So was Childs infected or not?

>>213007842 (OP)
Yes.

>>213007842 (OP)
MacReady was weakened and unarmed, Childs had a flamethrower and if he was the Thing he'd have no reason for the ruse. Just kill MacReady and play both of them waiting for rescue to reach the mainland with no one to stop them. The idea that either were infected was created by Internet trolls looking to spark discussion about a movie they liked. If the director said something similar he's also drumming up drama.
>You just have to switch perspective and think rationally without writing headcannon to figure things like this out.

>>213007955
The thing never needed the ruse whatsoever. It was practically toying with them the entire movie if you consider its true capacities and the prequel movie. Perhaps it admired MacReady for making it that far. The Thing could have easily flung droplets of itself at the crew during first contact. Why waste time even imitating? It was for sport.

>>213007842 (OP)
Yes. But the whole point of the ending is that it's ultimately irrelevant. The two of them are going to freeze to death together. The Thing doesn't need to absorb Macready, and Macready doesn't need to kill the Thing. They both won, and they both lost.

>>213008262
>It was practically toying with them
It never hesitated to attack when it could get away with it undetected.
>Perhaps it admired MacReady
Headcannon
>droplets of itself at the crew
The guy did say just a single particle could infect someone and they should all eat out of cans. I'll give you that, a dog going around a camp just licking people wouldn't look suspicious. But the movie has to happen.
>Why waste time even imitating? It was for sport
Attributing human qualities to something that's supposed to be alien and not like us.

>>213008352
the thing won because it will just be thawed out again eventually