What if Em had not taken the evil route?

I really love this movie and I would not change it, but I always wondered what would happen if Em decided something other than to go “fishing” for a new, better reality.

A lot of viewers seem to think that the characters were “strangers” from the beginning.

Although I have not seen James Ward Byrkit (director) say anything about that on his interviews (which I recommend looking up on google), I respect and admire that point of view (he did say something about "being in conflict with ourselves" and "what we could have been if we did things differently").

However, I do not agree with the viewers that think there were 3 “Em’s” in the end.

There were only 2, and neither died; one of them just passed out after being attacked by the other and probably later crawled outside, asked for help and then called Kevin from her uncracked phone, telling him about the “evil Em”.

Ok, let’s get back to the alternate version/ending.

If we assume that the people from the beginning are all from the same reality, what could they do to try and get back to their “original” house?

I’d say that, when they are all arguing, Em could go “Stop!” and say she has an idea to fix all of it; that would require them to leave again, go to the “other” houses and ask certain questions to Beth and Lee, which are the only ones who have never left.

By deciding to do that, they could cross paths with a lot of doppelgängers, including those who never left the house (?) and others that chose to do the same – and I don’t know how would that go, if they would actually make peace, seeing what they could have been, and then help each other, warning those who never left not to leave, or just go about their ways.

Also, there could be one large group of doppelgängers asking questions to Beth and Lee at once or the doppelgängers could take their turns and drive Beth and Lee crazy with all the repetitive questions!

I could picture Beth and Lee freaking out about that and also scared that they would end up alone if there was no time for the doppelgängers to go about all the realities before the comet passes…

I also think that people who remember the same object from the box received should stick together – Hugh and Amir, Em, Kevin and Laurie –, but Mike is kind of on his own (I hope he didn’t die after the “other” Mike attacked him).

Other doppelgängers could have left their houses more times too, like Mike did and, maybe, the Kevin doppelgänger that met Em when she was getting the ring in her car, and therefore would also be on their own to try and find their original houses.

I know that there could be an infinite number of realities, but I’d like to think that they could actually find their original house.

So, which questions could help them identify their original houses?

A good starting question could be: “Whose phone was broken from the beginning of the evening”? In some realities, Em’s and Hugh’s were broken, but in others just Em’s phone was broken (in the house that they are all arguing, Hugh says his phone was never broken).

I could imagine a lot of doppelgängers leaving after Beth and Lee answered that question, with a lot of other doppelgängers waiting by the door for the answer to the next question.

Next question: “Which box of glow sticks was opened”? They had blue, red and green.

Again, a lot of other doppelgängers would also leave after this answer.

Another question could explore the fact that when Hugh and Amir first left, Amir said he would take Beth’s shoes; maybe this happened only in some realities.

Maybe the vase, the ketamine, Roswell, the “spoga” thing and the fact that Hugh did or did not know that Kevin slept with Beth in the past could also be question topics… and some of these questions could also put people in the right houses, assuming the “strangers from the beginning” theory could be true.

They could also try and explore Hugh’s notes, since some “Hughs” never left with the note, but others did (the house where they were arguing at the end actually received a third note when Em was leaving), and also the band aids and the book, although I don’t see how these questions could help Hugh and Amir (who had already left when these events happened), only the others.

Now, if after these questions there were still a lot of Hugh and Amir doppelgängers by the door, they would have to rely on the help from the others to remember additional events from the time before Hugh and Amir first left the house.

Otherwise, Hugh and Amir would be *beep* and would somehow (throw the dices again?) have to decide which doppelgängers would get to stay in that house…

Moving on, when Hugh and Amir doppelgängers came with a box from some other house, Em, Kevin, Laurie and Mike had not left yet, so the object and the numbers behind the photos from the received box actually help them identify their original house.

Hugh and Amir don’t have that option, because they were the first ones to leave, get the box from some other house and bring the box to a third house (and Hugh and Amir only realize this after the “return” of Em, Kevin, Laurie and Mike and after they see a different box of glow sticks opened, which prompt them to leave again!).

Em, Kevin, Laurie and Mike, after opening the box received in their original house, leave "to find themselves"; Em starts to suspect they did not return to their original house when she sees Beth and Lee talk about the vase again and after they make a new box (with a coaster inside) on this new house, Em sees that the numbers from the box that was received in this house and were written on the notepad on the table were different than the box that was received in their original house; she confirms this when they all start arguing and Hugh shows his uncracked phone and they all say they remember different objects from the received box (stapler, oven mitt, ping pong paddle, napkin).

So, Em, Kevin, Laurie and Mike will find their original house after asking all "Beths" and "Lees" what was the object and the numbers behind the photographs that were inside the box that the Hugh and Amir doppelgängers brought into their house.

Since everyone but Beth and Lee were already in a different house when they decided to make a new box, the things inside that box are only useful for the people (except Hugh and Amir) in the next house that will receive that box and did not leave until that.

I’m still struggling to find a soothing ending for this alternate plotline, since the 2 rings on Em’s hand was a smart choice to show viewers that all that happened was not a dream…

I wonder if instead of some detail of that same sort, there could actually be two or more doppelgängers stuck in one reality at the end, with them trying to find Hugh’s brother to come up with a solution to this problem… or maybe their efforts are rewarded and the best reality for all of them prevails…

I don’t know, what do you think?