Warning: big time spoilers for Companion are in play!
Earlier in the 2025 movie schedule writer/director Drew Hancock’s comedy-thriller Companion took the sci-fi tradition of humans abusing robots and made it into an Agatha Christie-esque fun house. Sadly, during the film’s theatrical release window, it didn’t seem to find as big of an audience as it should have - but that’s probably about to change.
Viewers can now stream the movie through a Max subscription, and to celebrate, I need to talk about something I just realized about the picture. As it turns out, Jack Quaid’s Josh isn’t the worst human in this lineup when you dig a little deeper.
Jack Quaid’s Josh Is Definitely Companion’s Overall Villain
In no way am I excusing Josh, one of fiction's most despicable romantic partners, for his crimes in Companion. The dude willingly entered into a murder conspiracy to impress Kat (Megan Suri), the woman with whom he thought he had a shot. To get the job done, he allowed his Companion robot Iris (Sophie Thatcher) to carry out the deed and take the fall.
Despite Jack Quaid being an adorable personality in reality, his role as Josh is to be a complete piece of shit. Hell, he doesn’t even truly love Iris, as he's so easily swayed to torture her to save himself. There was never a road to redemption for Josh, which is part of why I think there’s someone else who’s comes off as an even more devious human. And no, while Sergey (Rupert Friend) tries to rape Iris and Kat masterminded this whole debacle, they’re not the worst either.
I Think Harvey Guillén’s Eli Is An Even Worse Human Being
If ranking Companion characters by horridness was a sport, I’d have to say that Eli (Harvey Guillén) is at the absolute bottom. My overall case is based on the fact that he did not have to play a part in this drama at all. He wasn’t involved in the plot to kill Sergey and steal his money, so his motivation to jump in is good old-fashioned selling out.
There are some serious moral failings built into this man, which is admittedly refreshing after seeing Guillén wrapping the recently concluded run of What We Do in the Shadows. But while he was playing the adorably beleaguered Guillermo de la Cruz for six seasons, in the span of just one film, Mr. Guillén put in a subtly despicable performance as Companion’s Eli. So apologies to my fellow fans, as I’m about to go to town on this most devious member of an already rotten bunch of humans.
Eli’s Only Problem With Sergey's Murder Was He Wasn’t Invited
Strike one against Eli is that human life is clearly not of value to our Companion nemesis when money’s on the line. Besides the attempted violation of our protagonist, Sergey’s worst crime was that he was a philanderer. He wasn’t even mobbed up, he was just a creep, and without some extenuating circumstances, that’s not really a justifiable motive for murder.
So when Harvey Guillén’s Companion co-conspirator complains about not being invited rather than his friends murdering a human, that’s more than a slight problem. It’s a great betrayal to the audience, but one that works to keep things fresh. Because again, most of us are thinking, “Guillermo, No!” before settling into actually hating this man.
Even Having His Own Companion Doesn’t Make Eli Any More Sympathetic To Iris
While Companion’s story plays coy with the reality surrounding Iris, all of the humans gathered for this deadly weekend at the lake know that Iris is an artificial person, literally. But the additional twist of Eli’s boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) being a Companion is one that’s dropped rather effectively.
Claiming to truly love his synthetic boyfriend, you’d think Eli would be all about robot rights, and that assumption is incorrect. Our boy is totally cool with another unit having its Three Laws of Robotics safeguards tampered with, being confined, used as a scapegoat for murder and even willingly hunts Iris down for the cause.
Also, he had no clue that his own Companion love connection figured out he was a robot over the years. Once he’s made aware of that fact, he proudly claims he’s in love with a robot… right before resuming his efforts to wipe out Iris. I don’t think even Alexa would trust him after making such a bad life choice.
If Eli Really Loved Patrick, He Wouldn’t Have Gotten Them Involved
Even worse than the points made above is this final claim I’m going to put out there. If Eli had truly loved Patrick, he would have not only been a supporter of robot rights, he wouldn’t have allowed his partner to be involved at all. Eli could have very easily sent him away or kept him in sleep mode for the rest of the picture.
Instead, he brought him along for the hunt, which is messed up in its own special way. It's kind of like taking the family dog to hunt... another dog. Yeah, not a good look, Eli.
It all adds up to a special moral quagmire that’s worse than anything Companion’s remaining cast of characters does. At least you knew from the jump that Josh and Kat were bad apples, and their comeuppance was baked in. Harvey Guillén’s Eli had a choice and he decided to join the gang anyway - ultimately contributing to Patrick’s robo-suicide.
With the only real "good" character being Sophie Thatcher’s Iris, Companion certainly gives us plenty of choices for the “Worst Human” award. From where I’m standing, that trophy goes to Eli without question; and if anything, that’s made me even more of a fan of Harvey Guillén.
Save for that last part, you can feel free to debate this viewpoint yourself. And if you've somehow read this rundown without seeing the film, don't worry; apparently, Companion is better with spoilers. Viewers new and old can now stream this delightful ride on Max.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
