Blink Twice's antidote and memory erasure explained

Blink twice reveals that Frida (Naomi Ackie) and the other women who were invited to Slater King's (Channing Tatum) private island are having their memories erased – every night. The psychological thriller's terrifying twist only gets darker when the reasoning behind Slater's memory-erasing scheme comes to light. The billionaire technology mogul and his entourage of male friends – Vic (Christian Slater), Cody (Simon Rex) and Tom (Haley Joel Osment) – take pleasure in abusing and assaulting the women in the group. Erasing the memory of survivors means men can continue to abuse women without being held responsible.

As Blink twiceThe end reiterates, the film is about the dynamics of power and the way in which those who have power have absolute control over those who do not have it. At the start of Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Frida and her best friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), are exhausted waitresses who jump at the chance to party with a billionaire. As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to ignore Blink twiceor they dismiss their memory gaps as consequences of drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. Soon, Frida, Jess and Sarah (Adria Arjona) realize the danger they are in.

The perfume that blinks twice makes people lose their memory

Slater King's signature scent is a replacement for “Roofies”

From the moment Frida sets foot on Slater's private island in Blink twiceZoë Kravitz's clever psychological thriller teases that there is something strange about the island-made perfume that Frida wears. When Slater shows Frida her private quarters, the aspiring manicurist is shocked to find clothes and toiletries waiting for her. In addition to a used lipstick, Frida finds a bottle of perfume called Desideria. After spraying herself with a generous amount of perfume, Frida meets with Jess, who points out the strangeness of Slater's stocked rooms. Frida dismisses her friend, suggesting “is rich,“I'm not suspicious.

The perfume's name suggests “longing” and “desire,” but its true purpose is actually much more nefarious. Frida and the other women continue to innocently use the locally produced perfume day after day, which reveals that it is wearing off. Blink twicethe characters' memories are more disturbing. At the guests' last supper, Frida notices that Lucas (Levon Hawke) smells of the island's characteristic perfume; he also doesn't remember hurting his eye. Of course, Frida and Sarah know that perfume is the cause of memory lossbut seeing it work so effectively on someone else is still deeply disturbing.

How Slater King Created Drugs to Erase Blink Twice's Memory

The island's flowers are the source of Blink Twice's memory-erasing substance.

Blink twice doesn't really delve into all the details of how Slater King discovered the memory-erasing substance at the heart of his perfume, but it does provide enough context clues so viewers can piece everything together without the help of a Blink twice post-credit scene or explainer. Kravitz's film puts the island's beautiful flowers in the spotlight; Slater leaves them on Frida's pillow and takes them to her at dinner or while they walk around the island. Furthermore, flowers grow everywhere. It appears that the island's native flora is the source of the substance that erases Slater's memory..

It is also implied that the flowers, or whatever memory-erasing substance they produce, are used in the food, drinks, and drugs the women drink while on the island. Slater's frazzled assistant, Stacy (Geena Davis), also organizes red bags filled with perfume as parting gifts for all of Slater's guests, ensuring that they will continue to expose themselves to the memory-erasing substance. Slater appears to have brought his therapist, Rich (Kyle MacLachlan), into the groupconvincing him that perfume could bring enormous benefits – not just to his patients, but to potential victims.

Snake venom restores people's forgotten memories in the blink of an eye twice

Blink Twice maid makes Frida drink the poison after Jess is bitten by a snake

When Frida notices the island's workers rounding up and killing the yellow snakes that roam the property, Slater quickly calls the reptiles “pest problem“, but the technology mogul probably feels this way because the snakes' venom neutralizes the memory-erasing effects of the flowers. Frida and the other women discover this connection by chance. One night, Jess is bitten by a snake, sending her into a tailspin as she remembers everything. Slater and the men did this to her and the other women. To save his scheme, Slater kills Jess, but makes the women forget.

Realizing that Jess is missing, Frida investigates the island and comes across the tough maid (María Elena Olivares), who had previously tried to warn Frida with Blink twiceClue from the Red Rabbit – a reference to Frida's nail art from the previous year, when Slater first brought her to the island. The tough maid offers Frida a sip from her pitcher of homemade snake venom cocktailwhich Frida drinks politely. When Frida realizes that the snake's venom neutralizes the flowers and perfume, she and Sarah have Camilla (Liz Caribel) and Heather (Trew Mullen) take injections to restore their memories as well.

How Frida makes Slater forget the end of Blink Twice

Slater's vaping habit is the key to Frida's new power

Early in the film, Slater waxes poetic about how “forgetting is a gift.“Clearly, he thinks the flower-based perfume could help people seal their trauma, but he abuses his power by using the memory-erasing perfume on the women he assaults on his island. The worse someone's experience, the more It will be easy for them. Forget it – or so it seems. Frida Secretly Ties Slater's Beloved Vape Pen With Memory-Erasing Perfume. Before killing Sarah, Slater is hit, which causes him to panic when he sees tons of dead bodies around him.

Although Slater is knocked unconscious, Frida decides to save him from the villa when it catches fire. Sarah seems surprised by Frida's choice, but Blink twicethe protagonist has her own plan. The film ends at Slater's next gala, where it is revealed that Frida is not only married to Slater, but also the CEO of his company. A disoriented Slater is still being drugged with his vaporizer. Realizing the impressive potential of the flower, Frida is using the flowers to keep Slater King compliant and build her own power. Ultimately, Blink twice It's not about seeking justice, but about wielding power, no matter how dark.

Was it better if the film didn't explain the science?

The film doesn't need science

While some fans will always want the scientific explanation behind the flowers, perfume, and snake venom, ultimately, Blink twice You don’t need to explain the science to tell your compelling story.

Often, audiences want an explanation or breakdown of fictional technology and developments. The problem is that For many films that take a long time to break down the science, there also end up being many explanations that slow down the film's pace. Taking the time to stop and explain how something works should be done very carefully, especially in a thriller like Blink Twice. It takes the audience out of the moment if the explanation has to be explained in detail to them.

The process is different in something like a fantasy film. Take the very different Harry Potter franchise as an example. The story and magical elements must be explained by someone already immersed in the world to the audience surrogate (in this case, Harry) in a way that engages them rather than bores them. Sometimes it works, but other times the audience can figure it out through context clues.

In something like Blink twicethe audience does not need the chemical composition or reactions broken down for them, because they see the effects of the perfume and snake venom at work on the events of the film. It's enough that the women at the center of the film have been robbed of their agency and their memories for so long. Their experiences are already similar to the more intense effects of rape drugs in real life. The public doesn't need the science behind them to understand the implications.

It is also enough to understand that Frida uses what she knows to obtain revenge and power in Blink twice. The audience doesn't need to see her discover the exact science to understand that she made the very thing that made her a victim work for her.