MovieChat Forums > The Princess Bride (1987) Discussion > Why does Westley tell Count Rugen that h...

Why does Westley tell Count Rugen that he knows about the murder?


Westley should pretend that he is staring at something else when Count Rugen asks what is holding the young man's interest. He is inviting his murder by informing Prince Humperdinck's second hand that he knows about Inigo's father. For someone who has a canny approach to life, Westley is unbelievably foolish and naive in this moment.

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I must be having a huge brain fart, because I have no idea what scene you’re talking about.

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I think they mean the scene outside the fire swamp when Westley says "You have six fingers on your right hand...Someone was looking for you"

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That’s the only scene that I could think of that could even remotely be related to the scene the OP referenced. I guess what threw me off was how OP phrased it, because in what Westley says, he never references Inigo’s father, or past events.

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I agree. I mean other than in the pit of despair, Westley doesn't interact with Rugen, and I'm pretty sure that Montoya Sr would not have been the only man who Rugen killed, so yeah, the OP makes no sense.

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That's the only thing I can think of. Wesley didn't reveal the reason for the statement. If anything that gives the Count motivation to keep Wesley alive a little longer. He has no idea what Wesley is talking about and may want to keep him alive long enough to find out.

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How is it foolish exactly? It doesn't really make his situation worse.

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Thank you, AP. Westley is merely lucky that Count Rugen doesn't kill him. The only reason why the older man won't is because he is Prince Humperdinck's minion and therefore must leave the prisoner's death to his royal friend. Buttercup's love interest is not aware of that relationship, though, so he shouldn't blurt his incriminating knowledge to the man with an extra finger. Even if he were, he would have no way of being certain that Count Rugen wouldn't send him through more torture just for the declaration. This stupidity is an extreme contradiction to Westley's character.

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It’s not really incriminating evidence, given the setting. The Count didn’t seem worried that Wesley was mentioning someone he killed. In fact, didn’t he say he wasn’t sure which kill Wesley was referring to?

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It's not incriminating evidence, it's knowledge of a crime that has been committed. Count Rugen is surprised, alarmed, and angry when Westley states his observation which pushes him in to knocking out the young man. The murderer says nothing about being unsure of which victim is in question. Moreover, he is a bit wary of the torture machine and Inigo's father has been fatally stabbed over his refusal to be swindled. The disagreement is explained to be due to a specially made item. It is a specific and isolated moment of passion. All of these point to the Spaniard being the only person whom Count Rugen has killed.

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