the premiere of The Old Man on Disney+ stages Dan Chase, played by Jeff Bridges. He is about an experienced ex-CIA agent, quite grown up. The account of him begins by exposing several of his ghosts. Not just the possibility that the intelligence service settles scores with him. There is even more alarming for the character: going through his last years in the same way as his wife did.
One of the first scenes of The Old Man it shows her on the ground, defenseless, while Dan Chase approaches with the intention of comforting her, tending to her, giving her something akin to shelter. Then, progressively, she discovers that the ceiling that he aspires to give her may not be completely effective because she does not remember who she is: “I’m not the one who married you,” says Abbey Chase, played by Hiam Abbass.
Dan Chase clings to her. To the question of Abbey Chase about who it is, he replies: the woman who promised to take care of me. Although the whole scene may contrast with the initial presentation of The Old Man, a story about espionage and internal tensions, that emotional aspect marks a good part of the meaning of the character embodied by Jeff Bridges. His family will be the axis and that past, that trauma in which memory is fading, marks the narrative.
Does Dan Chase have Huntington’s Disease?
The immediate response, based on the medical evidence shared in The Old Manis that Dan Chase experiences the Huntington’s disease. It is known that it is that disease when, later in the series, he mentions it in a dialogue. After what happened with his wife, he closely monitors his body to be aware of any symptoms that may occur. It is a disease in which neurons degenerate progressively over time. The detail does not end there, in the medical check-up. During a conversation with his daughter, both seem to establish a monitoring dynamic based on key questions.
So, from the narrative begins to play with this aspect. Could everything Dan Chase is going through be a product of his imagination? Various scenarios serve as triggers for old memories. If the above does not happen, How dramatic can it be, for a spy, to progressively lose his memories or lose his cognitive and physical abilities, those that, in certain contexts, are essential for him to stay alive? The action of the protagonist offers another answer: beyond aging, he is still capable of facing different situations.
The narrative alternates between past and present moments, suggesting that Dan Chase and the shadow of Huntington’s Disease occur in two parts. The one of the days lived and the one of the facts that happen in the daily life. The character is trapped in that dialogue between eras. The resource serves to tell the story of his origin, part of the conflict that occurred in 1987, the one for which they are looking for him. It is also a way of describing the character’s attachment and fear of progressively losing his abilities and memories.
Date of high in Disney Plus now and save thanks to the annual subscriptionwith which you can enjoy its entire catalog of series and movies, access to the latest releasesto the catalog of Star and to the best National Geographic documentaries.
The Old Man and some symptoms of Huntington’s disease
This disease was first described in 1872 by Dr. George Huntington, for which it bears its name. This specialist recognized the hereditary nature of it. Although The Old Man there is no family relationship between Dan Chese and his wife, associating his fears with the disease serves to build the character: the dimension of his fear for what he experienced with his partner is such that he fears experiencing something similar.
Huntington’s disease presents different types of symptoms, due to movement, cognitive and psychiatric disorders. Hence its gravity, capable of affecting different areas of the being. In this context, some of the manifestations that may arise are the following:
- Difficulties in terms of organization, not being able to set priorities or focus on tasks.
- Inflexibility, of action and thought, leading to changes in behavior.
- Feeling of irritability, sadness or apathy.
- Social isolation.
- Obsessive compulsive disorder.
This information is presented descriptively. The ideal is that each person can have a medical diagnosis, in case of suspecting any disease of this style. Based on the above, and going back to Dan Chase’s relationship and that illness in The Old Manit is valid to think that this ghost is one more within a wide trail of doubts and fears in relation to his past. This series premiered on September 28 in Disney+.