TENET Ending Fan Theory: Sator Was Actually Working For The Protagonist Without Knowing It

[@heavyspoilers]

Let us know your thoughts on the theory and what if you have any others. If you enjoyed this video then please subscribe to the channel kzbin.info/door/q3hT5JPPKy87JGbDls_5BQ

[@heavyspoilers]

True true, we just never hear or see that

[@cavemunky]

Perhaps The Protagonist is the Antagonist, blinded by belief and ignorance, this may be hinted as he fights and inverted self first without awareness and again without choice, symbolizing that ignorance is the enemy of free will?

[@cesarsimon3143]

Nu-Cle-ar. Not “nu-cu-lar”, come on, Paul

[@lightspeedbubble7359]

​@@heavyspoilers We can assume it from the instructions he received with the gold. There might even be hints of it if we read the page that's being filmed but I can't read Russian.

[@kishoureb6833]

@Heavy Spoilers Why sator haven't cared anything about the explosion at the hypocentre while carrying out the opera House siege? If he gave some attention he would have known earlier that he has failed to bury the algorithm well before and may have changed his plans. But he acts the same like no explosion happened in the hypocentre during the entire film. Somebody please explain this controversy.

[@reanetsemoleleki8219]

After my third viewing of the film I came to the conclusion that I too was unwittingly working for the protagonist the whole time.

[@barebasics]

We’ve met before just not yet i knew you’d make this comment

[@rebeccaailor9436]

.emit elohw eht tsinogatorp eht rof gnikrow ylgnittiwnu saw oot I taht noisulcnoc eht ot emac I mlif eht fo gniweiv driht ym retfA

[@FreeBlackConservative6859]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@blvckmagik]

The theory is greatly flawed

[@walmartninja]

Thats good shit brotha!

[@dt5690]

I don't care what anyone says, Neil is a true selfless hero and Pattison totally stole every scene. Can't wait to see him in Batman.

[@GuyBehindAComputer]

The meltdown from few reactionary idiots when he was announced the new Batman was embarrassing. It actually took people to watch Tenet and then realize yeah he will be a great Batman. He has always been a great actor, he has that look and man some of stills from Tenet do give Bruce Wayne vibes. example him getting out of car, that smirk inside that art storage facility... like you said Cant wait any longer to see him as the Dark knight!!!

[@dt5690]

@Michael Kolhaaas as a matter of fact, yes. I belonged to that group that wasn't entertained by the thought that he is actually a good actor. Boooy, am I glad he proved my wrong..

[@JoshB_TheTower]

@@GuyBehindAComputer I was in the skeptical of batman casting camp ... Given my only real knowledge of him was the sparkly vampires... But with tenet, I have a baseline to compare to besides the vampire...

[@novacaine_]

He stole every scene?? Really?? Lmao this sounds off

[@dt5690]

@@novacaine_ every scene he appeared in

[@Comic3247]

I really want a Tenet sequel, but the sequel would actually be a prequel

[@heavyspoilers]

Hahhaha

[@mtmj]

But in the end, It turns in a sequel inside the prequel and the end is the beggining

[@nickyjadhav]

@@mtmj and end and beginning and anything in between is happening at the same time.

[@kenfitness5679]

🤯

[@flessuh]

That would depend on how long they take making the inverted part of course

[@toneriggz]

I need a temporal pincer to figure this movie out

[@JinKee]

This briefing has the benefit of information from the team that watched the movie backwards.

[@mofokevinOG]

I literally thought the movie was fkin with the audience when I first heard that saying.. I thought wtf is that? I thought rubbing your finger and thumb from the same hand against your temple, outer eyebrows! After a while, I looked it up and BAM! 🤣

[@ramgopalm4683]

"We live in a Twilight world" Robert Pattinson : .......

[@alfredshort3]

There are no friends at dusk. No truer statement when night falls

[@TheMagicAlien]

My theory is that the Protagonist sacrifices himself for Neil in the future, so Neil is just returning the favor by sacrificing himself for the Protagonist. This is probably what causes Neil to respect and develop a close bond with the Protagonist. Their lives are mirrors of each others

[@douchymcdouche169]

@@jjjj-365 And yet now Heavy Spoilers will make a 10 minute "theory" video about it.

[@Toppu]

I wonder why Nolan didn't think of any of it. This looks interesting.

[@danielstrobel8369]

You never get to see "oldest" Protagonist. He may be dying/have died after the founding of tenet.

[@_scabs6669]

Yes. We never see an older version of The Protagonist, this shows he probably dies somewhere upwhen. I agree with this theory that Protagonist gives his life for Neil later on. Also, the Protagonist did raise Neil from a child, before sending him back in time to train his own younger self. This is a better explanation for why Neil would give his life for the Protagonist in the past. Although, I do like the video theory for connecting Neil's joyous self-sacrifice to the Johnny Got His Gun military mentality of soldiers being sent to die for rich men's ideals. I accept this as another meaning of Neil's character. Great job video and comments section for further elaborating the inner meanings of a masterpiece from a modern day cinematic Einstein.

[@indatube]

Neil is Kat's son, Maximilien "Neil", from the future sent back in the past by the protagonist. He speaks Estonian because Protagonist knew the mission 10 years in advance would take place in Estonia. He probably speaks Russian as well, like his father, Sator.

[@thegrayyernaut]

The Protagonist told Sanjay Singh: "You're an arms-dealer, friend. This may be the easiest trigger that I've ever had to pull." He later shot Priya, the real arms-dealer, with ease.

[@wifine1951]

Damn nice catch

[@billywkham1]

Yup

[@mrksgb8607]

@@wifine1951 Yeah Great movie. «There is a cold war going on, cold as ice, to Even know it’s true nature is to lose». Sator knew it’s true nature and he lost

[@redmed10]

Pretty convenient that priya was there along with the assassin. She didn't seem that involved before then.

[@mrevilducky]

@@redmed10 the scene could've played out with the Protagonist inverting to two different points in the past. Killing Priya and the assassin simultaneously. But I believe the movie is confusing enough. Also who leaves their car open when committing a homicide?

[@Bayuuk]

Protagonist knew he was sending Neil to his death, but not because he “disobeyed” orders, it was cause he knew after the airport fights that what’s happened has happened, and you shouldn’t try to change the past.

[@cfosburg]

Yes, but he stopped Sator from destroying the world, yet maintained the illusion that Sator had won. I think that this ultimate trick of temporal operations, maintaining the illusion that what has happened has happened.

[@aim-9sidewinder550]

@@cfosburg i watched the movie long time ago, but what do u mean by "destroying the world", like how was he going to destroy the world which im confused of still.

[@cfosburg]

@@aim-9sidewinder550 Sator wanted to destroy the world in his present, and the ‘Future’s’ past. At the end, ‘team Tenet’ execute that 10 minute temporal pincer movement. Blue team went inverted, red team went real time. Their mission was to ‘fail’ to detonate the explosion that would set off the algorithm, but succeed in stealing the algorithm without anyone knowing. We know there was an explosion because the Protagonist was told by Crosby at 24:49 mins that they spotted a detention in Stalsk-12, Siberia. The same day as the Opera attack, and the same day as the fiasco on the Yacht 1:52:30 mins and 1:53:52. In the words of Neil, the detonation had to happen because it happened. Only it didn’t happen how people thought it would. On the surface everything went as planned, and Sator was none the wiser. But in reality, it was as if, ‘team Tenet’ had changed time. My argument is the Protagonist did attempt, multiple times to change events that had transpired. Case in point, the stopped the algorithm from destroying the world by making sure it wasn’t sealed in the explosion. So who is to say he could not devise another plan to save Neil. As long as Neil appeared to die as he did in the movie at 2:13:43 mins, he could theoretically be saved. No one actually saw the person’s face as he was shot in the face, not Neil and not the past Neil watching it happen. Following the rules of the Tenet universe, it seems the grandfather theory holds true, but they found a loophole by having things transpire somewhat different than they appeared. Neil says this profound statement at the end 2:24:00 mins: “It’s the bomb that didn’t go off, the danger no-one knew was real...That’s the bomb with the real power to change the world.” The Tenet creed is: “Knowledge divided, ignorance is our ammunition” I hope that clears it up. 😅

[@goldendart]

@@cfosburg So Neil is alive?

[@wictor1992]

@@cfosburg I disagree. Tenets universe doesn't have a loophole for changing events. Everything happend the way it was intended to from the very beginning. The explosion at Stalsk 12 has always happened without the algorithm, it's just that they didn't know that until the actual operation took place. It's a self fulfilling prophecy and nothing about it could be changed. Just like Neils death.

[@westsidecater]

This is the only movie ever where even the explainer videos are impossible to follow.

[@westmcgee9320]

“Impossible”, you say. ::continues to follow, along with many others:: So…

[@baldyoung8066]

This is so good, Sator thought he was the "god" but it was the protagonist making him think he was the one.

[@Ronarch2671]

Right. At best, Sato was a false prophet. It's pretty damn good, I must say, even if it does paint the Protagonist as deeply callous and detached.

[@puppiepoppy]

We think the Protagonist making Sator think he was the 'God' but it's actually Nolan the 'God' that makes the Protagonist thinks that way and acted accordingly.

[@baldyoung8066]

@@puppiepoppy yeah but we're talking about the characters in the movie lol

[@justindyson4753]

I fail to see how this theory adds up though. The protagonist making Sator work for him, it is senseless. To be Blunt, that would mean the future protagonist put Sator on a wild goose chase, collecting all nine parts of the Algorithm just so the protagonist could have friends lives threaten and some of them die just so he can then disassemble the 9 parts and hide them again? No the Future wants Sator to destroy the past to save the future, the protagonist would have no part of that.

[@nitesh.k.gaur.16]

@@justindyson4753 Algorithm never went boom and Protagonist know it b'cos they are all alive.. and Neil and Protagonist had a talk about it how the blowing past would not work for future or the whole timeline... from that Protagonist knew only one way they succeeded and that was shown so he followed it.. slight change in that would probably bring chaos.. Protagonist is not doctor strange who can see all possible future and then act.. he saw one and worked on that as it was.......

[@patriciaorellana6469]

I swear, the more in-depth I hear of tenet, the more it seems like a purgatory loop for all the characters

[@JinKee]

Neil was happy to close his loop. He finally gets out of the endless wheel of suffering.

[@ba-tobartc.6230]

now that you mentioned that, i am happy that neil dieded 😊

[@aepstein824]

No one experiences a loop. Some pieces of their life overlap though.

[@madenlaur5073]

There's one more theory.. Niel was Andre's Son!!

[@SKyrim190]

It's not, no one is "in a loop", I don't know why everybody keep thinking that

[@faizjp]

It would be nice if we all can see Neil’s point of view in this movie, from the beginning till the end

[@Sci-Fi_Freak_YT]

That would make a good sequel.

[@ghe176]

@@Sci-Fi_Freak_YT *prequel

[@Sci-Fi_Freak_YT]

@@ghe176 well I meant a sequel that’s a prequel.

[@ezramotz1995]

@@Sci-Fi_Freak_YT like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings did

[@S27TV]

If it happens it should be called teneT

[@thedyslexicos6455]

The "I'd rather it be my choice" line in reference to Neil's demise struck me on first viewing, the theory gives it a much deeper and meaningful context. It also gives Neil's (Max's) line would "you take a child hostage" more meaning, the PT might not take a child hostage but will send him to his death when he's all growed up lol. Great vid as always 👍

[@heavyspoilers]

Thank you, yeah I definitely think it hints to what’s going on

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

EXACTLY....him asking that child question made my antenna go up the first time I saw it

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

@@heavyspoilers Yes very much so...its beautiful foreshadowing because it's not obvious until u get to the end of the movie....very good writing

[@whiplash9548]

Theory: Sator was working with Thanos in the future the whole time.

[@JinKee]

It was inevitable.

[@maks_st]

Perfectly balanced

[@nathan2564]

@@JinKee it was inconceivable

[@the_jdb3351]

Just bought Tenet on Prime Video and I can’t tell you how much subtitles have helped me out. I can now understand what’s going on and it’s beautiful

[@wanashibemba554]

@ravi sanchez my method also 😂

[@gamasierra]

right??? same for me.

[@genises200]

MY OPINION! I think Neil accepted his death rather than set up.

[@Sthuthukile]

I had a similar theory, that he's the one who sent Sator instructions to piece together the algorithm. Not because he's a bad guy, but "what's happened's happened". He knows that Sator will piece together the algorithm, and that the ultimate outcome is that they win. The outcome might change if Sator never received it.

[@tuntejaable]

If he never received them there wouldn't be a movie...

[@Sthuthukile]

@@tuntejaable That's what a temporal loop is, you don't know what came first

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

A true Paradox

[@patinho5589]

The ‘why’ questions are the hardest. Divine will is my best answer.

[@robjames4160]

Technically, he's using himself as a pawn too...

[@xXZ31t6esTXx]

How do we know? How do we know he was sometimes pretending to be "ignorant" after the ending?

[@mahirgangwal1665]

This is going to make me watch Tenet again. So good!

[@heavyspoilers]

Yeah it’s amazing

[@xxdesiire]

Your videos are so insightful. I am going to watch Tenet again and maybe a few.times to catch everything that you mentioned. I thought l understood it but l did miss a few things. Thanks you

[@kwameoluwasomi]

One day people will figure out this film is leaps and bounds ahead of its time.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

Yeah my thoughts too...in about ten years after about 20 rewatches people will be like "OH...Thats Brilliant!!" Lol

[@kirttivushantalukdar5965]

So the protagonist is also the antagonist, I guess that's hinted in the movie, when the Protagonist tells Priya there were two antagonist in the terminal and one came out inverse.

[@JinKee]

And when they go into the turnstile it looks like they vanish into an annihilation like a electron/positron pair

[@anthonymartensen3164]

What? He says they're antagonists because he doesn't know it's him and at the time it seemed like they (the two hims) were antagonists.

[@justindyson4753]

No the "two antagonists" was the protagonist. One inverted the other not. Priya even says that

[@MonsieurAuContraire]

@@JinKee when "they go into the turnstile" is when he crosses the threshold from going backwards to forward in time, there is no "annihilation" taking place. The one that Neil chases down is the Protagonist that gets away to meet up with Neil & Kat a little bit later.

[@JinKee]

@@MonsieurAuContraire that's from the perspective of a Wheeler-Feynman electron, not the outside world.

[@Fred-zk3wv]

Why is it that the more I watch explained tenet videos the more confused I get. From this explanation then it can be said protagonist is at the same time the antagonist since he orchestrated the entire thing.

[@Sumdumfilipino]

I’m just waiting for the fan theory that the protagonist is also responsible for the events in Netflix’s show DARK.

[@Basilisk_Eternal]

God i want a TENET cinematic universe now. This has got to be my new #1 sci fi movie of ALL TIME. Last one was interstellar.

[@kuriakosetcyril4574]

You are correct. Our understanding of the movie changes whenever we watch it again.

[@jonathanjerome17]

1:43 2:00 this is incorrect. the scientist who invented the algorithm didn't send those instructions and gold to Sator. it wa sOTHER people in the future,.

[@oddZALO]

Neil is only back in the present because what has happened, happened. He doesn’t necessarily know he’s gonna die because that would change his thought process and could ultimately change the events which would create a paradox. He decides to sacrifice himself for the protagonist because he feels he owes him that. What has happened, happened

[@AlphaJayCharlie]

I think it’s more a matter of him having a “feeling”. Like he doesn’t KNOW, but he has a good idea that he’s approaching the end of his road

[@rakino4418]

Neil could go away and come back to sacrifice himself after a couple of years of personal time though

[@omkar1392]

People rewind and watch movies to understand them...i had to rewind and watch breakdown videos of Tenet and still i am not completely clear 😃

[@heavyspoilers]

Hahah I don’t even think the cast are

[@deedelrio7744]

It is more convoluted that the wibbly wobbly timey wimey thing.

[@gergelyszekely9778]

Try not just rewinding, but watching it backwards. May help.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

They told u to just feel it in the movie

[@francislin9575]

Everyone is actually working for the protagonist, willingly or unwillingly, if the outcome is the one desired by the protagonist

[@JinKee]

When Sator sees the Protagonist on his yacht after killing his helper with the gold bar Sator uses the trust password "We live in a Twilight World". The Protagonist plays dumb instead of giving the countersign, thinking the password is compromised to his greatest enemy. However maybe he recruited Sator in the future through an intermediary so Sator never met him as the head of Tenet, and was genuinely trying to check if the Protagonist was a friendly or not. I wonder how it would have played out had the protagonist chosen differently. No friends at dusk indeed.

[@anthonymartensen3164]

Is that Whitman?

[@sartnowelye3236]

damn that's a solid find! so Tenet was compromised from within the organization, either that or just as you said :)

[@javiern4278]

@@sartnowelye3236 So, finally someone talked.

[@ayandak47]

@@sartnowelye3236 nah, tenet is founded by the protagonist so the fact that he didn't say the counter of no friends at dusk, I believe hid the truth about who the protagonist was.. cause it is clear that perhaps Sator was recruited by the future protagonist..

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

GREAT POINT!!

[@garrykirklandii8371]

My problem with this theory: The Protagonist has ALL of the pieces. He hides ALL of the pieces so that Sator can find them and assemble them so that; The Protagonist can obtain ALL of the pieces?

[@RomanThaDroman]

Yes, it's a closed loop of perpetual combat

[@faisalkhan-dl6cv]

Seriously, doesn't make sense.

[@thehuman3077]

Information has no origin.

[@RobotHau5]

The protagonist was left with 6 remember? All 3 men were given 3 each. Neil, in order to go and fulfill his role in the beginning of the movie, gave the protagonist his 3, leaving him with 6.

[@aardm4rk]

I think he purposely created a paradox so that the pieces are looped and can never escape.

[@darthgzuz]

So i think the scientist from future who discovered Inversion is Max/Neil (Phd in physics) and i also think he is the real protagonist who recruited Protagonist (David) in past Its a pincer operation and scientist from future made sure that the Algorithm stays in this predestined loop of events. Knowledge divided. i can be wrong though but this movie has no clear theory

[@RobotHau5]

I like that latter part of your theory. I wouldn't say its Neil because Priya establishes the idea that its a female. If it was Neil, they'd leave the gender ambiguous.

[@cprw10]

@@RobotHau5 Priya could had being lying, she's a liar, all spies are at some degree, "Lying it's standard operating procedure".

[@RobotHau5]

@@cprw10 I understand but at that point she wasn't necessarily working for him. It took me a while to realize, but at the end when he says "we both know you were working for me" it was at that point when he went for a walk with her that she was hired. So I don't think she'd have a reason to lie, since at that point in time she didn't expect him.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

You're right but thatsa good one as well

[@CatsBanana-1983]

The idea that Sator is working for the future Protagonist makes sense since Sator just wants the world to burn. He would have no way of verifying anything. Neil chose to go back and die to make sure the lock was opened so they could get the algorithm. He did it out of respect for their relationship in the future since he had already lived it. He was recruited by the Protagonist. The idea that he is Max (from another video) is really cool. That also makes sense since he asks the Protagonist about checking on Kat. There appears to be some kind of special relationship there. Ives saying no one could live didn't really make sense to me. Ives would have to kill himself also, which would leave the algorithm on the ground for anyone to take. Besides, he couldn't kill The Protagonist or the whole thing would fall apart.

[@kafkaesk_]

Priya told him that "Algorithm did not find in the past, it found in the future." Therefore, the protagonist sent this instruction to Sator, because the future version of the protagonist knew that Sator is the father of Neil. Therefore, he chose Sator in the past.

[@footballcommentsgod]

best comment

[@footballcommentsgod]

the entire movie is paradox. they chose sator because he was a the father of neil or they chose neil because he was kat and sator's son. You cant know which came first.

[@sumanthd02]

Doesn't make much sense to say thay he didn't follow orders, cuz everytime he saved TP's life it was still his obediemce to TP and his plan. And i dont think TP would kill someone that close to him while he saved someone who he barely knew(kat) with lot of risks in the movie.

[@Canady117]

I'm convinced Heavy Spoilers is working for the Protagonist. How else would he know all of this information that is supposed to be need-to-know?

[@Ryan-the-Rocketeer]

Heres what i think of this theory 8:26

[@heavyspoilers]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 best use of a time stamp ever

[@justindyson4753]

This theory is BS! I even commented that today as well. And on another video by this channel. I feel its like this channel rather stir up controversy with far fetched non-sense then bringing up well thought out theories that could add up.

[@Supernaut2000]

I watched the movie, but I already knew this as my future self told me so I watched it in reverse and then it made sense.

[@zacharydwyer896]

Rewatching Tenet, I think Ives might be the young version of Sir Michael. The Protagonist tells Ives exactly what Sir Micheal will tell him.

[@Dxvxd510]

yo why is no one talking about this! This is legit!

[@diminishedgtr]

Wow...Nice catch!!!!

[@Righteousone18]

So Sir Michael is from the future?

[@tobycook9383]

BTW when Neil and TP get in the ambulance you can see them also just coming out the shipping container. In addition when the blue team first land it Stalsk 12 u can actually see Neil pulling Ives and TP out of the hypocenter. U also probably noticed neil was in the car warning Ives and TP before they entered tunnel Would really appreciate winning the LOTR 4k love ur vids ❤️

[@heavyspoilers]

Good catch, yeah it’s really detailed, Neil also shoots at himself in the truck as well when he drives past

[@Ondraasha]

Biggest plot twist of all: Sator is actually The Protagonist, just older and made caucasian by technology developed in the future. 🤯

[@nopewmopan]

KZbin recommended one of these Tenet videos after I watched a Shining fan theory video. Not only did I like your presentation more, I've watched through the whole Tenet playlist with this one being the last. Good stuff. 👍

[@Sunstar808]

Paul I can’t express how fantastic a job you’ve done with these series of Tenet reviews. I felt like I was living in a Tenet since I had to do into your past to watch these reviews having waited for Tenet to be available to watch in my future. (I wasn’t available yet in my country). Your multiple reviews were very insightful in gaining a fuller grasp of this film.

[@crozraven]

Huh ... This still doesn't feels right to me. So who are the bad guys from the future who instructed Sator every step of the way? Indeed they have no name, but it supposed to be separated/in conflict with Tenet organization. Also, kinda hate this theory as it basically make the protagonist an even darker ruthless figure "playing god" with time instead of the laser focus agent that truly care about his loved ones (friendships). It make no sense when he genuinely care about Kat & her son in the end This theory is basically like Batman sending his robin to be killed by Joker just so he could catch & incriminate Joker after the crime happened, regardless via time manipulation or not.

[@heavyspoilers]

So the theory is that there is no organisation it’s just The Protagonist in the future

[@sanketmulik3875]

@@heavyspoilers right

[@Sthuthukile]

The way I understood the theory is that the Protagonist used "what's happened's happened" to both trigger and prevent World War 3. He knows that Sator will find the algorithm, and the outcome is that they win. The outcome might change if Sator never received the algorithm.

[@berniet1215]

I like making theory’s but I dislike this one coz it makes the protagonist such a bad guy.

[@Sthuthukile]

@@berniet1215 Not necessarily. I think giving Sator the pieces and instructions to find it, keeps the algorithm in that predestined loop in time. Because he knows that Sator will eventually lose, what's happened's happened...changing it might change the outcome

[@wehoandy]

Just watched Tenet for the first time today, and now I’m eager to rewatch it with this theory in mind.

[@asquared5786]

If you’ve watched dark you’d totally relate to this theory

[@Bobbypinker]

I don't think Neil is just happy following orders. I think he's happy to lay down his life to save the Protagonist because he knows the Protagonist saved him and his mother when he was a kid.

[@ptonfire1]

If watched backwards the movie explains itself about 35%. As Sator even said "Its not a machine Cate,it's a safe.." To hide world ending weapons in the past..

[@polarbearking]

I enjoyed this theory. Nolan does such a great job of having layers to peel back. I dare say not a single movie of his was ever just what it seemed on the surface.

[@gianlucaborza]

Before they go into the final scene, the blueprint (the one that Ives is pointing to) of the blast site and it’s setup seem to be a hat tip to Plato’s allegory of the cave. This alludes to the forces at work in the future/‘past’ (fire and moving objects) affecting the present (prisoners in the cave).

[@Poloassassin828]

You have some really great theories, I've seen it 4x already and can't wait to watch again!

[@JadedeaJade]

Is it just me or does Priya's hair color change? In the beginning her hair is distinctly gray, but in the walking scene her hair is clearly white. Maybe he's interacting with Priya in different times?

[@foiblegilneas1777]

Would destroying or damaging one piece of the "algorithm" make the whole thing immaterial and defeat the entire threat? (and by extension, the entire movie)

[@Ucey365]

Damn, this film gets better with every viewing.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

IKR!!

[@hsudio]

imagine tenet was real, we build the pyramid

[@sairam662]

Wat a idea

[@brtcreep9984]

Am definetly watching the movie again🔥. Also congrats the channel has been grown over the yr

[@heavyspoilers]

Ah thank you, your support has meant a lot, always see your name on every video and I really appreciate it

[@christophercarroll7315]

You or someone else may have noticed this already, but the title of the movie was shown at the start of the movie. All of the Christopher Nolan movies I've seen, he shows the movie title at the very end.

[@midwinterwinds]

Trying to figure out Neil's timeline, when would he have been recruited. How long was he on missions that he struck this great friendship with the protagonist. And if this took say a few years. He would have had to travel inverted all those years linearly to the point of the movie.

[@stratstrat644]

That's actually a good point. Like....was he invented for years on end, sitting in a cargo contain, in order to travel back sufficiently into the past. Interesting...

[@essexlad8151]

When you order a simple plot family film from wish 👀

[@MonsieurAuContraire]

As to the "algorithm" not displaying inverse properties I would think Sator sent all the pieces through a turnstile since he was intent on burying them so a future group could dig them up. All in all I really don't care for this theory as it makes the Protagonist this all-knowing puppet master which then defangs the story of any stakes for it means that everyone is just going through the motions of it all like clockwork robots. Where's the emotional center in a story where the true main character is unseen, yet causing all the actions you watch without any chance of failure? To me such a narrative comes off as flat, and solipsistic as those movies that end with "it was all a dream!"

[@mtumasz]

Thank you for closing the book on Tenet as we all close 2020❤️ All the Best to You, Mate🎄🚀😜👍

[@abs6919]

I've watched Tenet so many times and watched these videos and my brain is still like 🤯🤯

[@Mizicaza]

Me too 😔

[@XaleManix]

This is quite the stretch, and flies in the face of literally the entire ounce of characterization JDW gets in Tenet. Its will still be crazy entertaining though

[@akj3344]

This is actually a pretty good theory. Gives me the vibe of the movie 'Nightcrawler'. This video would have been even better had The protagonist executed Priya after she killed Kat. That way there would have been no loose ends left.

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

No because Kat helped raise Neil...she needed to be alive

[@grantporter8100]

Loving these analyses. Enriching the movie.

[@Ranzarok]

I realize this is almost a year old but hey, I just watched the movie. :) So your theory about Sator is that the protagonist recruited him to only spoil his plans? Why? Wouldn't that be creating a crisis only so he could come up with a solution? Seems to me if this is true, the protagonist (in the future) could have said "f*ck it", not recruited Sator and none of the movie would have happened. I enjoyed the movie, and watching your videos about it, and this one sparked my question to you. Hopefully you still get notifications of these so you can enlighten me. :)

[@stephenkrus]

Part of me wants to believe in it but... another part of me calls #bullshit on this theory. Our stupid human minds can't handle the vacuum of the #unknown so... we make stuff up, rationalize, making stories out of the broken pieces. Just to ease the anxiety of our insecurities of not being capable of handling the unknown. There's fine line between being imaginative and... lying to ourselves (self-deception).

[@Mizicaza]

I can t wait for the day I finally understand the movie and swim above all these theories

[@Mr.Red.Hat.]

Nolan just simply wants everyone to think properly but that's a good theory

[@fuffoon]

This movie came at a good time. I have little more to do than to study Tenet breakdowns and rewatch the film 30 times.

[@hoon_sol]

It's also practically unheard of for Russians to have "Sator" as a last name; one of the largest online databases in the world lists ~10 people in all of Russia (out of tens of millions) as having it, and it doesn't appear to be native to Russia either. It's also explained by Crosby in the lunch early on in the movie that "Sator emerged from this blank spot on the map [Stalsk-12] with ambition, and enough money to buy his way into the British establishment", further driving home the point. To me it sounds like Sator was given his identity by the people who set up Tenet, much like they've arranged various other central events around the lines of the Sator Square. This also ties into the fact that Max for some reason gets a line of dialogue in the movie, saying he's going to Pompeii, which is exactly where the earliest example of the Sator Square is found, and presumably he is recruited and later becomes Neil, suggesting to use its various lines for names in the various parts of the operation.

[@HasaSamudrala]

"It's fate." "Call it whatever you want."

[@AnimeRusak]

Reality :*)

[@anthonyvannoni2453]

Damn you Paul! You blew my mind! Now I have to watch it again. This is the way.

[@Jimverse_]

I definitely think that sator was working for the protagonist - it's too much of a coincidence that it's gold bars he gets paid with and there's a turnstile at the airport where all that gold is transported. We're told this wishy washy story about shadowy figures from the future but the whole thing feels like it's the protagonist the whole time, going back and forth

[@kyrapatton1940]

Red Soldier 1 or Ives =Sir Michael Caine (Michael Crosby)🤔🤔🤔🤔 Names from google Tenet cast.

[@danphillips8530]

Back is blue forward is red, I've had enough so I'm going to bed

[@bonoki3870]

Tenet will be the only 2nd Christopher Nolan film that i'll own, when its release. i think it is absolutely phenomenal. saw it 3x in cinemas & i keep finding new things in each viewing. can't wait to own it to hear Christopher's commentary on important scenes...

[@davoz9773]

Every time i watch this movie, my brain reverts to when I knew noting of it surely the protagonist is happy with me

[@ashantedula5696]

I'm still tryna figure out or maybe it was a poor showing of why the wife was so important to baby denzel. He risked everything for her.

[@xGaLoSx]

Theres so many damn ways of interpreting this movie. I kind of like when movies have a definite ending.

[@kwelitysoul]

“Ignorance is our strongest weapon.”

[@TheAirhonn]

One problem, sator knew to move the painting from the airport, which happens because it happens in the past, meaning there is a drop that lets sator know about the airport outside of the drops that we know about. Doesn't disprove it, however this does mean there is at minimum one drop we don't see on screen

[@angeltabia2601]

It made me sad to realice that Neil died in order to save the protagonist. However, nothing ensures that he died immediately after saying goodbye to him. There is the infamous chance that Niel has had a long and good life and, at a certain point, decide to invert himself in order to return, save the protagonist and thus close the cycle. Just as the movie doesn't say if Niel is Kat's son, Max, it also allows us to imagine a better ending for him. One that wouldn't make him a less likeable character, but instead makes us feel happy for him although knowing his end.

[@DaniG._.German]

@ 7:51 this is why Neil didn't see Kat before he inverted. He knew he would die so he didn't want to see his mother.

[@mr.mcchannel442]

The algorithm is not a mcguffin. It’s what writers call an important object. Mcguffin’s can be taken from a story without the structure of the story collapsing. Taking away the algorithm and replacing it with anything would destroy the entire film. People need to stop calling everything a mcguffin

[@ShadyPlatinum777]

Beat me to it

[@michaelcaringi5583]

Totally sound theory. I always look forward to your videos.

[@TheThehwashere]

I wonder if Nolan next Film would be like an agency travelling through different universe's and dimensions call it "Inter-dimensional" a fusion of inception, interstellar and tenet

[@DavidSmith-qf3sm]

What if Michael Kane is Neil from the future but the age would be in the war?

[@Andrew-zd1rn]

There is also a scene when Sator binds his hands and says the TENET creed.

[@ShauryaSingru]

No there isn't? He says "We live in a twilight world", not the tenet code.

[@tony_sosa_4123]

@@ShauryaSingru exactly. And he was only saying it to see if TP was a CIA operative

[@ShauryaSingru]

@@tony_sosa_4123so my understanding of that was different. In the Opera siege, the protagonist parts ways with his team, which gets caught by private Russians and are killed. If we piece together the information in the film, we realise that Sator and his goons were those private Russians, and that there is where he would've learnt this phrase from. This is why past Sator flies away to Kiev in his helicopter after last Sator and past Kat have a fight. And obviously, that's where he got his cyanide pill from, that he reveals on the yacht.

[@jonathanbint]

This theory is going to make me want to rewatch it again (or have I already done so?) with a new perspective

[@jeanwesleynew]

Whoever buried the components had access to each site and a crap-ton of gold. And why go through the process of hiding the components for Sader to assemble, when you must have had all the pieces at one point to split up and bury?

[@matienazemy1382]

Just remember, Sator received gold and information from a future that doesn’t exist ;) Bootstrap Paradox maybe?

[@GoPieman]

here's my points against it: - in terms of science, a very powerful nuclear device doesn't seem that unlikely, it's not very compelling that they have to go through all that trouble when it's something that sounds perfectly replicable - it changes the movie into a geopolitical one with clear sides, something we've moved beyond. The idea that the protagonist is willing to sacrifice others, and that they are willing to die is fine, but not if framed without question as the right thing to do - as saving the world. For the movie to include western propaganda (i _don't_ mean intentional brainwashing propaganda) only if interpreted in this obscure way would be weird as fuck. - not a point against it but you're right about the fact they don't seem inverted, and containing gold and instructions.

[@tykjenffs]

Wow, The Protagonist uses an early 2000 looking cellphone.

[@GranValor97]

Tenet is the gift that keeps on giving, the movie is so confusing, that heavy spoilers can get a lot of content from it in these bad time for cinema

[@zacharydwyer896]

This has made me NEED to rewatch TeneT

[@Updogg3000]

I always thought the capsule with the gold and instructions was sent by the future antagonists, the ones who want to use the algorithm.

[@478Johnnyboy]

I watched it finally last week after being afraid to see it in theaters. But man its had me hooked even been listing to the soundtrack.

[@heavyspoilers]

Yeah it’s amazing, I didn’t like it massively after the first watch but by the second I thought it was incredible

[@JinKee]

It's actually better mixed on phone. I'm sure it was mixed for iPhone headphones for real, like the screenrant pitch meeting joked.

[@FT86TT]

Bad movie when no one is 100% sure of what is happening...

[@charlesraffaut5605]

This movie was crap, once is enough.