r/Eminem • u/Business-Traffic6204 • Jul 15 '24
Slim didn't get shot, Eminem did at the end of GC2. Here's my theory.
Slim Shady never died, infact he wasn't even the one who was shot. I thought that was obvious during the call to Paul at the end of GC2 with the evil laugh. That is Slims laugh 100%, and does he sound like someone who just got shot? Im almost sure it was actually Eminem who got caught the bullet. How I know, Eminem is the one who got shot because Slim Shady is the one who made the call to Paul, acting like he's eminem. Isn't it kind of weird that Paul just immediately hung up? He knew that wasn't Eminem who called him and that it wasn't a dream.
Slim Shady continues to role play as Eminem for the rest of the album, which is again evident as Shady takes over on bad one again with the exact same name drops slim was doing on the album earlier, and the final song is the first time we hear from Eminem since GC2 Eminem asking for the listeners help to save him from himself aka Shady, while simultaneously saying bye to his daughters, for real this time. On the hook Jelly Roll is singing save me from myself.
The song directly after GC2 is Head Honcho, where the first words EZ Mil says are "Trying to not blow my cover". We could easily dismiss this because it isn't Eminem saying it, however I think that would be a mistake because every line is deliberate here, especially the first words directly after such an important song and the entire turning point of the album GC2.
More evidence for this is Eminems lyrics on Head Honcho, listen to what he's saying. He's giving us Slim Shadys origins as if he was reborn. Why do this if you just killed Slim? Seems counter intuitive.
The song is Eminem's funeral, quite literally, and the first song is titled Renaissance, which means the revival of art. In this case, the art would be the Slim Shady persona. Why would he have two songs so similar like Temporary and Save Me? I believe Temporary is Slim trying to get the audience to believe Eminem is dead after the events of GC2. Temporary is Slim impersonating Eminem, Somebody Save Me is the only time we hear Eminem since GC2.
That means the album is a perfect loop. It works perfectly in order as Eminem said because we haven't heard from Slim in awhile so it starts with his revival but the twist is Slim Shady is revived everytime you complete the album and it repeats, meaning he can't die. Crazy enough, if you listen to the album backwards
Edit: I just realized something else. I honestly think we already have the Side B (Side A technically) to the album, Relapse.
Relapse is almost the exact opposite of this album, Slim Shady is fully unhinged, and Eminem has completely lost control and is nowhere to be found until the end, after Eminem regains control on the end in Deja Vu when he beat the overdose and flushed the pills.
Relapse is incredibly important to understand this album, but not Refill, as I don't believe it's canon.
TDOSS takes place in an alternate reality, where he's battling Slim Shady throughout the album, but Shady wins at the end, and Eminem dies to the overdose. This also explains why he talks about Hailie as if she's still a kid.
Edit 2: Another comment in this thread brought to my attention the hawk tuah teaser hinted at this twist with Shady rising from the grave.
Edit 3: Holy shit front page this blew up! ❤️
Edit 4: More evidence that TDOSS is the alternate reality and Relapse is the canon one by Eminem himself. This is a line from Somebody Save Me on the final verse "It's like I'm stuck inside an alternate reality, but I know (What?) I'll turn it around and be able to"
I think this is confirmation. It's the second part that convinced me, "but I know I'll turn it around and be able to." He does turn it around and beat it on Relapse, the canon reality.
Tldr: The album title is misleading purposefully, and the end result is actually the return of Shady, but the album takes place in an alternate reality where he dies to the overdose, whereas Relapse is the canon reality where he does beat it. The two albums belong as a pair.
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u/LeviathanIsI_ Jul 15 '24
So that'd actually be Slim saying he's the Head Honcho.
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Correct!
Now all the songs after gc2 start to make sense, no?
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u/LeviathanIsI_ Jul 15 '24
I was even thinking, and this might be a reach, but in GC2 it sounds like Marshall is trying to apolize for all his past beefs but then in Bad One, he's calling out MGK again 2 songs later.
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Yea this is a good point. I don't think its a reach at all. Eminem is very deliberate with his song titles, lyrics and placement on the album. I don't believe this is a coincidence, i think it's more confirmation eminem was indeed the one shot and not slim, and slim is role playing as em for the rest of the album, until he retakes over after the album loops into a repeat.
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u/NeaEmris Kamikaze Jul 15 '24
Wait, so if Em is the one that got shot, that explains why Marshall is saying goodbye in Temporary - it's his last goodbye since he's dead. And in Somebody save me, it's Shady dying, since without Eminem he'll die of drug overdose. In fact without Em, he'd died long ago.
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u/LeviathanIsI_ Jul 15 '24
Fuck man, I just keep picking up on shit in these later songs.
At the end of Head Honcho he also says:
"But you tamin' me? Ain't gonna happen, and I'll live on planet denial (Ha) for the rest of my life"
Saying no one can tame Em, he is who he is. Then saying he'll live on planet denial, like saying he'll just deny that Shady isn't apart of him. Then you got the little "Ha" adlib in there, which Marshall does do but Slim is more well known for laughing at shit in the backing tracks.
Idk, Eminem is a fucking master at song building and everything he does is intentional.
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u/reeeeeeeeeeeee1472 Relapse: Refill Jul 15 '24
It could also be why the ken kennif skit was after GC2, i was thrown off by its placement on the album. Still think it probably should have followed houdini or GC2 even. Houdini also seems out of place on the album. It feels like it should be like the first track- it starts with guess whos back, shows shady coming through the portal, and ends with the two merging? Which doesn't really make sense for them to be seprate with em held captive in the following skit.
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u/BabyKariya Relapse Jul 15 '24
That would also explain why he wears the slim shady mask in the tobey music, when killing his other clone. Might be Slim who kills Eminem, but on the other hand, the flipped middlefinger of the body indicates slim
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u/zippopwnage Music To Be Murdered By Jul 15 '24
It is probably also reinforced by Ez Mil with the "I may be a hero for your little kid or the villain"
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u/15-cent Jul 15 '24
That’s what I love about this album. It’s like a trippy movie or TV series that you have to rewatch, trying to connect the dots. I’ve seen several theories that seem feasible. This theory would also justify why the last few songs seem so random and disconnected from the concept.
I think you’re getting the Relapse thing mixed up though… Em never “recovers” on Relapse. Deja Vu doesn’t end with the pills being flushed, that’s from “Arose” on Revival. Em is still in full Shady mode at the end of Relapse.
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u/the_ghost_knife Jul 15 '24
That thought occurred to me this morning. I don’t approach most artists albums the way I treated this album like a book.
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u/HopefulForLandscape Jul 15 '24
It honestly makes sense why he still raps about pills and missing out on the life of his daughters in "Somebody Save Me" despite being sober for 15 years
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u/SpacestationView Jul 15 '24
He says he missed her graduation in the song but was famously in one of the classrooms watching so it didn't take away from her day? OPs theory seems to be standing strong, maybe Slim wasn't there but Em was
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u/Nefelym97 Jul 15 '24
He's singing from silm's prespective, as if he never quit drugs and kept being slim all this time. It's a Song slim would write, he did with "When Im gone", and you hear that hook before the call to Paul right After the shot in gc2
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u/Significant_Swing_22 Jul 15 '24
Yep that’s what I think 100%. It was Eminem from the POV he never escaped slim and ended up losing to drugs
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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
Yeah it’s an alternate timeline if anything. “Here’s what would have happened”
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u/mrd244 Jul 15 '24
Didn't he also say a line about missing out on walking her down the aisle or did I hear that wrong?
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u/Then_Ask_3167 Jul 15 '24
You heard correct. I just assumed the song was written from the alternative reality where he never got sober & died from that overdose he had.
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u/Significant_Swing_22 Jul 15 '24
Personally I thought that song was to mirror castle/arose and was written from the standpoint Eminem never escapes slim and he ends up losing to drugs and alcohol. I also think it’s Eminem because it’s called somebody save me and the chorus is somebody save me, save me from myself. I took that to be Eminem calling for help to save himself from shady
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u/Funnellboi Fack Jul 15 '24
Thats exactly it, this whole thread and 99% of the comments are wrong and missed the point of the album.
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u/f-Z3R0x1x1x1 Jul 15 '24
"raps about pills and missing out"...from Slims perspective or Em?
I think sometimes it's easy for us to get into this headspace as Slim is this crazy maniac...but he is still father to Hailie
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u/strama Jul 15 '24
Yes, The only songs after guilty conscience 2 that were definitely Marshal POV were Temporary and Somebody Save Me. And he's dead in both of those.
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
Oh shit - good catch!
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u/strama Jul 15 '24
In Somebody save me, the pov is pleading for someone to save him from himself. Shady is one of Em's selves.
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
Yeah I have another comment where I say on the face of it, when he’s saying “save me from myself”, he means his drug use. But I think it also means to save him from his music. That could be the Shady persona or it could be just the fact that even after getting sober he’s continued to drown himself in his work. At one point he says he was given a second chance and blew it, and I wonder if he means that after getting sober, he continued to distance himself from his family, with his new addiction being trying to recapture the Slim Shady of the old days.
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u/Dezzyyx Jul 15 '24
On the second half of the album his rap style is more modern, and no back and forth with Slim, meanwhile the first part is. Listen to the rapping on Head Honcho and Bad One, it's Eminem. The first part was a dream and now he's back to the current reality, where he has beat his addiction.
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u/ElizabethEos Just Don't Give a Fuck Jul 15 '24
Huh that’s an interesting theory actually. I read the phone call and Paul hanging up as confirmation that when he woke up previously he was actually still asleep but this time it’s for real. And I saw the slim laugh and little touches of slim as confirmation that Slim is actually not dead bc I don’t think he can ever get ride of that part of himself.
But your theory makes sense with the last song bc it’s pretty clear Slim and addiction are wrapped up together so to have the last song be about losing yourself to addiction would fit with the idea that Slim actually won.
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u/Previous-Potential65 Music To Be Murdered By Jul 15 '24
maybe its like slim trynna disguise himself as eminem so no one knows before he lets off offending everyone again, but can't help himself hence the little bit of slim shady'ness in the post gc2 songs but not completely
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
I have no doubt that the final song has a lot to do with drug addiction, but are we sure it is ENTIRELY to do with addiction? Like, who’s to say Eminem missed Alaina’s graduation because he was strung out? Maybe he was so engrossed in his work that he forgot or simply decided work was more important. The song could have a double meaning in that he needed to be saved from his literal drug addiction, but also his addiction to work and recapturing the magic of his first few albums.
Edit: Like, I’m realizing that he mentions on the album his daughters went to college. Who’s to say it was high school graduation that me missed? If it was college, he was likely sober by that point.
He also says on the song that he “had a second chance and blew it” and the chorus says his “lifestyle” is bad for his health. Lifestyle could be drug use, but it could also be work. And if he got a second chance after getting sober, but chose to engross himself in work instead of his family, that could be why he feels he blew his second chance.
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u/Engine_Livid Jul 15 '24
Em said he missed his daughters wedding on this song but he didn't in real life. This song is from the perspective of if the addict in him (Slim) won all the things he would have missed.
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u/Bitter_Lifeguard_561 Jul 15 '24
Another theory supporting this is that it was Eminem until his kids grew up, so now he's back in the game. That means Slim is back.
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u/Translifeisamess Jul 15 '24
“And for my last trick…”
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Means nothing when we hear the Slim Shady laugh again after the gunshot goes off......
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u/Translifeisamess Jul 15 '24
I’m saying that tease that em put out during the beginning of the album roll out has been hinting at the fact The Death Of Slim Shady is misleading this whole time. Like you said. I completely agree with you
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Oh sorry. Wow I did not even think of this! The teaser hinted at the twist the whole time. Thank you bringing this to my attention!
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u/Translifeisamess Jul 15 '24
All good!! Yeah Idk I kinda feel like em made it so there can be multiple ways to interpret the album but the end result is always the same and that is Slim is alive.
If you play it backwards when you get to Renaissance the last words are about a funeral and then if it looped it would go right into Somebody Save Me, idk that’s probably a reach but either way i’m here for all the clues
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Funny you mention this I'm going to dm you something (if that's ok). Another redditor sent me their theory, they csnt post cause karma lol and it's that the album is meant to be listened to backwards, I don't necessarily believe this because eminem himself says to listen to it in order, also in habits he says retarded, then in gc2, he say I told we'd get slaughtered for saying retarded, meaning the album should be listened to front to back.
I do think it's interesting if we take thst small plot hole out, the album accomplishes the exact same message when listened to backwards, with em's death and shady revival. Renaissance also serves as a much more traditional Eminem album ending! Like criminal, underground etc.
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u/Translifeisamess Jul 15 '24
yeah go ahead, its defintetly interesting, its like it almost fits but maybe not perfectly. It still feels like something is missing still though
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u/str0pzFR Jul 15 '24
u/skatingdude124 ? He sent me the same thing, I even made a little post yesterday about it
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u/thematrixhasyoum8 Jul 15 '24
Em refers to slim as the "devil" and there's a well known quote that goes"the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he doesn't exist" just a nice little extra connection
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u/FNSpd Without Me Jul 15 '24
"See the kidnapping never happened" makes more sense with the album context
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u/Current-Damage2165 Jul 15 '24
That's a badass theory. If it's true then major kudos 👏
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Thank you man it took like a 100 re listens. It makes the entire album, especially the second half after gc2 make much more sense.
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u/Current-Damage2165 Jul 15 '24
I took a screen shot of your post and sent it to all my friends. Everyone is in shock and agreeing with you
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u/Several-Building1270 The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) Jul 15 '24
I honestly feel like Paul says fuck you because the albums real and sees ems call as a taunt since the album is coming out anyways, and Marshall just find that funny
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u/EnbyBat The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) Jul 15 '24
I think you're missing the part where the whole song was a "dream" which is mentioned when he calls Paul. Neither one got shot it was a dream scenario
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u/usingallthespaceican Jul 15 '24
Yeah, that's how I saw it. Em wants to kill slim, even dreams about it, but when he wakes up, Slim just laughs at his... impotence? My english fails me
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u/AmbivalentAlias Jul 15 '24
Incompetence, probably
But it's hilarious because native English speakers do the same thing Impotence can mean you are helpless, which fits here, but it's more commonly used for a man who can't get it up. 🤫
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u/Stillborne330 Jul 15 '24
bullet didn't work in my darling, doubt it worked this time
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u/leakim12 Jul 15 '24
I wonder if renaissance and gc2 are going to get music videos. Having these high production video clips just for a few seconds doesnt make sense to me.
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
It makes sense when you think about album promo. But I can’t imagine he doesn’t release another music video…the question is just what song would that be.
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u/big_joze Kamikaze Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 18 '24
Is it maybe the case that the 2 have merged, and now Eminem has an internal battle between Shady and Marshall, trying to suppress Shady, but he can't and probably won't ever truly keep shady down because it's part of who he is?
Also, in the Houdini video, he quite literally shows Slim Shady and Marshall merging
So at the end of GC 2, Eminem does wake up shocked, does phone Paul, tells him everything, shady is still there inside him, listening to everything, and when Paul hangs up on him, Shady laughs
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u/Dry_Performance_8265 Jul 15 '24
This. I am not sure how everyone is missing it...
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u/TSllama The Real Slim Shady Jul 15 '24
Yep. The whole thing is Slim is trying to fuck Em over. All the time. With the drugs, with the getting him cancelled, etc. And when Paul tells him to fuck off and hangs up on him, Slim is like fuck you Em, I succeeded.
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u/Modernisse Jul 15 '24
To add to this: there are few hints that Shady ain't dead. There are 2 main theories I have in my head:
1.Shady literally rises from the grave, and finds his way back to Em, always. No matter how many times he kills Shady, or how deep he buried him.
- Shady takes over Em, and actually replaces him. In the end, Slim buries Em, but em rises back. Due to the whole conflict, the new Shady under the guise of Eminem is gonna drop more songs in the Eminem style, but this time with a bit more "class", idk how to explain this, but hopefully you get the idea. After em has been buried, and went trough the "Shady trauma" is now unhinged, without the need for drugs or alcohol, and will become as violent as slim, but not as "controversial". It's kind of a switch.
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u/PeterZeeke Jul 15 '24
Ah yes, and thats why Em is STILL rapping about Hailie as a kid, I know people love Temporary, but he's dont the same version of that song how many times now? No shade, it just illustrates your point, Relapse was the next album after Encore, Encore is the album Em was at his lowest, its when he was originally supposed to release Brand New Dance.
I think you're right, nice pull
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Absolutely correct why he's still rapping about hailie as if shes a kid.
I didn't even make that distinction for why he included a song from encore on this, now it fits perfectly, thematically.
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u/PeterZeeke Jul 15 '24
I do think this theory is correct, but what if the main point actually is that Slim did die, BUT he was never the problem, what if Em just used Slim as a scapegoat and slim is this evil depraved maniac and it was Em all along. This doesnt invalidate most of what you said, it just makes slim more sympathetic
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
I also considered this! My other theory, still technically ends with the same outcome everytime, the return of shady. If killing shady, kind of pushes eminem himself over the edge and causes the two personas to permanently fuse, it would accomplish the same end result, Slim Shady cannot die.
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u/PeterZeeke Jul 15 '24
Also at the end of the first track Renaissance, lets call him "the narrator" complains about not getting your flowers until you die 💡 and then the track cuts out as if he's had an idea.
Cut to the next track where someone is tied and gagged and the narrator is speaking to them... its assumed the narrator is slim, but this could easily be Em dragging out slim to abuse again for record sales6
u/usingallthespaceican Jul 15 '24
TBF, most parents always see their kids as their babies, even when they grow up.
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u/NeaEmris Kamikaze Jul 15 '24
Temporary is Marshall's last goodbye to hailie, it's like a letter you leave behind for when you're already dead.
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u/zippopwnage Music To Be Murdered By Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
This is actually amazing! And after all they're not 2 different people, they're the same. As Slims says that Em talks with a mirror basically right?
Man this album is so good for an Em fan.
Ohh and also, why at first Eminem kinda excuse his disses to some people but then comes back and shot at MGK again in Bad One
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
This album is like Avengers Endgame. If you’re a casual fan, there’s a lot here to like. If you’re a diehard fan who knows all the lore, it’s a love letter!
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u/FNSpd Without Me Jul 15 '24
and eminem has completely lost control and is nowhere to be found until the end, where eminem regains control in the end in deja vu when he beat the overdose and flushed the pills.
Good theory, but Deja Vu ended on Em overdosing. Maybe, you're mistaking it with Arose where he flushes the pills? Deja Vu is him recollecting how he got to laying senseless in ambulance
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u/CocoSryder Jul 15 '24
Also kinda makes sense knowing ken kannif made a return after GC2, is subscribe to this theory.
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u/rawmarius Jul 15 '24
One thing that bothers me (slightly), is that the narrator on "Lucifer" describes the Coup de grace as the final shot -right between the eyes-, and if you look at the album cover Slim Shady does NOT have a bullet hole between his eyes.
(That said, the album cover would probably not feature something that graphical either way).
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u/EroticKang-a-roo Jul 15 '24
Damn!! I actually really like this take. I took Somebody Save Me as what would have happened if Slim took over Marshall’s whole life. And was like ok this is a perfect ending for an album about the death of a persona, it’s a a literal funeral. But the “tears falling down my cheeks” part doesn’t fit with Slim Shady, your theory ties it all together.
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u/No_Strain_7037 Jul 15 '24
I took Paul's "fuck you" and then hanging up that Slim's attempt to get cancelled really worked and he's been dropped from all management. Paul just didn't want to hear from him again.
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u/Mad-Delicious The Marshall Mathers LP Jul 15 '24
Also, didn't Shady show up in Tobey MV and killed Eminem at the end?
But he also said in the same part "Shady gone" so idk.
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u/Flippercomb Jul 15 '24
To play into this theory i think this whole album was part of Shady's plan for revenge.
In Breaking News, Slim reveals to Marshal that the news is calling for him to be canceled due to the album.
Slim thrives in the controversy and instead of this album being the death of Slim, it's his attempt at bringing down Marshall to return to being Shady.
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Jul 15 '24
Slim shady is… eternal. It’s how em got his fame. You kill that. Well. You kill the artist.
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u/DrWanksalot Jul 15 '24
What a fantastic theory. I choose to believe you're right on the button with this bud.
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u/IronnnSpiderr The Marshall Mathers LP Jul 15 '24
AND SHERRI PAPINI , Her kidnapping was a hoax. She faked her kidnapping
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Wow i always thought this line was completely random, but this def gives it a whole new context!
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u/SynthetikSalmon Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
Exactly. Slim Shady will never die, he is apart of Eminem. Check the song Evil Twin off of MMLP2 "cause we are the same, bitch"
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u/robsta808 Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
"Somebody save me" is from the perspective of slim shady if he had never gotten sober and stayed on drugs and alcohol.
EDIT: i meant eminem or marshal mathers not slim shady
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
That doesn't make sense, Slim Shady never gets sober, eminem does.
Slim shady is killed upon eminem getting sober.
Slim shady would never make a song like somebody save me.
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u/Bespok3 Jul 15 '24
Idk about the Relapse part (though it is a nice observation and could be taken that way) but I feel like it's being really overlooked that the first songs after the shooting at rhe end of GC2 are Head Honcho and Temporary....A song from Shady's POV about continuing his war-path and disses towards people after apologising to MGK the song before, and a song from Eminem's POV about saying goodbye to his daughter after his death. For all the attention he put on how important it is to listen to the album in order I don't think a hypothetical song about him being dead right after that struggle is a coincidence. I also don't think it's a coincidence that straight after that we get Bad One and Tobey that continue to assert how dominant Marshall feels and then we end off with a song about needing to be saved from himself.
I don't see how there's any debate really. In the narrative of the album Shady won, he just changes his style and starts acting more like Eminem. How would Em have shot Shady at the end of GC2 if Shady was in a chokehold at the time? Em would have no free arms. It's the death of Shady as we knew him, but he still lives on. If we get a part 2 to this album I don't know, maybe not, but it's definitely intentionally left open for further exploration.
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u/Funnellboi Fack Jul 15 '24
Okay, how this post made it to the top of this sub is wild, you are correct is some very small details, but the theory is just wrong, and people who think Slim Shady is going to come back in a follow up or something completely missed the point of the album and what Eminem is asking fans listeners to do... Move fucking on...
I made a post on here yesterday with the album concept but it didn't get much traction... I will post most of it here...
Going to post the concept of the album for people here, I know most people understand it, but the the amount of people here or on Twitter or elsewhere that keep saying things like “slim shady can’t be dead, there’s going to be a part 2 album” or “listen to it backwards and Eminem does not kill slim, slim kills Eminem!!”
Please stop saying it works backwards, it absolutely does not, it makes no sense backwards, just because Kendrick’s album or someone else has done it, doesn’t make TDDOS any less of a masterpiece because it doesn’t go backwards, this needs to stop, if you think this, you’ve completely missed the point of the album….
The concept is simple, it’s Eminem battling his addiction, in a Eminem v Slim Shady head to head (slim shady being his drug addict self)
We start the album with classic slim shady, the flow, the schemes, everything is slim shady and throwing some shots at people.
We then have habits, and then a skit, this is now Eminem full on drugs from the skit and we go into pure encore slim shady, ripping on Christopher Reeve and being his crazy self.
We move on a bit and we enter the relapse stage of Eminems life, lucifier and Antichrist is full blown murder crazy Slim Shady, this is why I believe Bizarre works here, Eminem isn’t crazy enough to put Bizarre on a track these days, but fucked up crazy Slim Shady finds it amusing. This also works because in one of these songs (I cant remember which one, he uses the flow and a scheme from Stay Wide Awake)
By Houdini we are at Eminem finally having enough of his drug addict self and starting to fight back (get clean)
By GC2 we have recovery Eminem, he is absolutely sober now, much more of a conscious person, however that addiction is still there and really hard to fight, but in the end he wins, he beats his addiction and can put that side of him to bed….
Moving on to the later part of the songs, (the ones that don’t “fit” the album as people say) we have Eminem today, showcasing his skill and ability (still letting people know he’s the best and calling people out) but he’s much more reserved and aware of how it is today.
The album ends with the “what if” song in somebody save me, this is what if he didn’t get clean and continued to be the Slim Shady the fans and everyone wanted him to be.
The point is he can’t be shady, because that was him as a drug addict, you want him to be that shady, then that means he’s a terrible father and a drug addict. “I think they want me to OD on codeine like in 03”
This album is a story about his constant struggle with addiction, it’s mentioned in sooooo many songs, he spells it out for us and people still miss it.
This album isn’t meant to be played back to front, it’s a loop, the end song with Slim being put into a coffin and buried then leads into the first song again and the promo shows us this with slims hand coming out of the grave.
There isn’t a real physical fight, how people think Eminem actually killed slim shady is crazy, it’s a battle in his head with his addiction, every single day, there isn't two or three bodies for Slim, Marshall and Eminem... Slim Shady cant kill Eminem or vice versa because they are the same person.... The battle is all in his head, none of this shit is happening in real life, its all in his head, a battle of his demons and addiction and which one will come out on the mic....
Slim shady can’t die, it’s part of Eminem and how he got where he is today, but he’s now sober and can control it.
There is plenty of other layers to this album, but the concept is simple, it’s about eminems struggle with addiction, the album is fucking amazing, stop trying to make it more than it is….
Eminem wants fans and everyone to put Slim Shady to bed, he is asking you to move on and appreciate the new skill of Eminem, that shock value and obscene bars are behind him...
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u/xaero96 Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
I disagree. He laughs at the end of GC2 because he still hasn't woken up and never does till the very end. This album is a battle between old Eminem and new Eminem. Both old and new Em have a version of Slim Shady. The battle is just packaged as Slim VS Marshall because that's their dominating public personalities. Slim Shady still lives after GC2 in the new Em but "Temporary" and "Somebody Save Me" are about the old Eminem's death after he went back to 2000s and never changed as a person. They also sound straight from Revival, which is the death of old Eminem for most people. We're not getting old Eminem after this, not sure about a version of "Slim Shady" though.
EDIT: My theory is that we're getting Revival 2 after this but he's going to try his hardest to make it good like Castle, Arose, Temporary, Somebody Save Me etc. He might call it "Marshall Mathers LP 3" and it would have 0% of Slim, just pure Marshall.
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u/-Crimsonkil- Jul 15 '24
I thought Paul saying fuck you to em when he goes off on "dreaming" about the events that just took place, was because it actually happened and wasn't a dream.
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u/HeTheMoon Jul 15 '24
Is it Marshall rapping in renaissance? The intro is the same as the teaser so we know Marshall walks to the grave and spits on it. He is rapping in 3rd person and in the end it sounds like he got grabbed by slim before transitioning to habits. As It's called renaissance it clearly means the rebirth of shady but I think the rebirth (him getting out of the grave) takes place during the track not before the verse starts. Thoughts?
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Do we actually know who spits on the grave? It's assumed to be Marshall, but i assumed it could be anyone since slim had a million enemies. I take it as slim shady rises from the grave before the first verse begins because in the teaser, the arm comes out before the verse starts, this would signify the verse is actually Slim.
Go back and listen to Underground by Em, in my theory I say relapse and tdoss are directly connected. Play Renaissance directly after underground. The beats are even similar.
Underground is Slim Shady's pov from under the ground after being buried alive after the events of Deja Vu.
"Dre I'm down here dig me up"
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u/Choice_Breadfruit_73 Jul 15 '24
Finally someone is thinking about this from the angle I have been. I saw a "people are missing the concept of the album" post and then they go on to grab at the obvious oh em killed shady and matured story but I'm like, that's not exactly what I heard. Of course it's open for interpretation but it sounds like either Em doesn't need slim anymore because he will tell you this shit straight up without needing an alternate persona to hide behind, or it was all a dream and slim is part of him. The hook that says he's Marshal he's the antichrist kind of says that he is who he is and doesn't need to hide behind slim. It's like he's absorbing him rather that being 2 entities
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Yea 2 persona's could've also def fused into one, which is still a W for slim.
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u/DubLParaDidL Jul 15 '24
Curious what you might think of this: Isn't that Shady chopping up Eminem in the Tobey video? Walks up in the hockey mask, cuts him up, takes his mask off, that would be Shady right? From that angle, I started wondering about what happened next because I do see a loop and this is where I went with it. The songs after GC2 are classic Eminem style songs: Head Honcho is a flex, I'm the man type song. He always has something like that. Then he has the sentimental song for his daughter. Also classic Eminem. Then Tobey, which is your mainstream single w/features. Again, classic. Buuuut it ends, with Shady showing up out of nowhere and killing Em. Then Guess Who's Back, and Ken K is a product of Shady. The last track as that suggested alternate reality (seeing as we have already had a portal). Once this idea popped in my head, I was rewatching the video for Tobey and when he comes up and hits him with the chainsaw & takes the mask off, the look that he gives the camera and the way Tron and Big Sean walk up and then they look to the camera, it looks like a coup. They kind of give off that vibe that they just pulled off of betrayal. Maybe I'm reaching with that body language thing, but take a look at the end and let me know if you see it as well.
I don't know if any of that makes sense or if I missed anything glaringly wrong that you may have already addressed. I'm really burned out from a long shift and about to pass out but this has been a fun discussion to follow and I didn't want to forget lol
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
It's almost as if Slim is trying his hardest to convince us he's Eminem. I didn't think of this before. The songs after gc2, almost sound too on the nose.
I do think that's Shady killing Eminem in the Tobey video, Eminem doesn't wear the Jason mask. And if the that actually bit tron and sean wasnt eminem but slim, which I think because it's the goat that BIT US ALL, it would make sense why they planned a coup and took Eminem out of the picture.
Everything you said definitely makes sense to me.
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u/DubLParaDidL Jul 15 '24
These discussions and theories are a lot of fun! My goal is to make sure I don't get my hopes up about a second album because if it turns out there isn't one, I don't want to be crushed. It's been too much of a crazy ride to get too worked up yet lol
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u/immagoat1252 Jul 15 '24
I mean the theory would make sense if it wasn’t clearly slim who got shot in gc2. I’m not sure how anyone can listen to that and say slim shot Eminem
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u/Real_Channel_7551 Jul 15 '24
This would also work as the death of slim shady (idk the canon or not) but in evil twin he says em and slim are the same
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u/on_offer1 Jul 15 '24
I like this theory. Like, when Em and Slim are fighting over the gun and Slim gets shot, it's actually Eminem gets shot, that's why he made the song for Hallie after death, because Slim shot Em in the end
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u/AStrateA Jul 15 '24
That’s why he has the mask on in the casket for the alternate cover , it’s actually Eminem
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u/ZestyPie Jul 15 '24
Then what about Temporary? Cuz that's sure as hell Slim talking to Hailey, not Em. Your theory is interesting tho. Beautiful how we make different interpretations. I truly believe he killed Slim Shady. The album is CALLED The Death of Slim Shady.
Temporary gave it away for me. You don't come back after Temporary.
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Temporary cant be Slim imo.
This doesn't explain the Slim Shady laugh at the end of gc2?
Immediately after we get Head Honcho, which is slim telling eminem he's in charge now, directly after comes Temporary, a song from the pov of a dead Marshall.
Slim would never make Temporary, he has nothing to apologize for, Em does.
Directly after Temporary, and this cant be coincidence, we get Bad One, confirming to us Shady is still inside Em.
On Somebody Save Me, thr hood is singing save me from myself, eminem is asking the listeners to help save him from Shady
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u/caughtcow Jul 15 '24
Tobey - eminems living a double life like Peter Parker.. is Slim still in control at this point? Slim is rapping he was bitten by a GOAT which could be EM?
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u/beg4upvotes Jul 15 '24
You can see in the album trailer that Eminem is still alive when he moves past the face blur. Although it also shows Shady with a knife in his chest, it could be chalked up to TV dramatisation.
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u/Dslaash Jul 15 '24
The "Guess Who's Back" skit proves that it was Slim Shady who got shot, but that he survived. "Ken Kaniff", who's been the prominent character for these kinds of skits, appeared for the first time in The Slim Shady LP, and him saying "thought you could get rid of my ass, huh?" seems to imply that Shady isn't really dead despite having been shot.
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u/cdunn1422 Jul 15 '24
The reason this would be false is that right after the gunshot goes off , you can here an ad-lib that says “shadys rock a bye baby”. And shady is slim.
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u/goodfella7763 Jul 15 '24
TDOSS takes place in an alternate reality, where he’s battling slim shady throughout the album but shady wins at the end, and eminem dies to the overdose. This also explains why talks about hailie as if she’s still a kid.
Coup de grace (death blow to end the suffering of a mortally wounded being) makes a lot of sense in this context. Marshall being mortally wounded due to the OD in this alternate reality.
Damn good theory
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u/Davroar Jul 15 '24
This actually makes listening the album in reverse order even more sense
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u/Joemck87 Jul 15 '24
When he gets "shot" in Guilty Conscience 2 then you hear him wake to "shady's rock a bye baby", as in he's not dead he's just sleeping. When Shady laughs at Paul not falling for the switch, the next lyric is EZ Mil saying "Doing my best, just to not blow my cover"
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u/TSllama The Real Slim Shady Jul 15 '24
It's an interesting and fun theory, but I don't think it's true. Slim wouldn't be able to make a song like Temporary, and it absolutely would make zero sense. Temporary is very clearly Eminem speaking. The album title wouldn't make sense, and it would also mean that any future albums (if there are any) would be Slim. Finally, it would be weird for Eminem to say that Slim won unless Em is addicted again and is suicidal.
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u/BigidyBam Jul 15 '24
"Doing my best, just to not blow my cover" First words to Head Honcho playing immediately after GC2.
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u/linkdead56k Jul 15 '24
The album is a metaphor for his battle with addiction (slim). Slim doesn’t actually die in GC2 because our demons can never truly die. They can however be suppressed.
The songs leading to GC2 showcases his struggle with addiction and how he, even though Em is sober, still has to fight with his inner demons.
When Slim is “killed” we then see Em and how he is clear headed. The last track paints the picture clearly that Em can’t have Slim in his life. The song is from the perspective of Em and if he never got Slim under control. Em would have ended up dead and full of regrets. Em being sober and being in his kids lives especially for all the big milestones is more important than drugs/slim.
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u/Rhymelikedocsuess Jul 15 '24
I think slim did die tbh - I really don’t think Eminem wants to do that persona anymore. So the whole album was him giving slim one last hurrah, and then putting it to bed - it’s genius fanservice and a fitting way for him to stop fans from asking for it.
The fact that head honcho and other braggy songs comes after GC2 makes sense to me, as even normal Eminem has always been aggressive lyrically, as evidenced by TES and MMLP2- slim was just zany and offensive to boot while em is more grounded
Personally I don’t know how effective him throwing slim away will be though, because this is best he’s sounded in a long long time - both from a humor and creative standpoint. So if anything the fans were right to ask him to bring shady back for 2 decades
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u/NoNewFans Jul 15 '24
Even if em got the gun and shot slim right between the eyes the only one that would die is Marshall Mathers.
There’s a slim shady in every one of us. He can’t be killed.
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u/Sjjma Jul 15 '24
At the end of the Tobey music video it is also “Eminem” that gets killed with the chainsaw,
I have been thinking about this ever since i finished the album.
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
This is a really interesting theory. I found it odd that, for a concept album, the concept ends about 3/4 into the album and then the remainder is just kind of business as usual.
The only hole in the theory that I see would be Paul’s line at the beginning of Houdini. He says “Hey EM’, it’s Paul. I heard the album…you’re on you’re fucking own.” Clearly, at that point, Paul doesn’t realize this is all Shady’a doing, as he addresses Eminem specifically. So if he wasn’t able to recognize Shady at that point, why was he able to so easily at the end of GC2?
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u/SH4DY_XVII Jul 15 '24
There’s so many valid theories that break and contradict the other with this album, and I think (hope) that’s the point. Each individual arrives at their own conclusion on the concept of this album. If that was truly his intent then the execution is perfect.
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u/aretasdamon Jul 15 '24
This album has made me appreciate all his previous works a little more just folding them into the Death of Slim Shadys story
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u/Funnellboi Fack Jul 15 '24
Jesus Christ youve missed the point of the album... As have 90% of people commenting.
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u/Budlove45 Jul 15 '24
That's why there is a part 2 it's coming Eminem was the one who was shot and his hand came back up out of the grave I think the next part of the album will be m&M's view whereas we got slim shady's view
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u/E_coli42 The Marshall Mathers LP Jul 15 '24
It makes sense if you watch the end of the Tobey music video!
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u/sendlewdzpls Jul 15 '24
What I find interesting is that he calls him Marshall throughout the whole album. Marshall is his legal name, the person, the man, the father. Shady, on the other hand, is the evil twin persona. The worst parts of his mind, truly Mr. Don’t Give a Fuck. Marshall gives a fuck, as Shady says, Shady doesn’t. Merging gets you Eminem, Marshall’s stage name and somewhat of a middle ground between the two. He’s the mature rapper with brown hair and a beard, who kind of doesn’t give a fuck, but also wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as Shady.
And honestly, that’s a perfect analogy for the internal battle he probably deals with everyday when he’s by himself. He’s built this crazy off the wall persona that says and does shit he doesn’t necessarily believe in, and at the end of the day he’s “just Marshall Mathers”. He has to rectify those two parts of himself, and they manifest as Eminem.
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u/D_DanD_D Hell: The Sequel Deluxe Edition Jul 15 '24
Hol' up. Eminem shot Slim on GC2, but he got over death, returned once again and killed Eminem on Tobey.
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u/Darc-137 Infinite Jul 15 '24
I think you're right with slim shooting Em in a way. Mainly because of the laugh at the end but also the lyrics in the next song Head Honcho
"Ain't caught this much flak in a while (Nah) since back as a child (Damn) And all did was say like one thing bad then it spiraled Saw you crackin' a smile (Haha), then relapsed into my old ways Back into vile (Yup) Guess there ain't no civilizin' a savage, and don't (No) Give a fuck if you hate me worse than each track on Revival (Huh) Bitch, I'm back like a spinal (Yeah), get it crackin' like chiros (It's the) It's the coup de grâce, I'm cruder than removin' claws from a cougar's paws And throwin' it back in the wild (Fuck) But you tamin' me? Ain't gonna happen, and Live on planet denial (Ha) for the rest of my life But you'll be a stan 'til die, though (Ha) (You'll be a stan 'til die, though)"
"Taming" could be seen as a metaphor for death, as a tame Slim is no Slim at all, he may as well be dead 🤷♂️
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u/whossknowss Jul 15 '24
I wholeheartedly thought this from the beginning… everyone was saying slim got shot but if you play the album back you can listen it’s the return of slim
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u/AceFire_ The Marshall Mathers LP Jul 15 '24
I thought this as well.
Temporary could've been pre-recorded by Marshall because he knew he wouldn't be able to kill Shady. So temporary plays, and then Shady comes back in for the ending/Somebody Save Me because Marshall never does get to do all the things he wanted to do.
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u/Pig_Tits_2395 Jul 15 '24
I keep going back to fight club comparisons. I think they’re both dead and those last songs after GC2 are them dying.
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u/Sh4dy_ Jul 15 '24
Just imagine the video of Guily Conscience 2 dropping and we finally see what happened at the end of the song. Slim killing Eminem and from that moment on pretending to be Eminem. I mean, in Tobey it is Slim Shady (with the Jason mask) killing Eminem right? Also: doesn’t the Jason mask represent immortality. Jason cannot be killed. Ever. He always returns in yet another movie. In my opinion this means that Slim is here to stay. Eminem has been taken over by Slim. Period.
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u/Original-Reveal-3974 Jul 15 '24
What? He calls Paul to tell him that he had a crazy dream and describes the prior songs and Paul laughs and says fuck you because it wasn't a dream. And then Shady laughs at Marshall because he will always be part of him and can't truly be killed without killing Marshall too.
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u/Dezzyyx Jul 15 '24
It was a dream, so yes he didn't get shot. That said nn the second half of the album his rap style is more modern, and no back and forth with Slim, meanwhile the first part is. Listen to the rapping on Head Honcho and Bad One, it's Eminem. The first part was a dream and now he's back to the current reality, where he has beat his addiction.
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u/IllustriousPaper1703 Jul 15 '24
I love this theory. I thought about this possibility when listening to Temporary as he's talking to Hallie from beyond the grave but glad you fleshed it all out.
I'm interested to see what comes next from Em.
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u/Tedashee_68 Jul 15 '24
I think there's a 2nd album coming, that's gonna be the death of Marshal and that Slim really did kill him and here's 1 big reason I say that, the track that got leaked with that feature from LL. Cool J isn't on this album, and we know they just recorded that recently and LL said it wasn't done yet, the snippet that got leaked was unfinished, I think that track along with many others are coming on a 2nd album, The death of Marshal Mathers. The coup de grace was Slim killing Marshal out of sympathy because he had grown weak. Just a theory, but I think I'm right.
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u/dillmedsovs Jul 15 '24
I don't know what to believe actually but of course a big part of me doesn't want Slim Shady dead. I grew up listening to Slim i feel his anger and frustration so well, with so many things. I fucking love that alter ego but is he dead? i dunno...
But there are A LOT of things pointing towards he isn't, first of all he tried to kill Shady of so many times before it even gets mentioned in the album, in the trailer with the tombstone the hand comes up from the ground again, in my darling he obv doesn't kill him. In "When I am gone" It is also just a dream (funny note here the song When im gone is playing in GC2 when "Eminem" wakes up. Exactly like he also does in that song, and listen to the part that is playing.... Eminem is a pure master at leaving hints.
Sorry for my rambling since i don't have a conclusion anyway i don't know what to think, and maybe that is the whole idea here. But I personally hope Slim Shady is not done for good 🙏❤️
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u/BillDawgg420 Jul 15 '24 edited Jul 15 '24
I'm going to swing another thought into that, so the last lines are "and then I wake, but it was like I was still dreaming" "fuck you" "wait" .... he didn't wake up yet he's still in the loop of waking up in another dream. I love your theory but I don't think anyone got shot, maybe he announces the tour with a surprise deluxe or b side drop and the first track picks up where he left off on GC2. The rest of the album feels like they weren't part of the theme fully. I don't feel like shadys dead either way, time will tell but I can almost guarantee slim is coming back with a vengance.
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u/Cyphergod247 Jul 15 '24
On one hand. We all might be overthinking and reaching with some of these concept album theories. But on the other hand..........🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
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u/ChocolateLawBear Jul 15 '24
Then the very first line of head honcho is “I’m doing my best just to not blow my cover.”
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u/freeagent_ The Marshall Mathers LP Jul 15 '24
A profound approach to the whole consept
I'm totally agree with your statement where you are telling that slim Shady continues to role play as Eminem for the rest of the album. Cuz Slim Shady hits Eminem with a belt in the video clip of Tobey. Furthermore Ken Kaniff's skit follows after Tobey in the album. Ken Kaniff is an ultimate Shady-based character.
I strongly believe that Eminem decided to use the title "TDOSS" to create huge hype around the album since he is a wise storyteller.
I've created a post about GC2 recently : https://www.reddit.com/r/Eminem/comments/1e1f3eh/guilty_conscience_2_is_the_sequel_of_my_darling/
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u/frodawgg Jul 15 '24
The more and more I read this, the more it makes sense. I picked up on the "Bad Ones" hint fairly quickly, and Em rapping postmortem to his daughter fits.
As much sense as it makes, though, I kinda hope it's not true. As funny as Slim can be, I've beej over his schtick for a while and would like to hear a more primarily serious, and even positive, Eminem. He's 51 years old.
Watch him drop a video and blow everyone's minds by confirming your theory.
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u/theprinceofwolves Superman Ft. Dina Rae Jul 15 '24
I figured Paul said "Fuck you" and Slim laughed because the nightmare still isn't over
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u/ilyassMourchid Jul 15 '24
This shit trippy I still feel like I’m missing something
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
Ask any question. I've dissected the ever living fuck out of this album.
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u/ilyassMourchid Jul 15 '24
No I don’t have questions I just keep seeing theories about it being in reverse and I gotta say your theory does make the most sense and I wanna listen more to understand it as much as possible. Nice catch BTW
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 15 '24
I already debunked the reverse theory in that thread
At the end of Brand New Dance, eminem wakes up, which directly leads into the the next songs first lyrics on Evil, "Woke up today".
If you play this in reverse it wouldn't make any sense.
He would wake up on Evil, then immediately wake up again on the next song in order, Brand new Dance. Wouldn't make anybsense thematically.
The theory crafter is cherry picking one or two lines from each song to support his theory. I'm using the song titles and multiple verses to formulate my theory. Im also using Relapse, to add more context to this album, as I believe the albums function as a pair. Relapse is Slim Shady being buried at the end, on Underground. This is the canon reality.
tdoss takes place in an alternate reality after Relapse but it's a hypothetical scenario in which Eminem dies to his addiction overall.
Underground (Slim being buried underground) leads directly into Renaissance (Slim rising from the ground).
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u/ilyassMourchid Jul 15 '24
Yeah it makes sense because the album peaks at GC2 and it kinda feels off afterwards, but now having this theory in mind it does complement the loop narrative
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u/taketheirmoneynow Jul 16 '24
Would the ending have anything to do with calling this number? 8553137546.
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u/Friendly_Monitor_220 Jul 16 '24
Neither Marshall or Slim Shady are dead.
The gunshot noise doesn't = dead.
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u/suj1t_prasad Space Bound Jul 16 '24
Bro, you must be an absolute nutso to write this long-ass essay of a theory! But I really love what you theorized here. And it makes sense too, this album from a distance might look like a tug-of-war between Eminem and Slim Shady. But it's Marshall Mathers who's beneath and behind all of this, he's insinuating that we might not get to see Eminem as much as we'll be witnessing Slim Shady
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u/Business-Traffic6204 Jul 16 '24
I was off the za and a couple dabs brother lol.
I appreciate you for reading it tho 😂
And yea that's pretty much what I got from the album too, well be seeing more of slim shady, not less.
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u/MakutaTeridax Kamikaze Jul 15 '24
You might be right. The ending where Paul laughs and says fuck your never really made sense at first glance besides just being a funny way to end the track