Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Yorgos Lanthimos, ‘Bugonia‘ pits a biomedical CEO named Michelle Fuller against two conspiracy theorists, Teddy and Dan. The latter two, fully convinced that she is an alien sent to destroy all of humanity, do the unthinkable and abduct her in broad daylight. Thus begins a clash with seemingly no victors, as both parties try their best to thwart the other’s plan. As Michelle desperately tries to make it out of this nightmarish scenario alive, Teddy refuses to give up, believing that this is the only way he can access the truth of the world. Behind this twisted perspective lies an equally twisted past, which we are only shown in the form of surrealist vignettes. Teddy’s complicated relationship with his comatose mother, Sandy Gatz, is at the center of his actions, and the conclusion to her character arc ripples out to affect not just her son’s but everyone’s future. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Teddy’s Mother Went Into a Coma Following an Auxolith Drug Trial Gone Wrong
Although Teddy’s mother, Sandy Gatz, remains an enigmatic figure long after the credits roll, there are several cues sprinkled throughout the narrative that help frame what transpired in her past. Sandy was a test subject for an experimental drug developed by Auxolith Biomedicals, the company owned and led by Michelle Fuller. Given that Teddy remembers his mother staunchly forbidding him from getting involved in such procedures, her own involvement in those experiments appears to be contradictory. It is possible that she had a life-threatening disease that pushed her to this decision, despite knowing the risks involved. Ultimately, the treatment proved to be a failure, and instead of recovering, Sandy went into a comatose state. Although the exact nature is left ambiguous, it is possible that it was an alien construct developed by Michelle to erase the “selfish gene” that she alleges all humans possess.
While Sandy Gatz’s tragic state can be explained as the aftereffects of a failed drug trial, Teddy’s warped perspective of the event unveils a whole other dimension. Based on the fragments of his memory, we see a very hyperbolic version of events, wherein he has to physically bludgeon out seemingly innumerable needles out of her body. It is likely that the needles in this scene are an exaggerated symbol of the drug trials she had to endure. This creative visualization goes up a notch when we see, from Teddy’s perspective, Sandy float in the air. Her son manages to hold on to her with the help of a string, following which he rushes to seek Michelle’s help, only to be turned down. Given that no character on screen appears to question the near-supernatural state Sandy is in, it is probable that the entire scene is rendered through Teddy’s dramatized perspective and is meant to be symbolic in nature. Nonetheless, with no cure in sight, Sandy ultimately winds up at the Evergreen Extended Care Facility.
Michelle’s Lie Brings a Cruel End to Sandy Gatz’s Life
While the main events of ‘Bugonia’ take place years after Sandy’s failed drug trials, it still manages to colour every bit of Teddy’s action. Still reeling from the psychological trauma, he ends up giving in to the conspiracy theories about Michelle being an alien, further antagonizing her in the process. The fact that she refused any care and additional treatment for his mother is further extrapolated in Teddy’s mind as a sign that Michelle is working against humanity. Thus, his abduction and torture of the CEO is as much a personal vendetta as it is a way to negotiate with the alien forces about his mother’s treatment. However, towards the end, Michelle makes use of that vulnerability by lying to him about an antidote that she has invented to undo Sandy’s vegetative state. Instead, she guides him to the antifreeze in her car, claiming that it is the cure he needs.
No longer able to parse fact from fiction, Teddy ends up believing her and rushes to the medical facility, where his mother is still in a coma. There, he injects the antifreeze liquid into her IV drip, only for it to have an adverse effect. The ensuing chemical reaction ends up taking Sandy’s life, bringing a cruel end to her lifetime of horrors. Teddy killing his own mother serves as a chillingly ironic twist to the narrative, simultaneously pushing Michelle deeper into gray territory. Although she lies to Teddy largely to protect her own life, the fact that she allows Sandy to die in the process speaks to her malevolent side. However, given that she eliminates all of humanity indiscriminately not long after, it is possible that she is already committed to the idea of erasing every human life by that point in the story. As such, even at the end, Sandy is dehumanized by Michelle and forced into being a pawn in the larger game.
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