Robert Pattinson’s dual roles as very different clones in Mickey 17 symbolize a key tenet of psychology and capture the duality of the human condition. Mickey 17 takes place in a dystopian future where a failed politician is launching a mission to colonize a distant planet. Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a man with plenty of debt and no other options, who reluctantly offers his services as an “expendable.” His only job is to die, get reprinted, and die again. When Mickey 18 is printed before Mickey 17 is confirmed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, the two Mickeys have to find a way to co-exist.

Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are a classic odd-couple pairing. Mickey 17 is awkward, pᴀssive, and unable to stand up for himself, while Mickey 18 is confident, outgoing, and gleefully unafraid. At first, this just seems like a typical mismatched comic duo, giving Pattinson the opportunity to play off himself and create a hilarious on-screen dynamic. But as the movie goes on, it becomes clear that it goes much deeper than that. The two Mickeys are a sly study in human psychology, each representing a different side of the same personality.

Mickey 17 & Mickey 18 Represent The Ego & The Id

Mickey 17 Is The Sensible Realist, While Mickey 18 Is The Impulsive Aggressor

There’s been a lot of discussion about how Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are very different characters. This is one of the film adaptation’s biggest changes from the book it’s based on, Mickey7. In the Edward Ashton novel, the two Mickeys have more or less the same personality, but in the movie, Mickey 17 is timid and meek, while Mickey 18 is a rageful alpha male. It could be considered a plot inconsistency that two exact replicas of the same person are essentially polar opposites, but they’re two sides of the same coin.

Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 each represent a different part of the human mind. Mickey 18 represents the id, the impulsive part of the brain, while Mickey 17 represents the ego, the rational part of the brain that controls the id. Mickey 17 is a sensible, reasonable realist who thinks things through, while Mickey 18 is impetuous, uninhibited, and aggressive, always looking for instant gratification. While Mickey 17 wisely avoids the dangerous drug Oxyzoful, Mickey 18 takes it the first chance he gets. While Mickey 17 is apprehensive about having a threesome with himself, Mickey 18 jumps at the opportunity.

When Mickey 17 is poisoned and almost killed by the Trump-like villain Kenneth Marshall, he does nothing about it, because he can see that no good can come of standing up to his almighty leader. If he questions Marshall’s judgment or tries to fight back, he’ll just be punished. But Mickey 18 won’t stand for that. As soon as he hears about it, he grabs Nasha’s gun and marches down to Marshall’s talk-show taping to ᴀssᴀssinate him. Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 each represent a different part of the same personality.

Robert Pattinson’s Character Symbolizing Ego & Id In Mickey 17 Adds Another Layer To The Movie

Mickey 17 Is Already A Sharp Satire Of Corporate Greed

Before digging into the psychology of its lead character, Mickey 17 was already a pretty deep movie with a lot of thematic layers. At its core, it’s a grim futuristic satire of corporations exploiting their workers. Mickey is hired to literally work himself to death over and over again, and the company has zero sympathy for him because it’s “what he signed up for.” It’s a grand dystopian critique of the working conditions of mega-corporations that line their billionaire CEOs’ pockets while refusing to pay their employees a living wage.

But once Mickey 18 gets printed and meets Mickey 17, the film also becomes a commentary on human psychology. When Mickey becomes a multiple, Bong Joon-ho’s script imagines conversations between the ego and the id. In the human mind, the ego controls the id, but Mickey 17 ponders what would happen if the id broke free and gained a mind of its own.

If Mickey 17 Is Ego & Mickey 18 Is Id, Then Who Is Superego?

The Superego Is The Mind’s Self-Critical Conscience

Since there’s no third multiple in Mickey 17, it’s less clear which character represents the third part of the mind: the superego. The superego is the mind’s self-critical conscience, examining its own behavior through the lens of the values it learned from teachers and parents. In a sense, Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 both represent the superego, since they both criticize each other for their actions and choices. Nasha could be seen as the superego, since she’s a good person with Mickey’s best interests at heart who cares for the two clones equally.