In many ways, 2015’s Jurassic World breaks new ground in the Jurassic Park franchise. For the first time the park is open, the raptors are trained, and the island has churned out a monstrous super hybrid. However, with all this boundary-pushing there are bound to be plot holes, unbelievable scenarios, and contrived conveniences.
So, what’s a fan to do when faced with a plot element in the film the doesn’t quite add up?
One way to answer this question, is to take a look at one of the most problematic scenes in the movie.
Night has fallen on Nublar, and the Indominus rex remains on her rampage. Given no choice, Owen Grady unleashes his Velociraptor pack to locate the Indominus. This fulfills Victor Hoskins’ plan to set the raptors and the I. rex against each other. Once the raptors find the I. rex, something unbelievable happens. The snowy white hybrid comes to the raptors in peace. Instead of fighting, both sides exchange various barks and growls. The raptor trainers quickly deduce that the Indominus has raptor DNA, and can therefore communicate with the raptors. Within a few minutes a firefight ensues and the raptors fight against the soldiers. They’ve turned on their masters, proving that nature cannot be tamed.
Yet, this scene creates many inconsistencies with the established rules of the film prior to this point.
For one thing, the Indominus rex has been established to have grown up alone. There was no opportunity for her to learn to communicate. In fact, her isolation is said to be the reason for her madness. Her inability to communicate is implied to be the reason for her violence. The hybrid suddenly holding a conversation with the Velociraptors and then giving them orders to fight throws her backstory out the window.
After the start of the firefight, Owen announces that the “raptors have a new alpha”. The implication is obvious. The raptors have chosen the Indominus rex as their new leader and have abandoned Owen. However, that shouldn’t be possible either. Owen has been there for his raptors since the beginning of their lives. His relationship with them has been based on mutual respect. He is the closest being they have to a father figure. It doesn’t make sense for the raptors, including Blue, to replace Owen with a creature they’ve never met before.
So, with all the inconsistencies presented with the scene, what is a fan to do? One option is to reject the scene and regard it as a failure in storytelling. The other option is to interpret the scene differently. Some fans of the franchise have gone with the second option.
According to an alternative interpretation, the Indominus is barely able to communicate with the raptors. As a result, the raptors are unsure what to do with her. They have no reason to attack, as the Indominus rex hasn’t attacked them. According to this interpretation the raptor squad looks back at Owen, curious as to whether he would accept this new, snowy white raptor they found into the pack. Then, Hoskins’ team shoot at the raptors and Indominus. In response to the soldiers’ attack, the Indominus runs away while the raptors choose to fight back.
Finally, the raptors and Indominus come together on screen again in Main Street. Here, the raptors reject the Indominus and fight against her. If it is to be believed that the raptor squad had previously been obeying the orders of the Indominus, then their sudden change of heart doesn’t add up. But if it is assumed that the raptors never saw the Indominus as the alpha, then it makes more sense for them to launch themselves into battle alongside Owen.
There is some explicit evidence for the alternative interpretation. When the raptors fight against the mercenaries in the forest, they never attack Owen or his fellow trainer Barry. In fact, Raptor Charlie doesn’t attack Owen when he runs into her during the firefight. After that, Blue stops attacking Barry once he yells her name. If they had completely turned against Owen and Barry, they would have killed them on sight.
This fan interpretation has one purpose. That purpose is to make the forest scene and subsequent scenes easier to watch. Ultimately, it is nothing more than the audience filling a plot hole. And this particular plot hole takes a lot of work to fill. The movie fails to provide an adequate explanation as to why the dinosaur characters do what they do in that scene. Without a good explanation, the scene becomes empty action that serves to move the plot along.
Antediluvian Musings 