FAQ: WHEN WAS BLAIR TAKEN OVER?
Was Blair a Thing when he went berserk, or was he human and taken over after he was locked out in the tool shed...?

I believe Blair was very human when he went berserk and was taken over while alone out in the toolshed.

Nice theory Todd. Does that make Palmer the Thing that took over Blair?

Likely. It was either Palmer or Norris, as those two THING's were doing some running around behind the scenes...

Why would a Blair-thing destroy the things needed to take him back to civillisation?

If Blair was a Thing prior to going beserk, he could have been trying to control the outpost without any interference from the outside world.

Surely it would be more important to get back to cilvillisation, rather than compromise itself by assimilating the other people of the group

By control, I mean make sure that the Blair-Thing can reach civilisation on it's own terms, mainly before civilisation reaches the outpost. This is the crux of ol' Chair Thing's theory: 1. smash a chopper & wreck comms gear so you look like a loon (stop escape to & communication with the outside world). 2. get isolated so you can do run around behind the goings on in the main buildings of the outpot 3. cry for joy, like you've won Thing-Lotto, when the put you in the tool shed. 4. build a some kinda craft so you can go infect humanity. It's only a theory and I could be wrong. That's why I love this movie and have seen it over a couple of hundred times (I've lost track but I did watch it 4 times last week!) - always thinking about what-ifs.........

Blair is not a THING yet. His outburst is perfectly understandable under given conditions. I watched the movie again yesterday (just to refresh my memory) and I enjoyed his solo like I never did before. The actor does a great job, maybe the best in the movie. Look at Bennings' or Copper's rubber faces. Mr. Blair' face express everything - the doubts, the dilemma, the fear etc. He decided to sacrifice the crew against their will and he knew why. If there is a question regarding his humanity, it takes place much later, when they ask him about Fuchs. At that moment he is probably a THING already. How much time he needs to construct the saucer? Or is there anybody who believes that he is still human at this point of the story and that his new behavior is a result of being locked in the storage alone? What his It ain't Fuchs words mean? And - now don't kill me - it's just a movie. The people there are actors. Even those who pretend to be THINGS are still actors. We shouldn't make crazy theories based on anyone's glimpse of an eye. How can we know how a REAL THING reacts in a given situation? From what we know, it is very intelligent being, especially when it takes control over a human body. The THING would never kill all the dogs - a possible chance to escape if everything else turns wrong. Where? I do not know. The initial mass learned in the Norwegian camp that there is also the US camp and headed to it. The abandoned plot where men hunt for THING-dogs in the snow gives us a feeling that there may be yet more places to head to. So why waste the dogs? Chair Thing: Thanks for the expression 'Thing-Lotto'. It really made me laugh!

He is just shooting in random direction, buying a time to destroy the rest of the radio equipment, that is all. He knows they are dead anyway, all of them. But I do not believe he really wants to hurt somebody.

I always shake with disgust when Blair touches the THING with his pencil and seconds later he puts the same end of the pencil with the eraser to his lips. Urrrf...

I don't know, if you look good he doesn't touch The Thing thing with his pencil, he is just a few inches from it away in mij point of view. But it would be a reason how he could have been taken over. But why does he investigate it a few minutes later in the movie on his computer when he would be infected at that time