The following contains spoilers for Materialists.

Celine Song, who directed Materialists, explains the shocking reveal about Pedro Pascal’s character. Now playing in theaters, the R-rated movie stars Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a disillusioned matchmaker who believes that dating comes down to a perfect math equation. However, she finds herself torn between her perfect match, Harry (Pascal), a rich millionaire who checks all her boxes, and John (Chris Evans), her imperfect ex.

While speaking to ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley, Song offered some insight into the shocking reveal of Harry’s scar, which he got from a height surgery. She revealed that the movie has left breadcrumbs that build up to the moment, which makes it “feel inevitable.” At the same time, with Harry being perceived as someone who is perfect, his scar is significant because it shows how much dating “crushes all of us.” Read her comment below:

Well, I feel like it’s first introduced when she’s talking to her friend matchmaker and she’s learning about that surgery. So even if you don’t know what the surgery is, you get to learn what it is in the movie. And then of course it’s like, well, to me, what’s most important about that surgery is that this movie is about the way that we commodify and objectify each other in the dating market, how much it crushes all of us, and I want it to be fair to men too. I feel like men are also very much crushed by the dating market as well. We see the way that the women are. I think that you get to see that Harry, who seemed like he was above it all, I think it turns out that he’s crushed by it as well. I think that when you set it up, it’s like you just want it to feel inevitable, and you always want to feel like that’s the power of Chekhov’s gun, right? It’s like you set it up so that when it comes back you realize, ‘Huh, no, no, no. The author already told me that it’s going to happen.’ And if someone’s going to get it, and of course when Lucy first hears about it, it reveals everything about where she is, right? She says, ‘Oh, that’s a great investment.’ Then you see by the time that she’s talking to Harry about it, everything she believes about it has changed.

What This Means For Materialists

Harry’s Scar Is An Important Twist In Materialists

Harry’s scar isn’t the only shocking twist in Materialists. In the scene, Harry confessed to Lucy that he and his brother, who is also considered a “unicorn” in the dating market, underwent height surgeries together and that it had changed their lives drastically. Because Lucy’s reaction was revealed at the beginning, the scene highlighted Harry’s insecurity about himself and the cruel reality he faced in dating, even as a bachelor who seems to have it all.

Song’s comment sheds light on the nuances and significance of this detail to Materialists‘ theme of how everyone is being objectified and commodified in the dating pool while doing the same to others. Harry’s scar not only makes him more relatable but also serves as a way to offer insight into the troubles of dating from a male’s perspective, keeping the balance. At the same time, Song’s comment points out how the movie built up to the twist and how Lucy’s reaction early in the movie foreshadowed the moment.

Our Take On Harry’s Scar In Materialists

The Revelation Is Both Sad And Funny

Harry’s scar is a great detail in Materialists​​​​​​ that shows that even the seemingly perfect men get objectified and face insecurities and stress just like everyone else. Harry didn’t get the scar from an unforeseen life-altering event or criminal activities, which are usually what we see in movies. Instead, he and his brother, two rich men who came from a good family, put themselves through a risky and highly painful procedure to make themselves more attractive in the dating market.

Casting Pedro Pascal in the role is a genius move. In the scene, Harry squatted a little to show Lucy what he would look like without the surgery, and what’s sad (and funny) is that he’s got a point. The reveal also coincides with a moment of clarity Lucy has, where she points out how transactional their relationship really is, even though they can connect through similar trauma. Materialists is disillusioned about dating and the problems with it, and Harry’s scar is simply too important not to be in it.