Jordan Peele's newest film Nope made its way to theaters in late July, adding several new characters to the list of Peele favorites that are so well written that fans once again can't help but relate to them.
It's one of the great draws to Peele's movies and helps to infuse realism into these psychologically confounding and conceptual films. It adds balance while keeping the mind twisted up in the story. Peele's characters make the decisions the audience would make in their situation, and when they don't, it's almost written into the movie for audiences to have adversarial reactions to those actions. Audiences root for them either way, but there are some whose survival instincts give them a better chance at making it to the end of their Peele movie.
Chris Washington - Get Out
Get Out placed Daniel Kaluuya in the lead role of Chris Washington. Viewers were eager to pinpoint every wrong turn Chris made throughout the movie. There were universal unspoken rules that he did not follow that got him into the worst and most unimaginable position.
Chris trusted his girlfriend after only dating her for five months. Even after her family proved to be certifiably insane, his instinct was to still turn to her. He asked all the right questions just a little too late, showing how delayed his instincts were and how willing he was to set them aside. He ignored every possible sign that there was something wrong and while he was able to fight his way out at the last minute, he really only survived because his friend came through for him.
Gabe Wilson - Us
Winston Duke played the role of Gabe Wilson, the well-intentioned dad in Us. Gabe racked up one of the highest kill counts (with just 2 kills) and was even able to kill his tethered, Abraham.
As impressive as his survival skills were, his survival instincts weren't the best. Gabe was ready and able to protect his family but there is no way to forgive the fact that he walked outside to confront 4 strangers standing in his driveway in the middle of the night. His instincts as a father were to protect which meant that he constantly put himself in harm's way to ensure the safety of his family.
Rose Armitage - Get Out
The morals of Get Out's Rose Armitage were questionable at best, leading her to committing one of the biggest romantic betrayals in movie history, but she was always willing to do what she needed to do to survive.
Rose constantly lied for the sake of continuing her family's work, though sometimes those lies didn't seem rooted too much in her need to survive but in the genuine pleasure she received from deceiving men as she did. Until her last moment, she played whatever part she needed to in order to make it. She couldn't be trusted and that resulted in her death.
Ricky "Jupe" Park - Nope
Ricky "Jupe" Park from Peele's Nope demonstrated his superior survival instincts in one of the most gut-wrenching scenes of the movie. Jupe starred on a TV show that featured a chimp named Gordy who was played by an actual chimp. One day on set, Gordy goes on a rampage, killing most of the cast and crew except for Jupe, who hid under a dining table.
When Gordy eventually noticed him, instead of panicking, Jupe sat and tried to remain calm, which likely saved his life. Unfortunately, those instincts didn't last him into adulthood and he chose to "strike a deal" with the creature in the sky. Of course, the timing of what he had assumed to be a deal ran out and this time, his survival instincts didn't win out.
Jason Wilson - Us
Jason Wilson, the son from Us, was a character whose intelligence was understated but always there. He was one of the smartest members in the iconic horror family and had great survival instincts. He knew when it was time to hide and when it was time to fight.
His curious mind helped him to figure out his connection to his doppelganger, Pluto allowing him to defeat the doppelganger in their final faceoff. There's also the matter of the surprise ending. In the last moments of the film, the recognition on Jason's face is unmistakable and it's clear he knows the truth. Jason again showed his superior survival instincts by deciding to stay quiet and not reveal what he knew.
Oj Haywood - Nope
In Peele's most recent film Nope, viewers meet Oj Haywood, a quiet and reserved horse trainer with a strong sense of family loyalty. He valued the legacy of all the fathers that came before him and he did all he could to keep the family business running.
This ultimately led to him facing off with the film's alien monster from the sky. Training horses gave Oj pretty good instincts when it came to understanding non-human creatures and those instincts came in handy when dealing with the monster from the sky. While he wasn't afraid to walk away or sit and wait when needed, his family was everything to him and when it came to deciding if he or his sister should live, he threw out his survival instincts and protected her instead.
Emerald "Em" Haywood - Nope
Emerald Haywood was similar to her brother and demonstrated great survival instincts throughout the entire movie. Some may have initially misjudged her as a lazy younger sister who just wanted to run away but those characteristics weren't cowardice, they were survival instincts.
As soon as things got real, Em was ready to go. She wasn't scared to voice that leaving was an option and only stayed behind to be with her brother. Still, when Oj decided that he would sacrifice himself for her to live, she struggled to come to terms with his decision at the moment but she chose to survive, even though it meant possibly letting her brother die.
Red - Us
Red is a glowing example of survival instincts developed from trauma. Red was the original Adelaide and as a kid, her curiosity put her into a position for her doppelganger to snatch her, trap her among the tethered, and replace her in real life.
Red used that experience to develop a plan to come back for her doppelganger. She was able to mobilize all the tethered under a common goal and reached the Adelaide that replaced her. She may not have won the final battle but she never stopped fighting. She used her developed survival instincts to carefully strategize the best way to get what she wanted.
Rod Williams - Get Out
The fan-favorite character in Get Out was TSA agent, Rod Williams, played by comedian Lil Rel Howery. Rod represented a lot of members of the audience. He questioned everything and didn't discount a single theory.
When he felt something was wrong he voiced those worries and in the end, he did what had to be done to save his friend. Rod was a great friend to Chris and while his skepticism of Rose's family may have initially seemed over the top, he was right to be skeptical. He wasn't fooled by Rose's half-hearted attempt to convince him that Chris was fine, he knew something was up, and he was able to save Chris without putting himself into unnecessary harm's way.
Adelaide - Us
Lupita Nyong'o's portrayal as both Adelaide and Red in Peele's horror film Us will likely go down in history as one of Lupita's best roles yet. Her performance was bone-chilling as were the characters themselves. Adelaide initially came across as a fierce and sometimes overbearing mom whose priority seemed to be to protect her family, but that quickly changed.
When audiences find out that she is actually one of the tethered, and she forced the original Adelaide to take her spot, that entire perspective was changed. Every decision Adelaide made was for the survival of her family and the survival of the life she had above ground. She was fighting to not have to return to the "life" she lived before and whether she had to lie or kill, she did what she had to do to keep the life she created alive.