Indiana Jones fan theory finally explains how he survived the "Nuke the Fridge" scene
We'll take anything, absolutely anything, that makes us feel even remotely better about this scene
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Your support makes all the difference.Cynicism may be the default reception to cinematic fan theories; yet, occasionally, they're the only remedy to soothe away certain pains. And there is no prickling discomfort greater for the hardcore Indiana Jones fan than the bitter aftertaste of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's infamous "Nuke the Fridge" scene.
Yes, the film may have been released back in 2008 but, for some, the nightmare stubbornly clings on. The moment of cinema's great hero, Dr. Indiana Jones, surviving a nuclear blast unscathed by locking himself up inside a lead-lined fridge.
Could there ever be any justification for it? A new fan theory prays there is; and that Jones' miraculous survival is, in fact, thanks to immortality gained during the events of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Reddit user That_secret-chord has theorised thus: "Indiana Jones drinking from the Holy Grail helped him survive unlikely scenarios, most notably the infamous fridge scene."
There's one major flaw to this theory, however; the Grail's powers are clearly defined as working only within the bounds of the temple's "great seal". The knight who guards the Grail (Robert Eddison) has remained for hundreds of years within the temple on the agreement that it is, as he says, "the price of immortality".
Therefore, Jones lost his right to immortality when he crossed the "great seal". Same goes for Henry Sr. (Sean Connery), whose sip from the Grail's waters miraculously cures his bullet wound. Presumably, the Grail's powers are just one of those things in need of a regular top up, requiring anyone who desires to reap its blessings to remain within boundaries of the "great seal" and with the chalice.
Then again, when it's all we have to explain the horrors of the "Nuke the Fridge" scene, it's perhaps worth a little creative rewriting of the rules. If that's really what it takes just to make the pain go away.
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