Jonathan: And I'm Jonathan Decker: Licensed therapist and I love movies.
Cinema Therapy is a YouTube series in which licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and (unlicensed) professional filmmaker Alan Seawright examine different movies and their characters through the lens of, well, a therapist. They tend to focus on issues that impact relationships, but will branch out into other topics regarding mental health as well. Typically, they will either discuss a film that they both love or Jonathan will react as a therapist to a film suggested by Alan.
There are a few different formats their episodes take:
- "Therapist Reacts to [movie title]", in which a movie is discussed from a psychotherapeutic viewpoint.
- "Psychology of a Hero" / "Villain Therapy", which are character-focused on either a hero or villain character, and in which they often show how a character exhibits characteristics of a certain psychological condition or psychiatric diagnosis. For example they talked about how Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars exhibits traits of Borderline Personality Disorder.note In a rare case, a character got both a vilain and a hero episode/treatment: Snape from the Harry Potter'' universe.
- "Movie Couple Therapy", in which the focus is on a love relationship between major characters in a movie. Since Jonathan's specialization is family and relationship therapy, specifically, it makes sense to dedicate some episodes to this subject.
- Other episodes, which are more loosely-based and focus on a psychological/psychotherapy aspect while explaining it with a movie, a franchise, or more rarely, a genre (like the "10 Tropes I Hate about Rom-Coms" episode).
Note that Alan and Jonathan are aware of the concept of tropes, frequently mentioning them in general and sometimes even pointing out specific ones when they occur. They don't do this using the specific TV Tropes names for them, though, so it's unclear if they are aware of the existence of TV Tropes.
Not to be confused with actual cinema therapy, which is a form of therapy in real life.
Their channel can be accessed here.
- The Adam Project (as an example of adults/parents sharing their struggles with their children)
- The Addams Family (as an example of a healthy marriage and family life)
- Ant-Man / Ant-Man and the Wasp (as an example and analysis of co-parenting and blended families)
- Arcane (as an analysis of reconnecting after time and trauma changes a person)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (as an example of leading a family through hardship and surviving together in times of danger)
- The Bad Guys (2022) (as an analysis of stereotypes impacting peoples' life choices and wanting to change when Good Feels Good.)
- Beauty and the Beast (as an analysis of love and how the film does not display Stockholm Syndrome in the traditional sense)
- Big Fish (as an analysis of personality clashes)
- Big Hero 6 (as an analysis of grief)
- Brave (as an analysis of healing a relationship and building mutual respect)
- Coco (as an analysis of healing intergenerational trauma)
- Coraline (as an example of escapism and how to be aware of predatory behavior)
- Corpse Bride (as an analysis on heartbreak and working through it)
- Die Hard (as an example of how to save a marriage)
- Dune (2021) (as a comparison of different ways of parenting)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (as an example of a family in grief)
- Elf (as an analysis of ADHD)
- Film/Emma (as an analysis of matchmaking)
- Encanto (as an analysis of toxic perfectionism)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (as an example of changing relationships)
- Everything Everywhere All at Once (as an analysis of nihilism and antinihilism)
- Firefly (as an analysis on Family of Choice)
- Fight Club (as an analysis of toxic masculinity)
- Finding Nemo (as an analysis of helicopter parenting brought on by trauma)
- Freaky Friday (as an example of perspective taking between a parent and child, and using it to repair a strained relationship)
- A Good Person (as an example of dealing with drug addiction and reconciling with a deceased partner's family)
- Good Will Hunting (as an example of proper therapy in film)
- Grave of the Fireflies (as an analysis on people in war zones and trying to find hope and joy in times of turmoil and pain)
- The Greatest Showman (as an example and analysis of dealing with bigotry and infidelity)
- Groundhog Day (as an example of a narcissist's growth into a better person)
- Harry Potter (as an analysis of dealing with bullies)
- Hitch (as an analysis of good and bad ways to approach and date people)
- Howl's Moving Castle (as an example of building up self-confidence)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (as an example of finding joy through shifting perspective)
- How to Train Your Dragon / How to Train Your Dragon 2 (as an analysis of understanding and connection between fundamentally different people, especially within families, as well as parents accepting children that don't fit their ideal image)
- Inception (as an analysis on dreams)
- The Incredibles / Incredibles 2 (as an example and analysis of child psychology)
- Inside Out (as an example of how toxic positivity can manifest)
- The Invisible Man (2020) (as an example of sociopathic narcissism and an analysis of the process of escaping an abusive relationship)
- It (2017) / It: Chapter Two (as an analysis of childhood trauma and overcoming fears)
- It's a Wonderful Life (as an example of finding joy in hardship)
- James Bond (as an example of misogyny in film and an analysis on how to avoid such behaviors)
- Just Mercy (as an example of uniting against injustice)
- Kiki's Delivery Service (as an example of accepting and overcoming failure)
- The Kissing Booth (as an example of healthy vs unhealthy teenage romantic relationships and the Unfortunate Implications of abusive men in fiction getting away with their behavior because they’re attractive and wealthy)
- Knives Out (as an example of a dysfunctional family)
- Kung Fu Panda (as an example of self-acceptance)
- Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3 (as an example of adoption and co-parenting)
- The Lion King (as an analysis of past trauma haunting a child their whole life and having to face it head on as an adult when they can no longer run from it)
- The Little Mermaid (as an example of body dysmorphia and being the parent of a teenager seeking independence)
- Little Women (2019) (as an example of a healthy/functional family)
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Fellowship of the Ring (as an example of radical acceptance and hardship)
- The Two Towers (as an analysis of isolation)
- Lilo & Stitch (as an analysis of neurodivergent children/people and having a supporting and loving family)
- Love Actually (as an analysis of healthy and unhealthy romantic/sexual relationships)
- Love, Simon (as an analysis of going through the LGBTQ+ experience as a teenager and being the parent of an LGBTQ+ child)
- Luca (as an analysis of friendship versus attachment as well as self-expression)
- M3GAN (as an analysis of losing family and unhealthy coping mechanisms after losing family)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (as an analysis of processing and recovering from sexual abuse)
- Marriage Story (as an analysis of the breakdown of and guidence through a messy divorce)
- The Martian (as an analysis of extreme isolation)
- The Matrix / The Matrix Reloaded / The Matrix Revolutions (as an analysis of choice)
- Mean Girls (as an analysis of manipulation towards those trying to fit in)
- Megamind (as an example of being a nice guy versus being a genuinely good person)
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines (as an example of building relationships between family members who don't have much in common)
- Moana (as an example of following tradition vs. following one's own path)
- A Monster Calls (as an example of grieving while a loved one is still alive but is going to die soon)
- Moon Knight (2022) (as an analysis of accurately portraying Dissociative Identity Disorder)
- Mrs. Doubtfire (as an analysis of coping with divorce)
- My Neighbor Totoro (as an example of good parent-child relationships)
- The Nativity Story (as an example of supporting a pregnant partner through conflict)
- The Notebook (as an analysis on relationships starting out toxic but potentially improving with time)
- Onward (as an example of love and grief)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (as an example of coping after realizing someone's harmed you)
- Philadelphia (as an analysis of overcoming homophobia and other prejudices)
- Pride & Prejudice (2005) (as an example of enemies to lovers done right and working on being a better person both for your partner and yourself)
- The Prince of Egypt (as an example and analysis of repairing damaged relationships)
- Promising Young Woman (as an analysis of rape culture, grief, revenge, attempting to heal and backsliding into revenge)
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (as an analysis of fearing death and overcoming it with others' help and self-reflection)
- A Quiet Place (as an example of a healthy marriage dynamic)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (as an analysis of resilience and adaptability)
- Renfield (as an analysis of narcissism and toxic, co-dependent relationships)
- Remember the Titans (as an example of dealing with conflict)
- RRR (as an analysis of bromances)
- Runaway Bride (as an analysis of fear of commitment)
- Schindler's List (as an example of developing compassion)
- Serenity (as an example of coping with trauma and finding purpose)
- Signs (as an analysis of hope)
- A Silent Voice (as an analysis of bullying and how it affects both the victim and the bully)
- Shrek (as an analysis of relationship compatibility)
- The Shawshank Redemption (as an analysis of true hope versus false hope, brought on by psychological damage that occurs from being imprisoned)
- Silver Linings Playbook (as an analysis of bipolar romance)
- Soul (as an analysis of finding purpose in life)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (as an analysis of role models and the pressure of living up to expectations)
- Spirited Away (as an analysis of bravery)
- Split (as an analysis of Dissociative Identity Disorder and the responsibility creators have when portraying stigmatized mental illnesses in their work)
- Stardust (as an analysis of one-sided infatuation versus true love)
- Star Trek: First Contact (as an analysis of PTSD in the character of Jean-Luc Picard and Imposter Syndrome is the character of Zefram Cochrane)
- Tangled (as an analysis of gaslighting from the character of Mother Gothel)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (as an analysis of connecting with difficult parents)
- The Thing (1982) (as an analysis of paranoia)
- Titanic (1997) (as an analysis of love triangles)
- Treasure Planet (as an analysis of finding adventure in life)
- Toy Story (as an analysis of friendship)
- Train to Busan (as an analysis of selfishness and selflessness)
- Turning Red (as an analysis of parent-child relationships developing as the child matures)
- Twilight / New Moon / Eclipse / Breaking Dawn Part 1 / Breaking Dawn Part 2 (as an analysis of relationship abuse)
- Up (as an analysis of grief and moving on)
- WandaVision* (as an analysis of grief and loss, and maladaptive daydreaming as a coping mechanism)
- What About Bob? (as an analysis of therapy-related boundaries)
- Wolf Children (as an example of single parenting and analysis of the parent accepting that their child(ren) must choose their own path in life)
- Wonder Woman (2017) (as an analysis of paradigm shifts)
- V for Vendetta: (as an analysis on vengeance vs. justice, PTSD and survival)
- Your Name (as an analysis of perspective taking between strangers and growing due to the experience)
- Zootopia (as an analysis of implicit bias)
- Shaun of the Dead as an example of an unhealthy "enmeshed" friendship, and how to move towards a healthy friendship.
- Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi
- Anakin Skywalker (as an example and analysis of borderline personality disorder)
- Anna (as an example and analysis of anxious attachment style)
- Aragorn (as an example and analysis of healthy masculinity)
- Arthur Fleck
- Stereotypical Barbie (as an example of going through an existential crisis and embracing imperfection)
- Bruce Banner
- Bruce Wayne
- Bruno Madrigal (as an example of "identified patient")
- Clark Kent
- Claude Frollo
- Ebenezer Scrooge (Muppet Christmas Carol)
- Elsa (as an example and analysis of avoidant attachment style)
- Estella Miller / Cruella de Vil (as an example and analysis of hypomania)
- Frodo Baggins
- Gilderoy Lockhart (as an example of narcissistic personality disorder)
- Gollum / Sméagol (as an example and analysis of dissociative identity disorder) note
- Harley Quinn (as an example of histrionic personality disorder)
- Indiana Jones (in two videos, one as an example of adaptability, another as an example of learning to be vulnerable)
- Jack Frost
- Jack Sparrow
- Jobu Tupaki
- Katniss Everdeen (as an example of post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Kristoff Bjorgman (as an example and analysis of healthy masculinity)
- Kylo Ren
- LEGO Batman
- Leia Organa
- Luke Skywalker (as an example of optimism and cynisism)
- Loki Laufeyson*
- Max Rockatansky
- Natasha Romanoff
- Peter Parker (Raimi-Verse) and Mary Jane Watson.
- Peter Parker (Webb-Verse)
- Peter Parker (MCU)
- Rocky Balboa
- Samwise Gamgee
- Severus Snape (mostly as an example of bullying in his villain episode and of Unrequited Love in his hero episode)
- Steve Rogers
- Ted Lasso
- Thor Odinson
- Tony Stark (as an example of post-traumatic stress disorder and of narcissism)
- Wade (as an example of a supportive and understanding romantic partner)
- The Weasley Family
- Wreck-It Ralph
- Xu Wenwu
This show provides examples of:
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Inverted in the Die Hard review, where they interrupt thoughtful analyses of the lead's romantic relationship with action scenes.
- Adoption Angst: Discussed during their analysis of Loki.
- Affectionate Nickname: Alan frequently calls Jonathan "Jono."
- Age-Gap Romance: Discussed in the James Bond reviews when noting Bond's tendency to go for much younger women (to the point where Roger Moore actually quit the role in protest). Jonathan says that he has personally known plenty of relationships like this that work fine because the relationship is built on the individuals rather than their age, but if someone is actively seeking people much younger than them, it's a problem.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: According to Jonathan, a major rule of therapy is to never tell people what to do, just help them see their options and guide them through it. He's only had to break this rule once, when he told a woman she absolutely had to leave or her partner might kill her.
- Berserk Button: In the video for The Notebook, Alan reveals that he's done projects with geese and has developed a deep hatred of them. When the main characters go through a pond of geese, he's treating it like The Birds and cursing at the ever-increasing amount of geese.Alan: Geese have stolen God's light!
- Beyond the Impossible: Played for laughs in their The Nativity Story review, where Alan claims that Oscar Isaac is such a great actor that he even praises a scene where he's asleep.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Thoroughly deconstructed and smashed to pieces in their New Moon review, where they agree that the whole idea of hurting someone rather than being honest with them is inherently abusive. Alan adds that while the person doing it claims it's "for their own good", it never actually makes things better and only serves to assuage their guilty conscience.
- Breather Episode:
- Therapist Reacts to Gilderoy Lockhart is one of the less emotionally intense episodes; while there is some serious analysis of how Lockhart conforms to narcissism and how even one who seems like a harmless idiot can get nasty when their delusions are challenged, the vast majority of the episode is Jonathan and Alan fanboying over the hilarity of the character and the performance of Kenneth Branagh.
- Therapist Reacts to Raiders of the Lost Ark is basically one long excuse for them to enjoy watching Indiana Jones and Marion, with Alan intervening to talk about how much he loves the making of these movies.
- Brief Accent Imitation:
- The analyses of Brave and How to Train Your Dragon prompt Alan and Jonathon to frequently do their best Scottish accents.
- During How to Train Your Dragon, Alan also does an impression of Gerard Butler and Jonathan does Jay Baruchel and Jar Jar Binks, the latter of which Alan tells the audience to pretend didn't happen and forbids Jonathan from doing again.
- Jonathan and Alan do spot-on imitations of Andy Serkis' Gollum voice throughout their episode on said character.
- They also constantly imitate Alan Rickman's Snape voice in his episode.
- The Cassandra/Cassandra Truth: Name-dropped and discussed during the review of Train to Busan regarding the homeless man, who is the first to warn the main characters about the zombies but is disregarded as a madman who sneaked onto the train.
- Censored for Comedy: In the Kissing Booth review, Alan makes fun of the movie's Fanservice by opening the top two buttons of his shirt, which is then pixellated out while Jono and Sophie react in mock horror.
- Christmas Episode: They had five in a row with How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Die Hard* , Elf, The Nativity Story and It's a Wonderful Life.
- Confirmation Bias: In-Universe. Discussed in their Wonder Woman (2017) by comparing Diana to the villain Ares, who has always believed that Humans Are Bastards and ignores any evidence that contradicts this. Diana, on the other hand, accepts that she was wrong about certain aspects of humanity and develops a more well-rounded worldview.
- Content Warnings:
- Used for the first time in the It review, in which viewers are warned of upcoming abuse scenes that may trigger some people.
- The review for Promising Young Woman also had warnings for sexual assault since it's a movie about a woman avenging her friend's rape.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Jonathan jokes that he's being "victimized" by Alan in Part 1 of their series on The Twilight Saga because, as a relationship therapist, he can't stand watching what's happening in the movie.Jonathan: But to me, this is nails on a blackboard. Because these people need my help, and they're not asking me for it. So I can't give it to them.
- Cope by Pretending: Analyzed in WandaVision.
- Cultural Cringe: Downplayed. Alan is a Christian who nonetheless hates most Christian movies for their poor filmmaking. He does concede to liking Joseph and Mary's storyline in The Nativity Story, but since it's only one third of the movie, it's still bad overall. Defied with The Prince of Egypt, as both agree that it's an excellent film. (Though it's worth noting that the movie has both Jewish and Muslim influences as well as Christian.)
- Diagnosed by the Audience: Invoked. Their "Psychology" videos involves Jonathan Decker psycho-analyzing the characters or scenes that the video focuses on and how they can be treated.
- Evil vs. Evil: While discussing Mean Girls, it becomes clear that while there are multiple factions warring within the school, all are antagonistic in one way or another, and ultimately the closest thing the film has to a Hero Protagonist is Ms. Norbury.
- Fan Disservice:
- When they're talking about John and Judy's plotline in Love Actually, Alan says that filming sex scenes is the least sexy thing in human history. It's either too cold or too hot, there's always at least 10 to 15 people on set if not dozens, and all of those people are professionally judging and nitpicking you.
- A context-dependent one in The Kissing Booth. The film's Fanservice is targeted towards teenagers, but Alan and Jonathan are middle-aged men, so the film ogling teenagers just feels disgusting.
- Gaslighting: Discussed in their Tangled video; they break down all the ways that Mother Gothel is an example of this trope.
- Good Feels Good: Pointed out as part of examining Indiana Jones' character growth through the series. Starting young and idealistic in the opening of The Last Crusade, being extremely jaded by the time of Temple of Doom. Then Indy makes the choice to rescue all the child slaves from Kali's temple, and the look of unvarnished joy on his face as he unlocks the kids' shackles show, in CT's minds, Indy rediscovering in part his hope and optimism, he's desire to help people instead of just chase "fortune and glory."
- Good Is Boring: Frequently discussed, along with the True Love Is Boring trope. They find it to be poor writing, since there's no real reason good characters and relationships have to be boring besides the writer being lazy.Jonathan: Sometimes good people are boring, because they're boring. Not because they're good.
- Halloween Episode: They had two in 2020 with The Invisible Man (2020) and The Thing (1982), and two in 2021 with It (2017) and The Addams Family.
- Happily Married:
- Since Jonathan is a relationship therapist, a good amount of their videos are dedicated to breaking down healthy romantic relationships and what makes them tick, and even those that aren't centered around the topic will spend some time appreciating the relationship.
- The video for The Addams Family analyzes how well this trope is represented in the movie.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Happens quite a lot, since part of the show is about having a licensed therapist unpack emotionally difficult lessons some films have to offer, and help viewers process their uncomfortable reactions in a more productive way.
- They often praise Pixar for doing this. In their review of Inside Out, they discuss how society likes to act like joyful and sorrowful emotions are always completely separate, and joy is always inherently good while sorrow is always inherently bad. But they argue this is far from true, as people need the Catharsis Factor of being able to cry or grieve in order to process negative experiences, and many memories can feel Bittersweet.
- In their review of A Silent Voice, Jonathan discusses how most people like to write off bullies as just bad people who deserve to be shunned and not given a second thought, but argues that bullies are people too; that they deserve to have their humanity recognized and their grief, sorrow, and guilt acknowledged. Not only that, but Jonathan argues that most people have the potential to do awful things, so the impulse to write off bullies as just uniquely bad people is a way to scapegoat them for the awful things we're all capable of doing.
- Helpful Hallucination: Discussed in one of their The Rise of Skywalker videos in regards to Kylo's conversation with his father. According to Jonathan, imagining conversations with someone else is in fact completely normal and can even be psychologically beneficial, as it helps the person sort out their emotions and thoughts in a safe place.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: The trope itself is briefly brought up in their Mean Girls video, insofar as Jonathan don't believe Janis should get a free pass to call Damian "too gay to function" just because they're friends.Jonathan: And later on, it's like, "It's only okay if I say that." But is it really okay?
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Alan and Jonathan have known each other since college and their close friendship is the heart of the show. Jonathan even calls Alan his 'movie-wife.'
- Hypocritical Humor: In their video about Aragorn and toxic masculinity, they poke fun at Alan's tendency to cry during Boromir's death, and note that this directly goes against the point that they're trying to make about encouraging men to express their emotions.
- I Can Change My Beloved: Defied. Jonathan notes that he meets a lot of people who believe that they can change their partner or that their partner being cruel to everyone but them is a good thing, but it's actually an early sign of a toxic or abusive relationship.
- Indy Ploy: Mentioned in the Raiders of the Lost Ark review, naturally.
- Insane Equals Violent: Discussed in the The Invisible Man (2020) review, when Jonathan notes that Adrian is a classic case of The Sociopath and The Narcissist, but that people with those personality disorders are not inherently evil and he knows many people with one or both diagnoses that work hard on themselves and do a lot of good. What makes Adrian and people like him abusive monsters is that they refuse to change or consider anyone else and willfully indulge in the worst aspects of their disorders.
- Jonathan makes the note in several Villain Therapy videos that mental illness or psychological issues do not inherently make a person bad or violent; rather, the point of the series to analyze real psychological conditions through the lens of how they manifest in a villainous character, and hypothesize on how that villain might have been helped and not become a villain in the first place. On the flip side, the "Psychology Of A Hero" videos exist to show that being a hero does not mean you have no mental health problems, perhaps even full-blown mental illnesses.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": They really like Die Hard. And Oscar Isaac. And Alan Rickman.
- Alan also really loves Emma Thompson, "who is my queen and can do no wrong."
- Manly Tears:
- Alan will often break down over emotional moments in the films they discuss."Damn you, Pixar."
- They both tear up a lot discussing Big Hero 6. As a bonus Alan explains how crying is done in animation and how the music is used to convey the protagonist's emotional state.
- They note that Aragorn being able to openly grieve for Boromir is indicative of healthy masculinity.
- Alan will often break down over emotional moments in the films they discuss.
- Mental Health Recovery Arc: WandaVision for Wanda Maximoff.
- "Not So Different" Remark: They comment on Belloq's use of the trope in Raiders of the Lost Arc as they review Indy's character journey, and opine that Belloq's statement that it wouldn't take much to turn Indy into Belloq is true, because in Temple of Doom, Indy basically was Belloq: only out for his own "fortune and glory" and to hell with everyone else.
- One True Threesome: Invoked. It's suggested that writing a Twilight fanfic similar to 50 Shades of Grey with Jacob, Edward, and Bella all together could make them millions. They would, however, lose their souls.
- "But millions." "But souls." "But millions." "But souls.".
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Laughed about during their examination of the best and worst pairings in Christmas rom-coms. Jonathan observes that Happiest Season is "the best lesbian Christmas rom-com" he's ever seen, then admits that it's also the only one he's ever seen. "But I'm glad it exists."
- Papa Wolf: Discussed in their A Quiet Place review, regarding Lee's Heroic Sacrifice to save his kids, since they're both fathers. Jonathan mentions that he's always questioned whether he'd have it in him to give his life for another person, but if it were his kids, he wouldn't even think about it. Alan agrees.
- Pass the Popcorn:
- They've always got popcorn. Jonathan's also joked about how early in couples therapy he does this while watching them fight, since you can figure out quite a lot about what's wrong with a relationship from it.
- They do eat apple pie in the Captain America episode, since he's as American as apple pie.
- And bagels on the Everything Everywhere All at Once episode.
- Candied popcorn (especially Chicago Mix, which is cheddar-cheese-and-caramel popcorn together) is a bit of a Trademark Favorite Food for Alan. In fact, a candied popcorn company is a consistent sponsor.
- The Power of Trust: Vulnerability in relationships is a running theme. Jonathan underlines, several times, that trust is earned, though.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Thoroughly defied. Jonathan repeatedly points out how unhealthy a concept this is and praises male characters who avert it, as well as storylines where male characters start out believing it but ultimately learn better.
- The Scapegoat: Analysed in the Bruno episode under the proper psychological term: the "identified patient".
- Shipper on Deck: Whenever they're discussing a movie that shows a healthy romantic relationship, expect this.
- Team Pet: Gandalf the White, Alan's large white dog, occasionally joins them in various videos.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: Completely defied, given that one host is a licenced therapist and the other is fairly open about seeing a therapist. A common theme is that there's no shame in getting the help you need.
- Troubled Abuser:
- Discussed in The Invisible Man (2020), when they note that most abusers have a degree of humanity to them and are genuinely sorry when they hurt someone or make them leave, but if they keep getting forgiven or avoiding consequences they just fall back into the same abusive patterns. It's part of why victims keep going back to abusers and why they shouldn't come back, because the only way to help the person is to dissolve the relationship entirely and force the person to introspect and work on themselves.
- Also discussed in Part 1 of their New Moon analysis with regards to Edward throwing Bella against a wall to "protect her" from Jasper. Jonathan notes that some abusers do feel bad when they injure their victims, but it doesn't excuse their actions.
- Valentine's Day Episode: The analysis of Silver Linings Playbook.
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: They discuss marriage proposals after seeing one in Eclipse that they deem subpar. Alan's was apparently this accidentally, as he got so caught up in a Twirl of Love that he missed the path and fell down a hill.
- Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: In-universe, if you can call it that; both are at a loss as to why Bella wants to be with Edward, Jonathan especially so.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: Discussed in their Zootopia video.
Alan: Keep troping! And...
Jonathan & Alan: Watch movies!