Adil Bajwa

8th Apr 2015

The Prestige (2006)

Question: In the beginning, Angier's wife dies in the tank. Even if Borden did tie a knot for her that she couldn't get out of, someone had changed the lock of the tank before the act. Who changed the lock? Was it Borden? And if it was Borden, why would he want to kill Angier's wife?

Adil Bajwa

Chosen answer: The lock on the tank is just a dummy lock. It's there to make the audience believe that the tank is actually locked during the trick. Julia couldn't escape because she couldn't slip the knot that Borden tied. He didn't intend to kill her. The revelation of the lock being changed was from a different scene altogether and was part of Angier's plot to frame Borden, it had nothing to do with Julia or the trick she performed.

Phaneron

Answer: Before the incident, Borden and Julia had an argument that she can escape from any kind of knot. So, Borden ties a different knot, Julia is unable to untie it. There is no issue with the tank.