WARNING: Spoilers for the ending of Inside Out 2
Arriving nine years after the first film, Inside Out 2 did not take long to conquer the public again, somewhat interrupting the curse of criticism and failure that has persecuted the latest titles Pixar house, once an infallible goose that laid golden eggs but recently more limping. The new chapter of the animated saga debuted all over the world with almost 380 million dollars in proceeds and even in Italy – where it officially arrived on June 19th – it is climbing the rankings of the most viewed. Many breathe a sigh of relief, and in particular the many fans who wanted to find themselves in the new adventures of the now teenager Riley and her emotions, Joy first and foremost, the enchantment of the first film. The same fans who, thanks to the protagonist’s more mature age, now also try to question hers deepest secrets.
Also complicit in this investigation that is monopolizing social media are the post-credits scenes. In the first we see Riley’s parents asking her how the summer camp went: after the various emotions they rush to find alternative answers, with Ennui who in the end has the upper hand and responds with a laconic: “Everything OK”. But she is there second additional scene which was even more awaited, also because it refers even more precisely to the main plot: during the film, in fact, thanks to theadvent of pubertythe main emotions of Riley’s brain (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust) are surprised and exiled by the arrival of other new sensations, such as Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Nostalgia and indeed Ennui. Cast away in a distant corner of the brain, Gioia & co. they have to go through various adventures to return to the central command, and among these adventures they also encounter, relegated to a vault, a mysterious hooded figure: it is the Deep Dark Secret by Riley.
The spectators therefore remain glued until the second post-credits scene, precisely to solve the enigma: the very curious Gioia, in fact, returns to the vault and begs the Secret to come out and reveal oneself; it turns out that (Attention! maximum spoiler) was a memory of when Riley had burned a carpet.
“That’s all?”, replies Gioia. And the same reaction is that of a large part of the public, who would have liked something juicier. On the other hand, it is the director Kelsey Mann himself who declared that the final scene was last minute addition precisely to play on the public’s expectations and fuel the debate on the protagonist’s secret life. On the other hand, there were already those who had formed their own ideas: many, on TikTok and the like, are in fact convinced that the idolatrous passion that Riley has developed for Valolder girl and hockey champion, both in reality a romantic attraction. Is Riley a queer girl? We don’t know for sure but also the fact that she has a secret that comes out (coming out) from a dark place is quite suggestive. Many fans are convinced of this and no dark secret could convince them otherwise.
