complete and total Ricken theory and evidence after rewatching everything
please bear with me I'm very new to reddit and new to this subreddit!!! I tried to post this yesterday but I didn't realize they were doing a post freeze. reposting it now to try and share my crazy theory that Ricken is with Lumon which I really think might get revealed this week in episode 10 or maybe next season.
Here is my evidence:
- Beds
In the latest episode when Mikchick is explaining to Huang that she'll be moving to Svalbard one of the things he says is:
Who else was weird about beds?
- The Birthing Retreat
Why do we know about the Damona Birthing Retreat in the first place? Because RICKEN wanted Devon to give birth there.
- Insisting Innie Mark meant the baby
When Innie Mark yells "she's alive" who keeps insisting that he must've meant the baby? Remember, everyone at Lumon apparently knows about Mark/Gemma's importance and the importance of Cold Harbor, which is supposedly going to change the world. A Lumon operative would be dead set on making sure Mark continues to think Gemma is dead.
- Letting Natalie into the house
In S02E03, why did he let Natalie into the house? Ricken should be suspicious of Lumon by this point in the story.
We never see him having any qualms about writing a more Kier/Lumon-y book for the innies either. Devon is shocked that he throws away his "ideals," and what does he say to defend himself? It's going to be a "Trojan's Horse." If he has a heel turn that line is going to look wild in hindsight, and we kind of gloss over it because he's the comic relief character but (leading into my next point).
- The You You Are
"In planning an important raid, you may think to send your most fervent soldier; a warrior who's bested the enemy before. Yet your enemy may foresee this, so consider instead the tepid infantryman; the phlegm-soaked mercenary with a pattern of self-service and buffoonery. He is the last man your foe will see coming, and this, if his loyalty can be secured, makes him the deadliest knight upon the field. Expectation is not destiny. Expectation is a sword."
There it is. He literally says in his book the best strategy is acting like a fool so no one suspects you. He also says in the book and while Devon is giving birth that he knows Mark and people around him think he's silly. Maybe he's okay with that because the "woo woo granola open toed sandals" silliness is an act?
- All the goat stuff in their house
Goat toy on the baby's nightstand. Goat head in the living room.
- The dinner party
Remember in S01E01 the "no dinner-dinner party"? The concept to start with was weird, more kookyness that we excuse because Ricken is comic relief. And in the dinner party, on rewatch it's odd because not only does Ricken have a stilted, formal way of speaking, all his friends talk like that too, they're all asking really weird questions and acting like they're from another planet.
In the first episode I chalked it up to "maybe all the people in this alternative universe just talk weird like that," but no. Dylan, Helly, Hampton, Alexa, Mark, Devon, Gemma, Reghabi, Petey and Petey's family at his funeral ALL talk normal. Who have we seen on this show that talks in that weird formal cadence? Lumon managers and people indoctrinated into the cult of Kier (Cobel, Milchick, Cissy, Jame, Drummond etc).
We also find out during the dinner party that (unlike Devon), Ricken supported Mark's decision to sever.
- Ricken comes from "old money"
In this show money, wealth, political power etc have been shown to directly correlate with loyalty to Lumon. Notice how when Devon criticizes him writing the Innie book, his first move is to try and flex his wealth that "she enjoys," almost as if she's missing the key point: playing along with Lumon is the price they pay for having a nice house, etc.
I really wanted to put this theory out there before the season finale, because I'm wondering if we're going to get a scene where Devon (after going to the birthing cabin with innie mark) asks Ricken why he chose Damona, how he heard about it whatever, and we might get a reveal then. I could also see a reveal happening if they show an old picture (they liked doing picture reveals in S1 and we haven't got any yet this season) of Ricken at a "private school" and it turns out to be like, an Eagan Prep Academy.
Just like in real life, the true 1% bourgeoisie wealthy Kier followers can sit at the top of C-Suites based on family connections (Helena), pay their way into a seat in government (the senator), or they are free to pursue artistic endeavors (Ricken), while the petit bourgeoisie work their asses off at corporate jobs only for their bosses to steal the credit for anything they produce (Cobel and Milchick) and the proletariat underclass is openly abused in factories/industrial/service settings (Salt's Neck).
Disclaimer: Or maybe this is all a crack theory and Ricken is just a weirdo goofy guy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯