MovieChat Forums > Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006) Discussion > Curious speculative question about The E...

Curious speculative question about The End of the Whole Mess

posted 19 years ago by smakdaddy99999
7 replies | jump to latest

Of all the stories I've seen, The End of the Whole Mess ranks in the Top 2 (the other being Battleground, though The fifth Quarter is a close third thanks to the excellent acting). I loved how the scope was so apocalyptic yet the story itself was on done such a personal level. With that said, I wish they could've shown a bit more of how the calmative chemical affected people on a worldwide scale. i understand that the bit was rather low budget, but it would've been more interesting to see how widespread the effects of the chemical were on the entire world population.

but I'm curious, do you think that the calmative chemical affected EVERYBODY? Do you think that there were people out there who weren't affected by the chemical or who were even immune to it? is it possible that there were certain regions that were somehow spared from the chemical and its side effects?

i bring this up b/c I noticed that in one instance, when Howard turned on the radio (while he was gradually degenerating into a mentally vegetative state), he heard the voice of the preacher proclaming the end of the world. The preacher himself sounded like it wasn't affected at all (granted, he was sounding extreme, but he didn't appear to be inflicted by Alziemer's). Also, in another scene where we see the news reporter starting to forget what she was supposed to say ... noticed that several people in the background were running with umbrealls. Apparently, they didn't seem bothered at all by what was happening. Either that, or maybe they realized that there was a film taking place and they didn't want to be in the shot!

So basically, I'm wondering if by the end of The End of the Whole Mess, mankind is indeed doomed? Or maybe there is a glimmer of hope b/c there are people out there who haven't been affected ... and there are enough of them to help rebuild civilation...

[–] asdfawiegjwe 19 years ago

in the show livingston said he and the brother evaded alzheimers by keeping out of the rain and drinking bottled water... maybee others did the same? I know there's some people out there that hate the rain as bad as cats do...

[–] geny82 18 years ago

The way I see it, I'm sure there are people that only drink bottle water, my dad for one, and people that don't go out int the rain. Then also I find the thought that people in hospitals, the ones that can't go outside, that can only have purified water, are the ones that wouldn't be effected.

Karen, if you see Jesus, tell him to take the gerbil babies! They're Christians!

[–] vetbridge 18 years ago

When the bee hive was calmed, there were two bees out of the bunch that still stung.

[–] VoteForTheLeastWorst 18 years ago

But none of the wasps did.

It doesn't matter if you only drink bottled water and stay out of the rain. There is still humidity and the vegetables you eat and the meats and the dairy. Come on people, think about the cycle of water. It would eventually get to the fish even. And remember they said it kept amplifying. The people in the background of the news shot almost looked like zombies or very sick people. It is possible that they were elderly and severely affected by this and became homeless. In a mass hysteria, people tend to take to the streets. I use to work with Alzheimer's patients and they aren't always calm. Sometimes they are very evil and violent. They scream bloody murder and act possessed. I've even been biten by one.

[–] rcolfer 18 years ago

Yes, everyone gets affected, and as far as we know the human race is doomed.

[–] VoteForTheLeastWorst 18 years ago

It would seem that way. Though I'd be curious to know if there are any regions of Earth that may not be affected or not affected nearly as much due to weather and ocean patterns. Maybe Antartica?

[–] 18 years ago

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