Captain Defenestrator

27th Jun 2025

The Goonies (1985)

Question: Wouldn't the plumbers who installed the pipes for the country club have had access to the cavern that didn't require them to face traps? Couldn't the kids have gotten out that way?

Answer: Once Mikey convinced everyone to stay down there and continue the treasure hunt, they stopped looking for a way out. There might have been another passage out of the cavern leading to such a door out, but we didn't see it from our angle and they just chose not to take it.

Captain Defenestrator

They found and banged on the pipes for help before Mikey made his "Our time" speech. Mouth even said, "These pipes belong to a building or something. If we bang on them, if we make enough noise, someone might hear us."

Answer: The pipes could have been there for decades, and the original entrance had been sealed or bulldozed (though the odds that the pipes never needed maintenance all that time are a little far-fetched).

Brian Katcher

Except that when they start banging on the pipes, it actually causes chaos at the country club that Troy is at.

24th May 2025

Red Dead Redemption 2

Question: Was Arthur always supposed to die? Or was he originally supposed to survive?

Answer: I don't know a definitive answer, but given that the story of this game is ultimately about the fall of Dutch's gang, and that the protagonist of the original Red Dead Redemption game also dies near the end, I would bet that the developers always intended for Arthur to die.

Phaneron

Answer: Arthur dies in both endings; it's a question of how.

Captain Defenestrator

If his honour is high, he will die from tuberculosis. If his honour is low, he will be killed by Micah.

6th Mar 2025

Batman (1989)

Question: The answer is not given in the film, but does it explain in the early scripts why Jack shot his parents but not Bruce? If not, what was Joe Chill's reason for shooting Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins?

Gibson Rickenbacker

Answer: Actually, it is answered in the film. Jack did want to kill young Bruce because Jack had pointed his gun at him. When Jack's accomplice begged Jack to just leave the area, Jack walked away.

Answer: It's unlikely there was anything specific in the early script development addressing this. In the film, Jack Napier, not Joe Chill, was the killer. He had time to shoot young Bruce, but hesitated before his accomplice called him away. In the Batman universe and the various interpretations, there's never been one definitive explanation. In the original lore, Bruce Wayne's parents were randomly mugged by Joe Chill. For unknown reasons, he murdered the Waynes, probably spontaneously. Bruce was probably spared because he was a child or something scared Chill off. However, this should be seen through the lens of a writer. The plot requires that Bruce survive to become Batman. His parents' murders shaped and motivated everything in his life from that point on. Otherwise, there would be no story to tell.

raywest

Answer: With regards to Chill in Batman Begins, Thomas Wayne is shown reaching towards Chill when he grabs Martha to get her jewelry. Chill gets spooked and shoots Thomas. He then shoots Martha and runs off. Joe Chill is shown to be extremely nervous and on edge, and he doesn't appear to regard Bruce in any way at all; all he wants is the jewelry.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: There's a fan theory that Bruce Wayne projects his parents' killer onto all his enemies, so whoever he's fighting at that particular moment killed his parents.

Captain Defenestrator

22nd Jan 2025

Red Dwarf (1988)

Justice - S4-E3

Question: When Rimmer is jailed for killing everyone on Red Dwarf, why did they go down the route of getting Rimmer a retrial? Wouldn't it be faster and easier to simply turn Rimmer off and then reboot him?

Answer: Purely speculation, but perhaps the Justice computer took over Rimmer's light bee and blocked a shutdown. Even if they did a hard reboot on Red Dwarf, the original Rimmer would still be trapped on Justice World.

Brian Katcher

Answer: They could do that after they left the planet, sure. But if they tried it while they were there, the Justice Zones would punish them for it. Best to play along until you can get away.

Captain Defenestrator

28th Apr 2024

King of the Hill (1997)

Answer: He installed asbestos in schools. It's not said what he did after that, but he complained about all his work being undone.

Captain Defenestrator

21st Dec 2023

King of the Hill (1997)

I'm with Cupid - S6-E7

Question: Why does Peggy think that Bobby would become a drug dealer if he had a pager? This episode first aired in 2002. Weren't pagers still common?

Answer: They were, but that wouldn't stop Peggy from buying into a stereotype.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: His belief in a family curse.

Captain Defenestrator

Show generally

Question: I remember at least a couple of jokes on this show about Michael Bolton: a character disliking him, Al wanting to get rid of him, etc. Is there a story behind it?

Answer: A lot of "manly men" like Al, don't like Michael Bolton's music. He's just an easy target.

Captain Defenestrator

On a similar note, some 2000s shows had comments/jokes about a female character not liking Britney Spears. If a singer is massively popular, there is a select group of people who are tired of hearing about them and resent them. Which is often a subject of joke material.

Azalea

28th Sep 2023

King of the Hill (1997)

Vision Quest - S7-E12

Question: Obviously, the guys don't believe that Bill has a son named Trey. Hank points out that the name was Travis last week. But why is Bill pretending to have a son?

Answer: Bill lives in a state of denial. He hopes his wife will return any day. He escapes into elaborate fantasies, like having a son.

Captain Defenestrator

I've noticed that Bill often wants to copy what the other guys are doing, as part of his fantasies. So if Hank and Dale are talking about issues with their sons, he wants to talk about a son, too.

Answer: The Hulk is accused of killing Dr. David Banner and Dr. Elenia Marks. After the lab explodes, McGee sees the Hulk emerge carrying the body of Dr. Marks, so he assumed the creature is guilty. It was McGee who caused the explosion. After following the trail of evidence of the Hulk to the lab, he hides when David and Elania arrive. In a darkened storage closet, he knocks over a bottle of flammable liquid. He confronts them, then is forced to leave by Banner, who says, "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." When Banner reenters the lab, it explodes, caused by the Hulk when it went on a rampage trashing the lab, causing many electrical systems to catch fire, thus igniting the flammable liquid.

The Hulk didn't cause the explosion. The liquid mixed with another chemical. While David and Jack were both outside, Elaina heard a sizzling noise, and when she saw smoke coming from the closet Jack was found hiding in, she called out to David. That's when the explosion happened.

Answer: The phrase "Incredible Hulk" is coined by Jack McGee in one of his tabloid articles. He's trying to find proof of the Hulk because no one takes his story seriously, so probably nobody takes his name for the creature seriously either.

Captain Defenestrator

28th Jun 2023

The Warriors (1979)

Answer: Fox witnessed Luthor shoot Cyrus. Chances are, during their trip home before Fox was killed, he mentioned it to Swan and the other warriors.

Gavin Jackson

There is no evidence that Fox told anyone about the shooting. The Warriors don't learn that they were accused of it until they encounter The Lizzies. To restate what the other person said in an earlier comment, Swan would have tried to call off the hit had he known they were framed by the Rogues.

Answer: The first person to falsely accuse you of shooting someone is very likely the one who did it.

Captain Defenestrator

There is nothing in the conversation that would allow Swan to know Luther actually did it. If he knew earlier, he would have gone to the Riff's himself.

28th Jun 2023

King of the Hill (1997)

Answer: I don't think this has been explained in any episode. At some point, he most likely asked people to use his full name. Perhaps he wants to highlight the "Redcorn" at all times, out of pride for his family history.

Answer: John is a common enough name that they might know several other Johns that we've never met, so they're being specific.

Captain Defenestrator

25th Jun 2023

King of the Hill (1997)

Texas City Twister - S2-E2

Question: Why is Luanne being pursued for back rent that her parents owe? I know she is eighteen or nineteen years old, a legal adult, but that doesn't automatically make her responsible for paying family members' bills.

Answer: Luanne's parents are the kind of people who might have signed their daughter's name to the lease. A decent lawyer could get her out of it, but that's beyond the scope of this episode.

Captain Defenestrator

Also, she might have chosen to sign that lease if she was 18 at the time. Maybe her parents asked her to do it, and she didn't fully understand the responsibility.

15th Aug 2018

Goldfinger (1964)

Question: Why did Goldfinger go through the hassle of telling the other gangsters his plan, only to kill them right after?

Answer: Goldfinger wants to keep the charade going up until the end so the others suspect nothing unusual. It is also a means of exposition to explain the plot to the audience.

raywest

Answer: I believe that Goldfinger is a showman / show off and wanted to boast for the pure hell of it. Also I think that he had to string them along so they wouldn't suspect he was about to do what he ultimately did to them.

Alan Keddie

Answer: Like all Bond villains, he wants someone to appreciate his genius, even if he plans to kill that person immediately after. How many times have villains told Bond their plans, then stuck him in a deathtrap that he manages to escape? These guys got the same treatment except for that part at the end.

Captain Defenestrator

2nd Jun 2022

Batman: Arkham Knight

Question: Just where did the militia get the money for all their weapons and gear? The only rogue who's got good money is The Penguin, and he doesn't seem capable of necessarily funding a whole army.

Rob245

Answer: All the villains financed the Arkham Knight: Penguin, Two Face, Harley, Scarecrow. This is why Two-Face and Penguin stayed in Gotham and risked getting gassed to rob banks and run guns; they'd dangerously low on funds.

Answer: The Arkham Knight is behind the whole thing. He probably financed it somehow. Given who he turns out to be, probably from stolen drug money.

Captain Defenestrator

16th Feb 2017

Casino Royale (2006)

Question: When Bond realises he has been poisoned at the poker game, he mixes salt with water and drinks it. What was this supposed to do? Does salt mixed with water rid the body of hazardous chemicals or something?

Dra9onBorn117

Chosen answer: He did it to simply make himself vomit, which is what he does into the sink. Inducing vomiting is meant to rid the stomach of the poison that hasn't been absorbed (although this idea is debatable, Bond thought it was wise). However, he was still in danger because he already absorbed enough of the poison, which is why he goes to the car and injects the antidote (the injection he gives himself in the neck).

Bishop73

Answer: Thiopentone Sodium, Sodium Nitrite, and Sodium Thiosulfate are the most common chemicals used to treat cyanide poisoning. Cyanide might've been Bond's first thought, and he was ingesting large quantities of sodium to try to stave off the effects.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: How did Cletus of all people know of Eddie getting dumped by Anne and being abused by his father? Were those stories publicized?

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: If they conducted a one-on-one interview, Eddie might've risked sharing some personal things to get Cletus to open up more. Eddie also took her leaving pretty hard. He might be one of those people who, you spend five minutes talking to them and they're GOING to bring up their ex.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Those are things Cletus would have talked about during their interviews. Eddie ignored all that and concentrated on finding the other bodies, so Cletus feels like Eddie didn't tell his side of the story.

Captain Defenestrator

28th Mar 2022

Family Guy (1999)

Show generally

Question: When did Quagmire start hating Brian? In earlier seasons it shows Quagmire and Brian getting along fine but, several seasons later, Quagmire now hates Brian.

Answer: Given how succinctly he nails Brian, we can presume that Quagmire has never liked Brian and has only now put it into words.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: It's explained in Season 7 Episode 8 that he hates him for his pompous nature, his liberal attitude, his arrogance towards God believing people, and that he see him as a sad, alcoholic, bore.

Rob245

That answers the "why" but not really the "when." Brian's personality didn't really change, so when did Quagmire start hating him?

Bishop73

For all we know, Quagmire might have disliked Brian shortly after they first met. Maybe he kept his feelings to himself for a while, due to his friendships with Peter, Lois, Joe, Cleveland, and others who associate with Brian. There are some people who I dislike, but I don't want unnecessary tension among people who we both know.

Maybe always, but he was too polite to say anything for years. Hey I started hating my mother for her arrogant bigoted attitude when I was 18 but didn't say anything for years.

Rob245

3rd Mar 2022

Free Guy (2020)

Question: Why does the tank point at Guy when he asks for a cappuccino? The cop says, "someone's getting shot" as if the game will kill him if he doesn't follow his code, but we know that's not the case. (00:09:12)

Answer: The cops are there to enforce the rules of the game and Guy's not following them. In GTA-type games like Free City, when you get Wanted, every cop in the game knows right where you are. This is playing on that.

Captain Defenestrator

15th Nov 2009

Law & Order: UK (2009)

Care - S1-E1

Question: The defendant in this episode has prior convictions for GBH and HBH. I can deduce that GBH means "Grievous Bodily Harm," however, have never heard of HBH and can't seem to find a definition of it online. Anyone know it?

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: You misheard ABH - Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actual_bodily_harm.

Myridon

Ah, thanks.

Captain Defenestrator