MovieChat Forums > Top of the Lake (2013) Discussion > Too many loose ends ... here's my list o...

Too many loose ends ... here's my list of top 20

posted 12 years ago by theonemoviebuff
74 replies | jump to latest

1. Who was the father of Tui's child?
2. Was Matt really Robin's father or was he just bluffing?
3. Who was Robin's fiance of 5 years?
4. Why did Matt kill Bob but didn't take the land back from a bunch of old ladies?
5. Why did Tui decide to go to the woods to give birth? (very freak idea for a 12-year old)
6. Where did Tui's mother vanish?
7. What was the issue between Johnno and his father?
8. Why weren't Robin's rapists caught?
9. Why didn't Robin make any attempt to catch her rapists - even though she was a police officer?
10. Why was Robin sacked by Al for a petty brawl?
11. Why wasn't GJ able to solve the problem of any of the women?
12. Why was GJ heading to the bushes when she said she was leaving?
13. What was Al running in his basement? child pornography or child sex trafficking?
14. Did Al die?
15. Did Al rape Robin, or take advantage of her when she passed out in his house?
16. Why did Al take the keys out of her pocket when Robin passed out in his house?
17. What was the purpose of inserting that Pathologist's character when none of his cases were solved - or we didn't see any headway or link with the original story or characters?
18. Who really hanged Zanic?
19. Did Al manipulate the DNA test results in the end?
20. Is New Zealand really that beautiful?

[–] heat_like_burning 11 years ago

Some of the answers here are wrong

The father of Tui's baby was Al. He told Robin the DNA said it was Matt because he wouldn't admit to it obviously.

Matt was Robins father. Thats why Robins mum told her to stay away from Jonno.

But it turns out that Matt isn't Jonno's father like he thought.

I don't know if Al raped Robin when she passed out but probably not as he was a pedophile.

Robins earlier rapists were dealt with otherwise.

"When lightning strikes the sea, why don't all the fish die?"

[–] Prutgardin 11 years ago

I think it is safe to say that Al roofied Robin, since she wouldn't pass out after a bottle of red wine; when she has no problems after downing three quarters of a bottle of vodka ;-) Although, she did pass out some time after emptying it ;-)

Athhajar ma yeroon.

[–] doobyus 11 years ago

The father of Tui's baby was Al. He told Robin the DNA said it was Matt because he wouldn't admit to it obviously.

Yeah, I'd agree with this. I'd have thought it would have been relatively easy to switch Al's sample for Matt's, and it would show the match with that of the baby. Matt's cremation would have ensured that if there was any doubt in future that they wouldn't be able to do a retest so, unless the paedophile ring was uncovered, Al would be in the clear.

I did actually think Matt was going to be the father of Tui's baby for most of the series but was either in denial about what he'd done or was just projecting the guilt for her rape on to others. I think he did genuinely love her but due to his abusive upbringing from his mother, seemed utterly unable to express this in anything but a dysfunctional, macho manner. I'm glad they chose Peter Mullan for the role, he excels at portraying the tenderness in otherwise monstrous characters.

[–] homer1217 11 years ago

I'm just surprised anyone who watched this series thinks Matt was Tui's baby's father.

[–] spam-47 11 years ago

Nothing was answered completely but the audience left to work it out. I think it was obvious that Tui got pregnant when she "graduated" and was roofied. The pathologist was the plot device that introduced the girl who got run over amnd also moved along Al being part of the cover up.

It's highly unlikely Al would risk lying or fabricating the results from the clinics, in case anyone ever saw he original results. It's far more likely that Al switched Matt's blood samples for his own or possibly another member of the ring who was the father.

That way it would appear that Matt was the father of Tui's Baby but of course would also show that he was not Jonno's.

[–] shelleylawson0 11 years ago

The father of Tui's baby is suggested to be Al, but isn't confirmed which of the pedo guys it was.

I'm pretty sure that Matt and Robin are brother and sister. From memory, they tested to see if Robin matched the DNA sample from Matt to see if Tui's baby was Matt. But seeing as Al doctored it, its likely that he switched Matt's sample with another random one. It would be easier to do that than doctor the results, which ethically get signed off at labs and are difficult to change.

If he changed it for a random sample, then obviously Robin and Matt's DNA test would be off too. The discovery of Al running the pedo ring kind of doubles as a revelation that he probably lied about them too. Robin's mother and Matt were pretty definite about her being his (not that they can't be wrong or lied). Correct me if I'm wrong, I watched it a while ago, but that was the conclusion I came to - not that they necessarily were, but that it suggested they were.

Look back at how sunny and happy the faux ending was. It was all too good to be true that everything would turn out alright and that Robin would get all the answers for that she was hoping - Jono not being her brother, Tui's rapist dealt with, etc, especially as it kind of defeated the odds that they turned out not to be related. That's not the way it works in the world of the show. Throwing aspersions on their relationship is dark but works with the way Campion made the true ending and correlates with the exposure of Al.

[–] sixofnine-767-398855 11 years ago

1. As Tui wrote, "no one." As she said near the end, "I don't know how this baby got inside me." And she's telling the truth -- she was drugged when she was raped, so as others have stated, it's Al or one of his pedo buddies.

17. It's not merely a case, as a couple of others have responded, that Al simply didn't care about April Stevens, the "road suicide girl." As the scene in the cafe near the end showed, when Robin looked at all of the pictures on the wall as a whole, that she and the audience realize (with the further exposition at Al's house) that Al and the other pedophiles set themselves up as pillars of the community by establishing this work program at the cafe for troubled kids, the perfect cover for them to exploit those same kids. And remember, all of the key kids' pictures -- Tui, Tui's boyfriend, and April, were on that wall.

It's not important exactly how April died -- perhaps she woke up during one of Al's "parties," wandered onto the road, and was accidentally struck (and that would explain why there was still cocaine in her vagina). Perhaps she had a glimmer of understanding of the horror to which she had been subjected, and deliberately walked in front of a car. The important plot point is that there is no way that Al was going to allow an investigation of that case and raise the risk of being discovered.

[–] bawsin 11 years ago

I'm staggered that anyone could assume Al was being honest about those DNA test results. I wouldn't believe a single thing Al said, he was a manipulative criminal and a psychopath.

IMO it was very strongly implied that Al (or one of his clients) had raped Tui. The giveaway was when he presented Robin with a box containing Matt's ashes. Narratively, it showed us he'd destroyed the best remaining evidence that would contradict his doctored 'proof' of Matt's rape of Tui. Otherwise, why bother including those 5 seconds at all? We don't see Robin doing anything with Matt's ashes (if that's what they were), and it's not mentioned again.

If I were Robin I would get those DNA analyses redone - all of them - by a reliable and independent expert. The truth of whether Matt's the father of Tui's baby could still be tested, e.g. by analysing the DNA of Matt's sons (they would share half his DNA), or retrieving a few hairs from Matt's hairbrush... or the dried blood on his belt. Lots of possibilities there!

As for Matt being Robin's father, that hypothesis popped into my mind when Robin's mother objected to Johnno for no apparent reason... and when we learned her mother had been living for free in Matt's house, that cinched it. It's hard to understand those two facts otherwise.

[–] Cocktailsfor2 11 years ago

I'm staggered that anyone could assume Al was being honest about those DNA test results. I wouldn't believe a single thing Al said, he was a manipulative criminal and a psychopath.

We don't see Robin doing anything with Matt's ashes (if that's what they were), and it's not mentioned again.

Bingo. I think Al swapped DNA samples re: Tui's baby to cover up his pedo ring.

Also - why does Al present Matt's ashes to Robin? Matt's next of kin are his sons, Luke and Mark (though it is likely that he was indeed Robin's father, IMO).

All in all, this series could've been done in 4 episodes, max, instead of 7. Waayyyyy too much padding.

______________________________________
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

[–] Aimitis 11 years ago

And how does 'is New Zealand really that beautiful' constitute a loose end? The short answer is yes!

"What're you rebelling against, Johnny?"

"What have you got?"

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] lostsok0523-654-279444 11 years ago

As all the questions were answered, I won't bother repeating, but I'll add this:

The ONE flaw in this show to me was that Al told Robin that Matt was the father of Tui's baby, and that was clearly a lie...but they don't make that clear enough in the end. I can see why people are confused by that, as I was until reflecting on it.

Otherwise, the plot turns are very well laid out.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] VIETgrlTerifa 11 years ago

One thing I'm wondering about…if we accept that Matt was not the father to Tui's baby and that Matt knew of the sex ring, is that whether Matt knew beforehand that his own daughter was a victim in that ring. I would think that Al would make sure that Matt's (who seems to run the whole show in that town) daughter would not be harmed because that's just asking for trouble.

I'm not entirely convinced that Matt wasn't the father, even though it makes a lot of sense, because his reactions and denial over Tui not being able to have a baby due to her age, the sons catching Tui and their father (not having sex but something lewd), and Matt's reaction to the baby all seem to be a reaction of realizing he had done something wrong. He also has serious problems with women with his history with his mother (and self-flaggellation), the way he talks to the women in Paradise, the way he treated Anita, his relationship with his past lovers, etc.

I think the Al being the father and mixing up the DNA is a great theory and would be consistent with his character, but I really do not think there's anything seriously concrete that the writers gave us to come to that conclusion outside very big assumptions (based on our perceptions of the characters) on the viewer's part. I know Campion and Gerard Lee are very subtle and don't spell everything out for you, but I think this requires even more of a reach than usual.

[–] FliptFlopt 11 years ago

, the sons catching Tui and their father (not having sex but something lewd)

I couldn't quite catch what was being said in that scene. It sounded like the son told him they had seen him passed out in Tui's bed and she was "walking" on him. I must have heard it wrong. Matt also told the woman from the commune that he had some sexual dysfunction, but that could be to side-step the fact that he's not into adult women. It's all very vague.

I think the Al being the father and mixing up the DNA is a great theory and would be consistent with his character, but I really do not think there's anything seriously concrete that the writers gave us to come to that conclusion outside very big assumptions (based on our perceptions of the characters) on the viewer's part.

I tend to think Matt is not Tui's baby's father though because of the test results also showing that Matt is not Johnno's father. IMO that result strongly implies that Al switched the sample somehow. I suppose Johnno submitted to the DNA test, but Matt's other sons did not. But why did the lab randomly compare Matt and Johnno? Whatever the reason, it's pretty bad consequences for Johnno and Robin. Weird and squicky.

[–] agro_sydney 11 years ago

Do you really need it spelled out to you? It is definitely not your scene and New Zealand from what I have been told is beautiful.