Possible plot hole. Need clarification.

Well, I think that's the point; the director does not want us to observe Julie in line for the roller coaster. Her "omission" from that scene is a device designed to create shock and suspense when combined with the supposed revelation, later on in the film, that she was in fact supposed to be there all along.

Now, although this was obviously an intentional act determined by James Wong and his team of writers, this does not mean said act should be excluded from being labelled as lazy writing. In fact, there is a really good case for it being just that - lazy. Just think about it; anyone can set up a proposed pretense in which a character "was always meant to be there, even though they were not viewable initially". Its kinda cheap, in retrospect. Strictly speaking, there should have been a set of events/variables that connected "Julie" to the roller coaster scene - something subtle in which we could look back on and say "Oh yeah, I totally missed that!".

The real question is: does the end justify the means? In other words, is the pay-off from employing such a cheap mechanism substantial enough to enhance the film' narrative. I would say yes and no. Yes in that I know I am watching Final Destination and with that comes the expectation of cheap thrills and surprise tactics. From a fans perspective, I live for them (although I do prefer them to be thought out properly). No, because it doesn't really add anything special to the film - at least in an objective sense. All we have is another character for death to hunt down and obliterate. Oh and it does act as a plot device to send the protagonists back to the fairground environment (of which I cannot really complain about, as I find I enjoy the atmosphere and cinematography of the place).

Anyway, I appreciate you bringing this event to the forefront of my consciousness. It is always (I have seen FD 3 multiple times, also) something I question at the time, but never really address afterwards.

P.s. I did go back and re-check if Julie could in fact been seen in the initial roller coaster queue scene - I can confirm that she definitely CANNOT be seen.


"Suspect? How can it not know what it is?"

Yes, Julie can be seen, but she has a hood on, so we can't see her face.



My favorite Final Destination is the 4th – DEAL with it!

Wendy was distracted. She noticed the others because they were acting in ways that drew attention to themselves. Julie and Perry were not fighting, overreacting, or doing anything to make a scene. They just got on the car, then got off it.

She was too busy seeing signs of death to take names of everyone who boarded that coaster.

I always wondered why Julie never checked up on her sister after she freaked out like that or even mentioned it to her later. It seems like beforehand they didn't get along most of the time but still Julie sees her sister having some sort of crisis and just walks off of the ride without checking on her?