MovieChat Forums > Red Dragon (2002) Discussion > Did Dolarhyde mean for Reba to live?

Did Dolarhyde mean for Reba to live?

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
2 replies | jump to latest

I know with his mental condition it's hard to come to a conclusive answer but it's obvious that Dolarhyde had no intentions of killing himself. But did he mean for Reba to live to help cover his tracks or was it dumb luck?

It seems that hoping she got out of a burning house that she's not very familiar with is a haphazard way of tying up loose ends but at the same time I'm not sure he even cared at that point. Having Reba involved at all seems like it would have jeopardized his plan to go after Graham. It would be likely that the cops would have checked out Reba's place and found evidence of Mandy's death and that would have put everyone on alert. It's been a lot of years since I read the book so I really don't recall much about this plot point at all, or even if it happens like it does in the movie.

[–] Philhelm (509) 5 years ago

I would think that she needed to live in order for him to fake his death. If I recall, didn't she hear him "shooting himself" and then using another victim to burn in his stead? Since she is blind, she would be able to tell the police that he shot himself.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 2 years ago

Her escape is helpful but not critical to his alibi.

He only needs to throw off the scent long enough to track and kill Graham

So I figure he hoped for Reba to escape but didn't rely on her doing so

As for how he knew she might escape, he's seen her navigate based on number of steps and sounds (the grandfather clock). He knows she's already "mapped out" his house in her mind.

And of course, during the fire, the grandfather clock starts chiming (likely Francis timed his "suicide" to coincide with those chimes), and we actually hear Reba reciting the number of steps to the clock and the door.

TLDR: She was capable of escape and he knew it