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i’m thinking of ending things

Sisyphus 55 | March 1, 2026



From Episode 1 of The Sisyphus 55 Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSD83TrdUtE&t=112s

PATREON: [https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3261155](https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3261155)

MUSIC: [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPZHZzvSPYvqyk-nFS9kDA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPZHZzvSPYvqyk-nFS9kDA)

TWITTER: [https://twitter.com/5isyphus55](https://twitter.com/5isyphus55)

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Written by Sisyphus 55

Comments

This post currently has 42 comments.

  1. @kiokoko

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    since his painting are down there, I believe the basement is a symbol of Jakes suppressed passion of becoming an artist. a dream that's been dismissed, by his father's lack of encouragement, Jake's fears, and insecurities.

    the door is a literal symbol of a barrier between him and his dream career.

    the door is unlocked with thin pieces of tape, holding the door and door frame together (that can easily be torn with a simple opening of the door).

    but because he views this dream as such a harder task to achieve, he only claws at the idea of breaking to the other side instead of actually doing it, which he knows that he could if he actually let himself.

    also the clawing shows the frustration with himself, clawing at the idea of regret and what could've been, if only he pursued his dream instead of suppressed it

  3. @LongdogBookReviews

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    I loved how each time the dog appeared- which was, whenever anyone mentioned him- the dog started shaking for just a little bit too long, enough for the young woman to get suspicious.

  5. @ChicCanyon

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    My thoughts:

    1. He doesnt like the basement.
    2. It's locked away.
    3. Everything is of him. All the characters are aspects of him.
    4. There are scratches attempting to get into the basement, but ultimately that effort ended in resignation.

    I would propose the basement holds his shadow. The dark aspects of himself. He at some point, or perhaps many points, tried to reconcile himself, to become his true authentic self, but gave up his effort. Choosing instead to live as this half-person. An internal and external existence. His idealic life in his mind vs his dire reality. The scratches are his shame.

  9. @timisontube

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    I watched this vid once when it came put and today after actually watching the movie I had no idea what the vid was about lol I thought it was some kinda weirdo poetry

  15. @codblckops00199

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    I enjoyed the movie but I can't help but feel extremely anxious when I watch it as I see myself headed down the same dark path in life that jake ended up going down. I spend so much time in my own head living a made up life because I can't stand being one second in my own shitty reality, and as I get older I lose more and more hope and that I'll ever make it out before it's too late.

  18. @rampion1228

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    The way he describes the basement is very interesting – he says it's just a hole in the ground and not worth looking at. The girl is also a part of his subconscious, as well as his mother when she tells the girl to "live dangerously" and go down there. So much of the movie is exploring the ways that depression and anxiety manifest themselves in imagining different scenarios: even in a dream his idealised girlfriend is emotionally detached from him and increasingly hyper aware of his flaws. His regrets are still tainted by the belief that he was not worthy of anything he wanted, especially love. Going into the basement means discovering that worthlessness – "he's hiding in there" because he thinks there was never anything to him that was worth seeing.

  19. @kjkirac

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    maybe its kind of like trauma. whats behind the door will keep scratching until you remove the tape and deal with whatever is behind the door but your mind has taped it off in order to protect you from your own experiences. sometimes you cant remember what happened or only bits and pieces of a traumatic event. your ‚hidden‘ trauma will keep haunting you till you uncover what’s scratching.

  23. @merlynmagdalen371

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    All I can say is read the book. The entire Movie is the story of the book, but the story of the book was a suicide note. Jake never dated the girl. He just fantasized about it. Before committing suicide he wrote a suicide note/short story about what could have been if he'd had the courage to ask her on a date. Thus, her story is his story. Her story from his eyes. His fantasy of her story about dating him. Thus, the "I'm thinking of ending things" is a double entendre for her ending the relationship and his committing suicide. The story is both about the intangibility of human existence and our inability to understand each others perspectives, and the absurdity of existence as a herding species that cannot communicate on a meaningful and tangible spectrum.

  24. @esportsweapon6907

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    Okay so there is A LOT going on here in just that one scene but here's what Im thinking is going on. The basement represents Jakes fear of taking risks and doing anything he can't control. The basement contains his unrealized dreams that have been drowned out by the mediocrity of his life. In the movie, right before "The young woman" goes into the basement his mother says "Jake can be controlling. You can't allow him to control you. I think it's the other side of his personality. This diligence thing. He needs to control everything. There are so many, many things that make him nervous. He keeps closing off more and more of the world. It's a problem. And the few people he does still have in his life have to follow all sorts of rules. It really is a problem." Then Lucy (the young woman) asks "So what exactly are you saying to me?" and the mom replies "I'm saying, take the darn nightgown to the basement. Live dangerously" and she says it really passionately. And then when she gets down there he tries to get her to come out so he won't have to face his failures but thats really what all of this pain is about. Unfulfilled Dreams. And thats why when the Young Woman goes to look for the works of art that she showed Jakes parents all the sudden she has no pictures of them. Because she (and he by extension) never did them. The reason there are scratches on the door is because the basement represents somewhere scary to Jake, which is what he says at first when the young woman brings it up. In fact, a lot of movie tropes show up in Jakes mind and this is reflected on when the young woman says "Everything wants to live Jake. Viruses are just one more example of everything….Even crappy movie ideas want to live. Like, they grow in your brain, replacing real ideas. That's what makes them dangerous"

  25. @benjaming.8368

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    Maybe the thing inside tried to pry the door open from the inside and the claws reached aroune the corner trying to get a grip and thus scratching the outside.

  33. @calebsherman886

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    DUDE THAT MOVIE WAS INSANE, Iove this video. Such a weird yet intriguing movie. A calming yet intense thriller. 100% recommend watching it.
    If you don't know the movie it's "I'm thinking of ending things" and it's on Netflix.

  35. @TylerJenkinsMusic

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    I actually interpreted the dog shaking in a different way. Throughout the film, it's shown that snow is meant to represent the passing of time, as shown by scenes in the car, during the end of the ballet, amongst other scenes. Why do dogs shake? To make themselves dry. This is why I interpreted the dog shaking to mean Jake is distracting himself with other thoughts (the dog, parents, stopping at Tulsey Town, etc.) to keep his mind off his suicidal thoughts, as the dog would be "shaking off the snow" (although there is none since they are inside) constantly to distract himself.

  36. @GSGonzo

    March 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm

    Glad that more people watched the movie, the first time I watched it I had to make sure I hadn’t had an edible before watching it

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