Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: When Lucius first approaches the body of elders regarding his request to go to towns, why do they all just stare at him in silence instead of doing something else, like commending him on his willingness to want to help his fellow villagers? It would have been more interesting if they all just told him "No" in unison, a split second before the scene changed, instead of them all just sitting there looking at him. And Edward Walker even looked like he was a bit annoyed with him even asking to go.

Answer: I wouldn't say that Edward was annoyed. The elders had adopted a sober persona and tended to react in a gentle, non-emotional way to just about everything. Lucius wanting to travel to another village created a problem for the elders, who wanted to keep the younger villagers from leaving for any reason, mostly by constantly instilling fear of the unknown creatures. It would be unrealistic for them to simultaneously say "no". It is also a plot device. The audience is deliberately left without any definitive answer about what the elders are thinking.

raywest

Question: Why did Finton Coin want Lucius to sit with him in the tower? What did he mean when he told him, "I do hope no one saw you"? And why was no one supposed to see him?

Answer: The guards are supposed to be alone in the tower while on duty. Lucius went to keep Finton company as he was a bit fearful about the recent activity regarding the creatures in the woods. Finton hopes no-one saw Lucius going into the tower because he's breaking the rules.

raywest

Question: What made Lucius want to enter the woods? It is implied that he was one of the first villagers (that we know of) to rebel against the "rules" of the village, second to Noah for entering the woods "on many occasions." Also, why wasn't Lucius taken to the quiet room like Noah was supposed to have gone to because of him hitting people with a stick? Lucius broke the rule, so why wasn't he disciplined? When the village found out it was him, they would have expected a punishment to have been handed down.

Answer: Lucius is a typical youth who is questioning the elders' "rules," and is curious about what lies beyond the village's borders. While Lucius pushes boundaries, Noah is mentally impaired and functions on a childlike level. He cannot be reasoned with in a normal adult manner and is punished like a small child. When Lucius dared to enter the woods, the elders, disguised as the monsters, later "invaded" the village, thus terrorizing the younger members and making Lucius feel guilty for "endangering" everyone by his disobedience. That was his punishment.

raywest

Question: How did Reacher know it was James Barr who killed those men in Baghdad? Unless there was a forensic sweep on the bodies or for shell casings, how was he caught? There could have been multiple army snipers in the general area who could have committed the act.

Question: When Cady asked a teacher for the "lavatory pass", he laughed at her and told her to sit down. So, when and where was a student supposed to get a pass?

Answer: At my high school, a teacher was only required to let you go if the office had a doctor's note on file, saying that you must be allowed to use the bathroom. A "lavatory pass" could be a version of such a note. Plus, as Brian Katcher wrote, some teachers are strict and want to be difficult.

Answer: Some teachers don't give passes during lectures or instruction time. Some think kids should go between classes so as not to waste time, and some are just cruel.

Brian Katcher

Question: Why didn't they bring stronger ammunition on the Orca to kill on-site when the shark is surfaced, instead of using barrels and playing the slow game?

Answer: Agree with the other answers, but would add that both Quint and Hooper underestimated how big and powerful the shark would be. Until they were at sea, the shark wasn't fully seen and was likely expected to be about 15 feet and easier to kill with the weapons they had. As mentioned, the barrels were intended to slow down and exhaust the shark, keep it nearer the surface, and allow them to track and kill it.

raywest

Answer: The barrels were also used to slow or even stop the shark from leaving. They were heavy, but it didn't slow him down. Quint said, "The shark can't go down with two barrels on him." When it did, Matt Hooper asked, "Have you ever seen a shark do that?" Quint replied, "Never."

Answer: They didn't want to lose it. If the thing surfaces and you start shooting at it or use explosives and you don't kill it, you will just scare it off and won't see it again. That is, until there is someone eaten again. They wanted to be sure to kill it, so you lure it, get it to surface with the barrels and then kill it properly. It's still just a fish.

lionhead

The Gloating Place - S6-E31

Question: One of the detectives says that attackers don't usually wear masks and gloves. Is that realistic? I would have thought many would disguise themselves.

Question: I still don't understand the situation with Lori's mum. So Freddy killed her, and her dad covered it up with the story of her dying in a car accident. So, I don't understand the scene where he is walking towards her in a threatening manner and Will is seeing it. What did Lori's dad exactly do at the moment Freddy killed his wife?

Question: When the cops went after Chris after his assault on the casino and its staff, why did he just stop in the middle of the intersection instead of pulling off to the side somewhere?

Question: How did the crickets know that the aliens were a threat, resulting in them stopping chirping? In fact, how did animals, in general, know before the all-out assault raid on Earth?

Answer: I think a general answer is that animals, bugs, etc. learn at an early age the sounds and appearances of predators and know which predators to fear, plus may have instincts to sense danger. When a new or different sound is introduced (e.g. the trilling of the aliens), species would instinctively go into defensive mode until they can ascertain if they are or not something to be feared. The "fight or flight" response would apply – it is better to play it safe than be eaten. So, they may not have known the aliens were a threat, but they had to assume that until they knew otherwise. (Better to be safe than sorry.)

KeyZOid

Question: What was the purpose of the black boxes? If the original villagers created the village to escape the "evil things", why take reminders of the evil things with you into your supposed sanctuary? Anyone can find a key to a box and open it. Unless Edward Walker only had some kind of master key to all of them. Also, when the elders and their wives eventually die off, what would become of the boxes? Would the next generations find out their contents? Would they be buried or destroyed?

Answer: The items were not necessarily reminders of evil things, but a remembrance of their previous lives, why they left everything behind, and of the people they loved and lost. It's never explained how or if the boxes would be destroyed at some point. Possibly, when a person and also their spouse died, another elder might gather the box before younger family members accessed it. It may have been stipulated in a will that it went to another elder. Of course, the boxes are merely a rather flimsy plot device to reveal more information about the elders and their reason for leaving the modern world.

raywest

Question: When Finton is underneath the strung-up shelter with Ivy during the rain, it is made to believe he saw something in the woods. Did he really? And, do we get any glimpse of what he saw - or what he thought he saw? Or, was his mind playing tricks on him from him "knowing" those things were out there, possibly watching them?

Answer: He apparently saw something-movement or the red color-but it's left ambiguous, so the audience never knows for sure if something is there or if it's his imagination because he's frightened. He likely saw some movement or a shape that was Noah disguised as a monster.

raywest

Answer: It's an old custom. Throwing a glass into a fireplace and smashing it after drinking a toast is supposed to indicate that nothing can ever exceed that toast's importance. It ensures that the glass will never be used for another toast or even for an ordinary drink that would lessen what the previous toast represented.

raywest

Question: What would the elders of the village have done with Noah, as a result of him stabbing Lucius, had he not found the extra costume? If they had sent him away, they would have known he was the one that talked if the government came to investigate the village (if they even believed the claims of a disabled person). And I don't think they planned on killing him.

Answer: The elders would never have harmed or cast him out, as that would risk their village being exposed, and they were simply too compassionate to hurt someone who is mentally disabled. Most likely, he would have been confined and heavily monitored at all times.

raywest

Question: In the many shots of the sky above Pandora, we see a variety of seemingly nearby moons around the planet. I'm no astrophysicist, but it seems to me that many orbiting objects would result in a chaotically unstable situation which could not be expected to long endure. Any astrophysicists out there?

stevewaclo

Answer: My bad on the planet/moon thing. You make excellent points, but again, those other moons in Pandora's sky are huge and appear very close. Gravity effects would have to be substantial and disruptive on the entire moon system. Thanks for correcting me.

stevewaclo

Answer: Not an astrophysicist, but to be clear, Pandora is not a planet. It's one of 14 moons orbiting a gas giant (Polyphemus). Thus, it would be the planet and the sun's gravitational pull that would most affect Pandora, in terms of tides. Since the other moons aren't in orbit of Pandora, their pull would be significantly less and would have minimal effect, but would presumably cause more eclipses than what we have on Earth. Pandora also has an atmosphere, which helps provide stability and allowed for life to develop. There are moons in our solar system with atmospheres and bodies of water, which in theory could support life. But it's unlikely that the reason life hasn't developed on these moons is because of some chaotically unstable situation.

Bishop73

Answer: Diane was always the killer. I don't know why you keep thinking Angela, Peter's boss, was in this episode or the killer. Diane had framed Tom Tucker as the killer, and in the morning, he was arrested. As everyone prepares to leave, Lois deduces Diane was the real killer because she already had her dress for her solo debut on the news. She couldn't have known Tom Tucker was going to be arrested unless she was the one who framed him. It ends with Stewie secretly killing Diane because he's the only one that gets to kill Lois.

Bishop73

Answer: Angela wasn't in this episode. Angela died much later in season 17 (by swimming too soon after eating, according to Peter). Lois lost her memory after Stewie shot her while she and Peter were on a cruise, but that turned out to be a computer simulation.

Bishop73

Question: Who is the actress/model in the middle with the pink top at Heaven on Earth, who later became famous?

Question: What did those ominous red slashes on everyone's doors mean, the morning after the creatures had entered the village?

Answer: They are simply meant to be a warning from the "creatures" to not venture into the woods again. (Of course, in actuality, it wasn't the creatures, but rather the elders who left the marks... but it's the same thing.)

TedStixon

Question: Booker gets in touch with Copley because he wants to hand over the whole team for research? If one was enough, he would have volunteered alone. If just two, he would have handed in only Andy and himself, so he needed the whole team? Why not negotiate another way of surrendering the team? Why take them to the first ambush? He could have also betrayed the team there, like he did with Andy at Copley's house. Why does Booker search for Copley later if they're in cahoots? Is there no other way of communicating?

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.