Answered 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 Bourne interrogates Nikki (under duress) in the underground station, Nikki insists that Bourne had never worked in Berlin, much less completed his first mission there. But it is established that Bourne had killed the Neskis in Berlin on what is described by Conklin as his first mission. Assuming Nikki has no reason to lie and that she would have accurate information about Bourne's activities, what might explain that issue?

Dusibello

Chosen answer: Conklin ordered Bourne to kill the Neskis, telling him it was a training mission, when in fact it was an unofficial, off-the-books assignment to cover up his and Abbott's corrupt dealings with Gretkov, which Neski was about to expose. Nicky did not know about this Berlin mission as it was not an official Treadstone operation.

Sierra1

Conklin did not tell Bourne that it was a training mission. Conklin told Bourne "this is not a drill soldier...this is a live project, you're a go."

Partially correct. After Bourne eliminates the Neskis, Conklin says "Congratulations soldier, training is over." This implies that while the mission was real, Bourne was still an asset in training, and off the books.

By "not a drill" and "live project", Conklin is telling Bourne to actually kill the Neskis - like killing the hooded man for Hirsch, it's training him to do anything for Treadstone. It could be that the edit is out of chronological order, but the order of the scenes implies that after Bourne has done the job and returned to the car, Conklin says "Congratulations, soldier. Training is over."

Sierra1

Answer: Conklin was using Bourne for an off-book hit on the Neskis because Neski knew about the stolen money and the oil leases. Bourne was told it was a genuine "hit" for patriotic purposes, but it was not.

Question: Since kryptonite obviously doesn't come from Earth, how can Earth elements be used to create a synthetic version? Like in "Man of Steel", when Jonathan says that the Krypton key wasn't made from anything on the periodic table, so it couldn't be from Earth.

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: Kryptonite is a compound created by irradiated fragments of Krypton rather than a pure element, Synthesizing it would then be a matter of analyzing the compound and finding Earth elements with similar properties. (Some, as you say, would be beyond the knowledge of human science, which is why Gus looked at his cigarette pack and decided to use tar in the place of the unknown elements).

Captain Defenestrator

Nobody Says Rat Fink Anymore - S8-E10

Question: Harry recognizes one of the defendants who used to bully him when they were both children. Harry says that he can't participate in the case because of this, and also because that would make it a conflict of interest. Wouldn't any cases where his father was brought before him also be considered a conflict of interest, and why would Harry be allowed to preside over his father's cases?

Answer: Harry's father only came to his court as a defendant once (about trying to start a mutiny on the ferry). Harry said he was going to recuse himself when Christine said the Dept. Of Transportation had already dropped the charges, so it was a moot point.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Harry recuses himself from the case because of his own conflict of interest, however, his father is usually brought in for simple public disturbances and with his mental health record, gets remanded to a mental facility for examination. In cases like those, the judge's task is little more than signing a form, so there's not really a question of impartiality to be considered.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: When Bourne and Marie arrive at his Paris apartment, Bourne phones a hotel to inquire if a 'Jason Bourne' was a guest there. When told no, he then asks if his other alias - John Michael Kane - was registered. He is told by hotel staff that Mr. Kane has been killed in an accident. (This is before Treadstone's Rome operative tries to eliminate Bourne in the apartment.) So I'm guessing this first report of Kane's accidental death had been arranged by Treadstone? To cover Bourne's trail to Wombosi's yacht?

Dusibello

Chosen answer: That's correct. Nicky arranged for a substitute corpse to appear as if "John Michael Kane" had died in a motorcycle accident, to cover up the connection to Bourne's mission once Treadstone realised Bourne had failed and disappeared. However, Wombosi saw the body at the morgue and deduced the deception, and Bourne later discovered that body is "taken" by the brother so deduced that it's a setup all together.

Sierra1

Question: When the four main guys are first coming down the slope in 1986, the two from the ski patrol apparently don't recognize Jacob's snowboard. Though snowboards were still largely unknown in 1986, wouldn't someone who worked for a popular ski resort recognize them?

zendaddy621

Chosen answer: The James Bond film "A View To A Kill" came out the year before in 1985. In the film, Bond's snowscooter is blown up by the Soviets, so he takes a wrecked ski from it and improvises it into a snowboard. Snowboards existed at the time, however, it wasn't until that film that their existence became well known. One year later in 1986, they'd still be very rare, but it's likely that his wasn't the first that the ski patrol had seen.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: I can't figure out why Draco wanted to go to Hogsmeade and give someone the cursed necklace there, then have them walk - under the influence of a curse - all the way back to Hogwarts. Why not hex someone in the castle (someone not old enough to be visiting Hogsmeade), closer to Dumbledore?

Answer: Filch used secrecy sensors on everyone entering Hogwarts at the start of the year, so Draco could not bring the necklace into Hogwarts as it would instantly be detected. We know from the books that the barmaid at the Three Broomsticks Rosmerta was under the imperious curse from Malfoy and she passed it onto the first Hogwarts student to enter the bathroom alone. Therefore it was likely sent to her directly from Borgin and Burkes.

Answer: Rey implies he's hiding behind the mask. He removes it to show he's not afraid of her seeing his face.

Chosen answer: Because there was cat food in her jello mould. He's pointing out the absurdity of someone adding cat food to jello.

Question: Towards the end of the movie, since everyone knew that it would be sunrise soon and since Stella was comfortable enough under the car, why would Eben inject himself and become one of them? Had he waited until dawn Stella could still be waiting under the car and everyone else could also be fine in the house.

Answer: It's stated in the movie they'll freeze to death under the car before sunrise. Whether that's true or not, Eben believes it, and that's why he acts.

Answer: The previous answer misses one very important aspect that forced Eben's hand. Prior to him injecting himself with the vampire blood, the vampires had broken apart the oil pipeline and set the oil ablaze to cover up their actions. The fire spread quickly and was nearing Stella's hiding place. As a result, Gail and Stella risked either burning to death or leaving their hiding place and being torn apart by the ten or so vampires who were standing nearby. Eben sacrificed himself so she could make a run for it. He understood - as well as stated in the film - they were in no shape to fight them as they were. The vampire blood was the only chance he had at saving her.

Invader_Gir

Question: Watney leaves the Hab for the long trip to the Aries 4 site in the rover. Is there a restroom on board?

RICHXX

Chosen answer: No. The book answers this by stating that he uses a bucket for his waste.

MasterOfAll

Question: If the French kidnapped the Native American woman, then why were the natives trading the furs with them and saying that they needed horses to find the woman. Were the French hiding her?

Answer: The French were lying to the natives. They had kidnapped the woman and then sold them provisions to help the search for her. They benefited further from the Native Americans killing their rivals.

Question: I don't get it. When Arlo finally returns end at the end of the film, why does his mother initially mistake him as her husband, Henry, when she should know Henry is dead?

John Ohman

Chosen answer: It's a momentary emotional lapse. Arlo has come back changed, and his mother is seeing him differently now, as if he is his father.

raywest

Question: At the end of the space battle in the latter half of the movie, the Resistance's X-Wings jump to hyperspace with their stabilizer foils still locked in attack position. Why?

Answer: The design could have advanced enough in the last 30 years that the S-foils no longer need to be closed to enter hyperspace.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: As Kurt is loading the hack to deactivate the laser grid, Paxton and his partner are banging on the van, demanding that Kurt and Dave come out. Just as the program finishes loading, the cops open the door and drag them out. If the van was locked, how did they open the door? If It wasn't locked, why did it take so long to just open the door?

MFWills

Chosen answer: They could have opened it with a crowbar or a Jaws of Life. (Likely the crowbar, since we didn't hear metal rending).

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: This is a reference to a popular fictional masked cowboy hero, the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger stood for truth, justice, and conducts himself by a strict moral code. When the Lone Ranger would solve a crime or capture a villain he never stopped to explain who he was but he always left behind a silver bullet as his trademark. Even his horse was named "Silver". When Sandy calls Danny a fake and a phony, Kenickie says "I wonder if she carries silver bullets" to mock her for her righteous outburst.

Question: It never shows the clues to Kat, Rory, or Eugine and Clear's deaths, can someone please tell me what they are?

M0vi3

Chosen answer: Eugene's death had no clues I know of, but Clear and Rory's did, Rory's clue was with Nora's. The trophy's shadow is segmented, giving it a divided look, Rory ends up divided to pieces by the barbed fence. As for Clear, Bludworth hints at it with his comment "such fire you have now".

Answer: Eugene And Clear die at the same time because when Eugene was plugged up to the ventilator it sparked a fuse and caused the whole hospital to go up in flames, leading Kimberly to drive the emergency van into the river trying to drown herself.

Chosen answer: Scotty spent the best years of his career as the chief engineer of the flagship of the Federation: the Enterprise. His time has passed, however and the Federation is rumored to be planning on the Excelsior becoming the new flagship. It is a larger ship with a new, experimental warp drive. Scotty hates the Excelsior primarily due to his pride in the Enterprise but also because he is unimpressed by the design of the Excelsior. The trans-warp drive is easily sabotaged.

Question: Why are lots of skyscrapers and other buildings in Manhattan covered in large plastic foil ?

altinisl18

Chosen answer: The Krippin virus was highly lethal and contagious. When it got airborne, the army had to quarantine these buildings.

Question: The question is if all the bridges and tunnels to Manhattan are destroyed, how does one drive from New York to The Colony in Vermont? How do Anna and Ethan drive to Manhattan to meet Robert Neville in the first place?

Answer: In the alternative ending Dr.Neville, Anna and Ethan are seen driving a car over a bridge that wasn't destroyed. The army would need to leave a entry/exit point, but it would have been heavily guarded until everyone died.

Question: If the movie plot is over a 4th of July weekend, wouldn't offices be closed? It appears to be a regular non-holiday weekday with so many people working.

Answer: Government offices would definitely be closed, however, in a big city like DC, not everyone would have the weekend off, and between the people who still have to work and the ones going out of town for the holiday, traffic would be about the same if not worse.

Captain Defenestrator

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.