – which means we know a lot about Adele and her own backstory. So when Adele starts talking about her own life, alarm bells begin to ring when certain things don’t seem to add up.
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And especially when the life she’s describing sounds like Rob’s instead of her own… For example, Rob was the one who suffered from night terrors when he was younger, not Adele. So why would she say she suffered from them? Is she lying? Or is she Rob? Yep, the latter.
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And David Can’t Even Look Her In The Eye!
There’s clearly trouble in paradise for these two. So it’s not completely weird that David maybe can’t bear to look at her if they’re having a long-term tiff. Maybe he feels awkward. Maybe they both just need a sexual relief but they’re still mad at each other so it’s probably best not to look at each other, type thing.
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But it’s definitely awks to watch David squirm from her gaze… almost as though he senses something… behind her eyes? It’s obvious that David is sensing something isn’t quite right with the person his wife is supposed to be. It’d be too easy for him to know it was Rob, of course, but there are enough hints to show that he at least knows it isn’t his true wife.
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Rob Literally Says He Would Happily Swap With Adele
He LITERALLY says it, people! “I’ll swap you” – his words! He’s not even subtle about it – he’s played us for fools! He constantly reveals himself to have some sort of obsession with Adele, her life, how she lives her life and what it’d be like for him to switch with her in order to live life the way she does.
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It’s interesting because Adele is in the same facility he is, and clearly struggling with her own problems. Where Rob might not see Adele’s problems as bad as his own, you’d think if he was going to swap with anyone, it might not be Adele. But, of course, David becomes a very important factor in his decision…
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And He Happily Drops Hints About His Intentions
He even makes a reference to her being able to get away with anything when she looks the way she does… foreshadowing that he’s certainly planning on getting away with something whilst looking EXACTLY the way she does! This is clearly more than any sort of jealousy or playful banter. It’s sinister, is what it is.
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He even says this when he’s only just met her, too – their first conversation. Could that mean he’s been thinking about doing something like this for a long time? Maybe he’s even been aware of Adele for a lot longer than she has of him, within the facility? Maybe he just wants to be mysterious, too.
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Could The Pigeons Also Be A Big Clue?
Birds have often been symbols and omens for different things, like owls being symbols of wisdom and doves being symbols of peace. But you may not immediately jump to pigeon being the symbol of anything – apart from a sign you’ve dropped some of your food. But, believe it or not, the appearance of pigeons in this show could actually be indication of something more.
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Specifically, we’re talking about the appearance of a particular pigeon during the climax, and Louise’s soul. It’s now an official theory that Louise took the pigeon’s body at the final moment in a desperate effort to cling on to life, after Rob took over her body. The pigeon – as pigeons do – even has a bit of green on its feathers… and Louise’s orb colour is green. To be fair, if you were going to have an innocuous bird appear in a show and just fly out the window, would you seriously choose a pigeon? Or is it just because it’s set in Britain?
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Adele’s Handwritten Letter to David
Writing a handwritten letter to your husband isn’t anything suspicious, and in any other circumstance, it might be romantic. Yet Adele’s choice to not only write a letter to David, but also what she decides to put in it, is one big alarm bell. By this point, we know Adele’s backstory and what happened to her parents: they died in a fire, and she was astral projecting when it happened.
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In her letter to David, when deciding to end her life, she says in the note that she finds it only fitting to end everything in fire. Knowing Adele and the trauma she carries over the fire that killed her parents, this makes no sense why she would choose to die this way. Surely she’d want to be as far away as possible from fire? She wouldn’t even want to think about fire!
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Rob’s Crush On David
Despite Rob’s comments to the contrary (regarding the male anatomy), it’s easy to presume that he’s in love with Adele when we watch them interact through flashbacks. Especially if he sees Adele as a form of ‘escape’ you might immediately think cute crush rather than ‘imma take your body through astral projection’ – but here we are. And in actual fact, he was obsessed with Adele’s life rather than the woman herself.
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It’s then pretty obvious from the first meeting with David that Rob has a serious crush on him. And if he already wanted to be Adele and live her life, this is especially true now that Adele is the one involved with David. Not to mention the fact that he then uses astral projection to take a peek into the couple’s sex life. Again, this could be a focus on Adele, but during this scene it’s clear he’s focusing on his crush, David.
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Rob’s Crushing Loneliness
Rob is clearly a troubled young man, and you have to feel some sympathy for him at the beginning. He admits the extent of his loneliness by again reiterating that Adele has everything in her life that he could want. Not only that, but it seems he’s already made up his mind that his only friend, Adele, will eventually leave him alone, too.
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It would make sense, then, why Rob makes the decision to take over her body. If he’s already made up his mind that Adele would eventually outgrow him (and move on with David) then he’s obviously also convinced himself that it wouldn’t be any extra loss to have her killed and take her body for his own. He’s not about delaying the inevitable, then.
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And, Ultimately, David’s Utter Confusion
Poor David. He doesn’t have an easy ride this entire series, does he? When he’s first perceived to be a cheating husband in episode one, who’s messing around both Adele and Louise – albeit in a sort of sympathetic way and clearly doesn’t mean to hurt anyone – it’s soon clear that there are problems at home that he doesn’t understand. David is VERY confused about why his wife has changed so much, and how she knows so much.
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Not only is she changed, but he also refers to her as callous, and he doesn’t understand her detached behaviour. If even a professional doctor can’t figure it out, then we’re all stumped at this point. It definitely hints at Adele being more than she seems (and being a completely different person at that) if even her husband can’t work out what’s going on!
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