The Dark Theory Behind the Disaster in Leave the World Behind

The Three-Step Theory

In Sam Esmail's Leave the World Behind, the final explanation for the massive coordinated disasters is broken down as a three-step process by G. H. Scott (Mahershala Ali). Throughout the Netflix thriller, characters and audiences alike struggle to determine what exactly is happening to the United States, as all forms of national communications are shut down, including the internet, televised media, and even American satellites. Esmail, the creator of the celebrated anti-establishment hacker series Mr. Robot, paints an unsettling plausible portrait of how cyberterrorism can destabilize a powerful modern nation.

Mahershala Ali as G H Scott Looking Out the Window in Leave the World Behind

Leave the World Behind's ending leaves many questions unanswered, which appears to be Esmail's overarching intention as the viewer feels a similar frustration of the characters for not having an explanation. In a modern world where answers to seemingly any question are available at our fingertips, part of Leave the World Behind's message is to hold a mirror to an increasingly technologically dependent American society. Through this lens, what appears as fiction onscreen is actually meant to reflect how everyday people might react to a doomsday scenario supported by the three-step theory that G. H. Scott deduced from his work in the national defense sector.

Teslas piled up in Leave the World Behind

G. H. delivers a dark monologue at the end of Leave the World Behind that reveals some information he's kept hidden from Clay, Archie, Amanda, and even his daughter Ruth. G. H. breaks down a three-step theory as to how a powerful country can destabilize in an extremely cost-effective and efficient way, bringing his worst fears of that state of the nation to life. It demonstrates how difficult it has been for G. H. to accept the horrific truth about what was really going on despite seeing the signs and having a strong suspicion of a potential imminent invasion throughout the entire movie. Step one is isolation. G. H. describes that the first step requires completely shutting down a nation's communication and transportation methods. This ensures that no one has any way to spread information about what's going on and essentially traps everyone within their geological locations in states of hopelessness and confusion. Step two is synchronized chaos. This is evidenced in the film by the mysterious noise and the red pamphlets that silently harm civilians and spread misinformation. Step three is civil war. Because civilians won't have a clear enemy, they will theoretically "naturally" turn on each other without the rogue attackers having to add any more fuel to the fire.

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The three-stage destabilization maneuver of isolation, synchronized chaos, and "natural" civil war terrified G. H.'s top client, who worked extensively in the national defense sector. The entry point for the three-step process would be a highly sophisticated and organized act of cyberterrorism, which is certainly a threat to the infrastructures of the United States and all modern superpowers. A 2015 cyberattack against Ukraine infiltrated the nation's power grid and the vulnerability of hackers interfering with automated transportation vessels like oil tankers and airplanes has increased.

Kevin Bacon as Danny in Leave The World Behind

The Implication of Multiple Nations

The last piece of information offered about the terrorist attackers in Leave the World Behind is based on a transmission that they are considered "rogue". This does not point to any specific nation or extremist group, which seems intentional on the attackers' part since the red anti-American pamphlets were written in at least two foreign languages. If multiple nations are working together against the United States and America is being invaded by more than one faction as G. H. theorized, it seems like the ending of Leave the World Behind is pointing to a world war on American soil. One of the most intriguing aspects of Leave the World Behind is how just a few people are able to arrive at their individual conclusions so rapidly. Doomsday prepper Kenny points at a different enemy than Clay and G. H. do right off the bat, which ultimately proves the three-step process is working exactly as planned. It's also fascinating how the concept of currency has completely shifted in such a short period of time, with the value of cash now being raised into question and information worth more than ever. The bottom line in Leave the World Behind is that the enemy or enemies are not certain, so a Civil War or World War III are both on the table by the film's end.

Mahershala Ali looking at plane crash in Leave the World behind

Leave the World Behind references several real-life disasters and scenarios with elements similar to this attack, pointing out the Three Mile Island and the Love You Bug situations. The Three Mile Island scenario that was referenced in the film points to the potentially catastrophic nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1979. Half of a nuclear reactor melted, spreading radioactive gases into the atmosphere that could have forever changed life in the United States and potentially the world. The disaster was fortunately contained. The Love You Bug, which was also referenced in Leave the World Behind, refers to one of the earliest and widest spreads of malware that took place in the year 2000. As G. H. described in the film, the Microsoft Windows bug was sent as an email attachment that instantly spread to all contacts in a user's address book with the click of a button. These types of real-life disasters have been studied and responded to with greater forms of protection. They were also isolated incidents. A massive coordinated series of attacks as depicted in Leave the World Behind would have to be incredibly, and unprecedentedly, sophisticated.

Leave the World Behind Giant Deer

The Real-World Influence

Former President Obama, who was an executive producer on the film along with his wife Michelle, gave notes on the Leave the World Behind screenplay regarding the accuracy of such a disaster. According to Obama's thoughts on Leave the World Behind, there were certainly some real-world influences that went into the construction of Sam Esmail's plausible dystopian thriller. With all this in mind, Leave the World Behind is extremely effective as a cautionary tale despite it being a wildly unsettling journey with a frustratingly uncertain ending.

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