“Openings” in Saudi Arabia reflect state-engineered culture and entertainment (Alowfi; Alahmed; Jones; Leber), re-branding (Binkhunein; Wheeler), autocratic-liberalization (Cerioli), populist-nationalism (Al Rasheed), and the myth of the reforming monarch (Wearing). I build on these through a different lens. Questions: What does the opening mean on the ground? Who has access to enjoy the new freedoms, who lacks access? Social openings go hand-in-hand with pre-emptive repression. To what threat is Mohamed Bin Salman responding if he removed contenders for power? Why does he care about women, dissidence or dissonance? Methodology: I draw on interviews with Saudi students abroad, and the increasingly large and vocal diaspora of academics and activists in the US, Canada and Europe. Data about instances of resistance to the “opening” is from Saudi newspapers and blogs. I examine the muddy edges of popular response. Thesis: One appropriate lens is gender. The ability to enjoy new social freedoms remains utterly dependent upon permission from men in the family. While the state made it permissible for women to drive, dress more informally, and interact with men in public, it in no way required men to allow these freedoms. This is evident in the new Personal Status Law of March 2022. Rather than dismantle the system of guardianship over women, it further codified restrictions on women in marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance – after allowing visible freedoms in dress and driving. MbS is vulnerable. He seeks to deepen authoritarian power as he nurtures an outwardly creative, innovative, and competitive society. Research: I add critical voices of Saudis to demonstrate not a popular response to the opening, but a wide range. Not all Saudis feel a hyper-patriotic nationalism. It is there to be sure, but the attentive population is more ambivalent, dissonant or dissident. Many Saudis welcome the relief provided by social interaction. For others, it is a tentative embrace, ambivalent acceptance, or even anonymous pushback. There is also a sense of anger or betrayal from women and other champions of change who have been denied their agency in making change happen. It is a bittersweet moment for those who fought the battles (Aldosari). I am interested in Saudis who are not impressed by the outward changes, from all perspectives. Conclusions: Women remain central to the construct of citizenship. That is why they were further restricted by the new PSL. We should examine various women’s responses to the opening and their sources of power