OPPENHEIMER Viewers Are Discussing an Aspect of Pivotal Florence Pugh Scene Debating Whether It's Real or Imagined

Just like the other mind-bending films in director Christopher Nolan’s portfolio, Oppenheimer has fans talking. Nolan is famous for letting viewers decide what certain scenes mean, and his latest story about the creation of the atomic bomb is no different. One part of the film that has fans talking is the scene in which we see Florence Pugh’s character, Jean Tatlock, former lover of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), take her life in a bathtub.

The scene plays out in the mind of Oppenheimer, who was told about her suicide. In one short shot, we see a hand in a black glove at the back of Jean’s head. This could mean a couple of different things. One theory is that Jean was killed by the FBI, who was investigating her for her ties to the Communist Party. Another theory is that this was imagined by Oppenheimer because he felt responsible for her death at the hands of the FBI, as his fame brought her into the spotlight. Or the glove represents his own hand pushing her down because he distanced himself from her after he was married and employed by the government, leading her to take her life.

I vaguely remember seeing the glove in that scene, and I remember feeling like it was there as a theory in Oppenheimer’s mind. Any of the possibilities could be true, and it could easily be something we never know for sure, just like in life.

What do you think of the black glove in that scene?