# Pirates of the Caribbean has a major mistake? SPOILERS!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693 "2004-01-04T20:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/21 "2004-01-05T01:54:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FisherQueen \* > \*\*Naw. I’ve heard people complain about this before, but looking closely at the scene, it works just fine. The chains are nice, long, and slack. He puts his chained wrists together, tosses the slack chain over the rope, grabs the middle of the doubled chain with his still-chained hands and slides down. > > Easy as pi. \*\* Ahh. Okay; you and **Jack Batty** are right. Now, as far as I’m concerned, PotC is _ **cinema verite** _. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/22 "2004-01-05T02:06:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*Actually, I was more concerned with this little mistake: > > 1. Jack fires through Barbarossa > 2. Barbarossa says he can’t be killed, but Jack points behind him. > 3. Orlando Bloom smiles and drops the coins into the chest. > 4. Barbarossa become mortal with a bullet hole in him. > > The problem? When the bullet passed through him (#1), Barbarossa was immortal, so he shouldn’t have been hurt. He did not become mortal again until the coins were dropped into the chest (#3). Otherwise, all the pirates would have instantly died due to wounds inflicted on them before they were mortal again. \*\* I believe they only fully heal when they step into/back out of moonlight. Jack was stabbed, but as soon as he left the moonlight, everything was hunky-dory. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/23 "2004-01-05T02:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Helena \* > \*\*So why did Jack cut his own hand before tossing the coin to Will? Was his blood needed as well as Will’s? Did he _have_ blood? If so, how? \*\* Every pirate that was cursed had to give blood along with the coins to undo the curse. So when Sparrow was cursed after palming that one coin, he had to cut his hand so will could undo the curse. They needed Bill Turner’s blood because he had been part of the original cursed crew, and he was the last pirate which needed to give blood - which is why they were looking for his son, since Bootstrap was lost at the bottom of the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/24 "2004-01-05T03:17:14Z")
The only thing that bugged me when watching POTC (even during my first viewing) was that I kept expecting Bootstrap Bill to come walking out of the ocean dragging his cannon. He was thrown overboard ten years before - but this was after the curse was in effect (he said they deserved to be cursed). It was established that the undead have to problem walking on the ocean bottom - so it might have been a long hike to shore (from the mid-Atlantic even?), but ten years is long enough… Oh well, hopefully he’ll be in POTC2. But who would play him? He’d need to be the “spitting image” of an older Orlando Bloom. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/25 "2004-01-05T03:19:49Z")
It was established that the undead have **no** problem walking on the ocean bottom. _preview is my friend_ ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/26 "2004-01-05T03:37:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*Keira Knightley’s first big role was as Queen Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) double in _The Phantom Menace_. > > [… as indicated here …](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0461136/bio) > > You’re learning just a whole bunch of new shit today, huh? > > 🙂 \*\* Well actually . . . yeah. For instance in the link you provided I discovered: > [@](#): > > Her role as the decoy queen in Star Wars was kept secret in order to not spoil the surprise, it was maintained through the promotions that Portman played both the Queen and the decoy. I never knew that. I was suckered by Lucas. I thought Portman played both characters. See what you miss when you aren’t a Star Wars geek? Back to the OP: I’ll do you one better **Waenara**. If the undead can walk on the floor of the ocean - why did it matter when Elizabeth threatened to drop the necklace overboard? It didn’t appear they where moving, they were supposed to be anchored offshore shelling the hell out of the Port. So she drops it. Can’t one of the crew dive after it and then climb back up the anchor line? All that said - it is a **great** movie. Looking for inconsistencies is a bit nitpicky. . . but fun. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/27 "2004-01-05T04:17:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Helena \* > \*\*So why did Jack cut his own hand before tossing the coin to Will? Was his blood needed as well as Will’s? Did he _have_ blood? If so, how? \*\* **mnemosyne** already answered your first question. To answer your second and third, yes, he had blood (in solid form). How? I dunno, but that the cursed crew had blood was established when Elizabeth stabbed Barbossa in his cabin. Looked more like jam, but maybe undead blood is different. If they _didn’t_ have blood the crew would have been in a fine pickle trying to lift the curse, now wouldn’t they? DD ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/28 "2004-01-05T05:43:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Waenara \* > \*\*The only thing that bugged me when watching POTC (even during my first viewing) was that I kept expecting Bootstrap Bill to come walking out of the ocean dragging his cannon. He was thrown overboard ten years before - but this was after the curse was in effect (he said they deserved to be cursed). It was established that the undead have to problem walking on the ocean bottom - so it might have been a long hike to shore (from the mid-Atlantic even?), but ten years is long enough… > > Oh well, hopefully he’ll be in POTC2. But who would play him? He’d need to be the “spitting image” of an older Orlando Bloom. \*\* That bugged me too. Especially since when they lifted the curse, he would have become mortal again…at the bottom of the ocean. Way to kill your dad, Jack! ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/29 "2004-01-05T05:54:13Z")
Will’s dad. Not Jack’s. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/30 "2004-01-05T05:57:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Jack wasn’t cursed until the pirates all got back to the treasure chest, whereupon he deliberatly stole a coin to _become_accursed and thus be immortal during his fight with Barbarossa. > \*\* I thought he just took the coin for the hell of it. He seemed quite surprised when he became skeletal. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/31 "2004-01-05T06:36:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\*I thought he just took the coin for the hell of it. He seemed quite surprised when he became skeletal. \*\* I agree with others I have seen say that Jack’s sticky fingers were intentional. It’s been a while since I saw it, but by not having all the gold, wouldn’t that prevent the pirates from lifting the curse by killing Elizabeth or Will? When Jack gets stabbed, he looks kind of stunned at first; I think that was just to get a gasp out of the audience. Once Jack staggers backwards into the moonlight revealing him being cursed he mentions something about how he, “couldn’t resist”. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/32 "2004-01-05T06:56:38Z")
My interpretation: Sure, Jack looked stunned when he got stabbed. Of course he knew, logically, he should be immortal - but, really, come on, he just got STABBED IN THE CHEST. I would expect him to be a little surprised, and even expect himself to be dead, even while he was well aware that the coin cursed him not to die. It’s how I suppose I would react, anyway. And he looks at his skeletal fingers in the moonlight and says “That’s interesting” because it is - the other pirates’ decayed bodies could have been assumed to be the natural result of ten years’ wandering of the ocean. For Jack to be instantly decayed and skeletalized is rather interesting, and shows another facet of the curse that one wouldn’t have expected from the evidence previously shown. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/33 "2004-01-05T08:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*I agree with others I have seen say that Jack’s sticky fingers were intentional. It’s been a while since I saw it, but by not having all the gold, wouldn’t that prevent the pirates from lifting the curse by killing Elizabeth or Will? When Jack gets stabbed, he looks kind of stunned at first; I think that was just to get a gasp out of the audience. Once Jack staggers backwards into the moonlight revealing him being cursed he mentions something about how he, “couldn’t resist”. \*\* I thought he couldn’t resist because he’s a pirate, a guy who steals things for a living. And saying “couldn’t resist” doesn’t sound like it was part of a clever plan; it sounds more like something done on a whim. I could live with either interpretation, depending on how much cleverness I feel like attributing to Captain Jack at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![substatique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@substatique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/substatique)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/34 "2004-01-05T08:45:35Z")
Since child-Elizabeth stole a piece of gold (from child-Will) in the opening scene, shouldn’t she be undead? Or do the Aztec spirits only care about those who take it directly from the chest? I think we need an Aztec lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/35 "2004-01-05T09:09:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racinchikki \* > \*\*Will’s dad. Not Jack’s. \*\* Yeah, him. Legolas. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Suzene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Suzene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suzene)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/36 "2004-01-05T10:37:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by substatique \* > \*\*Since child-Elizabeth stole a piece of gold (from child-Will) in the opening scene, shouldn’t she be undead? Or do the Aztec spirits only care about those who take it directly from the chest? I think we need an Aztec lawyer. \*\* Bootstrap had already stolen the gold to give to Will, so I guess we can assume first grabsies are what counts to the curse, otherwise all that gold that the pirates initially spent would have probably started turning out undead pickpockets before long and that curse would have been a lot more infamous. Suzene ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/37 "2004-01-05T13:30:02Z")
The one thing that in PotC that does not ring true (in the internal world of the movie) is that Jack (and his mate) knew that Barbarossa needed the son of Bootstrap Bill, but had no way of knowing it. He had been separated from the Black Pearl before the curse, and didn’t know about how to clear the curse, and didn’t know that Bootstrap was deep in the brine (the reason Bootstap couldn’t walk out from the ocean was because he was chained to a cannon - he drowned). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/38 "2004-01-05T13:46:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gadfly \* > \*\*I believe they only fully heal when they step into/back out of moonlight. Jack was stabbed, but as soon as he left the moonlight, everything was hunky-dory. \*\* There were numerous instances of them healing without the moonlight. Besides, the moonlight had no miraculous healing properties on them – it only “revealed them for what they really are.” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/39 "2004-01-05T14:39:36Z")
My two favorite mistakes int he movie have to do with dinghies. Of course I recognize that this movie wasn’t trying to adhere too closely to the rules of physics and common sense, and I loved the movie. That said: 1. Apparently in the eighteenth century, human flesh was so dense that two people could weigh down an upside-down dinghy _filled with air_ on a walk across the ocean floor. Either that, or buoyancy didn’t exist back then. 2. When Elizabeth gets locked in the captain’s quarters during the battle, she wisely lowers herself out the window, _carrying a dinghy on her back_. Either that, or the navy keeps a dinghy stationed beneath the captain’s quarters at all times, for just such an occasion. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Oreo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c57346/32.png) [@Oreo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oreo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/40 "2004-01-05T15:03:12Z")
If you listen to the writer’s commentary on the DVD, it clears some of this up. –They point out that Bootstrap Bill was dropped to the “crushing” depths of the ocean, so even if it didn’t kill him, his body probably wasn’t capable of being “walked out.” –Over the end credits, the writers give the timeline of the events preceding the movie. Jack (and the rest of the crew) knew about the curse before they even found the gold. They just didn’t believe it. (He says something during the movie to indicate this, but for the life of me I can’t remember what. I think it’s probably in the scene where the two cursed pirates visit him in his jail cell during the invasion of Port Royale.) That explains why Jack knew the mechanics of how the curse worked. He would have been cursed, too, but there was a mutiny before they reached the island. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693.md?page=3)