The Four Scenes in Army of Thieves affected by Social Anxiety Disorder

Army of Thieves

Netflix’s Army of Thieves “safe-cracker extraordinaire”, Sebastian, would have had these four scenes removed from the movie if he had Social Anxiety Disorder. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Imagine that you are a simple man who’s living a simple life working a very simple job: a bank teller. You have your normal coffee routine each morning, you make a sandwich each day for lunch, and you eat outside on the same bench in front of your job each noon hour. You go through the day on autopilot, go home to your small studio apartment, watch tv and hit the knap sac just in time for you to get enough rest to repeat everything the next day.

This daily routine is far from thrilling, but for Sebastian (aka Ludwig Dieter as he’s better known as in the sequel Army of the Dead), it was enough to get by each day. You see, Sebastian possesses a very specific set of skills (no not those skills Liam Neeson) which he crafted and perfected into a specialty. These skills made him into one of the world’s best safe crackers, which led to his recruitment into the Army of Thieves.  

Although completely naïve to the world of international bank heists, Sebastian was recruited and taught by the one woman who he really loved, Gwendolyn (played by Nathalie Emmanuel). After he met her for the first time, his feelings for her only grew more and more, until he finally worked up the courage to tell her how he felt. Ultimately however, the universe had different plans for them both as one escaped imprisonment and the other didn’t.  

Social Anxiety Disorder

Plaguing people with the fear of embarrassment and being judged, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of those awful mental health disorders that is just a fly in the ointment; a monkey in the wrench; a pain in the a** (not literally). Those who have SAD will tell you that it can completely alter your behavior in life just so you can avoid situations where you might get embarrassed, even if there is little-to-no risk of embarrassment. Below are four scenes in Army of Thieves that would not have ever happened if Sebastian had Social Anxiety Disorder. 

But before you start “safe cracking”, click here for a quick look at what SAD really is.  

Super quick overview of SAD: 

• Fear of being negatively judged by others in any social situation 
• Fear of being embarrassed and/or humiliated  
• Anxiety from developing the hallmark symptoms of SAD 
  • Bright red facial blushing
  • Profuse sweating (most prominently on the head and face)
  • Trembling hands
  • Heart beating out of your chest

Fortunately, having SAD won’t interfere with you cracking safe’s during a bank heist. 

The Four Scenes in Army of Thieves that wouldn’t have happened if Sebastian had SAD 

Scene 1: Sebastian makes Youtube videos which show his face 

This is a big no-no for someone with Social Anxiety Disorder. Remember that SAD makes you really worried about being judged and embarrassed in social situations. Now although Sebastian was making the videos alone in his home, the fear of being recognized online by people he may know is crippling enough for him to avoid showing his face. Some thoughts that would cross his mind are:

• What if my colleagues, neighbors, or friends find out about my videos. They might think my videos are lame and will put me on blast in front of everyone next time I see them. That would be so embarrassing. 
• What if people leave comments about me, and my friends read those comments. They could think less of me, and I may not have many friends after that. 
• Could making these videos backfire and cause me embarrassment? 
• What if people think I am ugly and they leave comments about that. This could influence others to evaluate my looks (being judged negatively) and more people will think I’m ugly. That’s so embarrassing. 
• What if the topics of my videos are corny? People will think I’m corny. That is really embarrassing and can make me blush and sweat like never before. 

*The key point to remember is that if Sebastian had Social Anxiety Disorder, he would in no way, shape, or form post videos which reveal his face on youtube. This Army of Thieves scene would not have happened if Sebastian had Social Anxiety Disorder.

Scene 2: Speaking to Gwendoline in the coffee shop after he built her in his mind on such a high pedestal.  

In the scene prior, Sebastian just won an underground safe cracker challenge in front of a live spectators. It was there that he saw Gwendoline for the first time. He believed her to be a very beautiful woman who made him feel warm and comfortable, especially after she smiled at him. Fast forward to the next morning and she completely surprises Sebastian at the coffee shop. They sit down, chat, and Gwendoline eventually recruits him for the job. 

If Sebastian had SAD, this would have been a very difficult situation to overcome. He held her to such a high pedestal as he was so clearly attracted to her from the night before. She shows up and he agrees to have coffee with her at the table.  

During this coffee table conversation, Sebastian would be sweating profusely, and would have needed to go to the restroom a few times to wipe the sweat off his head and face. Alternatively, he would carry tissue paper with him and wipe the sweat off while at the table with her. Either way, this would be extremely embarrassing for him as he would notice Gwendoline’s eyes look to his forehead as the sweat begins to form and continues forming. Her taking notice of his sweat would lead to humiliation and would cause him to turn bright red like a tomato, which would cause him to sweat even more profusely. So ultimately, if Sebastian had SAD he would have just avoided that traumatic situation and would have walked away. He wouldn’t have agreed to conversate with her there. 

Scene 3: Speaking to Gwendoline throughout the night while in her room, and at times, sitting next to her on her bed. 

So we just mentioned that Sebastian has already built Gwendoline up in his mind as the single greatest thing on the planet, and one who he really wants to impress and be with. In the evening/nighttime, Sebastian knocks on her door, enters her room, and they share stories about each other throughout the night. Gwendolyn even invited him to sit on her bed while talking (in a non-romantic way).  

Although at this point, he is a little more comfortable with her than when he first met her at the coffee shop, this is would still be a monumentally stressful and anxiety-provoking occasion for Sebastian. If he had SAD, Sebastian would be thinking the whole time about her thoughts and how she perceives him. He would be thinking things like: 

• “Whatever you do, don’t sweat or blush. She’ll think you’re weird and she might tell the rest of the team” 
• “Make a plan right now. Okay if I think I’m going to blush or sweat, or even if I feel the rush of heat going to my face, I’m going to act like I forgot to make a phone call and walk out.” 
• “I don’t want to get too close to her because that could backfire, and she will think poorly of me” 
• “Keep your comments and stories neutral. Play it conservatively, otherwise she will judge me really badly” 

Sebastian’s mind would be on overdrive as his inner talks within himself would be focused on anxiety symptom and embarrassment prevention.  This Army of Thieves scene would not have happened if he had Social Anxiety Disorder.

Scene 4: Sebastian confesses his feelings to Gwendoline 

At the end of the movie, after cracking the last safe Sebastian and Gwendoline are in the car and just arrived at the lake where they have a boat waiting for them. He decides that this is a good time to tell her how he feels about her.

Lets be clear about this: no way in hell this would happen. Someone with SAD would not confess their feelings to their dream match. This just wouldn’t happen for one simple reason: the fear of extreme facial flushing (heavy blushing and sweating). If he starts sweating, turning red, and trembling in front of his dream girl, he would be absolutely humiliated. This would be intolerable for someone with SAD. Just the thought of confessing feelings of romance and love to someone who is your dream girl will cause severe anxiety. And add to that the fear of developing SAD symptoms, the chance of such a confession is very low. Sebastian would be better off being patient and hoping she tells him how she feels first.