Everyone remembers Saltburn for its shocking moments later in the story, but Ewan Mitchell’s character is lowkey the greatest thing about the movie. When Emerald Fennell’s second directorial feature film was released in 2023, I flocked to the cinema. I’m a huge fan of Promising Young Woman, Fennell’s Oscar-winning 2020 directorial debut, and I was excited for more skewering of a society that rewards people for being terrible. Boy, did Saltburn not disappoint. Saltburn‘s affluent and languorous Catton family are peak “eat the rich” characters, but like Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), I was transfixed by them.

However, even more than the Cattons and the debaucherous, twisted scenes occurring at Saltburn, I found myself more taken with the first half of the film, which was set entirely at the University of Oxford. Saltburn released in November, and autumn is peak dark academia season. I’m a sucker for this aesthetic, and I got swept up in the scenes taking place in the warmly lit dining halls, wood-paneled professors’ offices, and cozy English pubs. The Oxford scenes have been largely left out of the Saltburn dialogue, but a dark theory about Ewan Mitchell’s character may change that.

Ewan Mitchell Played Michael Gavey In Saltburn

Michael Is A Fellow Outsider Whom Oliver Ditches At Oxford

When Oliver Quick first arrives at Oxford, he’s immediately transfixed with the charismatic, handsome and rich Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). However, Oliver is awkward and shy, and finds he can’t get anywhere near Felix or really make any friends at all. The only schoolmate who befriends him is the even more awkward Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell).

The two undergrads meet in the dining hall, and Michael points out that he and Oliver are the only two outsiders. Rather than popularity, Michael seeks validation for his intelligence, which he proves when he loudly and obnoxiously demands Oliver ask him a sum, humiliating the Saltburn protagonist in front of his peers.

Of course, at the first opportunity to get in Felix’s good graces, Oliver callously ditches Michael. The scene of Oliver abandoning Michael at the pub to sit with Felix and his more socially desirable cohorts gutted me. Almost all of us have been kicked to the curb by friends in our youth when someone shinier comes along. Oliver and Michael’s last interaction sees Michael calling Oliver a “bootlicker” before disappearing from the movie never to return. But this moment has more significance than you think.

The “Michael Was Felix’s Toy” Saltburn Theory Explained

The Movie References Felix Taking Oliver Types Under His Wing

At Saltburn, there are frequent references to Felix’s former friends who have stayed at the тιтular country house. When Oliver is conversing with Venetia, she refers to these friends as Felix’s “toys”, saying that he never wants to share them, even the toys he doesn’t want to play with anymore, implying that he’ll ditch Oliver. The Saltburn theory about Ewan Mitchell’s character is that Michael is actually one of Felix’s discarded “toys”.

This makes all the sense in the world. Throughout the Oxford scenes, Michael seems to have a deep-rooted sense of resentment toward Felix. This could be due to Michael being ignored by Felix and his popular friend group, but unlike Oliver, this doesn’t seem to bother the outsider. So why the resentment? Oliver and Michael’s final conversation is also telling. Rather than confront Oliver for leaving him in the dust, Michael simply says “He’ll get bored of you,” obviously referring to Felix. Michael says this with such a world-weary tone, almost as if he knows from first-hand experience.

Oliver Was Only A Toy To Felix All Along

If He Hadn’t Been Such A Schemer, Oliver Would Have Been Ditched Just Like Michael

When I talk about Saltburn with other fans, the first thing I bring up isn’t the bathwater or the graveyard scenes that everyone is obsessed with. I want to talk about Felix. Upon first seeing the movie, I got into a heated debate about whether Felix was a good guy or not. My friend expressed sympathy for the ultimately ill-fated Felix, saying that while cocky, he seemed like a decent guy who genuinely cared for Oliver. I, on the other hand, felt the Jacob Elordi character’s motivations for befriending Oliver were more sinister. And the Michael Gavey theory proves me right.

As early as Oxford, Felix proved that he was ready to cut Oliver loose for proving too awkward and annoying to be worth keeping around. It was only when Oliver lied about his father’s pᴀssing and having nowhere to go for the summer that Felix took the poor orphaned scholarship kid back under his wing. On the other hand, Michael doesn’t possess a trace of Oliver’s abilities to scheme and manipulate, so he had no way of getting back into the handsome Catton’s good graces once he grew bored of him.

Felix’s “toy” treatment of people is also partially a learned behavior, as we see it with the Cattons and their cruel treatment of “Poor Dear” Pamela (Carey Mulligan). Pamela is a troubled friend and Saltburn guest whom the family pretends to adore but can’t wait to wash their hands of. When it’s later reported that Pamela died, their response is so blatantly vicious, I was almost more shocked than when Oliver started stripping in the cemetery. Indeed, the Cattons have a habit of collecting “poor dear” toys and discarding them, whether it’s Pamela or Michael.

Michael Would Have Figured Out That Oliver Killed The Cattons

His Silence Upholds Saltburn’s “Eat The Rich” Ending

At the end of Saltburn, Oliver has either directly or indirectly murdered all the Cattons and is now the proud and rightful owner of Saltburn, with Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) having bequeathed it to him. This is a definitely a polarizing ending, with some criticizing it for being a searing indictment of the striving, scheming middle class. But I couldn’t disagree with this interpretation more. For me, Saltburn‘s ending makes it the very best of the many “eat the rich” movies that have come out in the past few years.

Look, do I agree with murder? No. But the Cattons are such selfish people that the only reason they’re not a family of killers is because they’ve never had to be — they’ve had everything handed to them by generations of ᴅᴇᴀᴅ rellys. They’ve played with Pamela, Michael, Oliver, and who knows how many others for mere sport, and yes, darn it, I was thrilled when Oliver beat them at their own game. But what makes his victory even sweeter is the Michael theory.

If Michael were to have heard about the tragic fate of Felix and his family, he likely would have discovered that Oliver got Saltburn and put two and two together. But the ending implies that Oliver got away with everything scot-free. This means that Michael would have chosen to keep quiet. Whatever resentment he may have had for Oliver pales in comparison to his vitriol for Felix, and he may even be proud of his former Oxford chum for having the last laugh against the Cattons. And really, when you think about it, that’s what makes Michael the true hero of Saltburn.