What are the accepted plotholes in Inception?

[Rob]

I reread it like four times and it sounds like you are saying two completely different things in your last two posts. In the first one you asked a question and now you are giving a statement and I am having a hard time making the two fit together that much.

I'm either entirely misreading it or you didn't exactly write what you meant, I would have an easier time with it if you reworded it maybe.

Okay, I'll try again.

We know that Mal is only a projection. But Cobb doubts. Let's just think Mal is right. She's in the real world now (she got there by killing herself) and Cobb is still in Limbo.

Cobb always visits her by using the dream machine. How could that be possible? The only way out of Limbo back to reality is to kill yourself. This fact should clarify that she is only his projection, right?

[theweatherman]

Are you referring to stuff at the end when Mal is trying to convince Cobb that Limbo is reality and tries to get him to stay there? The projection of her that Cobb always sees is trying to get him to go back to Limbo to be with her there. Cobb's battle isn't whether or not to kill himself its whether or not he is willing to live the lie that is Limbo to e with the projection of Mal. Cobb understands that at the end, he knows it all isn't real, but she feels more real there because they spent so much time together there. He has to let go of the Mal he loved for those fifty years in Limbo to let go of the real Mal.

I still might be off, but I kind of get what you mean I think.

[Rob]

Are you referring to stuff at the end when Mal is trying to convince Cobb that Limbo is reality and tries to get him to stay there? The projection of her that Cobb always sees is trying to get him to go back to Limbo to be with her there. Cobb's battle isn't whether or not to kill himself its whether or not he is willing to live the lie that is Limbo to e with the projection of Mal. Cobb understands that at the end, he knows it all isn't real, but she feels more real there because they spent so much time together there. He has to let go of the Mal he loved for those fifty years in Limbo to let go of the real Mal.

I still might be off, but I kind of get what you mean I think.

I'm not only referring to the end! He always doubts! During the entire movie! My point is so simple! If you're doubting, you have to regard both possibilities. If you regard the possibility that the Mal he always visits in his dreams is real, then you could ask the question how he's able to access her real world by using the dream machine if SHE had to kill herself to get there.

[theweatherman]

I am not sure that he always doubts whether she is real or not, I think he always knows that she is a projection, but he wants to believe she's real because it would ease his guilt and hardship. I'd hardly consider it a plot hole because its just how his character functions. The fact that he knows he's gone into a dream means that he knows she isn't real in that dream despite how much he wishes she was.

[Rob]

I am not sure that he always doubts whether she is real or not, I think he always knows that she is a projection, but he wants to believe she's real because it would ease his guilt and hardship. I'd hardly consider it a plot hole because its just how his character functions. The fact that he knows he's gone into a dream means that he knows she isn't real in that dream despite how much he wishes she was.

I agree with that bold part and I didn't mean that this is necessarily a plothole. It's actually just a general question about Limbo. In Limbo it wouldn't be possible to visit the real world by dreaming. So that would rule out any possibility of the dream-Mal actually being real. Right?

And if he wants to believe that she's real he could just tell himself "No, she is not. How could she if the only way to access her was to kill myself?" And everything is fine.

[theweatherman]

Yep, pretty much. I think my confusion on your point was that you kept saying he thought Mal was real when I never really thought he did. It think this point is definitely most apparent in Limbo at the end.

[hellcat8715]

I think you are trying to say that if Mal was right about which world was real and she did indeed kill herself and return to reality, then it would make no sense for Cobb to be able to visit her in his dreams. Because in this example, the Mal that he sees in dreams is the "real" Mal and he is visiting her "reality" whenever he dreams of her. So I believe what Rob is asking is how would Mal explain that she had to kill herself to return to "reality," but that Cobb only has to dream to visit that same "reality"

Is this what you were getting at?

[Rob]

I think you are trying to say that if Mal was right about which world was real and she did indeed kill herself and return to reality, then it would make no sense for Cobb to be able to visit her in his dreams. Because in this example, the Mal that he sees in dreams is the "real" Mal and he is visiting her "reality" whenever he dreams of her. So I believe what Rob is asking is how would Mal explain that she had to kill herself to return to "reality," but that Cobb only has to dream to visit that same "reality"

Is this what you were getting at?

Exactly.

[theweatherman]

Yeah I guess my mind just didn't follow the logic because i had a different logic set in my mind.