The following contains spoilers for The Accountant 2, now playing in theatersThe Accountant 2 gives one of the film’s most mysterious characters Acquired Savant Syndrome, but is that a real medical condition? One of the unique elements of The Accountant amid the rest of the action-thriller genre is the focus on a main character who falls on the autism spectrum. 2016’s The Accountant and the subsequent sequel both highlight how Christian Wolff deals with the social challenges and the analytical skills his condition creates for him, taking real-life concepts and applying them to a larger action-film framework.

This continues in The Accountant 2, which delves further into some of Christian’s allies and their neurodivergent qualities. Among them is Anaïs, a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly ᴀssᴀssin whose origins as a desperate mother may seem unbelievable. However, similar to the way the film uses real life examples to inform Christian, Anaïs’ backstory and the introduction of Acquired Savant Syndrome as the source of her abilities actually has some basis in real-life medical studies. Here is how The Accountant 2 incorporates Acquired Savant Syndrome into the backstory for the film’s newest ᴀssᴀssin and how it compares to real life.

How Anaïs Gets Acquired Savant Syndrome In The Accountant 2

Anaïs’ Sudden Apтιтude For Combat Was Set Off By A Traumatic Injury

Anaïs’ backstory reveals that the mysterious ᴀssᴀssin developed her abilities as a result of her Acquired Savant Syndrome, a rare but real condition that explains her sudden apтιтude for combat and ᴀssᴀssination. While Marybeth is investigating a lead about Anaïs, flashbacks confirm for the audience that Anaïs was working in the United States and barely escaped an attempted ᴀssault when she was caught in a car crash. Suffering severe brain damage and slowly recovering at the hospital as a Jane Doe, Anaïs developed Acquired Savant Syndrome with a focus on combat as a broad concept.

As Anaïs redeveloped her motor skills, she also showcased an apтιтude for strategy and combat. Anaïs also showcased a confrontational personality. This allowed her to train her body as she recovered from her physical injuries, transforming herself into a far more dangerous figure. While she lost most of her memories and many of her emotions as a result of the accident, this mental transformation allowed Anaïs to reshape herself into a lethal brawler who quickly proves more dangerous than many of the ᴀssᴀssins sent to confront her.

Acquired Savant Syndrome Is A Real-Life Condition

There Are Real Life Examples Of People Who Suddenly Gained New Skills After Serious Brain Injuries

Movie audiences may initially believe that Anaïs’ condition is just a movie concept to explain her skills. However, Acquired Savant Syndrome is a real-life condition, although it has only happened in some rare cases. A study into the phenomenon was published by the National Library of Medicine in 2021, citing 11 examples of people who had been classified as Sudden Savants. Despite not displaying the abilities beforehand, these individuals all developed sudden mastery of new skills. Some of these examples were classified as Acquired Savant Syndrome, as these developments occurred following traumatic brain injuries.

In many cases, a small number of people who suffered brain damage recovered with new abilities. Brain Injury Law Center cites some examples of this condition appearing in real the real world, highlighting examples where a futon salesman became a mathematical savant or a sales trainer developing musical skills after hitting their head on concrete. The article underscores the rarity of these conditions, which account for less than 1% of all savant cases. The article also highlights that Acquired Savant Syndrome can also be accompanied by other serious complications, such as intense headaches and newly developed obsessive behaviors.

Acquired Savant Syndrome is also incredibly rare. While the NLM estimates that 1 in 10 people diagnosed with autism also develop abilities that can classify them as savants, less than 1% of non-autistic individuals have become Sudden Savants. Psychology Today reported that there were only 32 known cases of the condition reported by 2015, although there have been some other diagnoses since then. Research into the condition is still ongoing, although it is now believed by some physicians that the condition is caused by damage in the left hemisphere of the brain, essentially rewiring the organ during recovery.

How The Accountant 2’s Acquired Savant Syndrome Compares To Real Life

Anaïs developing an innate talent for combat is a wild take on Acquired Savant Syndrome, but one that the film still grounds in some clear reality. Anaïs only develops her abilities while recovering from a car crash, which leaves her in the hospital for an extended period. During this time, her abilities are honed as she recovers, similar to real-life cases where the full scope of the newfound abilities wasn’t evident until after the patient had fully healed from their complete injuries.

Anaïs’ also seemingly deals with a disconnected sense of self and memory loss, both of which can also be attributed to the brain trauma she endured and that developed her abilities. This highlights that Acquired Savant Syndrome often comes with painful aspects. While her new broad talent for combat transforms into a ready-made ᴀssᴀssin in a way that feels unrealistic, The Accountant 2 does base these developments in real-life examples of the condition, with the doctor explaining the phenomenon, citing actual examples of people who have been determined to have Acquired Savant Syndrome.

Does Christian Wolff Also Have Acquired Savant Syndrome In The Accountant?

Christian Wolff Is Portrayed As Being Autistic But Doesn’t Develop Sudden Abilities

By all accounts, Christian Wolff does not have Acquired Savant Syndrome in The Accountant films. Christian is instead portrayed as having been diagnosed with autism as a child. His traits paint him as a mathematical savant, making him invaluable to the criminals he works with. While the severity of his condition is somewhat unusual, he still shows some of the traits ᴀssociated with autism, such as an oversensitivity to bright lights and enhanced pattern-making ability.

Christian is very skilled in The Accountant 2, but none of his abilities are developed on the kind of short timescale otherwise portrayed in the film. Instead, he is portrayed as just having an extreme but largely realistic portrayal of autism. This plays into his unexpected bond with Anaïs’ son Alberto, whom he comes to believe has a similar condition to his own. While Christian isn’t the same kind of savant as Anaïs and the film takes some liberties with the idea, it is interesting to see how The Accountant 2 reimagines the real-life condition as part of the backstory for their new ᴀssᴀssin.

Source: National Library of Medicine, Brain Injury Law Center, Psychology Today