Question for those who have seen Dark Knight (SPOILER!)

July 20, 2008

For those who have seen Dark Knight, which seems like most of the world, I have a question.

Note: if you have not seen it, stop reading, because I’m going to give away a major plot point (aka “spoiler”).

After The Joker tells Batman the addresses where to go to save either Rachel or Dent, Batman told Gordon that he was going to save Rachel, but he shows up where Dent is.

How did that happen?

A) Batman thought he was going to get Rachel but was tricked by the Joker.

B) Batman knew he was going to get Dent was but told the Commissioner he was going to save Rachel (perhaps because he thought Gordon would go faster if Gordon thought he was going to save Dent?).

My brother thinks that when Batman told Gordon the addresses, he switched them from what the Joker said. I didn’t pick up on that.

He thinks that Batman went to save Dent because Gotham needed Dent, and he would never put himself before Gotham.

What say you?

UPDATE (2008-07-22): We saw it again today on the IMAX and I’m pretty sure now that Batman really believed that he was going to Rachel. Batman did NOT tell Dent the addresses, and after Batman said he was going for Rachel, Gordon gives his men the address they are going to. There’s not a lot of time for interpreting (i.e. “The Joker said X but meant Y.”)

  • Adam S.

    Gordon was listening in on the conversation that Batman and the Joker were having in the cell, so I’m guessing the addresses couldn’t have gotten mixed up. I’d willingly bet that the Joker new Batman would go for Rachel first, so he gave Dent’s address as her’s just to screw with everyone and - ultimately - make Batman’s life all the more miserable.

  • timeyles

    My assumption was the Joker switched them… I also feel that the answer to this was ambiguous/not given in the movie and was a confusing point in the plot development.

  • http://www.quibbling.net Tiffany

    I think Joker switched the addresses. Rachel seemed to believe right away that she was the one Batman was coming for, and I think it makes sense that Bruce’s need to rescue her, personally, would have trumped his need to rescue Dent, particularly because he knew he could send Gordon after Dent. But I also think this is one of the things where a little too much ended up on the cutting room floor and was probably fleshed out in the script a little better.

  • http://www.tombridge.com Tom Bridge

    A) Batman thought he was going to get Rachel but was tricked by the Joker.

  • http://mikerentas.com Mike

    I didn’t really follow that whole exchange either, but I definitely didn’t get the impression that Batman was at all surprised to find Dent in the warehouse. It’s also consistent with everything else in the character’s story arc - i.e. he’s realizing he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the city. I also think his decision was deliberately made hard to follow. The way the scene was edited, I don’t think the audience was supposed to know who he was rescuing until he came through the door.

  • http://twitter.com/emilybrianna Emily

    Heath Ledger is totally hot!!!!!

  • TJ

    Dear Emily:

    I love you dearly, but if you think of Heath Ledger’s “The Joker” as “hot” I kinda think that you might need to increase your medication.

    Like, tenfold.

    TJ

  • http://www.cma3.com cma3

    It is a known plot point that the joker is a liar (scar stories, killing off his henchmen, getting arrested on purpose etc, etc) and based on what he knows about batman (remember when he dove out of the window to save rachael instead of sticking around to save dent?) he switches the addresses. He also figured that the police would be much slower in making it to the target.

  • http://twitter.com/brookr Brook R

    For sure, the Joker mixed the addresses intentionally, so Dent would be saved. I assumed it was his intention all along to try to corrupt Dent, and turn him into a criminal (in spite of his own denial of having “plans”). If even Gotham’s White Knight (love the contrast!) could be shown to be corruptible, there would be no hope for the city. This is why Batman had to take the fall for the killings at the end, and why Gordon agreed to it… So the Joker’s ultimate plan wouldn’t succeed even after his capture (note, the joker seems good at setting things up so they don’t totally depend on him).

    Best movie I’ve seen in a long time… Bravo! Encore!

  • http://retrophis.ch chris

    Brook calls it.

    A) The Joker gave Batman switched addresses.

    To verify it, I went and found a torrent for The Dark Knight, and moved thru the badly-shot-in-a-theater AVI file to the interrogation room scene. The Joker clearly says, “He’s at 255th Street…” or some numbering like that (couldn’t quite make it out, despite repeated viewings; the audio sucks about as much as the video, as you’d expect). When Gordon then asks Batman who he’s going after, the reply is “Rachel!”

    Batman is surprised to see Dent when he walked through the door. There’s a moment of hesitation when the doors open and he sees Harvey lying on the floor, as he realizes he was duped. As Brook said, the Joker wants to corrupt Dent, and to do so he has to take away the thing most important to the DA…

  • ahtitan

    I concur with most of the posters. The Joker switched the addresses. This is also supported by the conversation between Dent and Gordon, when Dent is talking about Rachel dying in the building, and Gordon replying, “I know. I was here.”

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