They say the devil doesn’t necessarily terrorize you to make your life a living hell. Instead, he often comes in the guise of your closest confidant, offering you everything your heart desires in exchange for your soul. He doesn’t always manifest as a sinister force but rather as a charming companion, providing you with food, shelter, or whatever else you yearn for, all the while concealing his true intentions beneath a facade of generosity. It’s a subtle, insidious temptation—one that preys on our deepest desires and vulnerabilities, luring us into an unconditional bargain where the cost of fulfillment may ultimately outweigh the benefits. The Shift, loosely based on the biblical ‘Book of Job,’ presents this idea through its convoluted multiversal narrative.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Book Of Job?
The Book of Job is a significant text in both Christianity and Islam, known for its exploration of human suffering and the nature of faith. In the story, Job, a righteous and prosperous man, undergoes immense trials and suffering, losing his wealth, health, and loved ones. Despite his suffering, Job refuses to curse God, maintaining his faith. The book conveys philosophical questions about the nature of suffering and the justice of God’s actions. It challenges traditional ideas of divine retribution for sin and highlights the complexities of human existence. In Christianity, the Book of Job is often cited as a source of wisdom on the topic, emphasizing the importance of trusting in God even in the midst of adversity. Similarly, in Islam, Job (known as Ayub) is considered a prophet, revered for his steadfastness in the face of trials.
What Is The Story About?
Kevin Garner was a hedge fund manager who lost his job during the 2008 economic collapse. He was a recovering alcoholic, but after this tragic incident, he contemplates spiraling back to alcoholism. He visits a bar by himself but is approached by a woman who was dared to do so by her friends. However, the dare turns fruitful for both of them as Kevin and Molly hit it off. They start dating and eventually get married. Before meeting Molly, Kevin was not very religious, but he did become so after their meeting. However, a few years down the line, they have become distant following their son’s untimely death. Molly has now developed a drinking habit, while Kevin has a dead-end job. He works for an employer younger than him, who despises him because of his involvement in the mortgage crisis, which cost his parents their house. One day, coming back from work, he gets hit by a truck but is saved in time by a mysterious man named ‘The Benefactor.’ It turns out that ‘The Benefactor’ is actually Satan, who is in possession of a device called a deviator, which allows him to shift people to other realities. The Benefactor reveals that he had shifted Kevin to another universe when he was hit by the truck, hence saving his life. In exchange, Satan expects Kevin’s allegiance to his cause, which Kevin rejects, embracing his faith in God instead. However, Kevin finds himself trapped in an alternate totalitarian universe.
What Is Going On In This Dystopian Reality?
In this alternate reality, the world was ridden with war and destruction. It was a dark world, to begin with, where the world powers had mutually ruined the planet. It was then that a secret faction of people, the Shifters, showed up. This faction exiled all the problematic personas of their society to another reality to preserve their own dying world. As a necessary evil, it showed fruition, and world peace was finally achieved. Following this temporary era of peace, the Shifters disappeared, which The Benefactor saw as an opportunity. Nobody dared go against Satan, as he installed himself as the head of this totalitarian regime. He also employs a secret police service to keep an eye on people, banning freedom of religion and scripture.
What Is Kevin’s Life Like In This Reality?
Kevin has been stuck in this reality for around 5 years and has been secretly rewriting the Bible according to his memory. He intends to steal a deviator so that he can return to his own reality. In this world, Kevin tries to live a life as a good Christian, giving away whatever he can. On some days, he even sleeps on an empty stomach, and because of this, his health deteriorates significantly. His only source of comfort in this miserable world is his friend Gabriel, to whom he gives these scriptures from the Bible, and a cinema hall that lets him see projections of other realities, which he uses to see Molly despite the unusually long waiting list.
Does Kevin Get Out Of This Dystopian Reality?
Kevin’s hardships just keep coming, but his wife’s memory is his anchor through it all. At the multiversal cinema, he’s surrounded by different versions of her until he finds the one from his reality. This gives him the push he needs to take on The Benefactor. But when things don’t go as planned, Kevin freaks out and starts questioning everything, even God’s methods. Out of nowhere, The Benefactor shows up, trying to manipulate Kevin and make him doubt his faith. But Kevin stays adamant about sticking to his beliefs and rejecting Satan’s tricks. Subsequently, during a run-in with the cops, Gabriel gets caught in the chaos, revealing that he’s been a Shifter all along. In the end, Kevin grabs his deviator and shifts himself to another reality.
Does Kevin Reunite With Molly?
Shifting through different realities, Kevin finds himself in a psychiatric institution, coming across Tina, a waitress who, to dismiss Kevin’s disbelief, had been shifted to a reality where she didn’t exist by The Benefactor. However, the revelation of her unfortunate fate had been weighing on Kevin. Tina pleads with Kevin to take her back to her reality, but another violent confrontation prompts him to finally shift to his reality. However, adding to his trials, Molly has moved on as he has been replaced by Kevin from another reality by the Devil. Before he can bid his farewell to Molly, The Benefactor pulls him back into a dystopian reality and gives him an offer that he can either be with Molly or he can let Tina back to her family. The Devil tries his best to make Kevin succumb to his temptations, but Kevin once again proves him wrong. He chooses to let Tina be returned to her family, as he believes that he was the reason Tina had to go through the traumatic ordeal. It turns out that Kevin has passed the ultimate test of his faith through this selfless act as he awakens in another reality. In a twist of fate, Kevin encounters Molly once again, and their paths cross in a moment reminiscent of their initial meeting. This is the same Molly, a nurse and single mother, whom he spotted at the cinema in the dystopian reality. Reigniting his connection with her, they get married and become parents again.
Making references to Job’s story, Satan tests Kevin as part of his larger scheme to tempt and corrupt humanity. In the narrative, Satan, masquerading as “The Benefactor,” sees Kevin as a prime target due to his vulnerability and struggles. Kevin’s past as a recovering alcoholic and his current challenges, such as the loss of his job and the estrangement from his wife, make him susceptible to doubt, despair, and temptation. By testing Kevin, Satan aims to exploit his weaknesses, sow seeds of doubt in his faith, and ultimately lead him away from God. Satan sees Kevin as a pawn in his cosmic battle against goodness and righteousness, seeking to undermine his faith and drag him into darkness. However, Kevin’s resilient belief ultimately thwarts Satan’s plans, as he refuses to succumb to temptation and remains faithful to his beliefs.
