What happens to Chad after my old ass? Why the Elder Elliott Hides an Important Part of His Destiny

The older Elliott reveals a large part of Chad’s tragic fate to her younger self in My old assbut she deliberately omits crucial information. My old ass is a quirky sci-fi take on a classic coming-of-age comedy. Just before heading off to college, eager to leave her family’s farm behind, teenage Elliott eats magic mushrooms and hallucinates an encounter with her 39-year-old self, played by Aubrey Plaza. The older Elliott gives the younger Elliott a lot of advice, like teaching her to value her family, but she also offers a warning.

39-year-old Elliott tells 18-year-old Elliott to stay away from anyone named Chad and to avoid entering into a romantic relationship with anyone named Chad at all costs. Days later, she meets a guy named Chad and he turns out to be a really nice person. Although she initially tries to follow her older self’s advice, she quickly falls in love with Chad. Eventually, the older Elliott reveals why she wants her younger self to stay away from Chad, but she leaves out an important part of her future.

Why won’t the older Elliott reveal how Chad dies in my old ass

It’s useless because she can’t save him

Throughout the entire film, both 18-year-old Elliott and the audience are looking for something wrong with Chad, or a sign that he will do something bad in the future, but he seems genuinely great. When pressed, Elliott, 39, reveals there’s nothing wrong with Chad – he’s perfect – which will make it all the more devastating when he dies and she can never move on. Elliott reveals that Chad’s death will be very painful, but she doesn’t say how he will die. It’s useless, because she says: “You can’t save it.”

If Elliott Had Revealed How Chad Dies, Audiences Might Have Focused on the Wrong Thing or got the wrong message. If she revealed that he died in a car accident or something similarly specific, audiences could have fixated on different ways Elliott could save him when the time comes. But that would miss the point of the story. The end of My old ass it’s really about how even the worst parts of life are still worth living through to get to the best parts. Keeping the cause of Chad’s death secret maintains this dramatic focus.

Elliott’s warning hints that Chad may die from an illness in the future

If it was anything else, she could save him

Although My old ass it never reveals how Chad dies, it hints at the cause of his death. The elder Elliott’s claim that “you can’t save it” suggests that Even if the younger Elliott knew how he died, she couldn’t help but. This could mean that he will get cancer or some other terminal illness and die in a way that she really can’t intervene to prevent.