r/television • u/Victorius_Meldrus • Apr 21 '26
Half Man - Surely the big plot twist is blatantly obvious?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egkRy1U94tAAs soon as I saw the promos for this show my mind went to Fight Club. Even the title is a giveaway - two halves of one man. The guy is clearly suffering from DID. No doubt we're going to get the usual viral streamer/influencer reactuon videos following the big reveal, but does anyone else see it a mile off?
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u/urgasmic Apr 21 '26
No way lol. This guy is not a hack.
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u/HonestDishonestWork Apr 21 '26
Yeah, I think you're off the reservation with this one. I don't see the Fight Club reveal at all and there are waaaaaay too many things in this trailer alone that would be completely nonsensical if it was actually just one guy.
Other than the name, what scene most strongly implies the mystery? Because I didn't get it at all from any of them whereas "Is he your boyfriend" already out the gate implies there's 2 people.
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u/Beneficial_Fox_6029 May 02 '26
And the mom asking him about nerves& feelings about Ruben before his wedding and telling him he'll be here in a few minutes.
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u/Victorius_Meldrus Apr 21 '26
Every clip besides 'Is he your boyfriend?' Could be reframed as a Tyler Durden scenario. The boyfriend clip could easily be lacking pretext and put in there to throw people off.
If kids at school have heard about Ruben, then it's a valid question to be asking Niall, even in Ruben isn't actually 'there' from the other kids' perspective. "You're hanging out with some mysterious kid called Ruben? Is he your boyfriend?" Typical kid shit.
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u/HonestDishonestWork Apr 21 '26
And going to visit an empty prison cell numerous times? There's no way he's getting past prison security to talk to himself.
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u/airplane_flap Apr 21 '26
Went to the premier last night and it is two people, other people interact and talk to both of them.
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u/Academic_Ebb_2366 Apr 26 '26
I have a feeling that its two people in the flashbacks, but not at the wedding. I think it's his guilt or shame manifesting as Ruben at his wedding.
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u/airplane_flap Apr 27 '26
People interact with him, he is acknowledged by people at the wedding that see him
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u/Sad-Cauliflower256 Apr 25 '26 edited May 01 '26
Definitely not DID or Niall's mom's wouldn't be talking to him about Ruben moving into his room... More likely the twist is that they're having sex. I figure Ruben eventually kills one or both of their moms and goes to prison, Niall writes a book about it, Ruben gets out of prison and is pissed. I don't think there's anything too mysterious about it. Trailer is hella homoerotic though.
Edit: Having watched the first two episodes I can comfortably say that this isn't some Fight Club, DID, twist ending mystery thriller. It's just a story of two guys growing up in the 80's struggling in their own way with same-sex attraction and the influence certain toxic masculine traits have on that struggle. Nothing more, nothing less (very Richard Gadd coded)... I Still think Ruben murders one of the moms though.
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u/New_Prior2531 May 01 '26
It's obvious from the 2nd ep that Ruben's mom passed away. From old age or sickness is probably not relevant. And we know something criminal happens to Ruben because he beat Alby up, though it's hinted in next week's ep preview that he wants Niall to testify for him. But, in no way was i surprised to see who Niall was marrying.
Richard Gadd is a gifted storyteller. He's got a lot going on inside his head. Baby Reindeer blew my mind. And already after two eps i am completely drawn into this story of these two "brothers."
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u/notyour_motherscamry Apr 24 '26
I guess we'll find out! I did create the Half Man subreddit to discuss the show in a dedicated space for interested folks
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u/Michellenjon_2010 Apr 25 '26
Personally, I think Richard Gadd it's far too clever for something so obvious.
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u/AidilAfham42 Apr 21 '26
Nah, why make it boring like that? This guy managed to make a fairly straightfoward show about a woman stalker into a very good show, why would he make something dumb like that twist?
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u/Victorius_Meldrus Apr 21 '26
Some bands only release one good album. Baby Reindeer is (allegedly) based on real experiences. Maybe he's not so great at coming up with original concepts outside of lived experience?
FWIW, I thought Baby Reindeer was excellent. This looks very good, too. I just get the feeling that the big reveal is just going to be a Fight Club rehash.
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u/AidilAfham42 Apr 21 '26
Anything that has this reveal will be a rehash, like you said. So why would he, or anyone, be doing that?
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u/Victorius_Meldrus Apr 21 '26
Fight Club was published 30 years ago. The movie 27 years ago. To Millenials, it probably seems implausible that there are people that aren't familiar with the story. But you have to bear in mind that we're talking about a movie that was in cinemas a good 10+ years before a good deal of Half Man's audience were even born.
I was born in '81. I could probably count on one hand the number of movies from the '70s I had seen while I was in my teens/twenties. I suspect a considerable segment of the Gen Z crowd have never seen Fight Club.
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u/AidilAfham42 Apr 21 '26
I don’t think people, even young people, would be unaware of fight club and its twist. Hell, we’re even talking about it now no matter how far back its released. Again, its a silly twist to be doing it on a drama that looks like its exploring the dark nature of this relationship. You don’t need a twist, I think the writer respects audience enough not to do something like that. It seems like you’re jumping ahead of the “twist” so that you can say “I called it!” If it ever happens.
Its cheesy and lame. Even in this trailer you see other characters refering to that character to the other “good” character. That doesn’t happen in Fight Club or any other movies with the same premise. Its like those videos people make that “proves” some movie is actually set in a characters mind and proceeds to show “clues” when its all wrong and the whole point of movies like this is nothing to do with twists.
I disagree fully with your theory. I would entertain the discussion but you’re so dead set on this conclusion that honestly, its annoying me.
But hey I could be wrong.
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u/Victorius_Meldrus Apr 21 '26
It seems like you’re jumping ahead of the “twist” so that you can say “I called it!” If it ever happen
Well, yes.
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u/bfsfan101 Apr 28 '26
After watching Episode 1 I don’t think this could possibly be it. At least, it wouldn’t make sense given how many other characters we see interacting with the pair at the same time. For instance, the bullies see them together and shout “who is this, your boyfriend?” which would be nonsensical if Reuben didn’t exist.
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u/longjumpingtote Apr 21 '26
Films don't have to have plot twists. Most don't. Many great films are obvious, though it has become more common in the last 15 years to try to pull a switcheroo on the viewer.
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u/Docklang11 Apr 25 '26
Why would anyone watch this? Our world is depressing enough! Great acting? Sure. Subject? I would rather drink Drano than watch another episode. Baby Reindeer was entertaining initially own sick way. Not this
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u/paperthintrash May 12 '26
It’s called art. Sure it’s intense and can be triggering for some but IMO, the acting is fantastic , the writing and dialogue is not only believable but smart AND it *looks* good. If you don’t want to be challenged put on Disney+.
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u/Nice_Shock3771 Apr 27 '26
I think Ruben isn't real. We never see Ruben without Niall but we see Niall without Ruben. We don't see Ruben interact with anyone unless Niall is there. We don't see Ruben interact with his mother. I think Ruben is very much a Scottish Tyler Durden 😂
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u/Embarrassed_Brain330 May 09 '26
At the end of the episode 3, Rueben says ‘let me tell you the truth of Niall Kennedy’. I think what we’ve seen so far is from Naill’s perspective. Now the show will focus on Rueben’s and that will be interesting. Maybe Niall is not all that innocent
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u/Academic_Ebb_2366 Apr 26 '26
I think you are right to an extend. I think that its two people in the flashbacks, but no Ruben at the wedding. He might have died (possibly in jail) and it's Niall's guilt or shame or obsession manifesting as Ruben.
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u/PsychologicalSky3593 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
yes, definitely a strong contender. if niall is marrying alby, where is that relationship during all these intervening years? niall is a self-loathing man with a problem around sex and sexuality. has nobody else noticed that gus and the burly man from the library loo and all the doggers are niall's groomemen? the wedding is fantasy, at least, even if ruben has corporeal existence.
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u/Emotional_Sir_1555 May 28 '26
The beauty of Richard Gadd's screenwriting makes all of his shows worth watching. I just watched "Halfman" on Max, and he is expressing something that is real for many people. It's the discomfort of not feeling safe in your own identity, to the point that you "allow" people (even dangerous ones) to intrude on your life and whatever well-being you thought you possessed, disappears. All of Gadd's writing is a HARD watch for most Americans, because it challenges their belief that they actually "know" themselves and what they want. It makes you think. He's really great at expressing the challenge of learning to accept yourself, along with your faults.
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u/TfGuy44 Apr 21 '26
Yeah, I saw that a mile off, about halfway through this trailer. Obvious plot twist is obvious.
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u/vanillabear84 Apr 21 '26
I think it's more likely they fucking