MovieChat Forums > Men in Black³ (2012) Discussion > What was K talking about?

What was K talking about?

posted 8 years ago by virgiltx
8 replies | jump to latest

About things J shouldn't know, and why shouldn't J help K fight Boris.

In his apartment K got a weapon from his hidden collection, and was taking a defensive posture with it, as though he was expecting Boris to come there and try to kill him. He doesn't seem to know that Boris can or will travel back to 1969 to kill him and prevent the ArcNet.

Is he expecting to die in the present time frame? Is that what's bothering him? And his mention of regret on the phone, was that referring to not killing Boris the first time?

Was his anger and insistence that J stay out of the Boris fight because he thought Boris would kill J also?
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[–] hal-9010 8 years ago

The original timeline and the restored timeline both have Jay's father die by the hands of Boris. And Kay knew that his dad died etc. and this is what he had "kept" from Jay in all these years.... and since he perhaps knew his time was coming up and that he was now hunting Boris again, he had the urge to come clean.

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[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

So he was thinking that J would investigate and find out details of the 1969 encounter, in which K may have been partly responsible for his father's death. It apparently set up a shooting scenario in which the colonel was in the line of fire. But somehow K was able to approach the rocket, maybe that time the colonel and his men were in pursuit of Boris and/or K, as intruders.

I'm wondering if K new that time-travel might be involved in this next encounter. In fact, we don't know that K even knew about time-travel. O did but J didn't, in the time-stream after K killed. So maybe agents at that rank weren't told, unless it was needed by one of them.

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[–] hal-9010 8 years ago

No, I don't see it like this. Or perhaps I misunderstand you.

In the original timeline Boris kills the Colonel and K arrests Boris.

This is the secret that K carries around: That he was there when J's father died. And that he failed in preventing it. And this is the reason why K turned out to be so unemotional- unlike his younger self, who after all joked and seem to have human interests. The movie made a point a few times about some event in K's life that must have changed him to be become "colder"... this was the event.

In the restored time line, Boris kills the Colonel still and the real change is that K kills him for it this time. No other change really. Except that now he carried a less of er burden and perhaps lit of it up.

Of course the restored K in our time now knew that J was sent back and jadajada... but that J saw his pop die etc was and I assume is unknown to K still.

In a way, it is the death of J's father (and K's shadow involvement is his upbringing) that paves J's path to becoming a MIB.... and so should happen either way.

Also this shows his sacrifice. J is a true hero. To save his partner his dad has to die. As that multidimensional being says; death can only be replaced by death... so either his dad or K must die.

[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

I thought that, according to Griffin, K would not remember J's 1969 TT presence; that there would be a"reset" after K shoots Boris. Griffin explains this to J just before they separate and he leaves.

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[–] hal-9010 8 years ago

You are right, he does say that (that it "resets" when the arm is cut). You had me double check the script online.... but why though? J is clearly part of this timeline's past now. He was a pivotal force in all that happened and surely that K finally decided to end Boris rather than arresting him.... I feel I simply disagree with Griffin on this one :-)... makes no difference to my reply to the OP though.

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** I am normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me Superman **

[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

This brings up a discrepancy with Griffin's words that "He will not know you were ever here" after Boris's arm is taken. But after that, the colonel says "where's your partner", K says "He's fine, he went home." So K still remembers J.

That seems to make Griffin wrong. But Griffin had also told J, regarding Boris's arm being taken, "When that happens, go home, leave."

J didn't however. He was about to time-jump, but we see him hesitate and then get into the escape cable car and descend. He then watches what Griffin apparently didn't want him to see.

So maybe the reset was delayed until J's time-jump back to present day. K still remembered him when the colonel asked, but no longer does, because the reset happened a little later.

The J-K meeting in the diner suggests K didn't know about J in 1969, hence the pocket watch scene.
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[–] hal-9010 8 years ago

Yes, that would fix Griffins truth.

Remind me, what was the pocket watch scene in the end?

[–] virgiltx 8 years ago

Talking to K, J brings up "last night" and secrets, and the Universe, or whatever, that they had been talking about at that time, and then J puts the pocket watch on the counter, so K would know that somehow J knows.

Also K confirms that what he remembered about last night was eating at Wu's and talking on the phone, not 1969.

There is still a slight discrepancy with Griffin's truth. With J still in time-travel mode, K remembers to kill Boris rather than arrest him, as J instructed. But, if J had triggered the reset according to Griffin's timing, by time-jumping right after the arm loss, there'd be nothing to guarantee that K would kill Boris, and might just arrest him again.

I think that may be an oversight in the script.
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The story is king.