Regaining that Power: The Sedation Scene

Notably, though, after the sedation episode, Ben sees his wife’s reflection in the mirror in front of him while his only on-camera manifestation is a blurry shadow on the wall. Cohen also argues that this seeming reversal of roles emphasizes something that she calls “spousal complementarity,” that is, interrelations between husband and wife that lead to a better and more functional whole [7].

Indeed, at the end of the film, both in The Albert and in the unknown Embassy, Jo and Ben mirror each other’s actions.  Jo works to save both the ambassador and Hank with her voice while Ben achieves that same goal with his will and violent determination. Hitchcock, on the other hand, leaves the status of their post-kidnapping relationship to the imagination[8]. How will Jo react to having been sedated and constantly subverted, and will Ben yet again try to regain power? This relationship’s stability was once based on the suppression of these desires and, now that they have been exposed, the relationship must naturally change.