Ryan Reynolds’ Hollywood Chess Match: Did He Sacrifice Blake Lively for Power? (You Won’t Believe Who’s the Pawn!)

Diving back into this one, because Reynold’s SNL performance last night just couldn’t keep me away. Recall my first take of the Blake, Baldoni, and Reynolds saga where we found not star-crossed lovers, but a Machiavellian Ryan Reynolds in a three-piece suit counting his cash? Yeah, well, seems like he’s proved the point that he will overlook questionable actions in order to maintain stability and power.

SNL: Ryan’s Charm Blitzkrieg

A silent dread lingers over Hollywood’s polished veneer, a dread no spotlight can erase. The machinery of ambition grinds ceaselessly, its gears slick with quiet betrayals. Reynolds didn’t just crash the SNL 50th anniversary party for giggles—he pirouetted in like a PR ninja wrapped in a smirk. His smile—sharp, rehearsed—offers no answers, only more questions.

That skit? A masterclass in Hollywood damage control: “We’re so charming! We’re so funny! We can’t possibly be pulling the strings behind this scandal, right? Right?!”

However, did you see Blake’s face? That flash of *what-the-hell-was-that? wasn’t scripted as Ryan responded: “Why, what have you heard?” Oh, that wasn’t just a punchline; that was a carefully aimed dart. If this entire “It Ends With Us” takeover was jealousy, wouldn’t he be clutching Blake like an Oscar? Instead, he put her center stage, exactly where Blake wants to be.

Blake: The Queen’s Gambit in Play

Blake Lively finds herself in a role she never auditioned for. She is both essential and irrelevant, her presence demanded yet disregarded. Much like the Queen’s Gambit, Blake is the queen—powerful, yet vulnerable. It Ends With Us is the pawn, sacrificed to secure control.

Ryan has used the film as his pawn, letting the chaos and legal drama swirl around it while he and Blake seize narrative power. Blake is the queen, the most powerful piece on the board, and though she’s at the center of the turmoil, she’s also key to Ryan’s endgame. The lawsuit? The media frenzy? All sacrificial moves.

Blake’s expression at SNL? The SNL stage became another arena where words serve as weapons. Blake’s surprise lingers in the air, fragile and brief, as Ryan’s jest—casual but deliberate—slips into the night like a shadow. She is unsure whether the joke was meant to protect her or expose her.

Consider this: It Ends With Us was meant to be Blake’s shining moment—a comeback, a rebranding. Instead, it became the centerpiece of scandal. Ryan didn’t just let it happen; he weaponized it. Every leaked headline, every legal twist, played right into his hands. Blake, knowingly or not, enabled this. Her role as producer gave her control, but also exposure. Like a queen in chess, she moves freely, but her position is precarious. She’s the power piece, but the board is Ryan’s.

Much like the Queen’s Gambit, Blake’s position seems central, but calling her ‘sharp as hell’ might be generous. She often appears more like a piece swept along by the moves of more cunning players—particularly Ryan. She stayed silent during key moments, but was that strategy or simply being overwhelmed?

Ryan Reynolds: Hollywood’s Smiling Puppet Master

Jealousy over Baldoni? Please. Reynolds isn’t here for petty squabbles—he’s here for world domination, one brand deal at a time. He saw It Ends With Us as more than a movie; it was an opportunity. Pulling Baldoni’s strings, sneaking his own cronies into production, and giggling through SNL like the cat that swallowed Hollywood’s canary? Classic Ryan.

Let’s not forget Reynolds’ history. This is the guy who turned a mid-tier superhero into a billion-dollar franchise, flipped a gin company into a multi-million-dollar deal, and sold a wireless carrier for a staggering profit. He’s a master of reinvention and this saga? Just another business play.

The Long Con: Reynolds’ Playbook in Action

This isn’t his first hustle. From flipping Deadpool into gold, selling Aviation Gin like it cured hangovers, to cashing in on Mint Mobile—Ryan is basically Hollywood’s Wolf of Wall Street, if the wolf wore ironic tees and made dad jokes. And now? It Ends With Us is just another trophy on his capitalist mantle.

Let’s be clear: Reynolds didn’t want to save Blake from Baldoni’s alleged advances. He wanted to ensure that when the dust settled, he and Blake held all the cards. This was never about love. Not Blake. Not Baldoni. It’s about Reynolds playing 4D chess while everyone else is stuck in Candy Land.

The Tragedy of Using It Ends With Us as a Pawn

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge how truly tragic it is that It Ends With Us—a story meant to shine a light on generational trauma, domestic abuse, and healing—became a mere pawn in this Hollywood power play. Colleen Hoover’s book wasn’t crafted for scandalous headlines; it was a deeply personal narrative meant to foster awareness and spark conversations about cycles of abuse and the path to healing. To see such a poignant story reduced to collateral damage in a war of egos and ambition? That’s the real heartbreak. Ryan’s calculated use of the film as leverage, and Blake’s entanglement in the drama, overshadow the film’s core message, robbing it of its intended impact. In this chess game, the real loss isn’t just a career move or a reputation hit—it’s the silencing of a story that could have helped countless survivors feel seen.

It Just Needs To End

One final thought: Good or bad news coverage here, Renolds is still getting all the attention. Where is Baldoni in all of this? He’s still a footnote, right where the Reynolds-Lively team wants him.