Why Margaret Is Crucial To Exposing The World's Greatest Secret

The following contains spoilers for Disclosure DayDisclosure Day is Steven Spielberg’s big return to the sci-fi genre, with the underlying mystery at the heart of the film delivering one of his most resonant thematic morals in years. The film centers largely around Emily Blunt’s Margaret and Josh O’Connor’s Daniel, whose mysterious connection is the key to unlocking a decades-long conspiracy.

After Daniel discovers a major truth about the universe while working for the mysterious Wardex Corporation, he aligns himself with a band of other whistleblowers (led by the kindly Hugo) and embarks on a mission to reveal the truth to the world at large — all while staying ahead of Wardex and their leader, Noah Scanlon.

A lot is going on in Disclosure Day, from the sci-fi revelations about the universe to the potential ramifications if the truth is exposed. It has a lot to say about the human experience and the value of empathy, even when it risks the world. It even embraces the ambiguity of the unknown in ways that reinforce those themes, delivering one of Spielberg’s best movies in years.

Disclosure Day’ Big Alien Conspiracy, Explained

At the heart of Disclosure Day is the reveal that the American military has been keeping interactions with aliens a secret for decades, benefiting from the technological advances from their tech while keeping the world in the dark. As revealed at the climax, aliens crashed landed on Earth shortly after World War II outside of Roswell, New Mexico.

Although those aliens seemingly died in the crash, others soon arrived on the planet. However, the American leadership at the time decided to keep this hidden from the public, even eventually shielding it from elected officials like the President. Instead, the military worked with the Wardex Corporation to cover up the events and learn what they could from the aliens.

This included autopsies on the dead and invasive procedures on living entities, the latter of which was the breaking point for Daniel. While at least one remained alive into the present day, it represents the biggest conspiracy in history. Figures like Noah Scanlon claim it was for the safety of humanity, arguing people couldn’t take the information going public.

As a result, this conspiracy carried on for decades, until the aliens found two young people to make into their conduits. Then it came down to a number of Wardex workers who decided they’d had enough and decided to work against the company to set off the titular “Disclosure Day” where everything was exposed.

How Are Margaret’s And Daniel Connected In Disclosure Day

Emily Blunt as Margaret Fairchild and Josh O'Connor as Daniel Kellner in Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day — Emily Blunt as Margaret Fairchild and Josh O’Connor as Daniel Kellner in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day

The focus of Disclosure Day is Margaret and Daniel, who were selected by the aliens as children and given unique abilities so they could communicate. Although they were only taken briefly, the memories were hidden from them. Daniel was given an implicit understanding of numbers as a language, capable of understanding complex equations as easily as he would read the written word.

This led him eventually to Wardex, where Hugo would recruit him to help leak the information to the world. Margaret’s, meanwhile, was given a new capacity as an empathetic. A brief encounter with a cardinal – suggested by Hugo to be one of the animal disguises the aliens use to connect with humans – activates her abilities to connect with other minds.

This allows Margaret to have an implicit understanding of others, an ability she uses to speak several languages fluently, hear their thoughts, and even seemingly appear as people from their lives. Margaret lacks much control over her power, going through a crisis of faith about it until her memories of the Alien encounter are restored.

This is one of Disclosure Day‘s most fascinating beats, as it plays into Margaret’s fear that she’ll become someone’s religion. However, upon realizing the full weight of the responsibility placed on her, she embraces her role. It’s a fascinating example of a character growing like religious figures such as Jesus, with trepidations about their fate before accepting their role in the grander scheme of things.

The Alien Tech In Disclosure Day, Explained

One of the biggest MacGuffin of Disclosure Day are three pieces of alien technology that Wardex has been investigating and experimenting on. The devices are never fully explained in the film, but they seem to have a number of potential applications when used safely. This includes establishing a telepathic connection between people.

Scanlon uses in the film to converse with people and find clues to their location. Scanlon can even use the device to take over someone’s mind, as he does to Eve when he tries to make her kill Daniel. However, it’s shown that these effects take a toll on the human body, with Scanlon requiring a medical team and full suite of tech to stabilize him.

The device is also dangerous when used improperly, as an un-gloved soldier for Scanlon discovers when he holds the device barehanded and briefly disappears before returning and collapsing. The devices have far more potential in the hands of someone like Margaret, however, who intuitively knows how to use the device — likely due to her conditioning by the aliens.

Margaret is able to control power sources and create lifelike illusions – although the latter highlights the fragility of the device, as one of them falls apart in her hands from overuse. This highlights the potential power of the alien tech, raising questions about what else it could be used for and how humanity figured out even those specific uses.

Why Disclosure Day Ends Where It Does

The light is shining on Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day

Disclosure Day ends on an interestingly vague note. After commandeering Margaret’s news station, she and Daniel are able to convince the staff to help them spread the Intel about the Alien interactions with Earth. The news quickly spreads around the world, stalling a brewing global conflict and leaving humanity in shocked awe.

Hugo then reveals that at least one Alien is still alive and has been protected by Hugo and his allies. This alien whispers something to Daniel, who in turn passes the message along to Margaret. However, the full revelations are kept from the audience, as the film ends with Margaret telling everyone to “listen.”

On a thematic level, this reflects the film’s focus on empathy as an invaluable aspect of existence. Hugo argues that the aliens see empathy as a key evolutionary trait. This undercut Scanlon’s argument that humanity will tear itself apart with this information, as Hugo believes the world needs to listen to one another to avoid destroying themselves.

Margaret’s ability to “listen” to others and empathize with them is her true power, amplified by the aliens abilities so that she and Daniel can casually leave a base with suggestions. It speaks to Disclosure Day‘s focus on empathy, even if the fact that audiences don’t get to see the rest of (and the fallout of) Disclosure Day itself.

The True Meaning Of Disclosure Day

Emily Blunt looking emotional in Disclosure Day

Disclosure Day is a interested in a couple things, with empathy and “listening” chief among them. Beyond the power of empathy, the film also speaks to the strength of sharing the truth instead of hiding it. While Scanlon and his forces repeatedly try to argue that the aliens must be kept a secret for the betterment of humanity, Eve shows how that is a false concept.

The faithful Eve is shocked by the truth and even argues with Daniel that it isn’t his place to expose the truth. He counters that it isn’t their place to keep it a secret either. Eve’s eventual acceptance of the truth – notably without losing her faith and instead coming to see the aliens as part of God’s design thanks to a conversation with her old friend Sister Maura – plays a crucial part in saving the day.

When Scanlon’s forces briefly shut down the news station, Eve takes a leap of faith and gives the device given to her by Daniel to Margaret. The film also portrays Hugo and his allies as unequivable good forces, while portraying a conspiracy of high ranking government and military officials as the antagonists.

Even then, they are only misguided. Scanlon gives up when the truth is exposed and is comforted by Hugo as the world learns the truth, facing an unknown future together. Disclosure Day is about the power of empathy and the importance of the truth, combating efforts to hide harsh truths and ugly realities by showcasing how humanity can confront these facts and come together to accept them.