Unravelling Pirate Mysteries..

[fajrdrako]

I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest this afternoon with Pat, Sandi, Beulah, Lyn, Cenk, John and Glen. A good time was had by all.

After the movie we went to the Royal Buffet for Chinese food for supper and talked about the movie. I love having friends who are willing and able to discuss a plot in detail. It was most enlightening, and we came up with speculative theories.



Norrington undercover

From worrying at the timeline - exactly how much time had passed since the last movie? - we came to the conclusion that Norrington did not lose his honour, his men, or his ship. We think Norrington is working undercover for the King in an attempt to root out the purposes of Lord Becket and the activities of Captain Jack Sparrow. His Scruffington identity is an act.


Heart, heart, who's got the heart?

Does Norrington give Davy Jones' heart to Becket at the end of the movie? We decided he does not, on the following clues:

(1) the bag seemed too small - it's thumb and its movement could be simulated
(2) we didn't actually see the contents of the bag
(3) there was no bag when it was last seen
(4) we didn't actually see Norrington take the heart from the jar



So who took the heart?

We didn't reach agreement on this, but my favourite theory (so far) is that Elizabeth got it. I would have to see the movie again to judge when/if she had the opportunity, but she was on the island, she witnessed the chest-opening, she was miffed with the men, and she has multiple motives. Moreover, if anyone in the whole movie could be described as a stealer of hearts, it's Elizabeth Swann. (On a metalevel it's Johnny Depp who is the stealer of hearts.)

What, then, did Elizabeth do with the heart? Stashed it somewhere? On the Pearl, perhaps?




Who will Elizabeth end up with?

For reasons relating to plot structure, I think it will be Will Turner. I wish it would be Captain Jack Sparrow. I'd be happy if she ended with Norrington. Or all of them.

But I liked Sandi's answer best: She'll reject all of them, and take command of the Black Pearl instead.


What role will Sparrow's father play in the plot?

If saving Bootstrap Bill's soul from Davy Jones is Will Turner's goal, then perhaps saving his own father from a terrible fate is/was Captain Jack Sparrow's motivation. Perhaps the deal he made with Davy Jones (purpose still unclear) had to do with his father's fate. Perhaps his father set the whole thing in motion.