the REAL villain of inception (2010)

that said, eames are you free thursday night i am free thursday night
Find me on twitter! / whippedjack
Like, subscribe, and comment who you're casting in the inevitable tv show!
Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) isn't a movie it's a way of life. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is not just a bad man he is the world's antagonist. I am not just a fan of Mal (Marion Cotillard), Eames (Tom Hardy), Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Yusuf (Dileep Rao), and Ariadne (Elliot Page), I am a prophet and a genius. When they announce the Inception prestige drama TV show I will parade around the internet like a king and no one can stop me.
#inception #leonardodicaprio #christophernolan
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
05:15 - The Sins
05:43 - Bad Name
06:11 - Worst Totem
08:47 - Mean to Ariadne
11:33 - Big Liar Man
24:11 - The Inception Thing
34:42 - That Ending
39:08 - The Thesis Devolves
Find me on TikTok @whipjack
Listen to Unprepared Casters, new episodes every Monday!

[@avalirs_heart]

I've never seen inception but just from this video i can say with absolute certainty that mal cobb did nothing wrong ever

[@LimbsAndGames]

I just wanna say that I don't disagree with Dom Cobb being a bad name but all I could think the whole time I was watching this was how Mal Cobb sounds like Mall Cop which is also an objectively bad name

[@mel-burnes]

and that's why they never should have married

[@elenaprodromou6658]

sounds like someone saying “mall cop” with a cold

[@AuricomSystems]

I'm so glad to hear someone else say that the ending isn't narratively coherent if it's a dream! But also, it didn't work for me because the issue of being trapped in a dream *was never Dom Cobb's issue*, that was MAL'S issue. Dom never had the slightest difficulty discerning when he was dreaming or awake, he never struggled the way his wife did about accepting which was which, etc.

[@BecBoops]

Literally the fact that the stupidest totem was supposedly once Mal's just shows the disservice the writing did to her at times.

[@zasherakhan6957]

theres actually a theory that Doms totem (not the spinning top his wifes totem) but doms own totem is actually his wedding ring, in his dream frequencies he doesn't have his ring and when he's real life he does or maybe its the other way around i dont really remember

[@coruscanta]

Honestly, Tom Hardy’s “Dream a little bigger darling.” As he pulls out a grenade launcher is such a core memory for me. He and Arthur are the only characters that matter to me.

[@SalviAlmighty]

YES. Give me more Eames and Arthur!!!!

[@connorscorner443]

Best characters ever. I love Tom Hardy

[@TobiasTheGiant]

Haley once again creates a video that is filled with passion and feeling and is gay as hell and I am here for it. However, too much Cobb 5/7

[@RivkahSong]

I swear Christopher Nolan can only do good romantic/sexual tension when he doesn't mean to. There is more chemistry between Arthur and Eames in a handful of scenes than there is between Mal and Dom, the shoehorned-in Ariadne/Arthur kiss, and all the Bruce Wayne romances in the Dark Knight trilogy combined. Their little pigtail-pulling snark fests, Arthur's little smirk when Eames is worried about him, Eames calling Arthur "Darling", etc is just SO good. I agree with the fandom take that Arthur was probably Mal's friend first. He does clearly care about Dom but also acts like he feels obligated to watch his back and keep him alive even as Dom treats him like crap. It just kind of makes sense he's staying with Dom because he knows Mal would want him to take care of her family.

[@dreye3215]

My interpretation of the last scene was that the kids were his real totem. He didn't care whether reality was real if his kids weren't in it, so he never bothered with a real totem. He only uses the spinning top to remind himself of his wife.

[@arcanealchemist3190]

its also pretty easy to tell a dream from reality in the fiction of the universe, since no new information can enter a dreamers mind without intervention. the reason Mr. Cobb (as i will refer to him because his first name does not go with his last name at all) wanted to leave his 50 year stay in sleepytown was because of this. sure, you can imagine new stuff, but the random, miraculous and terrible things that reality offers just arent the same. the NPC's you dream up are only ever capable of doing things your subconscious mind thinks they would do. after 50 years, it would be hard to be surprised by anything at all. not being alone would obviously mitigate this, but I think Mr. Cobb as a character, even before accidentally breaking the mind of his wife, was probably not very mentally healthy, and wouldnt have engaged as much with his wifes creations as she did his. that said, those 12 dreamers are probably living the coolest fucking DND games imaginable and i am so jealous of them.

[@donutboi467]

It's so funny to me that ten months ago Cillian Murphy was cheekbones batman guy and not bomb man

[@MarigoldMorrigan]

Why did it take me 12 years to realize that this cast is almost all former Batman actors?

[@malavery5017]

christopher nolan just picked a handful of actors and decided that was good-no reason to look for more

[@evanlinden4410]

Elliot Page also did a superhero franchise, albeit not Batman

[@smooveayy]

Nolan likes to work with the same actors, like his own little trippy multiverse 😅

[@serazaydia]

Ok but counter argument to Dom Cobb's first sin: every time you say his name it sounds like you're calling him "dumb Cobb" with a slight accent which I think is very funny.

[@chameleonfoot]

I haven’t seen inception but god could they not have named the interesting dead woman a name that sounds SO CLOSE to Mall Cop.

[@xlukalee]

Yes! There was a fic I loved from Cobb's perspective where he realizes how many bridges this job burned and that his only connections left were people just trying to work with Arthur and are pretty pissed that Cobb is tagging along.

[@xlukalee]

Also as a teen that loudly defended Mal Cobb online I agree she is everything and love that you mentioned that right at the start.

[@andrewrowland3920]

Dom's totem is his wedding ring. In his dreams he's still married so he has his ring on.

[@Germgeuse]

Great video, just one thing. Dom's totem is actually his wedding ring, not Mal's top. He carries the top around with him, but if you notice, Dom only wears his wedding ring when he's dreaming. He doesnt use Mal's totem, he does actually have his own, it's just subtle.

[@dreye3215]

I'd like an Inception sequel about Elliott Page's character. It would be cool to have a trans main character in a major blockbuster, and what you said about him becoming addicted to dreaming because of Cobb was interesting. Maybe he could be dealing with an evil dream version of Cobb, then Cobb could be the villain for real this time.

[@blinkfilms1]

christopher nolan wyd

[@Blueeyesthewarrior]

That’s kinda rad. I’d watch it.

[@mikaylaeager7942]

I love the cut before the top falls. It’s beautiful. It poetic. It’s tips the movie over into masterpiece quality. That being said, the story is telling us this is the real world. It’s the only thing that makes sense narratively. I just really love the idea that it doesn’t matter as long as your happy.

[@tashastark8498]

as someone who is still completely unhinged about inception (2010) in 2023, i wanna thank you for this video

[@xethified]

I love the idea that the ending is a dream because I hate Dom and I'd like to see him embrace his delusion that he deserves a happy ending. I want him to leave his kids in more capable hands and for him to stop holding his friends and everyone he knows back. I'm still fascinated that Christopher Nolan thought he needed to be the centre of that movie. I do think casting Leonardo DiCaprio was perfect though - he portrays terrible people really well. Apart from that 100% accurate. 10/10 assessment.

[@FlameQwert]

well it's not surprising, most of nolan's movies are about self-destructive obsessive people because that's to some extent how he views himself and his creative expression. it's also a lot more interesting and has a lot more range for creative statements when centering a character like that instead of "nice competent normal person"

[@Smouv]

Wait... so on the one hand Cobb inceptions and royally screws over his wife because she accepted that their limbo was 'as good as reality', but then the canon ending is that he himself doesn't watch the top fall because 'whether it's a dream or reality, this is where he chooses to be'?! The hypocrisy here is on the walls.

[@cuzabdul]

Haley, thank you for providing the specificity for the general concept I thought as the credits were rolling when I saw it in the theater 12 years ago. “This was a good movie. It would have been a much better movie if Cobb/Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t in it.”

[@mctheplaywright]

You could do a really fun origin story during the Cold War. Near the start of the war in the 1960’s, the American’s won the Space Race. Now, near it’s end in the late 80’s, it seems that they will lose the far less televised Dream Race. In pursuit of a cheap substitute for other anesthesia products, a Soviet doctor creates a compound with surreal side effects. It’s a rush for control of this incomprehensible world. Two Countries attempting to gain even the slightest grip on a system far past them. A bunch of 80’s tech, cruel experiments, and trippy imagery ensues.

[@coolcoolcool5085]

As per Haley’s request I need everyone to know I *need* Tom Hardy back for the inevitable™️ inception tv show!!!

[@jaydragon416]

Inevitable would be a great name for an inception sequel/spinoff show tbh

[@spaceace4552]

I love how invested and attached I've become despite never watching inception 🤯 Stunning video

[@riledupryepie]

[sees this in my subscription feed] aw yes, a new hour-long whipjack video on a subject i know nothing about

[@cardigancryptid]

I've seen Inception but this is the first time I've understood wtf Mal was up to, so thanks Haley Whipjack!

[@amaraokeke4646]

I love Haley calling cillian Murphy of future barbenheimer fame the Batman cheekbones guy

[@raediation3016]

Isn’t the internet theory that dom’s totum is his wedding ring? the top is a misdirect. he has on a ring when he’s dreaming and doesn’t when he’s awake.

[@tylertheswagking5391]

That makes sense for sure, since nobody he's doing 'dream crime' to would know he's married. The only problem is that the top still does spin forever in dreams regardless, which doesnt make any sense sincr everybody knows tops fall over at some point.

[@FlameQwert]

well I do think he can be (and is) both villain and protagonist. he is the main perspective character (protagonist) while fulfilling the role of I Ruin Everything villain (the top also isnt his totem otherwise he'd never explain it to another character. it's his wedding ring)

[@Addy0302]

Inception came out 13 years ago, the older of Dominic Cobb's kids is probably an adult at this point. I'm not saying they have to be in the hypothetical TV series but making them the protagonist could easily explain how they get involved (and explore the longterm effects of being close to Cobb)

[@jaxk2074]

I was not expecting how poetic you got at the end but I feel it

[@myrandajo9280]

100000% from what you've said ariadne should've been the protagonist and the climax of the movie should've been her confronting this guy

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

Funny that. It essentially is!

[@ollie4716]

so glad to see someone speaking out and standing up for my beloved. mal did NOTHING wrong. dom can go live in limbo on his own

[@saramartinez8747]

Never have I thought of Ems and Arthur as being a thing... Now I NEED to watch Inception just because of them.

[@brendancarney1388]

hear me out Ariadne ---> Asterion Going from the person guiding people in the labyrinth to the man trapped in its center. IDK, just a thought

[@thatlycantomboy]

you. I like the way you think.

[@ridley_grace]

THATS SO GOOD im gonna be thinking about it forever

[@QuikVidGuy]

I still swear to this day that when I saw Inception in theaters, there was a clattering sound after the cut to black. I distinctly remember thinking "Oh, it fell. That means it's real." I also saw people saying that because the top was Mal's totem it wouldn't work for Dom and his totem was really his wedding ring, which also shows that the ending is real, but I'm already tired of typing this

[@collectionofsinglefathers]

As someone who loves this movie but hasn’t watched it in quite a while… you’re SO RIGHT

[@Baseballman1224]

Your videos really hit my adhd in a way where I can actually watch your long form content without doing anything else during it. So what I’m saying is, you fucking rock!

[@bobcartwright7476]

It absolutely CAN be "hard C" Cillian Murphey.

[@OopsAllStupid]

Came here after the FNAF video and just...YES TO ALL OF THIS. Thank you for speaking the truth (and having excellent taste in characters)

[@Heroshand]

Same! I honestly forgot that Dom was a character? Like, I remember Aurther as the main character to be honest.

[@norriec6323]

I have watched this video 6 times I genuinely tricked my brain into believing it's been like a couple months

[@Cholm]

I think, maybe, you're interchanging "Antagonist" vs "Villain". Cobb is a Lancer in character style. A Lancer archetype is a character who is juxtaposed to the primary Protagonist, however their goals and objectives align. Antagonist is opposed to the objective of the Protagonist, but it doesn't mean that the Antagonist is morally bad, and the Protagonist is morally good. As a primary example of this, Satan is the Protagonist of Paradise Lost, and the Biblical God is the antagonist. The moral alignments of the characters do not come into play, only the objectives of the characters of focus within the story.

[@cursedGalataea]

Cobb's friends want to live and succeed at their jobs, but Cobb does everything in his power to endanger his friends' lives and fuck the mission up. Sounds pretty antagonistic to me.

[@FlameQwert]

@@cursedGalataea the original post literally explained that antagonist does not always equal morally bad. he can be the latter while also being the protagonist (i.e. the main character or main perspective character). so he can be the protagonist (i.e. the main character) while also being Bad TM. antagonist thus simply means the one who directly acts against their goals, in this case the fragment of Mal that still exists in Cobb's mind (which technically is Cobb as well?). this usually does mean the antagonist (fiction sense) is antagonistic (common usage of the word meaning to be hostile or cause problems) but not always, in either direction

[@skyemccready]

I cannot stop hearing “Mall Cop” every time you say Mal Cobb i know someone already commented it but GOD its just SO present

[@kiiyll]

I never thought about the potential for an Inception TV show before but now I need it.

[@AmusinglySaunters]

I guess I’m in the inception fandom now

[@BurningheartofSILVER]

All I can think about is how if this video was made now in 2023, "cheekbones Batman man" would just be "Oppenheimer"... Doesn't have the same ring to it

[@natalydelrio]

Have you watched Paprika (2006)? It's really cool, with a team that get into people's dreams, but in this one it starts for therapeutic goals. Also I believe the scene in Inception with the elevator is inspired by Paprika.

[@fusionspace175]

You want to know why you didn't get an Inception tv series? Because we got exactly what you described, but for the flashy Bradley Cooper super intelligence pill movie Limitless. Bradley had cameos, it was continuing the world of the movie with the FBI using a guy with version of the pill to solve crimes. One season, nobody watched it. That's why. It's a great show, too. I think they finished the story as a webcomic, the ultimate indignity.

[@peniscapture068]

Don’t say no one watched it!! I was obsessed😭😭! I loved his weird hallucinations

[@fusionspace175]

@@peniscapture068 On its good days, it was a far better Sherlock than Sherlock ever was. Adapting that power to solve crimes was the perfect idea for a series.

[@IronGoddessOfMercy]

You're brilliant, extremely well-spoken and supremely entertaining! I have too many thoughts and feelings about your video to type them out but please know I'll carry it in my heart!

[@evanlinden4410]

We love that you respect Elliot’s pronouns

[@dreye3215]

Sato isn't just there for fun, he wants to confirm that they've actually accomplished the job, and the only way to do that is to see them doing it firsthand.

[@transrightsarehumanrights_]

mall cop; that’s all i heard each time you said mal cobb and now i want paul blart to make a cameo in this show we’re making up

[@malavery5017]

the only interaction i’ve had with inception is scrolling past arthur/eames fanfiction on ao3

[@aavagourlay8098]

Absolute showstopper, amazing video!

[@violetsanddragons]

(Imception arc on unpreparedcasters? Jk... unless?)

[@haleywhipjack]

gus has been trying to convince me to do this for months

[@violetsanddragons]

@@haleywhipjack and I will join him in trying to convince you to do this.

[@Thndrcougrfalcnbrd]

The fact that this hasn’t already happened is SHOCKING. It’s already an insane campaign concept. It would be amazing

[@rileynicol3293]

@@haleywhipjack i support this

[@alexmayer5388]

@@haleywhipjack PLEASE

[@nikkiorr7088]

Guess I'm going to rewatch Inception now

[@user-rw1ft1sp2e]

you understand me so well... i am so happy to have found this video, you are me and i am you, the artur and eames monologue is so correct

[@SuperFitzyBoi]

I have barely even thought about Inception in the last 12 years (other than vaguely remembering liking it) but now I desperately need a spin-off series like the one you described.

[@dylanbailey1874]

Another fantastic video - Would literally listen to Haley talk about anything

[@johntemidis]

Great video, but I couldn't stop thinking about Paul Blart every time you said "Mal Cobb"

[@Dudeman23rd]

I loved every single moment of every single second of this video and I'm glad there are other people in the world who still obsessively ponder Inception the way I do.

[@georgesmith4225]

Premieres on my birthday? I won’t have a clue what’s going on but best gift I could ask for!

[@blainecrowley1134]

Happy Birthday!!!

[@felixreyes6751]

Haley this is my only inception knowledge and I don’t know if I *can* watch inception after this masterpiece

[@_avittoria]

Love this video! I, too, thought the worldbuilding thing with youseuf was a missed opportunity (and that his character in general got sidelined way too much)

[@starlasomni]

I saw Inception for the first time when it was shown in theatres for its 10yr anniversary and it immediately entered my top 3 movies of all time, I own the movie now and have rewatched it...many times to say the least lmao. The concept is SO good and I genuinely do love the story overall, even if I agree that the main protagonist could've been (a lot) better. Also yes Arthur deserved so much better, truly the best character in the film, 100% carried, did not deserve all the bs he was put through. And bc I love Arthur so much and wonder why he takes way more of Cobb's crap than he should I really love reading fics that explore their dynamic, who Arthur and Mal were to each other, why he sticks around, and why Cobb is so intent on pushing him away. Basically it's my way to get more Arthur content and attempt to make Cobb a better character lol. I read a really good fic a while back (that does explore Arthur and Cobb in a romantic leaning dynamic, just a heads up) called "The Arbitrary Nature of the Mind" on ao3 where Arthur and Ariadne basically create a secret therapy/recovery land for people addicted to somnacin dreaming, and they try to help Cobb recover bc even after getting his kids back he's still addicted. It explored the relationships between the characters from the movie in such an interesting way and also introduced other original characters that had their lives ruined by getting into the dream crime business. It was everything I'd want from a post-canon story in the Inception universe, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested ^^

[@emilyholston2379]

Haley, sir, imma need some fic recs plEASE

[@kibert135]

I am not saying this applys to Inception but I wouldn't want every movie ever to always have a satisfying and neat ending. The ending should serve the movie.

[@postscriptum7698]

This was great! I had fun

[@odistabettor]

Y'know I was wary at first, but this is very well put and now I want that show.

[@human9452]

My least favorite kind of reading of film is “edgy reddit person who didn’t actually understand the plot” readings. The only point to movies that are deep to ppl like that is being as dark and awful as possible with no nuance lmao. I feel ur pain about the edgy inception theorists.

[@bellaliandrino7735]

oh shit now i gonna have to watch a leonardo dicaprio movie because of you YOU OWE ME FINANCIAL COMPENSATION

[@eos_aurora]

Oh my gosh I assumed you had like 500k subs?? I was incorrect?? This is amazing quality content

[@dovefromabove1021]

Of course she 23-24, 25s his cut off

[@sgnp]

This was great! I’d like to see Andrea Riseborough in an Inception TV show, but I’ll 100% admit part of that is because I recently saw Possessor.

[@cacography]

aw, such great memories of my years in inception fandom. there were some ridiculously creative people there.

[@blinkfilms1]

i watched this before watching inception and now after watching inception god. im just begging for an inception series. im so fascinated by everyone in this universe who is not dom cobb

[@electricVGC]

Joseph Gordon Levitt lead show would be amazing

[@blainecrowley1134]

There's so many Dark Knight actors in this movie

[@impithezuluwarrior7858]

I guess Christopher Nolan just likes working with the same actors

[@yourstruly9013]

Absolutely obessed with your energy and the way you were correct about all of this.

[@Mosspooky]

guess I'll have to watch inception (2010) now

[@myametivier3126]

I've never watched this movie but I confidently say that Arthur and Eems are married. They're both called Arthur so that's why they never share their last and first names respectively to avoid confusion.

[@lisahd8117]

Love your vibe, I'm in

[@ImTMZ]

As you described Arthur and Eames all I could think about was PB & Marceline 😂😂

[@novaluna1102]

I have never watched inception. I am now SO invested in inception??? thank you for this. I'm going to go on ao3 now and bury myself in fic

[@Ohnogoblin]

Every time you say her name I hear “mall cop” so I’m imagining Leo is married to Paul blart

[@NewtDungeons]

I now want an Inception TTRPG like right now.

[@amsuleht]

ive never thought about an inception show but thats such a great idea more development on the world and the dream world would be chefs kiss

[@gus554]

I need a campaign in this setting

[@arcanealchemist3190]

one thing not mentioned really is that mr. cobb DOES NOTHING IN THE MOVIE. like, im gonna rewatch it for the 6th time to make sure, but aside from putting together the team and being weird around Ariadne, his contribution is literally just creating a demon that nearly ruins everything. like, his presence in the dream is so significantly not worth the danger he puts them in, that he would have been more useful to the team if he just assembled them and then went to the bar IRL while they did the work.

[@NeverduskX]

I always understood that Cobb was the protagonist but wasn't a good person. He's solely focused on getting his deal finished so he can see his family again, and he's fully willing to manipulate and sacrifice anybody and everybody to do it. At the end of the day, we're following mind-invading criminals perform corporate espionage via extreme gaslighting. By all means, they're the villains and Cobb is the ringleader. But because of his family situation, and the fact that everyone but him seems pretty cool, the movie tries to get us to root and feel for them. That said, this breakdown was really enjoyable, and hearing you put it all into words was really satisfying. Even I don't think I realized the depth of how awful Cobb was. And now that I think about it... he wasn't as interesting as everyone else either. Maybe that was intentional, to ground the movie with someone half-relatable and half-fantastic.

[@jordanne229]

funny how you call out what a bad name Dom Cobb is cause I was just about to comment that it sounds weirdly like the dutch word 'domkop' which is basically a word for idiot

[@demetriam2408]

Should've named him Dommy Cob 👉👈

[@CureSmileful]

Yaaas go girl drag Nolan('s bad decisions) and DiCaprio

[@robertanna2693]

You know, the names sound like "Dumb cop" and "Mall cop" which is funny.

[@rb500131]

Bring back Arthur and Eames for the TV show THey had real chemestry

[@deeviousrat]

i could see why this would generate a dedicated fanfic audience lol. the whole dreamscape idea gives inception a list of endless possibilities you can explore for any reason at all but you can still pretend it’s canon. 😂 now i want to rewatch this movie. i haven’t seen it since it came out.

[@Miss_Dante]

I've never wanted to watch inseption but this is making me intrigued 🤔

[@Miss_Dante]

Also: Great video as always!

[@ColastiaThunderfuck]

At the risk of being a fuckin nerd: I really feel like the world of inception would make a really really cool TTRPG, where the DM is canonically the Architect

[@haileycollins1290]

i have always loved this movie and i love you and i was thinking before you even brought up a show that if they were just going to do oneeee more movie it should absolutely be a prequel to how all of it was created so we could truly focus on everything the dreams have to offer and what difference people do with it and it could end super cool coming full circle to the first inception also if not that then a shoet series show of someone connected to someone from the team and them finding out about it but it’s illegal now and the deep dark world in like a one season series

[@juliakrystosek8003]

Please give me Elliot Page back only now he's going by Theseus, you could even make weird mindfucky Ship of Theseus riffs, it would be great