so Chloe Zhao actually offers Fern's character three times in the movie the chance to go
back to a more traditional life she tempts her back to what she knows out of this
scary new thing that she's trying to understand
yes no the first time Fern is tempted is when she's in a store looking for various
items that might help her in her nomadic new life her houseless life and her family
finds her in this store and know her from her previous life hey freddy hey
how are you i'm good the mother out of concern approaches Fern offering her a place to stay
obviously concerned that Fern may not be able to live safely within her van
if you need a place to stay you can come over and stay with us we're worried about you
thanks don't worry about me i'll let you know i promise okay now Fern at that point refuses
quite easily refusing and not looking too tempted by this particular offer at this point we might
assume that this is Fern's pride getting in her way and we learn more about that later in the
film we also start to understand that Fern is a determined woman who is not going to let anything
get in her way my mom says that you're homeless is that true no i'm not homeless i'm just houseless
not the same thing right yeah don't worry about me i'm okay the second moment that chloe's hour
throws at Fern to try and tempt her away from this nomadic life is when Fern is on the precipice
of losing her van losing the home that she has built for herself when the engine gives up the
ghost and she's hampered by a bill that she cannot afford she must then approach her sister
and ask her for money to be able to afford the repairs on her van i can pay you back i'm going
to do amazon again soon i'll be able to pay you back as soon as i get that check it's going to be
yeah i'm being stubborn well i think you're being a [ __ ] it's in this moment that we understand
that her pride has gotten in the way at times she struggles to do this but with no one else
to turn to and with the possibility of losing her van entirely she makes the jump so when she goes
to visit her sister her sister happily hands the money over and then offers her a place to stay
why don't you move in with us i can't live here i can't live in this room i can't sleep
in this bed thank you but i can't no we're not as interesting as the people you meet out there
what i'm talking about no that's what it is it's always what's out there that's more interesting
again Fern turns her down without much temptation at all she states how she would never be able to
live with her sister but we do in this moment also get a really strong example of Fern's pride
and independence when she says repeats to her sister that she will repay her for this loan
here you go okay yeah thanks you know payback right it will the third and final time Chloe Zhao
tests Fern's resolve is the moment when Fern is almost about to break so we meet Fern visiting one
of the other nomads that she's met periodically through her journey this particular nomad has
taken quite the shine to her and we're pretty sure that she shines for him a little bit too
so when he offers for her to stay
totally free and independent on their grounds in her own home away from anyone without any ties she
truly does contemplate this now you can stay oh good thanks i need to do laundry
you know i meant to stay longer they do have a guest house she struggles with this decision
because it has the least negatives for her out of any of the previous propositions
it's another nomad who knows the life who understands her struggle and who has gone through
probably very similar pains as to her so when he offers her her own space to be independent still
of her own free will on their land she really is tempted and she struggles to make the decision
when we see her early in the morning sitting at the dining
room table looking at the environment that she is contemplating living within
and the very next shot she's in her van driving
we realize that she would have said yes if he had asked again she would have broken
but she chose to go back on the road again because this life is what she wants for herself
these tests are also Chloe's Zhao's thematic question for the film they ask us
what is a normal life what is a life on the road and why is it any better
or worse than living in a house being houseless is not being homeless you