Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Em Haywood (Nope)

*Spoilers.*

While watching Nope, O.J.’s autistic-coded traits leapt out at me easily, and I saw how, in many ways, his sister Em was his polar opposite and yet they worked well together. However, I didn’t clock Em as neurodivergent as well until I saw some fanart of the Haywood siblings emblazoned with “ADHD vs. Autism,” and I went, “Oh, of course she is.”

O.J. is a frequently still and silent man who’s uncomfortable around people, but Em is kinetic and loud, always in motion, always “on.” When she breezes (late) onto the film set where she and O.J. are animal wrangling, she launches effortlessly in the spiel about their family’s history in the industry, cheerfully incorporating O.J.’s mumbled correction into her speech. But she also veers off the point—she’s supposed to be leading a safety meeting so everyone on set knows how to safely interact with the horse, but she instead spends most of her time talking herself up as a Jill of all trades who’s super available for a wide array of work, ranging from acting to stunt driving to sewing.

O.J. plays things close to the vest, but Em’s up front with everything. When something’s bothering her, she wants to talk about it. When she has a question, she asks it. You always know what she’s thinking and feeling, both because it’s written all over her face/body language, and because she’ll probably tell you.

O.J. feels most in his element at the farm, but quiet and stillness make Em restless. When she tags along to O.J.’s meeting with Jupe, she wanders around Jupe’s office, scoping out his Hollywood memorabilia and frequently interrupting the meeting with her unrelated questions. After she’s just blown their animal wrangling gig with her lack of focus during the safety presentation, O.J. is worried that she’ll blow his chance to buy some of his horses back from Jupe.

A lot of what I’ve looked at here, clearly, is about contrasts, and O.J. and Em are two very different people. But just like there’s a lot of overlap between autistic and ADHD traits, the Haywood siblings understand and complement each other despite their differences. Em loves her brother and looks out for him, and even though he’s not as demonstrative as she needs, she knows he loves her too. Once the UFO makes its appearance in the sky, they set out on their mission to capture it on film together, and while they clash and bug each other a lot in the process, it also takes both of them to succeed.

If O.J.’s autistic traits are critical to understanding the alien creature and interacting with it, Em’s ADHD traits are critical in getting their coveted “Oprah shot.” She’s the one who comes up with the idea to film the UFO in the first place, selling the footage for enough money to get the farm out of financial straits. She throws herself into the project and pesters O.J. to go along with it at first. Later, when they put their climactic plan into motion, her laundry list of random skills and hobbies comes in handy, sewing inflatable men to help them see where the creature is moving and jumping on a motorcycle to lure it out. And at the very end, when their camera has been destroyed, she remembers one last way to get the shot: the “well” photo op at Jupe’s theme park. Earlier, O.J. walked right past it, a man on a mission, but Em was looking around at everything in her curious, eager way. So she knows it’s their final option and gets the exact money shot they were looking for.