Is Gretchen still going to die in the Primary Universe?
Part of Donnie’s reason for sacrificing himself is to prevent Gretchen, Frank, Samantha, and his mother’s deaths. His survival in the Tangent Universe had led to their deaths, including Gretchen getting run over at Roberta Sparrow’s house. So after Donnie decides to sacrifice himself and he is killed by the plane engine, Gretchen lives and never gets to know him. Therefore she never would have gone to the movies with him, or shown up at his party because it would have never been thrown. It is established that her stepfather is extremely violent towards her and her mother, including stabbing her mother in the chest. They moved away from him, but Gretchen later goes to Donnie’s house and tells him that her mother is missing. Presumably either kidnapped or killed by the stepfather. In the Tangent Universe, Gretchen was not home at the time.
My question is if Gretchen is in danger of being killed by her stepfather in the Primary Universe? In the Tangent Universe, she was out of the house most of the time with Donnie. But since Donnie is dead in the Primary Universe, is it safe to assume that she would have been at home when her stepfather showed up? If her stepfather kills both Gretchen and her mother in the Primary Universe, then Donnie’s sacrifice technically did not save Gretchen at all. Is she still a Manipulated Dead if she dies in both universes?