Inception Forum

• Add

Spoilers ahead.

 
I've seen the film twice and I still don't fully understand the concept of Limbo. It is hyped up to be fearful, you can get stuck down there forever. However, we are shown on three occasions all you need to do to escape is kill yourself:

• Cobb and Mal run themselves over on a train after growing old -- why not just do this straight away?
  
• Soon after entering Limbo, both Adriadne (who is going there through the 'dream machine') and Fischer (who is actually dead) kill themselves to escape. 

• Near the end where Cobb and Saito shoot themselves to escape -- again, why not do this when entering Limbo? Why wait around?

 
Am I missing something?

Pretty sure the dude that specialized in putting everyone in a deep sleep mentioned something about how if they are in a dream within a dream (within a dream...) even getting killed will not wake the person up.  Remember the only way they got out of the dream within a dream (within a dream) was they synchronized the act of falling in each stage, which would be the best way to ensure they didn't get stuck in limbo.  
 
I think you can only kill yourself and wake up if you're in just one dream.  
 
Naturally, I could be wrong.

@Eric: Right. So that explains Adriadne and Fischer escaping as they had a synchronized kick to bring them back. Still doesn't explain the other two situations though - they had no kicks.

@Joe:  Cobb missed the kick to look for Saito who was somewhere in limbo, by the time he found him (i think 20 years) the sedative wore off by then in real life. (they both woke up when the plane landed, which means they were in the dream for the full 10 hour flight)
the question is what happens if you kill yourself in limbo while still sedated,I am guessing you dont wake up and if this is the case then all your questions are answered

@PirateNeal: Okay... but why didn't Saito just kill himself upon entering so he too could ride the kick back up? And why did Cobb and Mal wait so long?

@Joe:  Saito would of needed to fall off something in time with the kick, my guess is when he arrived in limbo he had no idea what was going on. similar to when Fischer in the hotel bathroom scene was trying to remember what had happened in the previous level. It could be more confusing going to limbo by death compared to going down with the dream machine and Cobb knew this. As for why Cobb and Mall watied so long? Im not sure how they even got to limbo really if anyone wants to help clear this up, i think they used sedative. Which is why they would of needed to wait, so it could wear off??
This movie is making my brain hurt

@PirateNeal said:

. As for why Cobb and Mall watied so long? Im not sure how they even got to limbo really if anyone wants to help clear this up, i think they used sedative. Which is why they would of needed to wait, so it could wear off?? This movie is making my brain hurt "

Cobb briefly mentioned how they were just experimenting and didn't it take a long time because Mal eventually believed the dream was her reality?  My memory is really hazy on this specific part of the movie; I saw it over two weeks ago now.

Ariadne and Fischer jumping off that building was not an act of suicide, they were falling and therefore it was self-created kick.  
 
As for the two suicides (Saito & Cobb and Mal & Cobb), did that bring them out of limbo? It would seem question is the answer in of itself, because once people enter limbo they have a hard time discerning what is real and what is not. Plus, my guess is that when you enter Limbo it's like you are actually dreaming. Even though Cobb was invading Fischer's subconscious and he is always aware of that the fact that he is in someone's dreams, when he enter limbo that stops. It's like being in a dream and not knowing the genesis of the dream. 
 
In that way it starts to really make sense (Now just follow me for a second). Cobb's team is trying to create multiple dream levels so Fischer does not know the genesis of the idea they are implanting in him. If Limbo is the bottom layer of the subconscious, one's conscious conception of reality wanes because one does not have an idea of reality in that point of the subconscious.   The specifics will always be sketchy but it's supposed to be. Limbo is not to be grasped. But you do understand that, 
 
A) Saito was 'woken' up by Cobb in the begining scene of the movie 
 
B) Cobb convinced Mal when they were in limbo that they were dreaming, by spinning the endless top 
 
C) And that Cobb and Arriadne were not put into Limbo, they entered it willingly and therefore probably had a better understanding of reality.

@Joe said:

" @PirateNeal: Okay... but why didn't Saito just kill himself upon entering so he too could ride the kick back up? And why did Cobb and Mal wait so long? "  

I think Saito never realized he was in Limbo, after all he did die in a dream. I'm sure that would be very convincing for him in his delirious state. 
In response to your second question I think that Cobb and Mal were never sure if killing themselves would work so they lived a lifetime in Limbo before trying it.

@JeffGoldblum said:

" @Joe said:

" @PirateNeal: Okay... but why didn't Saito just kill himself upon entering so he too could ride the kick back up? And why did Cobb and Mal wait so long? "  

I think Saito never realized he was in Limbo, after all he did die in a dream. I'm sure that would be very convincing for him in his delirious state. In response to your second question I think that Cobb and Mal were never sure if killing themselves would work so they lived a lifetime in Limbo before trying it. "

Ah, okay. This makes sense. Thanks for the responses, everyone.