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: How is that Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, and Cat Woman can suddenly have perfect vision after going insane as well as their accidents?

Rob245

Answer: Most of these, if not all of them, had something supernatural happen to them. This supernatural event enhanced their abilities, their bodies. This includes their eyesight.

lionhead

Show generally

Question: Was Sam supposed to have been married and divorced before the first episode? I swear I remember him saying something about having been married in an early episode, but I can't remember specifics.

Brian Katcher

Answer: In S01E02, "Sam's Women", Carla tells Diane that Debra was Sam's ex-wife.

Bishop73

Answer: I believe you are talking about the medal. That is one of the medals from the end of A New Hope (Star Wars) that was given to Luke and Han. Presumably it is Han's medal.

Answer: It's a medal similar to the ones Han and Luke received at the end of "A New Hope." Whether it's a new one, or Leia was in possession of one or both the medals that belonged to Han and Luke respectively is unknown.

Phaneron

It is Han's medal which Leia had saved. It says so in the novelization.

Question: When we see Harry Potter sleeping in bed on his first night back at Hogwarts he appears to be having a bad dream. He then wakes up and we see that Ron is watching him. Why was Ron watching him while he was sleeping?

Answer: Harry is having a nightmare and could have easily woken Ron. Upon being woken, Ron could have simply been watching in disbelief at how bad Harry's nightmare is.

Ssiscool

Question: What happened to the rest of the Death Eaters (that didn't die in the Battle of Hogwarts) once Voldemort dies by his own hand at the end of the battle? Did the Malfoys get off (even though they were very faithful to Voldemort)? Asking because they are shown sneaking away during the battle and Draco is shown seeing his children off at Kings Cross at the end with all the others.

Answer: To fully understand this you need to have read the books. However, upon the downfall of Voldemort, many death eaters claimed to have been under the imperious curse and thus unaware of their actions. The Malfoys are one family that use this defense though by the battle of Hogwarts they no longer cared who won as they just wanted to protect Draco.

Ssiscool

Answer: No other lightsaber in the films was shown to have a yellow blade, so this is one she constructed herself.

Phaneron

Question: In the flashbacks of Ransom storming out, it's different each time. The first time his Grandma speaks, the second time she's silent, and the third time she's holding cake, when she wasn't the other times. The flashbacks we see don't contradict each other, they're not really portrayed as coming from unreliable narrators, they're generally an honest portrayal of what happens, even when what they're telling the police isn't what we see happen. So why these minor, certainly deliberate, differences? Far as I'm aware it's the only time it happens too, not like there are lots of moments like this.

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: She is holding cake all 3 times, actually, so the only difference is that the first time she speaks. It can be a case of unreliable narrator, but I'd write it down as a mistake (deliberate, probably, as the phrase is important for the plot and they didn't want to hammer it in), since as you said, the other times even when they tell things to the police in a different way from what happened, the details tend to stay consistent, except for parts that are obviously made up, such as who is putting down the birthday cake for Harlan Thrombey therefore appearing subservient and not as close (when Richard tells the story, it's Walt and his wife, when Walt tells the story it is Richard and his wife).

Sammo

Answer: Each time, it is being described by a different person. Maybe not all heard her speak.

Question: If Bruce had backed Edward's invention, would Edward have still done what he did in the movie (using the device to grow smarter, try to outdo Bruce etc)? Or did Bruce spurning him cause him to do that?

Answer: It's hard to say for certain. If Bruce had approved of the project, there would have been a lot more volunteers and oversight of its production, which would have alerted Bruce of the device's side effects, at which point he or one of his underlings would order its production to cease. Edward would still feel spurned and motivated to continue his work, but without the resources of Wayne Industries at his disposal, he may have a more difficult time seeing his plan through.

Phaneron

Question: Why did they try to outrun the Dutchman? Wouldn't they have known that Jones had the power to summon the Kraken? The first ship that Will thinks is the Dutchman, Jack prods Gibbs who tries to cover it up by saying "Must have been a foul at the reef" So Jack and Gibbs both know that the Kraken destroyed this ship (Bootstrap even tells Jack that Jones' leviathan is after him) The crew member Will speaks too says it was something beneath them with a foul breath, then the Dutchman appears nearby. When Will is on the Edinburgh, the Kraken attacks again with the Dutchman nearby. At the very least you'd expect Will to be able to put two and two together that every time the Dutchman is near, so is the Kraken! Wouldn't he have warned everyone about this?

Answer: Their best chance is to reach land or at least shallow water, as the Kraken cannot attack them in either area. If they engage the Dutchman or stay in open water, they risk the Black Pearl being completely destroyed.

Phaneron

Question: While running away from the bad guys, John McClane severely wounds feet by stepping on broken glass. Wouldn't his feet be at risk of infections if they were as severely wounded as shown in the movie? He's feet don't appear to have any infections.

Answer: Infections take time to set in. The whole events of this film take place over 1 evening. Not long enough for an infection to set in. Especially since he receives medical attention at the end.

Ssiscool

How long would John have to go without getting medical for his feet to get infected?

Per a google search: "An infection can develop any time between two or three days after the cut occurred until it's healed."

TedStixon

Answer: Infections take a while to develop - the events of Die Hard are borderline real time, and given the injuries happen towards the end of the film, that's way too soon for any significant side effects.

Answer: As mentioned, it would take time for an infection to set in. Also, even though John had some nasty cuts, it doesn't necessarily mean they will become infected and could heal without any complications as long as the feet are cleaned and bandaged.

raywest

Question: Did this movie have some sort of point? That genocide of several million to prevent war was a good idea? That and how did they avoid being sued considering Batman's got an Owl Man, a Spider Woman was in existence before this spider super heroine and the white masked guy seems to be a take on The Question.

Rob245

Answer: Why would they be sued? DC own both the DC comics properties and the Watchmen characters.

Answer: You forgot where DC ended up owning Captain Marvel claiming he was a Super Man ripoff and how Marvel sued the name away from the character.

Rob245

Answer: There is no "spider super heroine" in this movie. Silk Spectre has no superpowers, so I'm not sure where you're getting the connection to Spider-Woman from. Watchmen is a DC property, as are Batman and The Question, who was acquired by DC several years before the Watchmen graphic novel was published, so there would be no plagiarism lawsuits in response. The point of the movie, much like the graphic novel it is based on, is to illustrate the dangers of nuclear tension and war, and how regular people pay the price of the actions of contentious governments.

Phaneron

And to show that someone who is supposedly super-smart is also usually super-insane.

lionhead

Answer: I mean as in Bob Kane suing since Owl Man's sort of like Batman.

Rob245

Bob Kane undoubtedly received royalties for creating Batman, but the character is owned by DC. It's not as if he had the right to start his own comic book company and take Batman away from DC, so even if he felt slighted by Nite Owl II having some similarities to Batman, he would have no legal grounds to sue for it. Furthermore, characters would have to be blatant ripoffs in many ways in order for comic book companies to be able to sue over. Marvel and DC have many characters that are similar in powers, appearance, etc, but those similarities are usually so superficial that they can be dismissed as homages or parodies and it would prove difficult for one company to sue the other over it. A really good example would be Deadpool who was practically created as a parody of Deathstroke. The only case I can think of where a lawsuit had enough merit to go to court was Marvel suing Awesome Entertainment for redesigning Fighting American into a shameless ripoff Captain America.

Phaneron

Question: What is the situation with the maid and the woman who hung herself in the cellar? Not to mention the little boy. I'm aware the Witch cursed them and possessed the mother to kill the child. But are their spirits being controlled by the Witch? I know they scare the Warrens and stuff. But the little boy (Rory) teachers April where to hide and shows where he hides. But why is he hiding if The Witch controls him? Are we to believe the Witch can't find Rory's spirit? But if the spirits are under her control why would Rory help April stay safe?

Swan90EFC

Answer: The witch controlled their souls to kill themselves, but once they are dead she can't control them anymore. Some spirits just show up in the house but Rory knows what can happen and decides to help April.

Question: It's established that The Witch possesses the mother. So is the Witch controlling the mother like a puppet or is she controlling her as in, she actually is the mother. Because when Ed says "reveal yourself", it's the Witch. When they try to drag her out, she gets dragged back in by an invisible force. So in what way is the Witch in control of the mother?

Swan90EFC

Answer: She is controlling the mother like a puppet.

Question: What are the small tubes that are collected in Colonel Breed's H.Q.? General Warden seems to figure out what they are.

Answer: Detonators (for setting off explosives).

Question: When the Proctector leaves spacedock, there are Thermians inside the spaceport watching it leave. Later on Mathesar says the Thermians on the Protector are the last ones left. What happened to the Thermians left behind at the spacedock?

Answer: I believe Mathesar was referring to both the Thermians on the Protector and at the base as being all that was left. Not just the ones on the Protector.

TedStixon

Mathesar meant only the Thermians on the Protector were the ones that were still left. The Protector does not go back to the base to pick up the Thermians that were left behind.

We do not know if the Protector went back to pick up the surviving Thermians at the spaceport, as the last act of the Thermians on the Protector was to separate the ship and send the GQ cast back to Earth. Maybe the Thermians did head back to the spaceport to reunite with the Thermians there.

Scott215

Answer: At 01:01:09, Jason says, "You can drop us off, and you guys can be back to your home planet before supper." Teb answers, "Oh, no, sir. We have no reason to go back." Jason then mentions family and friends. Then, Teb says, "We are all that is left." Based on the shocked silence that follows, it's apparent that Sarris has completed his plan to slaughter all other Thermians, as Mathesar had told Jason earlier.

Answer: Why, certainly they all were transported back to the ship after watching the great moment of the first undocking. After all they have the technology, right?

Question: At the end of the first Mummy, Ank Su Na Mun was resurrected into her mummy corpse, but how can that be if, as we saw in the Mummy Returns, that Ank Su Na Mun is reincarnated into this modern era. That would have to have meant that she was alive when her soul went into another corpse. How does that work?

Answer: The same way Evie's memories are entwined with that of someone from ancient Egypt. Imhotep's followers used magic to bring Anck Su Namun's soul back, basically using someone else's body (one of her ancestors) and put her soul into it. So it's not really her body, just her mind/soul.

lionhead

Question: When Davy Jones summons the Kraken after Will escapes with the key, why does Bootstrap Bill not scream "No" until after Davy Jones announces what he's doing (..."and let this day be cursed by we who are ready to wake... The Kraken")... He must know what the Kraken hammer does, why doesn't he react when they first start charging it up?

Answer: I would say it was about timing and building up to the dramatic effect so the audience knows why Bootstrap is reacting that way. If he screamed out too soon, it would be confusing about what he was upset about.

raywest

Question: Why did Will specifically need the Black Pearl to free his father? The only thing the Pearl had going for it was the speed. Wouldn't a ship fitted with more firepower be better suited for taking down the Dutchman?

Answer: The Black Pearl is the only ship that can catch up to the Flying Dutchman.

lionhead

Answer: As you mentioned it is the fastest ship. Other reasons, it's a ship Will knows it is one that he has an opportunity to bargain for by betraying Jack Sparrow to his enemies.

raywest

Also, Will would have very little opportunity or the means to acquire another ship.

raywest

Track of a Soldier - S12-E18

Question: When we figure out at the end that Juan was Lloyd's killer, how come it didn't show a flashback of him stabbing Lloyd? Like the other scene where it shows Peter discovering his dead body and picks up the knife, and also at the end it shows Greta discovered his body too and turned his body around to look for the diamond, but didn't show Juan murdering him.

Trainman

Answer: It may simply have been a matter of time, as this was a one-hour show. The murderer is always revealed at the end, though it is not necessary to show the actual murder. Also, at that that time, it may have been considered too graphic to show someone being stabbed on a family TV show.

raywest

Answer: It's also likely a case of "Flanderization", where as the show progresses, the writers zero in on a single aspect of a character that they get the most material out of, and think is the funniest, and expand it at the expense of realism or development, to the point where it is the character's entire personality.

Answer: It was likely a group of male executives who decided the show's format. The sexy, ditzy/dumb blonde was an over-used and cliched trope in an era when women were blatantly objectified.

raywest

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