Portal From The LGBT+ Angle - GLaDOS and Chell's Tension

The two Portal games are something that I hold absolutely dear to my soul and who I am as a person, they almost make up the fundamentals of who I am when people refer to me, always given a nickname along the lines of 'the portal guy' by friends. Though, as I've grown, I've learnt to analyse things I knew through new lenses, new perpsectives, and as I've engrained myself into LGBT+ culture, I felt it necessary that I analysed Portal through my new lens that I see the world through.
I get the feeling this video will be controversial, that people will disagree and even hate me for expressing who I am and deconstructing a prevelant theory just because it deviates from the commonly accepted, but flawed norm. I hope that people will understand where I'm coming from. I love Portal, just as much as GLaDOS seems to love Chell.
= Happy #pridemonth ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 =
CREDITS TO TOENAIL'S ORIGINAL POST AND TO TOENAIL THEMSELVES FOR LETTING ME USE EVIDENCE FROM THEIR POST IN THIS VIDEO!
humanwheatleyslefttoenail.tum...
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0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Disproving The Theory
4:40 - The LGBT+ Angle - Portal 1
7:44 - The LGBT+ Angle - Portal 2
18:21 - Closing Statement
19:48 - Outro
OTHER MUSIC USED:
Celeste - Prologue
Celeste - Reflection
Celeste - Scattered & Lost
OneShot - On Little Cat Feet
OneShot - The First Universe
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Follow My Twitter! - / ossyflawol
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Hey everyone, the name's Ossy Flawol!

[@OssyFlawol]

I get the feeling this video will be controversial, that people will disagree and even hate me for expressing who I am and deconstructing a prevelant theory just because it deviates from the commonly accepted, but flawed norm. I hope that people will understand where I'm coming from. I love Portal, just as much as GLaDOS seems to love Chell. Happy #pridemonth ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 All homophobes will be dealt with accordingly. 💙

[@RichterOvertime]

great vid it deserves 1 morbillion views

[@Da_Robotz123]

@@RichterOvertime 1 morbillion dollars

[@chocolate_maned_wolf]

we know that you want that gladussy ossy 😳

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

If you loved someone you would not: call them fat want to kill them make fun of their potential adoptive nature basically make their life hell by making them test try to kill them twice Just because they are not mother and daughter does not make them lovers. Also gross you are basically implying that these two are in love because of stockholm syndrome.

[@AveragePuroEnjoyer]

@@RichterOvertime 1 morbillion likes

[@Space_Core_Paws]

apparently there was also a cut scene talked about in the Final Hours of Portal 2 where you would find a candle lit dinner that had gone cold in one of the test chambers and then you would hear "GLaDOS chastising you for missing dinner because you were too busy cheating on her with a personality sphere"

[@Millie-Million]

God dammit I wish they had more lines like that in the game now

[@someguy1894]

i wish that made it in

[@TheMarshmallowMushroom]

it was 2012, so that probably wouldn'tve gone over well. hell, it wouldn't go over well now. maybe as a hard-to-find easter egg?

[@cf0e3]

One line that I really like from the coop campaign is: "This course was created and then abandoned by humans. They tend to do that, create something wonderful and then abandon it." And she sounds so bitter as she says it. It's kinda sad.

[@jc_art_]

Yeah it sounds like she has a genuine dislike for chells biological parents for abandoning her, and either feels regret about insulting chell with it, or is reminiscing on spending time with her, even if they were both supposedly trying to kill eachother, like looking back and appreciating the good and the bad moments.

[@Lachrymogenic]

@@jc_art_ Actually this just seems like a common GLaDOS insult, making fun of Chell once more for being adopted.

[@lisatroiani6119]

that seems like it would either be talking about chells’ biological parents (the “beautiful thing” being chell) or about chell herself (“beautiful thing” in this case either meaning them testing together or them just being together in general)

[@TaccRaccoon]

Also in an early version when Wheatley had a different voice actor he says “I think she likes you” when glados is powering up

[@insertmemorableusernameher6795]

Saying "like" doesn't necessarily mean "want to fuck" and jokingly linking random things to romance is something people commonly do. Also wheatlys an idiot

[@mossy__snail]

it’s so funny because that’s probably the worst moment to say something like that 😭

[@Quynx]

thats just wheatley being wheatley

[@magentialice]

GOd when you play the co-op in portal 2 glados seems extremely anxious to get back to human testing and sounds like someone who just got dumped by their partner. Me and the guy I was playing with kept saying "we know you miss chell glados jeez" Do i think in canon in universe glados wants chell romantically? No, probably not. But is that coding/subtext there? Yes. Yes it is. also are we just going to ignore the implications that chell made a horrific mutant potato as a child

[@peeblekitty5780]

YEAH exactly this. She _probably doesn't_ literally, canonically have romantic feelings for Chell. A lot of the stuff she says to Chell are out of hatred or teamwork. But the subtext? Gay as hell. Enemies to lovers right there.

[@WolforNuva]

Just saying Glados could lie as a potato - we see an example during the latter part when after establishing that the robots go through a burst of pain when they try to give the answer to a test. After you complete the test Glados says that it was easy, all you had to do was pull a lever, tricking Wheatley into correcting her and getting the pain burst again. So she can give simple lies perfectly fine, she just didn't have the processing power for greater schemes. Ultimately doesn't matter for any of your main points, but just making the correction all the same.

[@Wertercat]

Worth noting: She also says the portal gun spike gives her another half a volt

[@magentialice]

@@Wertercat yeah, she specifically says she'll start scheming right after the half a volt

[@lisatroiani6119]

@@magentialice(which is what causes the first short circuit)

[@BetamaxFlippy]

As an italian born and living in Italy I will say that the use of the word "bambina" in the turret opera song never really sounded like it's meant to mean "baby" as you say to a partner but more like the original and common meaning of the word which is "daughter/little girl". As the equivalent of "baby" you hear things like "bimba" (which is in the song, but again this one means "little girl"), "bambola" (doll), "pupa", "bellezza".

[@OssyFlawol]

very good contribution to discussion! i ultimately find it kind of difficult when discussing the Turret Opera since Ellen McClain said she essentially had sung some gibberish to try and get *something*, i didn't really have any access to anyone i knew who was italian to try and confirm what i would've liked to say - ultimately i leave what goes on in the turret opera up to interpretation since it's a hard thing to use as evidence when it isn't exactly meant to make sense

[@BetamaxFlippy]

@@OssyFlawol I'd say she knew what she was singing, the song basically tells how she (whoever made the song) has admiration for her (Chell) and suggests she stays out of science's way

[@gab_just_gab]

Would also like to point out that, funnily enough, "mia bambina"/" bambina mia" is mostly used when the two subjects are family-related (so mother-daughter relationships, but can also be used by other family members in some occasions). I have never heard anyone use it in a romantic way unless they were actively trying to be stupidly obnoxious and awkward. It's just not a term normally used for romantic stuff in our language. We have much better terms for that.

[@skeleton819]

@@BetamaxFlippy the turrets sang it you dead road kill possum

[@Gab157_Italy]

Im italian too and I really like how valve chosen an italian song for the turret opera

[@THELAZERGUNSTUDIOS1]

One thing that I think is very important to mention for the sake of acknowledging prior work and literary analysis, that tumblr user was not the first one to formally write about Portal being queer-coded!!!! It has actually been around for a very long time, and was first written about by Bo Ruberg in an article that was published online a few years after Portal 1 came out explicitly describing Portal 1 as an abusive lesbian relationship by looking at the more symbolic understanding of the narrative, doing something termed as a "Too close reading" of the text. It received a lot LOT of backlash from the gamer community at the time (fuckin gamers) but it was really good! And it touches upon a lot of similar ideas to the tumblr post. The tumblr post has a hell of a lot more depth to it and unique ideas that Bo did not pick up on (though, to be fair, Portal 2 wasn't even out when they wrote their original piece). But yeah! That was all! I just wanted to make sure the original piece of where this idea may have first propagated from was mentioned and was just surprised I hadn't seen anyone else mention it in the comments here or that it wasn't referenced in the video. Definitely would recommend checking it out! Bo later released the essay again along with a collection of other queer video game essays called Video Games Have Always Been Queer, and honestly I'd recommend the entire book, it's great and I think possibly the best way to try and read a copy of the article these days (I struggled to find it online anywhere, I just bought a copy of the book) I should also say, loved the video! I had not heard about any of these extra details to the idea!!!!! All of your Portal content has been really incredible (I just got finished watching your latest video about Chell's backstory, that's why I'm here watching this one now)

[@incompetentbozolol.523]

plot twist: glados isn't trying to insult you, she's just really, REALLY bad at flirting.

[@FelonyArson]

Also there is "don't say goodby" which was that was originally written for the Portal 2 ending

[@wolfgamerboi8538]

Great, Valve being non bigots in the 2000s, but now I can't get the idea of Chell scissoring with a goddamn robot out of my head, and it's hilarious

[@agentnull5242]

0-0

[@onefestiveboi3938]

w-whuh

[@Chuyandknuckles]

i dont think valve did it on purpose considering Glados is just a robot

[@lisatroiani6119]

[source engine metal impact sound effect] [source engine metal impact sound effect] [source engine metal impact sound effect] [source engine metal impact sound effect] [source engine metal impact sound effect] [source engine metal impact sound effe

[@noahhamilton5974]

​@@lisatroiani6119 you somehow made it a worse thought

[@mackajezis]

Maybe not romantic love, but I believe Chell and Glados understand each other better than anyone else in the world ever could due to all they've gone through together, and through that they've unwittingly become very close.

[@superhall911]

That's how it makes sense for Caroline to be the mother lol

[@Nulono]

Even if Chell isn't genetically related to Caroline, I do think a lot of their relationship reads as maternal, as evidenced by GLaDOS replacing Chell with those baby birds at the end of the co-op campaign.

[@CarlytheQueenofChaos]

My headcanon for portal is that the a in aperture science stands for autistic and that all the characters are autistic. Bro srsly, at least Chell and GLaDOS.

[@shadowwolf9823]

That makes a lot of sense, I'll explain but I might get the terms wrong. Also, spoilers for Portal Chell: Nonverbal, Smart enough to figure out every puzzle Turret: Kind of, but not really, considering it's a robot that just shoots bullets GLaDOS: Obsessed with testing results. Traumatized by being put in a computer so she killed nearly everyone Wheatley: Not exactly sure how he would fit into that theory. I've heard he's essentially designed to be ADHD in robot form to slow down GLaDOS thinking Cave Johnson: A brilliant mind, or at least salesman who scammed his way into a science company. Hired the best scientists to invent stuff, required perfection before releasing his inventions. Never ended up releasing them Edit: Can't believe I forgot these guys. Space Core, Adventure Sphere, Fact Sphere: Hyper fixated on the task they were programmed to do

[@wowutisforever]

Adhd Wheatley sounds funny, as an adhd myself @@shadowwolf9823

[@bingisboy]

@@shadowwolf9823how in the fuck does any of that prove they are autistic hahaha

[@bingisboy]

@@shadowwolf9823 how the hell does any of that prove that they are autistic haha

[@shadowwolf9823]

@bingisboy It doesn't prove that that they do, but it's my opinion. You could say It's just a theory. A game theory

[@MaxEverywhereSystem]

people in the comments acting like this is some basleless idea when johnathen coulton literally called want you gone a breakup song. lmao

[@glassk7]

This is a very cool interpretation of portal, I personally don't think it's a romantic kind of love but more of admiration and respect, although I wouldn't mind if portal 3 was chell coming back and freeing glados and live happily ever after.

[@DrawinskyMoon]

This 👆

[@Prismarine_Man]

Exactly!

[@soupturn2485]

this is such a wonderful video i love it so much. i only just got into the games and finished them like a week ago and COULD NOT get Chell and GLaDOS' relationship out of my head

[@diodedrake2946]

It's basically modern versions of Batman and Joker. There are undertones with those two, one of the clearest versions is the Lego Batman Movie. GLaDOS is absolutely saying some things to try to get a rise out of Chell or guilt trip and manipulate, but at the same time by the end of Portal 2: "All along you were my best friend." It's not a totally literal romance, and even if it was it'd be dysfunctional like the developers said. But figuratively and narratively that was the tone they were going for. As an obviously lonely AI, GLaDOS probably is someone that can fall for people easily even if she won't confront her complex emotions, and she even seems to have a type in the eyes of people involved with Portal. Chell of course (stubborn), scrapped fully voiced Claptrap romance from Poker Night 2 (stubborn). Jonathon Colton when talking about You Wouldn't Know for Lego Universe even suggested that GLaDOS could love Batman (stubborn about sending Joker to the circus in the sky.) Anyways I want a Wheatley Golf minigame.

[@Feasco]

Citing the relationship between Batman And Joker isn't beating the "They're gay" allegations

[@dorkavojtko8067]

There is also the unused song "Please don't say goodbye" which was supposed to be the end credit song... Of Glados literally asking Chell to not go. It's also interesting to listen to that song after this theory

[@Konclan]

I think it is also interesting to note how Caroline is “married to science”, meaning that she had no romantic interest in Cave or anyone else at Aperture (could be due to the fact the staff was mostly male because its the 1950s but don’t quote me on that lol). Chell is part of her science so in a way she is married to Chell already.

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

One problem. Cave Johnson was also a part of science.

[@Konclan]

@@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer not really

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@Konclan 😐

[@jawheele]

Wheatly is also part of science, so that means Glados is also married to Wheatly.

[@superJK92]

@@jawheele Yea but at the end the turrets are singing in Italian and one of the words is daughter but in Italian

[@HugoBDesigner]

I find this theory to be quite strong, though still not necessarily true. I do believe their relationship is deliberately coated as romantic in a sense, or at least one that involves a deep, intimate emotional connection of more than just friends. At the very least it holds faaaaar more water than the "mother-daughter" theories, which, cling onto effectively nothing to try and connect two characters just because it _would_ be interesting. Thanks for the video, it was worth the wait!

[@OssyFlawol]

I consider this video more of an analysis than a theory, the kind words are appreciated though!

[@DrawinskyMoon]

I wouldn’t say romantic but definitely intimate. Like a farmer and their dog.

[@superJK92]

The part where the turrets are singing in Italian has the Italian word for daughter so it probably is a mother-daughter type relationship as it is in the game and also the Want you gone song has the line "She was a lot like you" and "Now little Caroline is in her too" meaning Caroline is most likely Chell's mother

[@pieofchart]

A shame this isn't as famous as it should be. I'm a queer ass bitch who loves Portal and it's quite saddening that the overwhelming majority will find the SLIGHTEST, most miniscule point to disprove this, but will eat the Caroline & Cave theory up like it's breakfast (as seen in the comments). It's a fun, cute and honestly lovely way of looking at their relationship and I'm all for it, but at the end of the day it's fine if someone doesn't agree, all I wish for is no shitty homophobic related reasons to do so.

[@darklink8423]

Hey, bro caroline is married with science, so no Chell or Cave. Only Science!

[@pieofchart]

@@darklink8423 That's also fair and pretty cool. Like Moira Overwatch. But hey I like women kissing and being in love so yeah I still believe the video's theory

[@LittleBiscuit]

While I don’t hate the theory, my only problem is that the evidence that the developers wanted this to happen is all from Tumblr, where most of this evidence can’t even be confirmed to be true. People say “developers said this” but then link to a post that links to another post that says “somebody who worked on the team” then when you look it up, you find no mention of them ever working on Portal. My only problem w/ this video and other mentions of this theory is the push that it IS canon and they ALWAYS planned it. It’s okay to ship them, I just don’t like the pushing of “this is canon” when evidence can’t even be confirmed to be true. I can’t find any article mentioning this or any interview mentioning this other than fan posts and questions on Reddit and fandom forums. I genuinely cannot find a post that is a first person source but only a he said-she said thing.

[@VinVonVoom]

It's in The Final Hours Of Portal 2, it was mentioned in this video.

[@rat2316]

@@VinVonVoom wow so deep

[@out_of_earth2467]

​@@rat2316yeah the crew wiriting truly was deep :D

[@Zer0byte_]

To me, this theory in some moments seems kinda far-fetched to be honest. I always saw the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell as being friends, or like two enemies that have a common goal. Also what i want to point out, taking the modern interpretation of old work is one of the major ways of how something can be misinterpreted. Like with Nostradamus. He didn't actually have predicted anything, he was just writing about moments in history that happened before him.

[@jp9707]

The developers themselves called the relationship between Chell and Glaados a romance, when discussing the game. Check out 16:47 in the video for a collection of quotes. I wouldn't call the word of the developers themselves a modern interpretation that's being imposed over the original meaning - it seems to be what they meant from the outset!

[@cactusgamingyt9960]

@@jp9707 in maltese (which this specific word is also the same in italian) bambina would mean a cute infant, noone calls their lover that.

[@Zer0byte_]

@@jp9707 to me that sounds more like a joke, and not an actual thing. "You were too busy cheating on her [GLaDOS] with a personality sphere" just sounds like a joke. Oh, and I just wanted to point out that he was looking at the lore with a modern interpretation, which is not exactly a good thing if you want to know what's happening. To understand some things, we need to look at them with a different set in mind.

[@isauldron4337]

​@@Zer0byte_ yeah after all Glados loves testing Of course She'd be annoyed about chell not giving attention

[@peeblekitty5780]

@@Zer0byte_ A joke, yes, but an explicitly romantic scenario nonetheless. Literally a candlelit dinner--not the kind of joke you'd make if you were avoiding romantic connotation. And it's far from the only romantic reference by the actual developers and songwriter, as seen in the screenshots from _The Final Hours._ You don't have to ship it, but it's far from baseless.

[@krisstasko]

Coming at this from my past experiences from my relationships, I was always felt uneasy with how people depict this relationship outside of the game. The reason being my own abusive relationships. Before I continue I wanna specify this just my opinion and I don't want to diminish this theory. This simply feels like a good place to give my thoughts on this relationship and how fans depict it. To clarify, I do think it's clearly romantic. For me, I always felt uncomfortable with anything that made them this sweet couple, brushing the game and a half of verbal/physical abuse and attempted murder. I've been in several relationships with a lot of emotional toying, and even recently finding out someone who I called friend was manipulating and lying to me with a smile. While there is an attraction and they do eventually patch things up, the majority of the Toxic attitude GLaDOS has shows that even if she's reformed to a degree the relationship can't last. I dunno, this just my personal experiences effecting how I see this relationship, if people make cute Coffee Shop AU stories with them I'm not gonna burn their house down (with the lemons) I just felt like this topic regarding character interpretation/analysis was a good place to write somewhere why I always felt uneasy seeing these two shipped. I saw, and still see, an abuser being romantized. That's not what people are intentionally doing, it's just something I'm not gonna shake and I feel writing it in a random comments section makes my processing of these feelings more concrete to me. Ossy if you end up seeing this, keep up the good work. This is the deep portal stuff I crave.

[@NoaWatchVideo]

This is a really good point, and i think adds more weight to the end of portal 2 and "want you gone" they really are better apart.

[@DysphoriaDude]

Well you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you managed to break so far, is my heart.

[@meanya4687]

The stuff at the end about what the creators said, I didn't know any of that! Essay definitely finished strong, some of the beginning points seemed a bit of a stretch, but I'd also _love_ to believe this interpretation of the characters because I love a good ol fashioned queer enemies to lovers story 😭

[@Icyangel10]

It was interesting to find this, been watching more Portal related stuff recently. I wonder if it's a coincidence that I find this after the day before yesterday finding your video trying to piece together a backstory for Chell going of info you found looking around. Going off that video the cake being true kind of feels slightly more like Glados cares cause Chell chose that flavor(going off ideas from the Who is Chell video), Glados could have made any random cake & called it a day but she chose the flavor Chell chose on the questionnaire paper.(or whatever it's called)

[@TheEPROM9]

Never herd this thoury before, a rather interesting one. It is a cool interpretation of their relationship. Like any art form interpreting the vague & hidden meanings is half the fun.

[@RyePls]

This is a little silly but I like it and support it. A few days before the announcement was made that this video was coming out, I was going over the different ending songs in each portal game including the lego dimensions with my friends. I was like "The first is you killed me and broke my heart, the second is 'you're getting annoying, I want you gone, the third is 'now that you're gone, I wonder where you are?". My friend immediately went "it's secretly a love story" Anyways, awesome video, happy pride month 🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈

[@rentworth]

this video was fact checked by real yearning lesbians: TRUE!

[@samuelopolis5479]

It’s great seeing such a genuine examination of one’s beliefs through the media they consume. We need more free spirits like you on this planet.

[@TriBailey]

I find this theory interesting i feel like the morality core in portal 1 might've made it better and also when we have potato GLaDOS I feel if that the simple statments could just be the way that coraline talked

[@ob2kenobi388]

Maybe it's the transbian part of my brain, but now I'm forming the headcanon that Caroline was a trans woman and it was her desire to be a woman that started Cave on his path of "science". Idk I just think it's neat lol. Also, it's shown a few times (in unused audio files and the Lab Rat comic, and possibly elsewhere too) that Caroline didn't want to be turned into GLaDOS and it's that refusal that made GLaDOS become so violent. As a trans woman, I can safely say that if someone threw away this beautiful body I've worked so hard for and plugged my brain into an unfeminine robotic monstrosity-all without my consent-I'd be willing to ice a few scientists too. Edit: Part of me wants to write a fanfic where Caroline was Cave's trans sister now lol (if it wasn't obvious, I don't think it's canon that they were Chell's parents-or romantically involved in any way). Something like this maybe: Cave: "Caleb, if scientists can turn Hiroshima into a smoking pile of carbon, I'm sure they can at LEAST turn a man into a woman!" Caleb (soon-to-be-Caroline): "Well... I've looked into that, but the science is still in its infancy." Cave: "Caleb, we're billionaires-we can buy our OWN science team and make 'em research whatever the hell we want!" (Later) Cave: "Alright, Caleb-the lab boys cooked up these pills for ya. I can't pronounce the names, but the white one will turn off your 'boy' chemicals and the blue one will give you 'girl' chemicals to turn you into a lady. They also said it might shrink your penis, but in our case, I'm calling that a positive. Anyway, you gotta swallow the white one and put the blue one under your tongue until it dissolves into your pores." Caleb (crying a little bit): "Th... thank you, Cave." (Hugs him) "Thank you so, so much." Cave: "Hey, that's what brothers do, right?" (Caleb takes the pills) Cave: "So, when do you think you're gonna start going by Caroline?" Caleb: "...When I start looking like a Caroline, I suppose! 😊" (Btw I chose her deadname to be Caleb bc both of their names already started with "Ca" so I figured, if they were siblings, that was probably a naming convention their parents used, so I picked another "Ca" name, and Caroline may have wanted to pick a new name that may have been hers had she been afab)

[@captainhades1583]

I loved this video, it feels very validating to have people still argue this interpretation years and years since its release. It’s such a perfect game and a perfect relationship arc

[@jaspinflame670]

The two problems I have with this theory is that for one Cara Mia Audio is clearly an Oprah song so it wouldn’t make sense for an Oprah song to use such modern lingo to describe a lover, for 2 the songs of Still alive was based on break up song not directly a break up song especially since a lot of the lore wasn’t created yet

[@Queenru]

This is true, but Cara mia adio was made for the game. That opera song was specifically written to be used in the game, so if they wanted to put in any hidden Easter eggs or suggestive meanings, they could’ve. That song didn’t exist before the game, so you could absolutely interpret that in a modern day context

[@Queenru]

Also about the Still Alive thing. The whole Still alive cut scene wasn’t actually released with the first portal. They added it in later while they were making portal to, because they realized the ending of portal one didn’t exactly match with where they were going with portal two.

[@UnsightlyThinker]

This video is everything I needed and more! Ellen McLain herself even said that she believes that GLaDOS loved Chell, at least in a (queer) platonic way. As someone who is aroace, the idea of these two sharing such a deep connection honestly touches my heart. I adore these games…so, so much.

[@asocksual4910]

Hell yeah, aroace Portal gang!!

[@plutoidrepublic2765]

Wait she did? Where??

[@DrawinskyMoon]

I can see glados being a lesbian. After all that trauma the men in her life gave her, I can’t see her being too kind to anyone else.

[@SrLobo90]

In Portal 1 GlaDOS mentions the donation of vital organs for the foundation of high esteem for women of aperture science.

[@Lachrymogenic]

This is a joke. It is a stereotype that Women are mostly insecure about their bodies.

[@IzukuMidorya859]

✨Glados is a queen✨

[@szinzy]

Another thing I would like to say that could mean something. In Portal 1 when only the rage core is left on Glados she mentions how she has Chells brain scanned and permantly backed up in case anything bad happens to her, now usually when people are in fits of rage they usually use stuff that is factual then go with mocking which is what happens. I agree with this view point and well the creators kinda just go yes its romantic so its romantic

[@L1z43vr]

Okay, I kinda get where you’re coming from… But Chell KILLED GLaDOS… And indirectly led her to becoming a Potato… And GLaDOS tried to kill her, multiple times. And yknow, the passive aggressive comments, the fat jokes, the orphanage and all of that… Yeah I’m not buying it. I’d say GLaDOS _tolerates_ Chell by the end of Portal 2 at worst and sees her as a friend at best. Chell on the other hand… Well, we know she doesn’t consider GLaDOS as a friend, because she doesn’t talk. And the reason for that is that she’s not giving GLaDOS the satisfaction of hearing her voice… also Spitefulness, but you get the point. I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to call bullcrap on the theory… Though I do agree that Caroline and Chell are not mother and daughter though, I don’t get why everybody has to be related to everybody those days.

[@OssyFlawol]

thats a perfectly valid angle to take stuff! everything is in good fun at the end of the day, nothing is solid unless the game outright says something about it

[@theodd2953]

As an Italian I’d like to point out that “bambina” is literally traduced as “little girl” and I think it is not used with the same meaning of babe (maybe 50 or more years ago). I could be wrong though. Btw amazing video

[@OssyFlawol]

this is a fair point to make, i forgot to bring it up in the video but Bambina is used in *both* contexts, it's important to consider that bambina is used in a romantic sense the same way that english speaking people will use "baby" to both mean a child *and* a girl they like depending on the circumstances and conversation, it's not exactly a cut and dry deal to say one definition without considering the others

[@theodd2953]

@@essurio Nincs mit

[@theodd2953]

@@OssyFlawol I just checked and you are right sorry if it was a waste of time. In any case it is just one of the many points used to support a theory that even the developers say that is truth so who cares.

[@user-zc4sx9ig6p]

@@OssyFlawol it's is wrong. It's is only English thing, bambina mean little girl.

[@user-zc4sx9ig6p]

You compare to "dušo " it's only mean honey to husband or wife

[@MoolbniBrie]

Wow. You just made me fall in love with these games all over again.

[@_.vixen.._]

I've recently been on a portal binge and never really thought to look at them that way (even as a Lesbian myself who craves content like a cat craves milk), this was an enjoyable analysis that's really brought a new perspective and I'm here for it! time to go replay the games!!

[@cinfdef]

12:13 well we do look at how wheatley almost immediately becomes evil as soon as he gains control of GlaDOS's body so perhaps there is some sort of internal system error that is sadistic and powerful enough to sort of "override" the cores into being evil. I'm led to believe that he did genuinely want Chell to escape but as soon as the body started to affect his AI, he then become puppeted by it. Ever wonder exactly why he gains an insatiable desire to test? I believe there is a testing protocol in the GLaDOS body that has become semi-sentient, like a "I have no mouth but I must scream" scenario and a core becomes that mouth. I think the AI resents human life from creating the programming to need to test and so a hatred for humans is developed (perhaps as a side effect on the core's AI as it is more sentient) It could be that GLaDOS being without her body and without whatever was up with it led to her bringing back her original personality. Since she is also a core, it could be reasonable enough to believe that she was put into the core first and then fixated onto the body. But it still leads a few plot holes: Why didn't they just take the core off of the body? Who in the hell implemented the corrupted core removal system and why didn't they use it? Come to think of it, was it plastered over or something in her original and destroyed chamber since you literally cannot see it under her carcass? Did SHE plaster it over? idk just food for thought

[@peeblekitty5780]

Interesting theory, but does that not flatten things immensely, narratively speaking? It seems much more significant and emotionally satisfying to have GLaDOS genuinely come to respect and care for Chell over the course of the game, to the point of finally letting her go at the end, than having it be because she found some loophole in the Make-Personality-Cores-Evil-inator. Similarly, it'd be much more interesting to explore the character nuances of Wheatley that has him value a chance at power over his friend, given the two, than have him be Made Evil. (And to explore the repercussions and possible redemption afterward, if you're the type for post-canon stories.)

[@raccboon977]

7:45 hardest sentence ever dropped

[@voidhumor2740]

this would be like shipping gordon freeman and the nihilanth

[@pyroonbusinesschannel118]

welp i sure didn't realize this even after like thousends of times i played both portal games, now that i see it, i say that portals alot more creative than how i originally thought

[@Kerrigan-QOB]

Honnestly i think chell would come back 1 Week later or so bc you cant survive in nature when coming out of a live in aperture (or a long part of a live in aperture) so chell would come back. I think that would be what would happen in portal 3. Also might chell would help Glados design tests for idk what reason would reason the map editor

[@catdn7011]

Hey could you please do a deep dive of the blue portals mod lore? I know theres something there I just cant piece it together

[@Samar_Carroll]

People think to much about ships, and I hate that because if someone sees this they will call me homophobic

[@Samar_Carroll]

Damn Chell and Glados arent mother and daughter or anything they are just yes and thats my answer they are yes, Nothing more. yes.

[@VinVonVoom]

People always be saying "If I say *blank* people will call me a bigot" and they never are called bigots for those positions. I think it's unrealistic to see all this evidence and not think that GLaDOS and Chell's relationship are at the very least written with a little bit of romance in mind.

[@CecilyRenns]

@@Samar_Carroll lmao what? yes? wtf you talking about man take ur meds

[@flow1194]

why? because you said that people think too much about ships?

[@rooler602]

you are based and i like man

[@bred_lover]

id like to make a correction - in the cara mia addio song, "oh ciel!" likely doesnt mean "oh chell!" but "oh cielo!" which is an exclamation

[@jp9707]

Against the odds you've changed my mind! 🙂 I wasn't convinced until you actually quoted the developers at 16:47! I think if you'd lead with this part you'd have people convinced from the start of the video, and that way they'd maybe listen with more open minds. You wouldn't be needing to prove your point to a sceptical audience; after leading with the heavy-hitting argument you'd just be fleshing the theory out to an audience that was already receptive to what you're trying to say. Also, could you provide links to the quotes at 16:47? I want to read more! Edit - ah OK, the Tumblr post that you've linked in the description does link to the quotes at the end of that post! It would be cool if you could add the link to the quotes to the video description too. I don't know if that's something that can be done after the video has already been published!

[@jawheele]

That quote isn't canon. 1. It's from the book The Final Hours of Portal 2, which seems to go with the 50,000 years skip, which is literally non-canon. 2. Valve confirmed only Portal games are canon in an email about Aperture Desk Job - there was no mention of the book. 3. That quote is from chapter 3 of the book, it's nothing but Geoff Keighley's thoughts. And George didn't even write Portal 2.

[@peeblekitty5780]

@@jawheele Well yeah, most of the stuff the book talks about are early plots and scrapped story beats. What it's proving, with certainty, is that a romantic connotation to GLaDOS and Chell's relationship came up pretty blatantly in development and writing. Which is enough to lend this interpretation the pretty significant credit of at least partial authorial intent.

[@jawheele]

@@peeblekitty5780 Authors intent doesn't matter these days and you do not base an interpretation on an author's intent.

[@peeblekitty5780]

@@jawheele Author's intent isn't law, but it definitely lends merit to an interpretation. Especially when the canon final piece is ambiguous like this.

[@JoBot__]

It's unfortunate how many dislikes a theory such as this has. It would appear that some people just can't accept the way the world is changing.

[@GG_1318]

This whole video is massive reaching no shit it has dislikes

[@user-wr6dj4ib9o]

cringe lmao

[@JoBot__]

@@user-wr6dj4ib9o Right, why did I write this comment in a stupid way? -3- I should really rephrase it. "It's unfortunate how many dislikes a theory such as this has. It would appear that some people just can't accept the way the world is changing."

[@user-wr6dj4ib9o]

@@JoBot__ the world is degenerating

[@xlelight]

​@@JoBot__ I mean it's not like it's illegal to dislike, it's their opinion on things, let people be who they are lmao

[@sagaevan9641]

"bisexual cisgender male" OUTDATED !!!!!!!!

[@RadioactiveBluePlatypus]

Oh what part's outdated? Idk I just found this channel

[@sagaevan9641]

@@RadioactiveBluePlatypus cisgender male lol they're genderfluid now :)

[@RadioactiveBluePlatypus]

@@sagaevan9641 noice :3

[@AshleyTogepi]

At the end you talk about the Art Therapy DLC and how it shows GLaDOS desperate to find another chell, but that got me thinking about the part you glossed over, which is that the bulk of Art Therapy is specifically about the idea that GLaDOS specifically thinks Chell IS back. How do you reconcile this theory with the fact that Chell being back just immediately makes GLaDOS try to kill her? We can theorize that at the end of the campaign, her getting rid of Chell is her hiding her true feelings for Chell and that she truly doesn't want to kill her anymore, but if we take what PotatOS says at face value, about having a common enemy that they both want revenge against, and don't look any deeper into it, that lines up with the way GLaDOS acts in Art Therapy. She gave Chell out because it was the honorable thing to do, but as soon as she thinks Chell came back and wants to kill her again, she is afraid, she recognizes that Chell is the only thing that can kill her, and she RUSHES to get P-Body and Atlas to kill Chell for her in an act of surprising desperation, given the way she has to drop her calm and collected facade to tell P-Body and Atlas the truth. And we know that the way she talks about Chell in Art Therapy isn't just her being catty and antagonistic, like we could interpret her lines from the campaign, because unlike the campaign, she is saying them KNOWING that Chell can't hear them. The things she says during the campaign are her choosing her words carefully for the audience of Chell and Chell alone, but the things she says in Art Therapy, the way she is afraid of Chell and wants to turn P-Body and Atlas into killing machines, about Chell making her nervous, about Chell being "The Enemy" and about having "murderous sentiment" for her, are all her honest opinions spoken BEHIND Chell's back. The whole video skips over Art Therapy even though its the ONLY time we get to hear GLaDOS talk ABOUT Chell instead of talking TO Chell which seems important in analyzing how GLaDOS feels about Chell.

[@AshleyTogepi]

I want to add (to express that my rebuttal is in good faith) that I do appreciate what this theory goes for, and even moreso, I appreciate it's intent, as a queer girl and a massive portal fan, and that I was really excited to see that your channel is so cool and accepting, given how hard it is to find Portal channels that really dig deep into the cut content and lore, and even harder to find channels that go out of their way to be queer friendly. I just honestly want to know how you'd reconcile Art Therapy's storyline with this theory, since it didn't come up in the video.

[@OssyFlawol]

The problem with Art Therapy is that once the Coop bots reach the prototype chassis, GLaDOS immediately yells about how “IT’S THE BIRD!”, which implies that she knew all along that the “Her” that GLaDOS was talking about was infact just the crow that tormented GLaDOS a week or so prior in her potato form. GLaDOS is certainly written to make it seem like she’s talking about Chell, but her knowledge of the bird’s existance at the chassis tells me that the dialogue is written as a double meaning. Though, when reviewing the other side, there’s a lot of evidence that contradicts the claim I make there, considering how GLaDOS thinks that “She” has plugged herself into the prototype chassis, and GLaDOS’s nervousness creating a stream of lies that we almost can’t tell sometimes what might be the truth or not. I’d actually want to leave this Bird Analysis im thinking of doing to a potential video topic, the thoughts are appreciated all the same though and your interpretation of Art Therapy’s events is pretty intriguing in of themselves.

[@AshleyTogepi]

@@OssyFlawol that's an interesting perspective, I interpreted that as her being surprised that it's the bird and not Chell which is why she said "I have no plan for THIS! Forget your training!" And that the joke is that she interprets the bird as an even bigger threat than Chell is.

[@rentworth]

the same demographic that came up with negging thinks that glados insulting chell means she couldn't possibly be crushing on her 🤣

[@Temulgeh]

super interesting lens to see this through, was skeptical at first but by the end yeah . yeah . i'm convinced now

[@tim1341]

(Just want to say some bad english is going to be in this comment) When i watched this i was like nah and i still think so. Of course you can believe this theory you do you but i think you forgot to say something like when glados is about to get chell to the surface she deletes caroline from herself and that makes her act way difrentlly and she realeses her beacuse she is to difficult to kill. I also think that the fact that she was with Chell when she was a potato dosen't automaticly mean she is lesbian and romantic with Chell she may just not want to die alone. And again you can think that if you want to i just wanted to share my opinion have a nice day/night

[@SkullCubeOS]

wow that was honestly beautiful. it really goes to show how Chell is lowkey one of the best silent protags ever. there's something else that's even more sweet when you think about it. between the events of both games the two of them basically get a full case study of eachother's character and psyche because of what they put one another through. GLaDOS, for a lack of better word, is a highly vocal brain in a super-computer, and fell for a woman that not once responded to anything she said, because Chell was just THAT interesting to GLaDOS. honestly, the literal dev/writer confirmation of this storybeat should make anyone that gets upset at this feel very ashamed of themselves. this was a brilliant video and you should not have to fear posting it.

[@dellefranz]

Bruh, you having the cake in the end is taking things too literally. I cannot see this as more than a meta joke from the developers as in “oh yeah you DO get cake haha”, Glados’s song about heartbreak is also just pettiness as in she is trying to at least leave the player with a sense of guilt for destroying her. You cannot break the heart of an AI as the heart and the way it influences our emotions is what makes us human. Glados isn’t human and doesn’t have a heart, she just knows about humans and what makes them react. And she uses that knowledge to do something with her last powers. I mean the song is about how she will still be alive no matter what Chell or the player does, in other words we can’t win over her and she will always be alive. If this isn’t a petty AI attempt of going “Nuh uh! You didn’t win I’m not dead!” Even though the facility has been destroyed, I don’t know what it is and won’t go further.

[@Lachrymogenic]

Chell getting cake could be a part of GLaDOS's programming. According to Ossy's video on Chell, each test subject is asked about what cake they would like. The cake could have been automatically baked, GLaDOS even has a core that knows the ingredients of cakes.

[@dellefranz]

​@@Lachrymogenic yeah exactly, that further proves the lack of a heart within GLaDOS as there is a physical part of her specifically made for cake. A human may not have a recipe for cake but will learn through social activities the importance of cake. And as such as a way of expressing gratitude towards a person they may learn to make and bake a cake. The existence of a cake programming module only solidifies how out of touch with human emotions she is. It wasn't her decision to get a whole module dedicated to making cake because she has a heartfelt desire to make humans happy, it's because of the opposite.

[@kimlikesflowers]

The interesting thing to me is that even as you extend into the lore of Portal extending into the LEGO: Dimensions universe, the sentiment in "You Wouldn't Know" as the ending song... it lines up with your analysis. This is a wonderful put-together over grief, loss, and progress. GLaDOS may be buried in a robot body but more than anything she's still intimately human. Cave Johnson may have been comparing himself to oympians (specifically Hercules) in PeTI, but GLaDOS was given the power of a god and all the hubris that comes with that includes interactions with feeble, fragile mortals, and the ones that best them. Good job Ossy, your content is great! :)

[@awesomesillyman]

This video is a very clear example of an allo person thinking that people enjoying each other and having a strong bond automatically means they're romantically involved.

[@jp9707]

Can't a lesbian relationship be queer platonic, though? Who says it needs to involve sex or romance?

[@jp9707]

Also, I wasn't convinced until 16:47, where he directly quotes the game developers referring to the relationship between Chell and Glaados as romantic multiple times. Hard to argue with the game developers!

[@awesomesillyman]

@@jp9707 Before 16:47, I stopped watching because I assumed the whole video was just shipper nonsense. Lesbian relationships can be queerplatonic, but Ossy was talking about romance specifically. I really do wish that there was more platonic relationships in media, though. Why does everything always have to be romance?

[@awesomesillyman]

Also, I'm still gonna ship them platonically like I do with most canon couples lol.

[@cactusgamingyt9960]

@@jp9707 Still not convinced, those were hypotheticals that weren't implemented

[@thijsbakker9799]

Amazing theory! I feel like it doesn't disprove the Cave/Caroline theory, though. It only works if you assume Cave Johnson and Caroline are romantic interests. It could still be true if one of them has a partner of Japanese descent.

[@OssyFlawol]

I didn’t have a reason to stick it into the video, but in the Portal 2 Official Guide, it’s confirmed by Erik Wolpaw (lead writer of Portal 2) that there was nothing romantic going on between Cave & Caroline

[@thijsbakker9799]

But then couldn't one of them have a Japanese partner?

[@OssyFlawol]

@@thijsbakker9799 It is a possibility, but at that point you start veering into fanfiction territory where we start making up characters to fill in gaps people want to see to fulfill certain perspectives. I was only aiming to explore what we know for 100% certain as provided by the games and developers.

[@darklink8423]

​@@OssyFlawol of course nothing happen between the two, caroline was married, WITH SCIENCE!!!

[@vadernation1233]

@@darklink8423Caroline cheated on science with chell and now she’s projecting.

[@samcrabtree-sl1sh]

Because of how in the start of the neurotoxin sabotage section, Chell has a science thing at the bring your daughter to work day section, and how it seems a lot of stuff suggests that most of the test subjects GLaDOS has were the daughters of employees murdered by her, I feel like Valve would have made some kind of small hint as to who Chell's parents were. This is such a wonderful video, thank you. I feel that this and Ratmann being Chell's dad are correct.

[@Goalringmod27]

Thank you so much for this. The way you explained it really made it click in me how obvious it is, and the stuff the developers talked about is just the icing on the cake. Great video man :) Happy pride month! 💜

[@haunthayes2579]

From what I heard, the beta is even gayer.

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

That's why it stayed there. It would be like a fanfic with all the romance

[@a05polzar]

I honestly never thought about this perspective, but after watching this video I am quite convinced and will see this perspective when/if I replay both Portal games.

[@jadeepicpgaming]

Just watched this and god damn. Totally blew my mind and I can now say I definitely see how a queer lens can be applied to the game. I think people will misinterpret something being queer-coded as it's 'canon' that they're a thing when in reality no one's necessarily saying that; just that the story has some very very big undertones from a queer perspective.

[@denizo9263]

OH MY GOODNESS! CHELL IS JETSTREAM SAM!

[@AltecE]

I love your analysis. 😄 Although I’ve actually come to another conversation from what you’ve said. I thing the relationship is still maternal, but I think it’s an informal-family situation. GLaDOS is able to find peace in raising the birds because it’s an opportunity to mother them. Likewise, GLaDOD saw the potential in Chell and respected it. She was proud of Chell. Maybe her adoptive parents were close to Cave and Caroline, and Caroline saw herself as an aunt. I always kinda saw the relationship between Cave and Caroline as asexual. There was obviously at least a low-key romantic relationship between the two of them. Maybe they were both ace, but had a desire to be parents, and saw Chell as an opportunity to fulfill those parental desires. That’s kinda the situation I’m in right now. I’m a gay man, and I’ve always wanted to be a father. I haven’t had the chance to start a family yet. 7 years ago when I moved into my first apartment I grew really close with my next door neighbor who is a single mom with a now 12 year old son, and I see them as family. We’ve had many Christmases and Thanksgivings together, and although I don’t live next door anymore, I still make sure to stop by every so often to spend quality time with them. I remember when he was 6 years old and he hugged my leg and asked “can you be my daddy?” and I said that I’ll be his “next-door-neighbor-daddy”. The two of them mean the world to me, and I think I could really relate to GLaDOD if she, Chell, Caroline, and Cave had a similar relationship. Perhaps a Portal 3 could see Chell in some kind of danger that GLaDOS tries to save her from. It could really be a chance for Chell to see GLaDOS in a positive light. She could see GLaDOS as going from an enemy in the first game, to a frienemy in the second, and to family in a third. Thanks for spurring my imagination! 😊

[@Alicia-fe6fk]

Considering for how long I've been craving a lesbian romance story, I may have to replay these games with a new point of view! 😂😂❤️❤️❤️

[@foul-fortune-feline]

I recently replayed both portal games and like. The romantic tension there is so strong it was impossible to miss to me (Also glados is so cute when she's playin off the cave recording saying "Yeah take the lemons! Burn his house down!" Like, that hit me in the heart)

[@peeblekitty5780]

no for real. The ending especially gets me. "Oh, thank god you're alright" ;; Also yeah PotatOS cheering along with Cave during the lemon rant is probably the highlight of it for me. She's so enthusiastic! You go, you fucked up little potato you

[@eike4052]

clearly, none of you have heard of a kismesis

[@ttpbroadcastingcompany.4460]

OH GOD, PLEASE NO, NO. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO'S ALREADY TRYING TO EDUCATE ME ON HOMESTUCK LORE I DON'T NEED IT HERE IN PORTAL.

[@mateusrabelo7890]

This feels like something that would come out of my fujoshi sister and i love it

[@vibaj16]

"Chell broke GLaDOS's heart" GLaDOS said that to make Chell feel bad, to convince here to stop trying to escape "The cake is real" GLaDOS clearly fights against a lot of systems that were put in place to stop her from murdering everyone. I think one of them made it so that she can't lie about there being cake, so she had to actually make a cake, but she bypassed actually giving the cake to test subjects. Also, I have a feeling that cake is made of baked test subjects "GLaDOS making fun of Chell in Portal 2" GLaDOS hates Chell for killing her, of course she's going to try to insult Chell as much as possible "GLaDOS keeps Chell alive as long as possible and refuses to use other test subjects" GLaDOS hates Chell, she'll do everything to make sure Chell suffers. Again, her programming doesn't allow her to just physically torture Chell, so she decides to test Chell forever, b/c she knows Chell hates the testing. Killing Chell would stop the suffering "PotatOS not being able to lie" First, she could be lying about not being able to lie. Second, she said that when she had 1.1 volts. When attached to the portal gun, she had 1.6 volts, which could be enough to lie. Third, she lies to Wheatley, saying all they had to do to finish one of the tests was pull a lever. She also lies when she says moving the chamber closer to Wheatley won't increase the test pleasure he feels, then says she said nothing when Wheatley asked what she said. She also says she would've betrayed Chell (which would require lying) if it wasn't for realizing who Caroline is. Anyway, GLaDOS only saves Chell because of Caroline. Caroline is starting to gain control of GLaDOS. It's clear that Caroline saved Chell, as GLaDOS said the the surge emotions showed her where Caroline resided in her brain. She then deleted Caroline, showing she doesn't care for Caroline (who does care for Chell). GLaDOS only lets Chell go because she respects her for defying seemingly inevitable death so well, but GLaDOS still hates her (calls her a test-ruining sociopath). I suspect Want You Gone was written by Caroline between her saving Chell and Chell waking up, because Caroline knew GLaDOS was going to delete her. Also, that stuff like "Chell cheating on GLaDOS with Wheatley" seems a lot like a joke. Taken literally, that would mean Chell has a romantic relationship with Wheatley, meaning that even if this was true, Chell wouldn't be fully lesbian. GLaDOS doesn't like humans in general (though she does like torturing them with tests), and she especially hates Chell. She talks a lot about how bad humans are during the coop stuff

[@2taccountumkommiszukontrov501]

I just really wanted to thank you for this comment. I apologize in advance in case any of this sounds harsher than intended since English's not my first language and I only learned it though English media, so please interprete my words litterally (implying undertones unintentional). I'd like to start by saying that I in no way intend to disrespect members of LGBTQ and that this is merely my opinion on this topic. I can also see and apprechiate that you (referring to the video creator) put a lot of heart and experiences into this theory. I just think that this is a perfect example for the steretypical "making everything LGBTQ". These arguments can disprove the entire theory without speculations and only with only ingame cannon lore and facts. I get that having a character you can relate to can be pretty cool. (Especially if this character is a mad robot with a tragic backstory who cheated death.) But it really seems like most of these traits that link Chell and GLaDOS to personality traits of queer people are much rather caused by the situation. For example the "toxic relationship"-one. Most people and robots I know would be incredibly angry too if you destroyed their plans, home/place they care about/Computer Aided Enrichmemt Center and murdered them by ripping pieces off of them and burning every one individually. It would only make sense for that person to try to make your life hell wich you (comment writer) stated so perfectly . (I'm not justifying making someones life hell. Only do that if you are a killed robot (this is not meant to be taken litterally even if stated otherwise before (I should stop fooling around now))). Ok so... Another thing I'd like to add is something about the translations. I am not from Italy nor do I speak any Italian at all and it is entirely possible I'm wrong her but me and a friend of mine who's from Italy had a talk about the credits song some years ago. I asked him to translate the lyrics and he explicitly explained that the "my Love" part is not meant to be romantic but instead like a mother calling her daughter "my Darling/dear". Much like the German word "Mein Liebes" which roughly translates to"My child which I love" and which is also only used in this context. He also explained that "bambina" (I think that was the Word) also means "my (little) child". And just to make it clear we before not once thought of this romace theory so he was not trying to disprove anything and just wanted me to understand it better. Like I said I can only tell you what I was told, so I'd be happy if anyone would correct or agree tome here. I could go one and one about this topic but I honestly think that's enough (for now). I just found it odd that a lot in this theory is based on stereotypes for lesbians. That's not to say that that's bad in any way. It's just that that's one of the things the LGBTQ community is actvely fighting against. I've even seen queer people claiming that guessing ones sexuality is extremely homophobic with a lot of supporters of that claim. I know a mojority of queer people would disagre to that claim and this can't be applied to the whole community...but the point is that it should be. If you want to reach a goal by starting a big movement, everyone in that movement should have the same goals. That's the main reason there are so many people who are against it. If you ask anyone who does not Support LGBTQ today what their reasoning behind that would be, the majority of them will say that they think every person deserves the same rights and that they'll sopport anyone that comes out to them. They just don't agree with the current goals of the movement. There is even a decent chance the person answering like that is part of the community. Most of the time they'll be called homophobic for it. And I'm not saying people shouldn't have different opinions. That's the exact opposity of what I'm saying. But you can't have such a wide span of different goals and opinions inside of one community. For example I support some of the things this movements is trying to achieve but there are way too many "bad things" for me to fully decide if I support LGBTQ (as a movement! Not the individuals). And the classic "everything has to be gay" scenario (I don't usually call it that since it's and overexaduration) is not a rarity even if it is unintentional. And it is also extremely important for both sides to listen! (And this is the Most important rule. I could write another comment twice the lenght of this one all about these so called "double standards and who it is so important to always be open to change your opinion. (Really important!)) And I once again want to say, I don't meant any harm to anyone! And If anyone here still calls me homophobic after this you can be sure that they did not understand what I was just trying to say in the section above this one. (This sounds more agressive than intended). Ok... now this somehow turned from a video game theory about the relationship of a human and a giant robot into...whatever you call this. But this video really is a perfect example for it. I also hope the section about the apprechiation of your work was nit cut to short. I don't think I need to make a conclusion here since everything was already mentioned in this comment. Well, by far mit everything but everything I had planned to say for now. Now I can only hope this comment finds someones who is willing to think about it and also argue one a respectful basis. +I hope there weren't to many gramatical or spelling mistakes! (I don't mean anything bad for anyone) :)

[@The518thGuy]

This is just a gold and underrated comment

[@SebastianSeth]

think like this, there is a human who betrayed you, killed you and destroyed the entire facility, to in the end you have feelings for this human

[@VinVonVoom]

I don't know why there's this desire to "debunk" this video, it's not a theory, it's just a lens to view the story from another angle. Also I mean the devs were doing this too in The Final Hours Of Portal 2.

[@darklink8423]

I see the video with my mind open: and I see the commentary, you have proven your point

[@shadowwolf9823]

I dont think thats the case.I think GlaDOS saw Chell as just another test subject, but one who completed the tests the best. Also, warning Portal Spoilers. After Portal 1 when Chell killed her she realized that she was the only test subject who was dangerous. When she was turned into a potato and learned about Caroline her "conscience" awakened. If Chell is Caroline's daughter than she wrote th song as apology. If she isnt the song was preloaded somewhere for the turrets to play (considering Cave Johnson was going to sell them for nursery guards) Than GlAdOs wrote it to get Chell to leave. Want you gone is her playing a song afterwards, like after Chell was frozen in Portal 1 she played Still Alive. Atlas and P-Body were good enough test subjects, but they were GLaDOS creations. After killing the entire human vault with a thousand frozen people in a week, she realized how unique Chell was. A human who didnt die from testing

[@Fenrize]

I always got kind of a evil stepmother if not outright maternal vibes from GLaDOS especially on the latter part of the game so I never came anywhere near this conclusion

[@psycomantis5107]

Nah thank you omg i just accepted the mom theory and moved on. BUT THIS?!?! OOOOO IT'S LIKE WHEN AND GOT BUZZ ANDY DROPPED WOODY. ooooomg thank you haven't gotten this excited about portal in so so long tha k you thanky thaaaaank youuuuu

[@hisuye]

oof, the amount of dislikes this has is sad. this is a really good video

[@the-keymaker]

What a fucking BANGER of a video essay!! Thank you for this!

[@thewayfayer3268]

While I disagree with this theory (outside of cara mia leitmotifs and everything past chell waking up in the exit elevator as that's effectively impossible to explain as less than even queerplatonic), I do find it interesting how when you look at it in a certain way, the relationship between chell and glados is pretty damn queercoded (I can't find a better word that explains what I mean so sorry if that turns out to be the worst word to describe it lol)

[@mauvepicard9979]

Why do you disagree with it?

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@mauvepicard9979 why do you agree?

[@mauvepicard9979]

@@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer Literally just what the video said

[@Frille512]

@@mauvepicard9979 Think for yourself

[@tex3211]

I don't think Valve includes any sort of idealogies in their games so it's probably not related with LGBT. It's just like saying if Half Life 2 is meant to be a religious game because of Father Grigori and his quotes from the Bible. And besides just because GLaDOS and Chell are female doesn't mean they are lesbian lol and there is literally nothing supporting any kind of romance exists in Portal.

[@DrawinskyMoon]

I must confess I was one of those that shipped glados and chell. Not sexually but deep friendship kinda way. Friends with benefits. Chell gets fed and glados gets her itch scratched.

[@Xavier-vt6uy]

What. The. Fuck.

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@Xavier-vt6uy I know. I. Just, I. 😐

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@nijucow and between a human and a robot is perfectly fine?

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@nijucow but the cogs and wires...... Ughhhh... I just shivered

[@kylerbelshaw7042]

@@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer "The Itch" refers to the testing addiction programmed into the central core system. It's not actually sex.

[@vids_0429]

GLaDOS: - *Floods the Enrichment Center with neurotoxin, probably killing Chell's adoptive father in the process* - *Pratically enslaves Chell and many other people* - *Tries to kill Chell* - *Once powered up again, she enslaves Chell a second time* - *Insults the crap out of Chell* - *Tries to kill Chell AGAIN* - *Only teams up with Chell to get back in control of the facility* - Let Chell go (probably as a way to thank her, or to just avoid any more trouble) Chell: - *Kills GLaDOS, forcing her to revive her death for God knows how long* - *Pratically destroys the facility by killing GLaDOS* - *Helps Wheatley take command, ending up with GLaDOS in a Potato* The fandom: How romantic!

[@darklink8423]

IS LIKE THAT HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@TheWatchersMeteorite]

I LOVE THIS because as a queer person, I saw this interpretation first.

[@givemeyourwafflesplease4492]

for years i was convinced chell's parents were cave johnson and caroline. BUT HOLY HAM DID I DROP THAT THEORY AFTER I SAW THIS WTFF

[@inklazer3447]

chell and glados are not mother and daughter, katie and gladys are sisters and they murdered each other for reasons.

[@s-idney]

The same day i discovered HumanWheatley'sLeftToenail is the same day i discover this video. Nice

[@I_Am_Transcendentem]

I never thought of Portal 2 like this. Hmm.

[@cayenneta]

ive been shipping these two dorks since before i can remember as far as im concerned its canon bc i cant see it otherwise

[@_Gatts_]

Ahh yes to a characters one a robot and the other a human can’t just be enemy’s/normal characters they have to be in love and while the song is like a break up song it’s more like they were REFERRING to it because there alike not an actual break up song but no let’s not just have a good game that in no point points to prove chell and glados is gay or any romance out side of cave and Caroline because referencing something does not exist

[@10Eleven_]

Fr I don’t hate it because it’s lgbtq I just don’t like it cuz This feels like a hot take

[@VinVonVoom]

Okay but the devs refer to GLaDOS and Chell's relationship throughout The Final Hours Of Portal 2 as a romance. I don't know why you need to take this so seriously either, it's just a fun little lens to view the series under.

[@_Gatts_]

@@VinVonVoom no they said it was inspired by a bad break up type situation

[@magentialice]

@@_Gatts_ isnt that basically the same thing LOL

[@_Gatts_]

@@magentialice Nah not really

[@Hekkins]

As soon as I heard the “you look great by the way” line in Portal 2 I immediately knew they were gay

[@realquadmoo]

I have always wanted to attempt writing a portal 3, including all of the character arcs and such, this helps me view some more information I could use when writing.

[@randomcamera746]

this is my new headcanon now

[@remsleeep]

look while i do like the ship which i headcanon im pretty sure thats not the case, i never saw them as a couple in-game.

[@rosykindbunny1313]

Personally, I just think of them as mother and daughter, not necessarily meaning Caroline was Chell's mom. The moments that refer to their relationship as romantic seem like either jokes or comparisons to me. But the beauty of this game is that you can interpret it any way you want. It's not hurting anyone to interpret their relationship as romantic, so no one should be giving hate.

[@1e1001]

potato glados could still be lying though, and just lying about not being able to

[@peachcolor1]

God this was beautiful, thank you for this

[@aidarosullivan5269]

I always thought that adopted daughter theory is very dumb, given how high ranking Aperture official Caroline was.