Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - 60 questions

Question: What is the name of the piece of score that plays when Will says goodbye to Elizabeth at the end? I can't find it on the soundtrack.

Answer: The score on the soundtrack is called "One Day" and is listed as track 12 on the OST.

Question: A few things; first, why is it Davy Jones and his crew, in some scenes towards the end, seem to work along the EIC so readily (for example, Davy Jones launching himself over Mercer to protect him)? I would think it would have been more of a 'following orders grudgingly, because they were forced to'. Also, related to the aforementioned scene, why didn't Jones just order the Dutchman to be taken underwater at the time, then take the chest back? They wouldn't have been able to fire their cannons or shoot guns with wet powder. Finally, was Jones really 'against' the Brethren Court? If he hadn't been fighting for the East India Company, would he have just kinda ignored the whole battle, still perhaps fighting on one side or the other to fulfill his own motives, or maybe even go so far as to fight with the Brethren?

Answer: Jones must keep Mercer alive likely because the soldiers have standing orders to destroy the heart if he comes to any harm. Jones does not submerge the ship because that takes time and it would be immediately apparent what he was doing. At any point before the cannons were submerged the soldiers could destroy the heart. If Jones were not at the mercy of the EIC, he most certainly would have been fighting against the brethren as they sought to free Calypso; something Jones very much did NOT want to happen.

Question: At the end of the movie, when Elizabeth and Will are on the island, why does Elizabeth have to stay on the island? Why can't she stay on the boat with either the Black Pearl or with Will?

Answer: She doesn't really have to stay on the island. But that is her home, it's where she is raising her son. Living on a pirate boat is not the kind of life she wants for her son, and she can't stay with Will because he has to ferry those who die at sea to the afterlife. Elizabeth and her son can't follow him there or they would risk death too.

Question: Is that man with the pirate code Jack's father? He sure looks like it and Jack asks "How's mum?" but it's a very hard tell/guess.

Answer: Yes, he is. This is Captain Teague, Jack's father, played by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, who was one of the primary inspirations for Depp's performance as Sparrow.

Question: When they are all in Davy Jones' Locker, Tia Dalma says to Jack something along the lines of "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it at the time." What did she mean by this?

Answer: This is never explained, and it can be interpreted any number of ways. It's mostly just meant to be a funny piece of dialogue, as well as hinting that there is a prior sexual relationship between the two that didn't end so well. Although Tia apparently tried to kill Jack, probably in a very unusual way, she still seems attracted to him.

Question: In At World's End, Jack and Beckett are hammering out a deal on the Endeavour, and Jack says Beckett can have Barbossa, Will, Pintel, Ragetti etc. but fails to mention Elizabeth, at which point Beckett asks, 'And what about Miss Swann?' and Jack answers, 'Of what interest is she to you?' Does this mean he still likes Elizabeth (even though she left him to die in Dead Man's Chest, and their relationship in this film is obviously frosty)? Did I miss something? Is Jack pulling some trick?

Answer: Well, Jack has no intention of allowing Beckett to have Will or any of the others, except maybe Barbossa. Elizabeth, he is simply more hesitant to risk the way he is risking the others. He may not "like" her very much right now, but he still has "feelings" for her.

Question: We're told that Davey Jones, himself, cut out his own heart, unable to withstand "that which vexes a man's soul, a woman." Will Turner's father, Bootstrap, savagely removing the heart after he is already dead doesn't make any sense. It is repeatedly said that the Dutchman must have a captain, but what about the moments just prior to? And why did the crew come back to life? It is only told that Bootstrap would be free and that Will would sacrifice eternity as Captain. And how did he "honeymoon"? It hasn't been 10 years. He hasn't ferried any souls yet. Right on? Unnecessary. I agree with audience. Confusing. Please explain.

Answer: Will stabs Davy Jones' heart (with assistance), which, as far as can be determined, gives him the captaincy of the Dutchman at that moment. Exactly why Bootstrap has to cut out his heart isn't clear - presumably something about the ritual Jones used years before makes it a necessary part of the role of captain. The crew don't come back to life, because they're technically not dead - their lives are tied to the Dutchman. Their aquatic appearance is because of Jones defying his orders - with a new captain at the helm, one who will do the job properly, they revert back to their human appearance. As for Will getting his "honeymoon", couple of possible reasons. Technically the job hasn't started yet - could be that, as Will's still in the real world, he can get his day on shore before he goes off to ferry souls. Probably more likely is that Calypso wanted him to have his "honeymoon" - he did, after all, take on the captaincy under less than ideal circumstances. While Jones chose to take on the position, Will had no real choice in the matter. Calypso's something of a romantic, so it would be entirely in character for her to allow Will and Elizabeth to consummate their marriage before he has to leave for ten years.

Question: What do the curls on Navy officer's white wigs signify? Some have one curl on each side, while others have two, and so on. Are they an indication of rank?

Answer: They are an indication of rank, however I am unsure what each one represents. But they do represent a rank.

Question: After Jack and Barbossa see the corpse of the Kraken, Sao Feng's ship arrives next to the Pearl and so does Beckett's. During the scenes that follow, everyone double-crosses everyone else. It moves so fast, I just don't understand what exactly happens. Could someone please explain it to me?

Answer: It's very complicated. Will led Jack and the crew to this island because he had a secret deal with Sao Feng (Jack Sparrow for the Black Pearl). However, Feng has betrayed Will by making another deal with Cutler Beckett, who then double-crosses Sao Feng. Feng then makes a deal with Barbossa to attack Beckett, but he wants Elizabeth as part of the deal, mistakenly believing she is the sea goddess, Calypso. Elizabeth goes with Feng to protect the crew, and Will is thrown into the brig. Jack, who wants Davy Jones' heart so he can become immortal, is taken to Beckett's ship, where he negotiates his own deal with Beckett to lead him to Shipwreck Island and the Brethren Court.

Question: In the scene where Beckett, Will, and Jones meet with Elizabeth, Jack, and Barbossa on the island, Elizabeth decides to exchange Will for Jack. Back on the Black Pearl, she tells Barbossa that they need to give Jack a chance. What does she mean by this? Also, why was Barbossa so eager to free Calypso, while Elizabeth and Will were so against it?

Answer: She means for Barbossa to give Jack a chance to locate and retrieve Jones' key and chest aboard the Flying Dutchman. Barbossa is eager to free Calypso because she brought him back from the dead, and he owes her for that; also because only Calypso can keep Beckett from destroying every last pirate in the Caribbean. Elizabeth and Will weren't especially interested in whether or not Calypso was freed. They didn't invest their efforts into the plan because they had plans of their own which working to free Calypso interfered with.

Question: Why did the Kraken die (or was it killed)? Does it have anything to do with Jack Sparrow walking into it with the cutlass in the 2nd movie? Or Beckett's conquering Davy Jones?

Answer: Beckett ordered Jones to kill the Kraken. No exact reason is ever specified, although it's suggested that it was, at least in part, to teach Jones a lesson about obedience. It also seems fair to say that Beckett was thinking ahead, depriving Jones of his most powerful weapon in case Jones ever managed to break free of his control.

Question: Who is Beckett's friend from Singapore, that he mentioned in the conversation with his servant about brethren court?

Answer: The spy that the Brethren Court had at the meeting between Barbosa and Sao Feng. The guy whose tattoo was fake.

Question: What does Lord Beckett mean when he says to tell Davy Jones, "To give no quarter"?

Answer: In this case it implies showing no mercy or clemency, no offer to retreat for the enemy, the Black Pearl, which Cutler Beckett knows would surely make Jones very happy.

Question: As the Black Pearl arrives at Shipwreck Cove, Tia Dalma and Barbossa have a very confusing conversation. Soon afterward, Barbossa has Tia Dalma sent to the 'brig.' Why would he need to lock her up, when everyone knows she wants to be freed from her human form?

Answer: She's showing her power over him, and he doesn't like that, seeing that he used to be immortal, and how she is the goddess of the sea. She also poses a threat, as she is what Davy Jones is really after.

Question: Why is it that the Marines wore red in the first two films, but they wear blue in this one?

Answer: It was done to show how much influence and control the East India Trading company had over the Britsh Navy/Marines in the series. To demonstrate how the East India Trading company "owned" the British naval forces.

Question: After the 10 years is up and Will can stay on land, what happens to his heart? Does it somehow go back into his chest, does he not need it anymore, or is there some other explanation?

Answer: Will can't stay on land after ten years. He can go on land for one day every ten years. His heart stays in the box because he is still the captain of the Dutchman until someone stabs his heart and replaces it with their own.

Question: How much time has passed between the ending of the first movie to the ending of the third?

Answer: About a year passes between the first two films, with a gap of a few weeks between the second and third. So no more than about fifteen months total , unless you include the after-the-credits scene in World's End, in which case add on another ten years.

Question: If Davey Jones had already gone against his agreement to ferry souls to the afterlife, why couldn't he walk on shore more often too?

Answer: He agreed to do a job in exchange for eternal life, with a few limitations. If he refused to do that job he'd be cursed until he fulfilled his duties, but that doesn't excuse him from the details of the previous enchantment. He didn't simply choose not to walk on land, he couldn't.

Question: Can anyone tell me the approximate year(s) during which the trilogy is supposed to take place?

Answer: According to the producers, the films are set somewhere between 1720 and 1750, although, as it's a fantasy, they didn't bother with precise historical accuracy. A tune played in the first film at Norrington's promotion ceremony was written in 1740, so you could consider that as an indication that the trilogy takes place in the 1740's.

Question: Can anyone explain why Calypso caused the maelstrom to appear? Other than provide really cool visual effects for the movie, it didn't serve a purpose.I would have thought she'd do something against Davy Jones and/or his ship in particular for betraying her in the first place.

Answer: It's suggested that, as she's pretty much equally annoyed at the pirates (for originally imprisoning her, even if it wasn't specifically those pirates) and at Davy Jones (for showing them how to do it), that she creates the maelstrom to make it an even fight - effectively telling them that she no longer cares for either side. The conditions within the maelstrom hamper the Black Pearl, the turbulence making it difficult to bring her superior speed into play, but the angle and extremely damp conditions also make it harder for the Flying Dutchman to bring her superior firepower to bear.