Fully embracing the COVID-19 pandemic proved to help Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery stand out. Following the success of Knives Out, director Rian Johnson had to give protagonist Benoit Blanc a fitting follow-up mystery. Having this world-class detective navigate the unknown along with the rest of society puts Benoit into a unique and memorable situation.
While some movies may choose to address the situation in passing or ignore it altogether, Glass Onion makes the pandemic a core part of its story. The group having to travel to such a remote location to party suddenly seems more logical, and viewers can somewhat relate to their desperation to leave quarantine. A lot of the movie’s subtle details are a result of the pandemic setting, which helps Glass Onion stand out against its predecessor.
The Pandemic Helped Show Each Glass Onion's Character’s Personality
Glass Onion features a diverse cast of characters, all with strong personalities and influential in their own right. At the start of the film, each character receives one of Miles’ puzzle box invitations. Governor Claire Debella gets her package while being interviewed from her work-from-home office about her senator campaign, and is shown being aware enough to cover her face when answering the door. On the other hand, Hollywood socialite Birdie Jay is seen at a busy party ignoring quarantine rules. Immediately, the film sets the tone that Claire is someone who prefers to play by the rules for the sake of her reputation, while Birdie exists in her own bubble regardless of people’s opinions of her.
Before boarding the ship to Miles’ remote island in Greece in Glass Onion, the characters meet up on the dock with their masks on. Lionel Toussaint, a scientist, is seen properly masked up while men’s rights activist Duke Cody and his girlfriend Whisky aren’t wearing masks at all. Lionel’s diligence makes sense with his methodical, logical career while Duke and Whisky’s choice aligns with the conspiratorial nature of their YouTube channel. Seeing how each character follows the rules of the pandemic exposes a lot about their personality without Glass Onion having to explicitly explain.
How Covid Played Into Benoit Blanc's Work
Described as “The Last of the Gentleman Sleuths,” Benoit is portrayed in Knives Out as a master detective. Incredibly smart and perceptive, he is not one to shy away from a difficult case and will always put his full effort into finding the answer. At the beginning of the film, Benoit is seen in the bath on a Zoom call playing Among Us with some of Glass Onion's celebrity cameos. For a go-getter detective like him, having his work halted indefinitely because of the pandemic likely made him restless for a case.
When Helen Brand approaches Benoit to solve the case of her twin sister Andi’s murder, he lists the many ways in which this case is difficult. After some internal debate, he gives Helen the dangerous proposition of impersonating her sister at the Greek island party, even saying that he can’t guarantee her safety. The initial quarantine period of the pandemic was likely the biggest break from work for most of the population, Benoit included. Even with the complicated nature of Andi’s murder in Glass Onion, Benoit’s hiatus from work made him antsy and explains why he was willing to take such a risky case no matter the result.
Glass Onion Was A Commentary On Real Life Celebrities
Glass Onion is a very obvious commentary on the lives of celebrities and influencers. Besides each Glass Onion character having a similar real-life counterpart, the group’s behavior during the pandemic mirrors what was happening in real life too. Seeing a group of rich people having the privilege to up and leave quarantine in order to party on a remote island is eerily similar to the criticisms that happened during the pandemic. For upstanding professionals like Claire and Lionel, some of their reluctance in testifying against Miles is due to the fact that their quarantine whereabouts would be exposed. They eventually change their minds, putting their reputations at risk and reflecting on the consequences that real celebrities faced during this time.
Rian Johnson’s decision to integrate the Covid quarantine period into the film sets up much of the film’s central plot and gives it's setting a logical explanation. From Glass Onion's Birdie to Lionel, the characters in this group are diverse in their careers and personalities, and each of their reactions to the pandemic showcases details about them without having to be explicitly said. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery stands up to Knives Out thanks to the film’s pandemic setting, delivering a unique sequel and another memorable installment in the Benoit Blanc saga.