Question: Is there anything to suggest that someone couldn't leave the grail in the cave and come back every 50 years or so to "top off" their immortality?
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Answer: It's stated by the ancient knight that the Grail's powers do not extend into the outside world. He himself was immortal only because he remained at the site, drinking the water, for hundreds of years. Henry Senior was instantly healed on-site, but he and Indy continued to age normally once they left the site.
Then why didn't Henry's wound return when he left? Their healing extended their lives. It got rid of any bad cells, to go scientific.
Because cell deterioration due to aging happens spontaneously, i.e. you've got to keep removing the bad cells. Bullet wounds are not spontaneous...once it's gone, it's gone.
Why would his wound return? He was instantly healed. From that point forward he was in normal health, even after crossing the seal. Indy actually drank from the Grail, which meant he was immortal for a few minutes, but his immortality did not follow him beyond the seal.
It's the difference between believing the power of immortality comes from the cup or staying in the cave. The knight was immortal because he kept drinking from the cup, not because he stayed in the cave. The cup has healing powers, and simply growing old is not the reason for death, regenerating cells will keep you alive, so if the cup regenerates cells, you are immortal from drinking from it, as long as you do it regularly. That's how the knight has done it and why he looks old and is frail. Going outside doesn't negate the powers of the cup, or Henry's wound would have returned. Therefor, going back often to drink from the cup will extend your life. It will cure you from any ailments that accompany old age like heart disease, cancer and brain degeneration.
The Grail Knight plainly says: "You have chosen...wisely. But, beware: the Grail cannot pass beyond the Great Seal, for that is the boundary, and the price, of immortality." Therefore, you remain immortal as long as you don't cross the seal. If you are healed instantly inside the boundary of the Great Seal, then you are healed. Period. It's not just a magic bandaid that disappears if you cross the seal.
Question: When Karen is being questioned by her superior in the hospital, he has her written report. But, when did she have time to write it? She met Foley, got thrown in the trunk, got into an accident, then went to the hospital.
Question: Why did Hampton's family go home really early, after riding the monorail when they just got there and didn't even go on any rides?
Answer: They were saving the other rides for their next trip.
Question: It's supposed to be Devil's Night, so why are there child trick or treaters running around in costumes when Eric is wandering around outside?
Answer: "Devil's Night" is the night before Halloween, Oct. 30. Many communities across the U.S. hold "Beggar's Night," the night kids go trick-or-treating, on a day other than Halloween, often Oct. 30.
Answer: Given that there is going to be likely dozens of buildings burned down by the next day, kids probably want to get their trick or treating done a day early.
Question: They didn't make it out of the cave with the grail because they dawdled... I wonder, would someone be able to make it out running at a dead sprint once they crossed the seal? And if so, does that mean that they're home free? Or would disaster follow them outside of the cave?
Answer: The implication is that disaster would follow them outside of the cave as well. It wouldn't make much sense if you could simply outrun the disaster.
"Followed by disaster" is a kind of curse, a thing not common in Christianity. It doesn't make much sense anyhow. A seal is just a dot - OK, so let's at least grant that the seal represents a circle that the grail has to stay in. Who decided where those borders are? The grail was taken there during the first crusade. That was closer to 1938 than it was to 33 AD. The three knights could move the grail about then. Why not afterwards? The knights could have built the traps. But the borders could only have been set by god, in an unusually late and completely atypical miracle.
There are several examples of curses in the Christian Bible: Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt for looking back at Sodom, the plagues visited upon Egypt, Adam and Eve are cursed for eating fruit from the tree of knowledge, etc. The knights did not move the grail around after finding it, they stayed in the temple for 150 years and then two left leaving the third behind. The great seal and it's restriction was already in place when the knights got there.
Where in the movie is that stated? I interpreted the knight's story as them having made that place. Looks like it isn't actually specified. But if God made it, then I submit that he would have used Greek, not Latin, for the stepping stones. (All of those curses are from the old testament. The book where god kills firstborn children as long as they're Egyptian. Grail is by definition new testament where you turn the other cheek. There simply are no curses in the gospel, that's just not how Jesus rolled).
The tests were made by the knights, but the seal had God's power in it. Just like the cup.
It's still a bit dodgy. What if you take a shovel and dig yourself a back door? Basically this film really excels at stuff that makes no sense but helps the storytelling, or to be precise, creates dramatic effects.
Every fictional story is like that in some way. That's why it's called fictional. It's just a story.
Not a particularly convincing argument, "stuff happens for no reason all the time", if I may say so. Why is this website even here then? The fact is that some stories are more coherent than others. (♫ "In olden days, a hole in the plot, would seem to matter, quite a lot. Now heaven knows, anything goes..." ♫);).
It's the difference in what story they want told. Is it a fairy tale or based on actual events? A huge difference in plausibility between the two. The site is there to look at mistakes, not how believable the story is.
It is not set in another universe so plausibility isn't somehow suspended. Maybe take a look at the categories recognised by this website. Plot holes, factual errors, even stupidity. (They? Who are they?).
It is set in a fictional universe because it's not a true story. With "they" I mean the writers/director. Mistakes in a plot (plot holes) have nothing to do with how believable the story is. As long as it's plausible, it's not a mistake.
Pretty sure it's the same universe, just with some added characters/events. What about the total lack of spaceships or orcs or talking animals for example? The seal business is not a mistake YET, but it's very dodgy because no-one knows how it works or why. Like all Indys "trapped" secret places, it's (among other things) unclear who resets the traps for the next visitor. We can't brush it ALL off as "the hand of god" every time.
Huge amounts of stuff in films isn't exhaustively explained. Doesn't mean there isn't an explanation that's perfectly believable. There's zero evidence either way to say how "followed by disaster" would manifest, and just because there's not a thorough explanation doesn't mean that it's "dodgy", and it's not worth bickering about either, because there's no concrete answer either way.
OK but I would like to note that not everyone who offers creative explanations has recently seen the movie; some people just invent their own. E.g. "followed by disaster" is not an actual explanation from the movie, it was just one of the suggestions made here and only here. Or the ones on my own question below. All I'm saying is, it's very hard to tell what the "rules" / "logic" of this place are supposed to be, so I understand what the OP was driving at.
Question: When there's a fight with the German dancers Clark dances with and the Griswolds run away and drive away as fast as they can, why do those German dancers chase after them with ropes? What were they going to do to them?
Answer: They're a lynch mob. Remember what Rusty's date said: Girl: They haven't rang those bells in years! Rusty: What do they mean? Girl: They're going to hang someone! (pause) Rusty: Dad.
Question: How did the bottle end up in lake Michigan if it was thrown in the Atlantic ocean?
Answer: None of the bottles ended up in Lake Michigan. Theresa is from Chicago, and when she and her son are at Boston Logan Airport she tells her ex-husband she'll be staying in Cape Cod for a few days, which is where she finds the bottle on the beach, along the Atlantic Coast. Then after the newspaper article, Theresa learns of another letter in a bottle, which Theresa notes as "bottle #2", and this bottle was found in Ocean City, Maryland, also along the Atlantic Coast. Catherine's letter in a bottle was found at Virginia's shoreline, so all of the bottles were found on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Question: Did C-3PO and R2-D2 appear in this film?
Answer: I was wondering about this, too. C-3PO did not appear in Solo, and I cannot find any Internet reference pertaining to R2-D2 being in it. Curiously, Anthony Daniels, the actor who has played C-3PO in all the other Star Wars movies, makes a cameo appearance in Solo as another character (Chewbacca's friend).
The Passion of the Wick - S9-E25
Question: The ending of this episode confuses me. Just to be sure, does Nigel Wick go back to being the Boss as he used to be, and do Drew and Mimi go back to their old jobs?
Answer: Yes, Wick will be the manager/boss, Drew will be reliving his nightmare as head of Human Resources again, and Mimi's dream of running the make-up department is snatched away so she will be Wick's assistant again, to which Mimi declares, "Well, it didn't take long to find the turd baked in this cake."
Question: Dr. Claw's claw has a red light built into it. During the film it is shown to be flashing. I've just always wanted to know what this means?
Answer: Probably just a common trope seen in movies to indicate something is on or working. It adds a hint of in-movie realism. While it's shown that the claw can be operated manually or through will, it isn't implied the light does anything or tells us anything.
Question: Why didn't Peter retaliate against Bob for punching him and letting the town know what a jerk he is?
Answer: Two possible reasons. 1. Hitting him back and telling everybody about Bob being a complete jerk would make him no better then Bob. 2. Bob actually knew the real Luke and if Peter had hit him, Bob could retaliate by telling everybody the truth.
Question: Why do Jasper and Horace not appear in this film? Are they still in prison or did Cruella just lose faith in them?
Answer: Most likely both.
Question: Jack seems to be in the habit of getting smacked across the face by a woman a lot. In a deleted scene, it shows Jack getting smacked in the face by a mermaid. Why was this scene deleted from the movie?
Answer: Although this has been a running gag throughout the series, the filmmakers probably felt it quite didn't fit into the storyline or else thought the joke had simply worn itself out. It may also have been intended to be used for promoting the film and in theatrical trailers.
It should have been kept in. I thought it was funny.
Question: How did Lash find the Secret Sanctum?
Answer: Will took Gwen to the Secret Sanctum. Later it's revealed that Gwen is really Royal Pain and since she saw the location of the Secret Sanctum, she would have told Speed, not Lash, as his super speed would be able to get him in and out without setting off the alarm. If Lash had tried to get into the Sanctum, he would have been caught.
He entered while Gwen was still visiting for the first time before she left.
Question: Mariko said to Yukio that she could not tell her something now, on the night Yashida faked his death - what could she not tell her?
Answer: Yes, She didn't want anyone else to hear about it until the will was announced 3 days after Yoshida's death.
Question: I've probably missed something, but at one point Michael rescues Sarah from the very room that they are trying to access for the escape - why didn't they use that route to get there?
Answer: She wasn't in the infirmary, she was in Sick Bay, a different location in B Wing.
Answer: She wasn't in the infirmary, she was actually in the sick bay.
Answer: Because the path from underneath the Doc's room had a new pipe replaced. The pipe was too big and firm to tear off so they had to change their plans last minute.
Question: How was Annette able to get Sebastian's car after he died? Kathryn probably wouldn't give it to her.
Answer: Sebastian could have had a will and left it to her. Plus she was likely either in jail or rehab after being caught with cocaine, leaving her with little power to do anything about it.
Question: When Roland was at Millie's apartment, why was he looking at a certain spot in the room? He couldn't have been looking at the jumpscar since it was invisible and he was only able to see it after using the spray.
Answer: It's not entirely invisible. But many people wouldn't see it. However Roland has been doing this for years. Not only is he the leader of the Paladins, but has been highly trained and experienced in his field for a long time. He could see it, as he knew what to look for with his trained eyes, so it was second nature even if most others wouldn't.
Question: At the end of the movie, it shows Benny managing to steal home, being called safe, the catcher arguing that Benny was out and the umpire saying Benny was safe. In slow motion, it shows the catcher catching the ball and tagging Benny as he slides into home so why wasn't Benny called out?
Answer: The umpire got the call wrong in that case. It happens all the time in real life. It wasn't allowed back then, but now Major League Baseball and other sports leagues will use instant replay to make sure they get close calls right.
Answer: The catcher tags Benny on the chest after he touches home plate with his left hand. Safe.
Answer: The film shows Benny beating the tag. Although the ball gets there before Benny, the catcher tags Benny a split second after his hand touches home plate.
Question: Why were they even kidnapping people in the first place? The ransom seemed like it wasn't planned and they only did it when they discovered that Jeff was rich. So if there is no ransom usually, why even kidnap couples to begin with? If it's just to rob them, then that doesn't seem very lucrative for the risk.
Answer: There was always a ransom, or at least that was always the intent. Anyone that didn't have money the kidnappers would just eliminate them. The kidnappers MO was to take a couple and force one of them to empty their bank accounts. Earl makes it clear that the difference in Jeff's case is that they were unable to kidnap the pair at the same time. For whatever reason, Jeff refused to get in the truck with Red, which caused the kidnappers to alter their plans slightly. Earl also gives some insight into how the group chooses their victims. He tells Jeff that he was targeted because he was driving a brand new SUV, which indicated he must have a fair amount of money in the bank. The kidnappers care very little about being caught, they have obviously committed many murders without being found out. They seem to leave very little evidence of their crimes for the police to find. Red is always several steps ahead of the police and is brazen enough to kidnap a man's wife and say directly to him in front of a police officer that the man must have him mistaken for someone else.
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Answer: It doesn't appear to work that way. The power of the grail heals Henry's gunshot wound instantly and it keeps the knight looking about 80 years old. However, there is nothing in the film to suggest that simply drinking from the grail and leaving the cave actually extends your life. In fact, Henry drank from the grail and died a natural death a relatively short time later in between this film and the next.
BaconIsMyBFF
Actually it is stated that Henry Jones Sr. died either in 1951 or 1956. So either at the age of 79 or 85 and at least 13 years after the events of the Last Crusade movie. Whilst this is not an extremely old age, there is no reason to think his life wasn't extended by the grail. Indiana himself got to a high age himself, having drunk from the grail.
lionhead
I don't think the series is implying that either Jones man lived a long life due to the grail. In fact it would seem to go against the irony of the grail as presented: that it does give you eternal life but you are confined to that cave to enjoy the benefits. Maybe if they had said Henry Jones died at the age of 120 or something out of the ordinary, but they specifically state he dies at a perfectly normal, non magical age.
BaconIsMyBFF
Well it's never stated that it gives eternal life only to the person staying in the cave either. That's what the question is about. If the healing properties of the grail work on someone who leaves the cave, there is no reason to think their life isn't extended (technically it already was in the case of Henry Jones Sr.) as well. It is possible though, since the knight looked pretty old, that the grail only heals, and that healing extends life but one has to drink from the cup frequently (like every day) in order to stay alive, whilst still getting older.
lionhead
The knight does say that the grail cannot leave the seal, which is the price of immortality. He is implying that in order to reap the benefits of eternal life you must stay in the cave. The way it seems to work is that in order to extend your life in any meaningful way, you must drink from the grail often. Just leaving and coming back whenever you need a jolt would effectively make the rule about not taking the grail out of the cave meaningless. How often you need to drink is of course not specified. In order for the film's ironic message about the grail to make any kind of sense, you would need to drink from the grail so often you would effectively be stuck in the cave. Possibly drinking from it every day. In which case, like the knight you would just live at the cave and never leave. The knight's brothers both left 150 years after finding the grail, but one of them died shortly after leaving, never making it out of the desert. So with regards to the original question: "can you just come back every 50 years or so?"; it would make the most sense based on what we see in the movie, what we know about how long Henry Jones Sr. Lived, what we know about the knights and how long they lived, and the message the movie is saying about the irony of the grail that the answer to that particular question is "No."
BaconIsMyBFF
I wonder if someone were to bring a large storage vessel to the cave, and fill it using the Grail, if they could then take that water with them and drink it later... Man, the scientist in me really wants to resolve this.
Drinking from the grail is not the same as pouring water out of it into another vessel. Drinking from the grail is symbolic and there is no real power that it bestows upon the water in it. However, if the grail was able to pass the properties to another vessel, one would have to assume the temple would collapse on itself when attempting to take the secondary vessel out.
Bishop73